Doc certainly knows how to put a person in their feelings.
What made Doc Season 2 Episode 8 most enjoyable was that it was well-balanced and emotionally charged. The series, which leans into its characters, has a lot of heart and simply delivers the type of stories that resonate in a quiet, unassuming way, paying off within the hour.
Additionally, it’s an installment that centers on Jake in a manner the character both needs and deserves. I feel the most connected to him now than I have in some time.
Doctor, Father, Son — Jake Heller’s Depth Unlocked
One thing that has been apparent for a while now is that Jake, while a lovable character, has required a bit more depth in exploration.
Something that came to light during Doc Season 1 became more prominent in Doc‘s sophomore season, at least based on some of the many conversations we’ve had in our comments section. The primary criticism is that while Amy and Jake’s love story is something worth rooting for, he tends to disappear in it.
Viewers have wanted more content about Jake and who this man is beyond his association with Amy, and this is an hour that delivers on that, as it refocuses on how great a doctor he is — how he leads with such compassion and sympathy that it warms your heart.
And we also got to see Jake in that paternal role that we’ve longed to see more of — the final moments of the hour, having him break the news to Mia that her grandfather had died.
But what was most compelling about this hour was seeing how Jake was as a son.
Jake’s Loss Reveals More About His Character
Jake’s fondness for Dante existed well before and beyond how this case resonated with him deeply after learning of his father’s death. We saw that compassion and genuine care for Dante in a previous case when he lost his wife.
But then Rachel comes to the hospital to break the terrible news that Jake’s father died, and it jolts his portion of the hour into place in a lovely way. My heart ached for him, and I love what Ecker brings to this hour — the reaction as the news sinks in, you see all these emotions flicker across his face.
And then he escapes for some time to himself to process, let the news wash over him every bit as much as that splash of water hits — a cold reality, and then he’s back to diving right into work. Rachel doesn’t seem to understand it, but many of us do.
Sometimes, pushing through, staying busy, and devoting yourself to something good is the only way you can carry on.
However, it also provides a hint of small details about Jake that come together later, especially when he insists on handling all the arrangements himself after work and wants to tell their daughter himself.
He wants to take on that control, but as we learn as the hour progresses, he proves to be self-sufficient and independent. It’s not that others won’t help him, but rather that he’s the sort who will take everything on himself.
“Who is he to you?” A Perfect Way of Connecting Personal Arcs to Procedural Elements
And he takes the persistence and determination and kicks it into overdrive as he advocates for Dante, going against every doctor in the hospital if it came down to it, seniority and hierarchy be damned.
His advocacy for Dante is deeply rooted in the fact that his father died, and he didn’t get to say goodbye to him. He took for granted that he’d always have time to get around to telling his father all the essential things that mattered: how much he did need and love him, how grateful he was, and so much more.
Jake doesn’t get this opportunity because fate, or some higher power, took that from him. Still, he can fight like hell to ensure that Dante gets to reunite with his family and have all the important conversations Jake didn’t get to have with his dad.
One of my favorite moments of the hour was a quiet one, Joan in the room as Jake sat by Dante’s bedside waiting for him to wake up, and her asking him, “Who is he to you?”
It’s a simple yet perceptive observation, because it’s not necessarily a direct inquiry about Jake’s relationship specifically with Dante, but rather the acknowledgment that Dante is representative of someone else.
J & J, We Love to See It!!
Some of Jake’s best moments are when he deeply connects with a case, but this one is his best yet because it felt authentic. Jake didn’t read as the tell-tale perfect doctor and all-around great guy going through the motions because that’s just what good people do.
Here, Jake is motivated by things that make him far more real and human: grief, guilt, love, and defiance.
We got Jake with more layers, and within all of this, he feels more human — every moment he lost his cool with a doctor, or snapped at Sonya, or poured his heart and soul into connecting with Dante’s family, or clung to Dante like he was looking at his own father lying in that bed, it was real.
The show also continues to do better when it allows him to explore dynamics outside of just Amy. I loved Jake and Joan. It made me chuckle when he went on this whole tour advocating to every surgeon in the joint, and Joan, the Cut Queen, wondered why he didn’t just hit her up directly.
It felt like such a Joan response.
The Jake & Amy Agenda Works Best With More Context
The hour showed that we can get the Jake depth that we crave while also giving us Jake and Amy as a unit. He spent that entire day on this mission to save Dante, and he succeeded.
And when it came down to breaking the news to his daughter, he did that, too. Dutifully, and carefully, as a good father does. But then, it was Amy he called when the day came to an end as he spoke about his father, expressed some of his guilt, and asked her to attend the funeral.
It does add some more context and depth to his relationship with Amy. In every other aspect of Jake’s life, he’s the one who takes control; he gets things done. He has apparently shouldered responsibilities since he was 14, essentially stepping into some of the roles that his mother left behind when she died.
But with Amy, it seems that he finds someone similar in independence and self-sufficiency, and she’s someone with whom he feels comfortable taking a backseat, letting her take charge, and being vulnerable.
Amy’s the only person he lets his guard down with and tells about his day, his loss, and how it affects him. Not even Rachel got that.
From Jake to Katie — Clever Pivot!
The flashbacks were great, and Jake’s father was an endearing character. One could sense how proud he was of Jake, just as much as his worries that he let his son down. He wanted to feel like his son needed him, and Jake never let on that he needed anyone.
I wish they had those conversations, but such is life and its unpredictability that Jake never got that chance. Because he thought he had more time. Knowing that the last time he saw his father in person was that dinner with Amy was gutwrenching.
It also makes me wonder if he’ll cling to Amy a bit more in his grief. Or if this is what will bring them back together.
Not only did Jake’s story with his father intertwine well with his case, but it also reflects in Amy’s storyline with her family.
Jake had to grow up too fast, and it seems Katie did as well. Doc constantly touches on the complexities of Amy and Katie’s dynamic, where at some point Katie did need her mother, and at another, she learned not to.
Is Katie Struggling More Than We Think?
Katie has a near-constant conflict between wanting to be included in all aspects of what’s going on with Amy and not always being able to handle it.
It used to frustrate me when it seemed like Michael would avoid telling her things to protect her. Now, I’m wondering if Katie has deeper issues and there’s a larger picture beyond that. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that Katie is 18. She’ll become so childlike in certain situations.
Her desire to have Michael there at Amy’s testing, because they’re the only family Amy has, had me wondering about Amy’s background and curious about Katie’s thought process. Wasn’t Michael on shift? Did he really have the whole day to spend with Amy and Katie?
And how will his blowing off of Nora backfire for the umpteenth time?
Also, did anyone else feel like Katie was worried about what Amy would remember? She didn’t even seem happy about Amy remembering Danny for the first time since her accident. And she couldn’t wait to bring up that Amy needs to focus on the present and leave the past behind.
But why is she so damn insistent about that? There has to be more to it!
It’s Katie scolding her mother while simultaneously conveying the terror of a child in her voice, which had Amy actually listening to everyone about taking medicine to stop the memories.
Two Paths, An Impossible Choice
Speaking of those memory seizures, that whole thing was terrifying to see.
And Amy’s determination to unravel her past is in direct conflict with her ability to practice medicine now. If she continues as hard as she has been, she will no longer be able to be a doctor.
She’s destroying her body and her mind for memories. But it’s the worst choice, isn’t it? Essentially, one path is remembering her child, everything she lost, and all the things about her life that make the present, and everything else, make sense.
And the other path is potentially giving up medicine, which is her calling and purpose. Amy is a doctor before she’s anything else, including a spouse and mother. How do you even choose?
Of course, this also ties into Joan’s predicament a bit, as she is determined not to give up cutting. She lives for it as a surgeon. But she knows she’s on borrowed time.
So much of how she reacts to Amy is rooted in her facing her own mortality and impossible choice — well, it’s not really a choice at all.
It frustrates me to no end that beautiful memories of Danny and his seventh birthday are wrapped up with Ryan Clark throwing a hissy fit and her photo of her kids.
The Revenge Twins Need Therapy (and a Beatdown, Sorry, Not Sorry)
But nothing pisses me off more than the Revenge Twins. There are not enough swear words to scream when they show up onscreen.
Does Hannah ever do any freaking work? What kind of INTERN has this much time off? She really spent an entire shift trying to access Amy’s emails, and her whole day off work listening to audios of Amy’s sessions with Gina. Like, what?!
The violations keep piling up, and it’s only after Danny and learning about him that Hannah considers that maybe they’re out of line.
But then she let her evil ass brother become the full embodiment of the “F*ck them kids” meme, full-throated, and they went back into peeling back Amy’s personal life until they apparently found something so scandalous and unforgivable that Amy will lose everyone she knows and loves if it comes out.
How are you on a revenge tour with someone who doesn’t even remember anything? How would it even be satisfying if they don’t know what they did in the first place?
The pure joy of revenge is in the aftermath when the other person knows why you did what you did — when they realize that the consequences of whatever their actions were come in the form of you.
They can’t and won’t get that here with Amy, so what’s the point? Also, they haven’t even attempted to figure out what actually happened; they’re operating on nothing, zilch, bupkis!
Hannah and her sociopathic demon spawn of a brother need therapy, not revenge. And, you know, to get off my screen. As if Amy doesn’t have enough to deal with.
But if she ever resumes her searching through medical staff during COVID and pieces things together, well, maybe we can nip this in the bud soon.
Scribbles and Notes:
- Sonya and TJ’s storyline added some levity to the hour. Peter is so obnoxious from the few moments we see him that I could understand why they had so much fun.
- TJ friend-zoned Liz so hard. Goodness!
- I’m unsure what to make of Sonya and Jake’s dynamic. It doesn’t even feel sibling-like anymore. It’s just… weird.
- Michael and Gina’s friendship is everything to me.
- Jake is amazing in three sports, attractive, and brilliant enough to attend medical school and become a doctor, all while caring for his sister. By all means, Jake, never beat the perfect allegations.
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