We’re still reeling from one of Doc‘s strongest hours of the series.
For those who tuned in, Doc Season 2 Episode 7 saw none other than Gina joining forces with Amy and even Joan to help a domestic violence survivor escape a harrowing situation.
And it was an incredibly powerful hour for the series, exploring the depth of Gina’s character in the sophomore season while having her put herself at extreme risk to save her patient.
While other aspects of the hour fell into place, keeping up with the ongoing arcs, it was the focus on Gina specifically that was the highlight of “What I Did for Love.”
It was a testament to love in its purest fashion, with Gina putting her own body on the line for her patient, and Amy being the voice of reason who matched Gina with both compassion and tough love, too.
We had the pleasure of catching up with the incomparable Amirah Vann to discuss this episode, the challenges she faced with this heavy subject matter, and her (and the cast’s) genuine love for their craft and this series.
Join us below for our exclusive interview!
I loved the episode. It was such a powerful episode. What was your reaction when you first read that script?
I actually needed a moment because I have people in my life personally who’ve been through that, and I was kind of speechless. I was so honored to do it, and I said, “This is exactly what you want art to be, for it to move you in such a powerful way.”
And so I was like, “Oh my God, I can’t wait to do this.” And then my second thought was like, “Oh my goodness, how am I going to do this?” And then my third thought was, “We’re going to do it and we’re going to do it really well! We’re going to honor all the people who go through this.”
And so, I had those three thoughts: fear, excitement, and then let’s get to work.
I love that! What would you say were the challenges that came with digging into heavier themes like this? Do you approach your performance differently when you receive that type of work?
I do. It is definitely a different approach. Yeah. It’s so funny.
I was wondering, “Is it? Or is the answer just like, no, I did the same thing.” But no, it takes a certain level of care. And also, because it’s an entire episode, it’s different. Some of these episodes — we have such a beautiful, big cast that it’s like, okay, great, you have two scenes, and it’s easy to map out.
You know what I mean? The trajectory of what happens in that episode is different. But when it’s a full episode, and I was basically in every scene, I definitely had my Post-it notes on the wall because what I wanted was to really have something crafted so we could really see it.
The table read helps with that, too. You see the momentum. This is before you add all the glamour, hair, makeup, and all the other extra stuff that inform and help. But before you get all that, what you want to do is just read it and see what happens naturally.
Where naturally am I fighting for my life and fighting for my patients? Where naturally do I feel overwhelmed, and I just break down?
What are those instinctual human things that happen before you kind of work it too much? You know what I mean? Honestly, I feel like an investigator when I do this work. And it’s that part I really enjoy.
I really enjoy plotting it out and being like, “Okay, this scene is really active” or “You don’t want to be crying in every scene. She’s there to do a job.” Crafting that is actually — I’m an actor for a reason. I really enjoy that part of it.
It was probably one of my favorite episodes, definitely of this season so far.
Thank you!
I don’t know too many people, women especially, who haven’t been touched by an issue like domestic abuse in some way or another.
Yeah. Yeah.
It was a really powerful episode, and I appreciated the continuity for Gina. She’s still been struggling with the aftermath of the crash. Do you think helping Kim marks a turning point in Gina’s forgiveness of herself?
I don’t think it’s in forgiving herself. I think it’s kind of like, “Okay, girl, you need to get it together.” It reaches that point where this level of guilt has her fighting crime in the streets.
What is the best choice, as Dr. Larsen, her best friend, points out? You reach a point where you’re like, “I need to deal with this.” My guilt culminates in my going to the house and pretending to be a superhero.
She realizes that, yes, maybe she may still need her own therapist and someone to talk to. That’s what’s helpful about hitting such an extreme point.
We have that nice scene in the hospital with the wife and bestie there, and Gina is like, “Alright, I’m proud of myself. But that was wild. I probably shouldn’t have put myself in that position. That was very dangerous.”
It gives her that ground where it’s like, ‘ Let’s not keep making excuses. ‘ It’s time to do some self-care.
Following on that, Gina’s a therapist herself. Why do you think it’s so difficult for her to get the help that she needs or lean on others?
That’s a great question, Jasmine. Why do most people struggle with that? Why, when they’re great at their profession, do they struggle with their own personal life? I think that’s so true to life. That’s what the show presents — a lot of real-life situations.
Her wife is going to be one of those people who will definitely ask her that question. Her best friend and her wife are the two really strongholds in her life that can say, “Hey, we know you, we love you, and you need to do better.” And it’s one of the best things.
I love to lead with questions. The answer is less interesting than the investigation of the question, you know? That’s something we still need to peel away the layers to find out more about our sweet Gina, who’s run from her own help.
I loved it because we also got more background on Gina. We spent some time with Wendy. And we met Gina’s sister. Can you talk a bit about digging into Gina’s personal life more?
Oh, I loved it so much. It’s one of my favorite things about when I watch TV. You get these characters, you fall in love with them, and you’re just like, “I want to know more!” So I was happy to read that.
It was just painful because not to pick up on something, just the weight of guilt has been building. Imagine being a therapist, neuropsychiatrist. I have one of the highest degrees in the land, and here I am with my own sister, and I miss her pain, and I miss that she’s in this awful situation.
Gina is riddled with guilt. And that scene was so brutal. It was a really painful scene with my sister when I confronted her. And when you’re looking someone in the eye and you realize, without words, because she never confesses it… I just love that scene.
It was written so well. They’re at a face-off, and Gina is like, “Show me.” And her sister walks off, and she just left. Gina’s left with the weight of knowing she missed this and shouldn’t have.
But then it’s the opportunity of, can we forgive ourselves? The show constantly echoes. Life is hard, but people can feel seen. But you can miss things, too. And you have to be able to forgive yourself for that.
I love, of course, the second season; it really explores the layers of Amy and Gina’s friendship more. And we’re seeing Amy show up for Gina more after having some very tough conversations. So what’s that been like? Can you discuss that dynamic?
It’s really great to see a real friendship between these two powerful women. They really love each other. I love that it’s nothing romantic.
It’s just an analysis of friendship. Sometimes one person’s at ten, sometimes they are, and the other one’s at zero. And sometimes it’s five and five.
You see them going through life, battling it out. And it’s, “Who needs what, when, and who needs more now?” In this case, Gina is a two, and Amy’s showing up in an eight.
Whereas, definitely, in season one, Amy was that straight zero. And she was in need.
Thank God for those friendships. We all get tossed those really bitter life moments. And we just want someone who can say, “Can you just show up for me at like eight or ten? Because I don’t have it right now.”
Right, right! Gina also has a fascinating, contentious dynamic with Joan that I love. How has it been exploring that dynamic and working with Felicity Huffman?
It’s been fantastic, to be honest, it’s great. First of all, I love working with Felicity Huffman. She’s just a phenomenal actor.
She loves the craft, just as we all do, which is why I feel so blessed to be working on this show. Some of the actors show up for other scenes. TJ — Patrick Walker — will show up and watch other scenes, other people’s work. We’re all actors who love what the craft is.
Felicity has just been around for a long time. She comes super prepared. And she plays, which is so nice. I don’t know that people know that about her. But she will pick whatever is written on that page, and it will bounce around and live in her body and in her voice. It’s actually a joy to play with her.
Now, Gina doesn’t necessarily feel that way. That’s a mirror.
The beautiful thing is that at the end of this episode, we see Joan come in and say, “We’re worried about you.” And Gina says thank you. I really advocated for that thank-you to be included because I felt it was a nice touch for our characters and their journey.
What is Joan really asking? She’s asking everyone to be their best. She’s asking me not to make sacrifices. And it’s so hard.
I’m a professional, a working mom, and I have two children. And let me tell you, it is hard! I have the privilege to do a job that I love. And yet it’s still hard because I am a perfectionist and because I want to show up and do a great job with my children.
I want to show up and do a great job as a wife. I want to show up and do a great job as a daughter, a sister, a friend.
I have a wonderful job that I’m like, oh my God, I’m so invested in these stories, and I want to continue to do the job that I love because that’s the only place I talk to adults. [Laughs]
It’s such a gift to me because I’m doing something I love, and I cannot be talking about ABCs and 123s. I love my job, and I love that this show tackles that — those struggles. These are not easy things to balance.
I think Gina’s finally looking at Joan and realizing that what she’s asking is not really very different than what Gina’s asking, but it’s two sides of the same coin.
And neither one of us is wrong. This is an amazing, extraordinary doctor. That’s who Joan is, you know?
So I love that it gets to the point where they’re just seeing each other. And in that scene, they look at each other, and it was a sincere moment between Felicity and me. It’s not catty.
It’s not BS. It’s two women, like, ‘Wow, we were afraid.’ That was a lot. And it’s just, once again, another great example of these strong female relationships that are no bullshit.
I love that, because they clash, but they also genuinely respect each other. They’re not stereotypically catty, which is refreshing.
I also love that Gina’s been getting to interact with everybody. Michael and Jake a lot. And obviously with Amy. She’s been getting to play with everybody.
I know, and there’s more, there’s more to come!
Is there?
Yes. I can’t tell you because then the firing squad goes off immediately! [Laughs]
But we will see her interact with even more characters. And there are so many things. We have such a beautiful, diverse cast that there are many topics we can really shine a light on.
That’s a part of the beauty of art—the classic cliché: life imitating art and art imitating life. Art has a lot of power. I really do think that. It’s our only window into the world in a way that can be both entertaining and shed light. But also, if we do it right, it’s nuanced, and the nuance allows us to digest it.
I’m really honored to be a part of this show. I’m a woman of color. I’m a mixed-race woman on the show. I’m a lesbian on the show.
And it’s just like all of these things that still need attention. We still need to have these conversations. They’re still tough conversations.
There are still imbalances in the world. There are still biases in the world. There’s still humanity.
And it’s not about judgment. If we normalize things, we can all be a little bit more humane to each other. And I love that our show gives us the opportunity to do that.
Absolutely. I completely agree.
Now, without getting into trouble, are there any teases for the rest of the season? What kind of things can we anticipate or look forward to on the show?
Well, there will be more questions of morality and those deep questions. We still have this love triangle.
Imagine the person you love waking up and being the best version of themselves. But you were already divorced. That storyline is definitely not over. That storyline definitely needs more reflection. It’s one of the reasons why I took the job in the first place. That was such a compromising position to be in.
And for Gina, will she be able to be the voice of so many people as a doctor? And helping people navigate? Advocate? Having that representation is vital.
Gina’s goal is always to communicate and not destroy.
There are a lot more questions from our love triangle. There are a lot more questions with our nurses and people who are coming in, New people. It’s also getting competitive. And then there’s Joan, we still don’t know about her. We hope for the best, but we don’t know.
It’s going to be exciting, it’s going to … listen, part two of the season is coming in strong, and we’re still out here filming and trying to make great, entertaining TV.
This interview was edited for length and clarity
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