Memories. Not having them and then them flooding back is overwhelming. Amy is trying her best to decipher all of the memories that she has flooding back to her, and she’s trying to figure out what they mean. However, in DOC Season 2, Episode 5, everyone is facing memories. It’s not just Amy. It’s not just the staff at the hospital, but Katie too.
DOC never ceases to amaze me, and that’s not a bad thing. DOC has excelled this season in giving us storylines that make us question the general, but also helped us to embrace the show. It’s not been an easy journey – watching this show. Why? Because they aren’t afraid to hit things on the head. They aren’t afraid to say the things that we shouldn’t. Politically correct is a no. Being honest about medicine, disease, and relationships is where this show excels.
So we’re having to look back and look forward. Why? In order to understand where someone is, one must understand where a person came from. To understand a person, you definitely need to understand what made them the way they are.
The only way through it is through it.
DESPERATE TO MAKE A CONNECTION
If there is one person who really understands the complexity of being a parent, it’s Michael. He sees the things that others don’t, and he also has this way of seeing others’ pain and others’ sorrow. He just gets it. He’s astutely aware of emotions. It’s what makes him a good doctor as well as a good person.
When he is told that he’ll be taking a potential donor on a tour of the hospital that day, he agrees. When he’s told that Maitra will be coming on the tour, as the potential donor is her father, he doesn’t ask questions. He sees by the look on her face that it is an issue. Maitra looks afraid, traumatized, and almost sick.
Maitra isn’t my favorite person – I will admit that. I have been hard on her, and I have no regrets. But what I do know is that when I judge characters, I have to think of the things that I don’t know about the character, and that they have something that made them that way.
We know that Maitra has been through a lot, but she always acts like nothing really gets to her. She acts as though nothing gets to he,r and that’s always a defense mechanism.. I get that. Sometimes we don’t see it when we’re looking at someone, but we should understand that something made a person that way.
Maitra had to bury her feelings for a long time. Her assault – it being brought out and her telling her parents, and the way they reacted, was too much. It broke her. Michael was the one who saw the distance and spoke to her about it. Listening to Maitra, Michael was able to listen and not judge. It was something that she needed. And his giving that to her was a beautiful moment.
GLP1’S
I am not even going to lie – the whole storyline on overeating and starving yourself was a lot. It was a lot because so many of us have eating issues, and to come face to face with them is difficult. Seeing your own issues take place in front of you is a hard thing to see.
When a man is brought to the hospital because he’s having seizures, it’s definitely heartbreaking. He’s on GLP-1s and his partner is confused. He was diagnosed with diabetes, and he’s been on a GLP-1. So has his partner.
They went on this “diet” to support each other – but what we find out is he’s been cheating on his eating plan. She’s also been under-eating and passed out. They are both angry at each other.
People can have their opinions on GLP1s – everyone is entitled to their opinions. But if you’re on a GLP1, it is for a reason. I don’t think that we have the right to judge people’s medical issues. And I also don’t think that it was right that Joan was absolutely vicious about them without knowing everything.
Weight is always going to be a touchy subject for most. And I know that everyone and their mother has opinions. But those opinions are something that they have a right to. There are just some things that people need to keep inside their mouths.
And some things do. Seeing this man call his girlfriend out and tell her what needs to be done – well, I applaud. It was honestly an important storyline, and I can respect DOC for taking it on.
The truth is that I was kinda put off about it – only because of the doctor’s reactions. Yet, I can still appreciate the attempt and the fact that they gave us a great story that deserved to be told.
SEIZURES
The patients this week are quite interesting. One who passes out in a salad and is rushed to the hospital. She’s a school teacher, and the stress of the week, as well as her sister being in town, it’s all too much. She’s used to holding things in because holding things in is easier.
But you know what happens when you hold things in – the bubble up to the top and they come out. You can’t stop them from coming out because the truth is – it always finds a way to come front and center.
For the patient, it’s in her sleep. Her frontal lobe seizures are causing her to let everything out. Jess’s nerves are misfiring, and this helps her to be in the clear.
Jess’s sister needs her. She needs her sister. Concluding what they need from each other is the hardest part. Moving forward and figuring out how to live with a new disease is going to be complicated. But having support is going to be one of the things that gets her through.
MAITRAS TRUTH
When I am wrong, I say I am wrong. I may not like being wrong, but I am to one side of Maitra. Now, I think that we can all agree that she’s extremely guarded, but I didn’t expect what I saw when it came to her father. I thought that she just had no respect for her father or was embarrassed by her family. But that’s not it at all.
She told Michael why she felt distant from her father and mother. The way that they treated her after her assault came to light broke her. She felt a distance that she couldn’t bridge because her parents didn’t want to talk about what happened to her. She wanted to heal, but that wouldn’t be a possibility if she couldn’t talk about it.
One of the most amazing things about this episode was that the viewer was reminded that healing is different for everyone and that coming face-to-face with your trauma can be healing. You have to let down your guard and not think that by telling people your truth, about how you were hurt or what you need, isn’t a bad thing.
For Maitra confronting her father about her feelings of neglect and his buying his way back into her life wasn’t for her. Yes, that meant that the hospital wasn’t getting a donation – but Michael understood.
I was proud of her. Having the courage to talk about her assault and how it affects her is an important moment of growth for her, and honestly, I looked at her and thought – she’s not so bad. She’s misunderstood.
KATIE
Amy kept having flashbacks of a snowglobe. She’s searched everywhere for it, but what the snowglobe represents may not be what Amy can handle. Katie, though, remembers what it was. She remembers that snow globe changing her. But revisiting that is not easy. What it is – is going to change everything.
Katie found herself coming face to face with her past, but revisiting the way her Mom was – what will that do to her? I do believe that Katie was fighting for her family, but she didn’t know what to do because Amy wasn’t the one who wanted that to happen. She made herself distant from Katie and from Michael. A younger Katie didn’t understand what was going on; all she knew was the way that she felt, and she felt like she was deserted and that the only thing that mattered was her brother.
But Danny was gone. Katie was there. Why didn’t her mother see her?
Grief is a complex emotion, and it hits you hard and fast, and before you know it, it’s all you know. And then one day, you realize that you’ve grown around the grief. I wonder if that’s something that has happened to Katie over time, but now she has to break through and feel that grief.
You see, the snowglobe was a gift from Amy – one that Katie gave back before basically telling her Mom that she hated her and that the only person she cared about was Danny. But Danny is gone.
The way that Katie said so many hurtful things to her Mom made me cry – because I think that we’ve all been there. Where is that? Saying things that we regret.
I don’t blame Katie for not being there when she left the snowglobe for her Mom to find. I wouldn’t want to redo that conversation either.
JAKE
Jake – we’ve always been upfront about the fact that he’s our favorite. The hardest part of watching Jake is knowing that this man could have more, but he’s seemed to decide that he isn’t worth it.
But he is.
I think that love isn’t supposed to be this easy journey. It’s supposed to be a journey that changes you. Loving Amy hasn’t been easy, and I really don’t think that he wants to give up on her. Yes, he has to stay away from her for now, but you can genuinely see the look in his eyes that it seems that all he feels is pain when he sees her.
Now, I am all for Jake going out and having a great time. He’s young. He’s got his whole life ahead of him. Go out and sleep with whoever and do whatever. I LOVED that someone was flirting with him and just wanted to have fun. For Jake, it’s something that he doesn’t really allow himself to feel.
That sense of just living.
He’s wrapped up in routine. That’s a safe place to be. I do think that DOC is taking more chances with him, and I do believe that will change the show. How? His living his life and really experiencing things outside of the hospital – like allowing himself to be loved and appreciated – I think that will make him a better doctor.
Hear me out – when people have relief from the things that suffocate them or weigh on them – they find a strength they didn’t know they had.
OTHER THOUGHTS
- Joan has an excuse for everything
- I really don’t like Joan
- Michael face timing his family – too cute
- I loved the scenes with Maitra and her Dad
- Katie and Amy need to talk things out
- I really believe that Amy and Jake belong together, but don’t think they will be
DOC airs Tuesday nights on FOX.
