Dr. Best faces an unusual medical mystery this week on FOX‘s Best Medicine. Martin (Josh Charles) is used to healing the sick townspeople of Port Wenn. When they listen to his advice, that is. But now he has a different challenge.
“The Bogfather” brings him a cold case, and solving this long-ago death is more emotional for Martin than you might expect. Best Medicine Season 1, Episode 8 is not as funny as previous episodes. However, it is a significant installment for Dr. Best’s character development.
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“It’s a town full of secrets.”
The drama begins when Port Wenn’s bog (I swear this town has everything!) turns up a dead body. Sheriff Mark (Josh Segarra) is leading a historical reenactment for Louisa’s (Abigail Spencer) class when he accidentally finds the bog man, and his reaction is one of the biggest laughs of the episode. A bullet wound in the corpse means a possible murder. And an absent medical examiner means Martin has to take charge of the autopsy.
Martin is noticeably happy about being able to do something similar to the surgery he used to do without the blood that triggers his hemophobia. Even Mark can tell that Martin is “more cheerful” than usual. The enthusiasm Martin shows here makes him looser and nicer. He even refers to Mark as “my friend.” That’s not something I thought we’d ever see Martin do anytime soon! The way he is in this episode feels like the best version of Martin, and it feels like that’s who he could be if he works through all his emotional issues.
At least, that’s the way he is for most of the episode. In another scene, he tries to perform the bloodletting Louisa needs as treatment for the excess iron in her blood, but his blood phobia is too strong. The anxiety causes him to lash out. This moment might be the most insensitive Martin has been so far, and that’s saying something. Martin’s personality has never easily fitted into a small town mentality. The fact that his weakness is showing itself in front of the woman he’s attracted to just makes it worse. Martin deals with this by giving in to his most antisocial impulses, and that is the way his character has to grow as this series goes on.
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“I finally have a patient who doesn’t talk back.”
Martin does make progress with that growth by the end of this episode. When he compares the DNA of the bog man to that of the townspeople, the results are surprising. He is an ancestor of Martin’s! And a diary entry from the period describes him as someone who was rude and didn’t like people. Yeah, this isn’t the most subtle writing choice, but it does the trick. The obvious similarity spooks Martin. He apologizes to Louisa, and, in one of the most significant moments for this ship so far, he tells her about his hemophobia. Martin shows vulnerability by revealing this. That’s important for this ship, and Louisa is also the only person who knows besides Martin’s assistant, Elaine (Cree). Charles is fantastic in this scene as well.
Speaking of Elaine, her online content efforts each week are consistently entertaining. This installment is no different. She casts herself as a detective in the case of the bog man, which is as funny as some of her other work. Besides that, the rest of the comedy around Port Wenn is hit and miss in this episode. The neighborhood watch turning into a gossip mill? That’s pretty funny. Bert (John DiMaggio) and Greg (Stephen Spinella) making money off the bog man? Not so much.
I appreciate that the quirky humor may be the trickiest part of Doc Martin to emulate, but this show has done that better in earlier episodes. Best Medicine Season 1, Episode 8 tilts more toward the drama side of this dramedy, and the results are a bit mixed. The writers are paying attention to the growth of the lead character, though, so I say Port Wenn can expect me next week!
Best Medicine airs on FOX at 8 PM on Tuesday and streams the next day on Hulu.
