Doctor Odyssey Season 1, Episode 6 ‘I Always Cry At Weddings’ ended up being one of the most emotional episodes of the series so far. Others have been emotional, but what set this hour apart was that the focus wasn’t on the bells and whistles of the week onboard the ship. This episode was dedicated to real feelings and issues like mental health. We didn’t know what to expect going into the first season of Doctor Odyssey, but it is a show that has done a fantastic job of reminding us why we’ve continued to invest our time in Ryan Murphy’s shows. It also reminded us why we love Joshua Jackson, Phillipa Soo, and Sean Teale.
Now let’s dive into Doctor Odyssey Season 1, Episode 6 ‘I Always Cry At Weddings’
MORE: Here’s our review of Doctor Odyssey Season 1, Episode 3. And here’s our review of Doctor Odyssey Season 1, Episode 4. And Doctor Odyssey Season 1, Episode 5.
Antiquated Mating Ritual
It seems that every week, when Doctor Odyssey airs, we get a glimpse at who on board the ship likes what. We appreciate it, though. In a lot of ways, it gives us more insight into their personalities. In Doctor Odyssey Season 1, Episode 6, it’s obvious from the beginning that weddings are not Avery’s thing. She believes weddings are antiquated mating rituals and that people do all this over-the-top stuff with them for Instagram likes. It makes a lot of sense when Max gets down to the root of why Avery doesn’t get all googly over weddings. She’s been there and done that. Avery’s been married before, so it’s not on her list of dreams.
On the other hand, the guys are very excited to have Lisa (Kelsea Ballerini) and Eric there to celebrate their special day with loved ones. Max and Tristan believe in the Romance of it all. They both want to get married someday, and Tristan wants little Tristans running around. Max almost lost his life to Covid-19, so he looks at everything in life in a completely different way. And Tristan wants to be loved. It’s interesting to see how much the guys have in common, and that’s why their bromance works so well.
MORE: Here’s our review of Doctor Odyssey Season 1, Episode 1. And here’s our review of Doctor Odyssey Season 1, Episode 2.
Marriage causes nothing but agony
As the big day looms for Lisa and Eric, everything is spiraling. The best man, Bennett, has not one but two medical emergencies. The first is “Penis Captivus” after he gets a little too friendly with a member of the bridal party. Max, Avery, and Tristan then discover that he’s got a nasty case of incredibly contagious ringworm. And that was just within the first 15 minutes of the episode. Then, the groom comes down with the same rash. As Eric receives treatment from Max, he begins to express his fears and true feelings. The whole situation creates a dilemma for Max, Avery, and Tristan. Because ringworm is highly contagious and can be transmitted through sexual contact, the three believe that something is going on between Bennett and Eric, which is why Lisa got it. They battle with the issue of disclosing to her, but because of HIPAA, that decision is solely up to Eric. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter because a tragedy on The Odyssey changes everything.
Sometimes, you gotta make things better to make things better
All through Doctor Odyssey Season 1, Episode 6, Eric is struggling. What seems like it’s just wedding day cold feet is much more. He voices that everything is a lie. Eric believes something is wrong with him, and Max tries to assure him there isn’t. But he feels differently about that. Before the rehearsal, Lisa came down with pancreatitis because she doubled up on Ozempic to fit into her custom Vera Wang wedding dress. Lisa’s mother, who is so consumed with the perfect wedding details, has Max and Avery step in as the bride and groom. Eric, who watched the entire thing, points out that his relationship with Lisa is not that and that what Max and Avery have is real, and anyone can see that. The two are taken aback to hear that.
Later that night, after everything was calm and quiet on the ship, Eric put on his tux and walked around the boat, looking at the setup for the wedding and Lisa’s dress. He then goes up to the deck, where he commits suicide. A crew member finds his shoes on the deck the following day, and the alarm is sounded. Captain Massey is distraught, and rightfully so. A mechanism is in place to detect when a passenger is doing something that could lead to them falling overboard. At $150,000, it is pretty pricey, so one would assume it would be reliable. Unfortunately, according to Spencer, the man overboard protection system did not register Eric’s Black Tux as movement on the camera. Once the team learns it has been eight hours and twenty-six minutes since Eric went overboard, their mission is no longer a rescue. It’s a recovery.
Lisa and her family and friends are devastated. When Max and Avery sit down with Lisa, they learn that what they assumed to be true about Eric and Bennett was not true. They learn that Lisa and Bennett were involved, not Eric and Bennett. Lisa was fully aware of Eric’s struggles, as was her mom. But instead of really trying to help Eric, they pushed a wedding on him. The regret is painful to watch. It’s too late to fix it, and they both know it.
That bucket list item…WHOA
Once the dust has settled, Avery, Max, and Tristan are back to business as usual. After going on a 1:30 am kitchen raid (where was Vivian?) that included eating the bride and groom’s wedding cake (tacky guys), they all sit down and devise a list of five bucket list items. Eric’s death made them re-evaluate their own lives, so they came up with life goals that they promised to help each other achieve. Something of note is that one of Avery’s goals is to perform. Does that mean we’ll get a Hamilton-esque performance from Phillipa Soo sometime in the season? We hope it does.
As Max, Avery, and Tristan continue to talk about their bucket list items, the topic of a three-way comes up, and well… let’s say the three of them decided they wanted to get to know each other a lot better than they already do. I have to tell you, as I watched that scene, I kept yelling, “NO THREE-WAY, NO THREE-WAY! THIS IS GOING TO CHANGE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP! And again, where is Vivian??? If a show is going to introduce me to a character, especially one who is a Black woman, then I need to follow up. I didn’t see Vivian once in the episode; she’s one of the chefs onboard! Does Tristan even still like her?? Anyhow, back to the three-way. That shocked me, and now I am much more intrigued about the trajectory of their relationship than I was before. This could either make them closer or tear them apart, despite what someone would think. Avery has called Tristan a sensitive mama’s boy so she knows his feelings will be a lot deeper than just a hookup. And what about Max? Is Max going to move forward like it’s no big deal? Is Avery? Our guess is no.
Doctor Odyssey airs Thursday’s at 9/8c on ABC.
