DOC sure knows how to get you from the very beginning – drawing you in and making a person wonder where do we go from here. Not sure of where life even goes. There is so much that we’re finding out in the 43 minutes and 57 seconds of this episode.
Now I have long said that I don’t like Joan, but I would wish nothing like what she’s going through this episode.
I have to approach this episode with care, because I am watching a friend loose a friend and that is heartbreaking. Joan is living her life in all sorts of regret and so is Amy. She keeps thinking about the past and when the impact that Joan has had on her life. Letting go of Joan is going to be a road that is going to be hard for Amy.
This episode broke my heart in so many ways. Seeing Gina struggle, Joan get sick, Ethan breaking down over time lost with his mom, Amy remembering the past, Dr. Miller being a douche, and Michael taking over Internal Medicine – there was a lot.
JOAN
For Amy, Joan is best friend. She sees Joan as the mentor – this person that has gotten her through things. Amy can’t seem to let herself feel emotions or allow herself to grieve. Grieving seems to be something that she feels makes her weak, but I wonder if she realizes that her not allowing herself to feel is not a good thing.
When Amy looks at Joan, all she sees is her Mom. Amy has to grieve and now she’s being pushed to do just that. Watching Amy and Joan, what I see is a woman advocating for her friend and making sure that all possibilities are considered and nothing is overlooked. The issue is that Amy and Richard have never been able to work together. Their lack of understanding and communication is hard to watch,
It is crazy to me how everyone looks at Joan and thinks she’s this amazing person. I have found her this season to be a liar and a cheat. I think that she’s not as bad as Richard but she’s pretty horrible. The thing is she had the opportunity to be honest, but instead she was drugging herself to get through surgeries and that puts people at a risk they may have not wanted to be at.
But what I didn’t like seeing was that in this episode, Joans grandson saw her go down for the count. That was hard to see because that is a child suffering but also a child scared.
Amy will be fighting tooth and nail for Joan. While Richard may be her doctor, Amy is her friend and there is no better advocate for someone than Amy.
PUDDING AND SOFT CHAIRS
While Jake is not me favorite person right now, but it is because he is a stubborn and he is somewhat of a hypocrite. He doesn’t get that actions have consequences. I believe that he loves Amy, but he also feels that he would do anything he can do anything he wants. There is a weird part of me that feels as though he’s between a rock and a hard place.
It is obvious that Jakes ex wants him back, but it is also obvious that he doesn’t know what he wants. He loves her, but he also loves Amy.
Jakes ex brings their little girl by because she got in trouble and got into a fight at school. I love that he’s such a good Dad. I also love that he doesn’t hide things from Amy (though I think sometimes that is okay). I just do believe that Jake is going to end up with his ex. I believe that he’s going to drag it out because he doesn’t know what he feels.
THE LIVER
It turn out that Joan doesn’t have full blown Leukemia. Amys intuition was something that everyone should listen to. But one has to wonder how Joan let a parasite live in her liver and it wasn’t caught for so long. I was glad that Amy found it, but I was also disappointed that she didn’t find a way to work better with others because that was what Joan needed.
I don’t think Richard deserves forgiveness. But there is a time that you put the indecision to the side and realize that you can’t do it all. Joan needed someone who wasn’t a friend to make choices.
Richard doesn’t deserve to be there.
Amy and Sonya are now going to be co-chiefs and it’s so important that they lead well. I think that they both are going to have to find a way to not only work with each other but also with the people that they don’t like.
MICHAEL
Michael is in charge and I think that he hoped that this would mean that him and Amy would be closer. He wants his wife back and he wants a simpler life back.
What Michael has to realize is that the transition won’t be easy. He’s struggling and as they almost loose a young boy who flatlined he can only remember how he couldn’t save Danny. That broke me. Michael just keeps getting handed one bad thing after another.
Seeing the fear in his eyes was a lot.
But it was great to see Sonya and Michael talking. He didn’t seem to wanna advocate for Liz about Richard and that was a lot. Sonya wasn’t out of line when she reminded Michael that a woman may have a hard time sticking up for herself or speaking up for herself against a man.
Liz isn’t showcased a lot and I do appreciate that she is getting that from Sonya.
GINA
Gina taking care of a patient that needs her is sweet. He’s young, and all this kid wants is to be adopted. And I really thought she would do it. I thought she would take him home, because Gina really cares about him.
That’s the thing about Gina, she’s got an empathetic spirit and is filled with love. She sees people and their heart and does what she needs to protect it. I think that is part of what is special about Gina – she wants to give her whole heart and I admire that about her. I think that’s part of what makes her special.
Eventually she decides that she can’t do it and goes to celebrate her anniversary with her wife. It was a big step for Gina, but that’s the beauty of this show – it gives such great character development that you can’t always see.
DOC is special that way. It’s a gift.
