Abhiroop Das
Developed by Barbie Kligman, Fox’s ‘Doc’ steps into the complicated life of Amy Larsen, an accomplished doctor who loses eight years’ worth of memory due to a traumatic brain injury. Before she can even grapple with her displaced sense of time, in comes a barrage of altered relationships, which force her to question her own identity. In season 2, Amy has to navigate her delicate relationship with Michael, her ex-husband, whom she separated from in that eight-year period. This episode, titled ‘Orientation,’ zeroes in on the subtleties of this underexplored dynamic through a camping trip that goes unexpectedly wrong. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Amy and Michael Plan a Road Trip to Send Off Katie to College
‘Doc’ season 2 episode 18 begins with Katie dashing through the snowy woods without any clear sense of direction. Before long, she gets lost, and the fear of never making it out of this strange place begins to set in. From there, we dial back a few hours to reveal that this is the day Katie is supposed to leave for college. Amy and Michael plan to send her off to Northwestern by road, and hopefully pass by the camping spot they once used to frequent. Amy is particularly excited for this day, as in her case, Katie very literally turns into an adult in the blink of an eye. It appears that things are still less than ideal between her and Jake since he lied about Rachel in the last episode, but any sort of patch-up has to wait, as she leaves for Michael’s house early.
While Michael tries to keep a cool face, deep inside, he too is moved by just how quickly time has passed. As the trio settles into the car for a six-hour drive, Amy’s mind drifts back to her past, all the way to when she first met Michael. It turns out that she, along with Gina, had been spending extra time at the cafe Michael worked at, and things got to a point where Gina had to break the ice between the two. As she is brought back into the present, the conversations take a more serious tone when it becomes clear that Katie would much rather stick to her phone than have a real conversation with her parents. However, that gap is bridged when the family comes across the hiking trail that they used to love back in the day, and an instant decision is made to try it out once again.
An Unconscious Man is Found by the Cabin, Propelling the Family Into Action
Age seems to have taken its toll on Amy and Michael, as they noticeably struggle while their daughter zooms through the familiar footings. Nothing can prepare them for what they find near the cabin, however, as there is an unconscious man lying on the snow, with barely any life left in his body. Immediately, Michael and Amy enter their doctor mode, bringing the guy inside the cabin. His ID card reveals him to be 29-year-old Cody, but with no cell reception in this region, the trio has to make a choice. It is ultimately decided that Katie will run back to the car and then drive till she gets reception and can call for help, while her parents figure out a way to keep the man alive.
As Katie makes her way back through the thicket, Michael sets out for the most important task: keeping the man warm. However, with just two matches available at the cabin, he has to gamble on his abilities, but things ultimately work out. The next problem arrives soon enough, as the man’s heart rate begins to rapidly plummet, and then outright shuts down. With no medical equipment around, the duo has to perform an impromptu CPR, and even that only barely saves his life. It is clear that he needs serious medical attention, but it all now rests on Katie. For now, Amy discovers that the man’s wheezing may be connected to the growing lump on his neck, triggered by internal bleeding/ However, with her hands still numb, the responsibility to deal with this lump falls on Michael.
Amy is worried about Michael handling the syringe, as he hasn’t touched a patient in almost a year, but things still go smoothly, and the excess blood is pumped out. However, there is now a new problem, as Michael discovers a ring in the man’s pocket, which he might have brought to propose to someone. This means that there is one more person still out in the snow, who might be on the verge of death. Our duo splits again, as Michael heads out to locate this mysterious second person. Meanwhile, Amy is hit with another flashback, this time taking her back to the time she tested a false positive for pregnancy. Out of the blue, Michael proposed to her in the hospital, and while she turned him down then, she did express that it was not an outright rejection, and that she just needed more time.
Cody and Irena Get Their Happy Ending
The introductory scene of the episode turns out to be a false alarm, as after struggling for a while, Katie ultimately does find the car and wastes no time in rushing to the nearest cell tower. Meanwhile, the man wakes up almost simultaneously as Michael finds the second person, a woman named Irena. It turns out that the couple had set out on a snowmobile, but it crashed, leaving Irena with a broken foot. In the present, Michael has to create an emergency splint out of a stick, which sets up a long and difficult walk back to the cabin. Meanwhile, Katie makes it out of the forest and immediately calls for help, but calls for only one ambulance, as she doesn’t know about the second passenger.
As the man regains sensation in his body, he begins regretting this trip, wondering if his partner is even alive. Elsewhere, Michael manages to travel half the way with Irena before she falls unconscious, and he has to carry her on his back. The biggest clutch move, however, comes from Katie, as she returns to the trail and discovers a scarf inside Cody’s car, confirming that there was someone with him. By the time help arrives, Michael is back, and both Cody and Irena are safe, thanks to Amy, Michael, and Katie’s quick thinking and action. By the time Katie is sent off to college, her parents return to pondering about Cody, and whether or not he will propose to Irena in the hospital. The romantic tension between Michael and Amy is apparent by now, and it forces her to give her present dynamic with Jake a good, long thought.
Read More: Radioactive Emergency: Are Eduardo Souto and Vitor Loureiro Based on Real Doctors?
You must be logged in to post a comment.