Doctor Odyssey Season 1, Episode 1 ‘Pilot’ was a fast-paced hour of drama on the high seas as we dove into meeting the ship’s nurses, Tristan (Sean Teele) and Avery (Phillipa Soo), preparing for work back on The Odyssey. We meet Captain Robert Massey (Don Johnson) right away, and the moment we do, it is clear that he runs a tight ship (yes, every pun intended here) from the way he notices a spot on a crew member’s uniform to the way he can tell the towels are not being folded right, every single T is crossed, and every I is dotted. As the motto goes, “The ship is ours,” so that means everyone has to take care of it, including the passengers.
The medical team must be the best to ensure the passengers are cared for. And that’s where Doctor Max Bankman (Joshua Jackson) comes in. After Captain Massey fired Doctor Campbell, the previous doctor, for misdiagnosing a patient, which ultimately led to a major mishap on the ship, it is evident that he has no time for ineptitude. The Odyssey is a dream ship. The floors are so shiny you can see everyone’s shoes as they take steps on them, the pool has the bluest water, and everyone looks like they’re in heaven. And that’s how the captain likes it.
Avery and Tristan are not thrilled to hear that a new doctor is joining the team. They got used to their team with Doctor Campbell, and starting over is not something they want. Tristan reminds Avery that she could take over because she’s a Nurse Practitioner. For those unsure what a Nurse Practitioner is, it’s a nurse with advanced clinical education and training. They share many of the same duties as doctors, such as performing physical exams. They can also diagnose and treat patients. Captain Massey is fully aware of this, but he’s already made his decision and has made it clear that Doctor Max is a lock.
As someone who works in the medical field, I understand Avery and Tristan’s apprehension about welcoming a new doctor. You don’t know what they’ll be like; you have to learn a new process for doing things, so it can be hard to accept change. Doctor Max has an extensive and impressive resume, but Tristan and Avery could care less. They think he sounds overqualified for a job that involves him working on a “floating theme park.” When Max arrives, he comes on the ship ready to work and has a few changes in mind. He brings his equipment on board to the medical suite, which is magnificent and made me say out loud, “What was the budget for this show?” and he is undeterred by the lukewarm welcome he gets from Avery and Tristan.
“Work like a captain. Play like a Pirate.”
Tristan explains the situation to Max and makes it clear that he is never going to be his wingman because of the guy-to-guy ratio. In a way, he’s also letting Max know that he’s got a thing for Avery, so he wants to ensure that he doesn’t interfere with it. Later that evening, the crew heads to dinner with the Captain, but before they even make it, they’re all beeped for an emergency. We get our first guest star on Doctor Odyssey in Saturday Night Live alum Rachel Dratch as she plays the wife of Max’s first patient, a man who has nausea, vomiting, and a nasty rash. Max immediately thinks that it’s an adverse reaction to an antibiotic. Avery bests him when she diagnoses the patient with iodine poisoning from eating too many shrimp. Max is a little embarrassed; he got it wrong but is also very impressed with her.
From that point on, the medical team has a hectic night. Next up is a penile fracture that requires surgical intervention. That poses a challenge because one of the rules on the ship is that they are not to perform any surgeries. But, because they are always three hours from land, according to Captain Massey, Max reminds Tristan, who is pushing back on the surgery, that they can do procedures in emergent situations. The patient agrees with doing it because why wouldn’t he? And the scene offers up some glorious and highly inappropriate banter between Max and Tristan. A little later on, the team encounters the couple yet again after a freak accident involving a water slide. Mr. Reuben needs a clavicular relocation, and the team argues that it must be done on land, not on the ship. This was a moment that tested the three and their ability to agree. Ultimately, they decided to do the procedure because they understood the patient was more important than the rules.
After an eventful first night on The Odyssey, the following day, when all the passengers are away for the next five hours, the trio takes an excursion of their own to a bonfire. It’s at this party that Tristan reveals to Max what we already know: he has feelings for Avery. Somehow, this conversation switches up, and we end up with Tristan starting a dance battle with Max. It’s truly the most random moment in the episode, but it kicks that love triangle we saw coming into gear as Max and Avery share a kiss on the dance or, rather, the sand floor. Tristan sees the whole thing, which instantly changes his dynamic with Max. Avery is unaware; as Tristan told Max, she only sees him as a brother.
Max and Avery get to know each other back on the ship as they kiss and then bond over nutrient IVs to energize them for the rest of the day. We’re sorry, but that nap Max wanted to take still sounds better than lying in bed with a tube in your arm. During this moment, Avery learns that in March of 2020, Max was patient zero at the hospital where he was working when he contracted COVID-19 (we guess this is our life now, getting stories that COVID-19 ends up in.). He shares that he almost died, and that experience is what made him realize how important it is to find joy in life.
Before Doctor Odyssey episode 1 ends, we have to have one more rescue. The trio has to go on a rescue mission after a guy named Leo falls off the ship and into the water. No, we’re not joking. Clearly, Ryan Murphy and his team recognized the silliness of that because the girl he’s with even asks, “Is he going to freeze to death like the Titanic?” this rescue moment is filled with tension and not just because of the urgency. Because Tristan is still stewing like a jealous and petulant child, he feels the need to make snide comments to Max even when he is in the middle of the rescue. Of course, the trio saves Leo (yes, folks, his heart will go on. I’ll see myself out.) because even with the drama, they are a great team. Unfortunately, that tension did not go without notice. As we said, Captain Massey sees everything, and asking Max if something is going on tells me he is fully aware of Tristan’s crush on Avery and that Max and she are getting closer. We get a nice bow placed on the episode as all the passenger’s time on the ship ends. Max and Avery make a promise that what happened between them won’t happen again (sure).
Doctor Odyssey episode 1 was a lot of fun. We got some good introductions into all the main players in the cast, and we had a lot, and I mean a lot of emergencies throughout. I still feel like there is a lot to come because I want to know more about everyone. I want everyone’s backstories, and I know there will be an even bigger situation that affects everyone on the ship at some point because that’s what you would expect from this type of show.
Doctor Odyssey airs on Wednesdays on ABC.
In no way are nurse practitioners the same as a doctor. Nurse Practitioners shadow for 500hr, their doctorate is all online and has nothing to do with medicine, it is an education doctorate and teaches more about administration. Physicians have 4 years of brick and mortar schools with 4,000hr of clinical experience, then they go on to do residency and/or fellowship, even if they do the bare minimum of 3 years of residency, that is 11,500hrs of actual working and having to defend every single decision made to an attending physician, it is not passive shadowing. Some doctors train up to 41,000hrs before ever being allowed to see patients on their own. I have seen many patients harmed or killed by midlevel mistakes, you telling a national audience they’re the same as doctors could lead to more patients dying.