Doctor Odyssey, what was that?
**Spoilers ahead for the Doctor Odyssey Season 1 finale**
Listen, I love a little happily ever after as much as the next TV fan but what are we doing with this finale? This is a show that has given us threesomes, geriatric pregnancies, and food fights between sex-positive cruise passengers and “trad wives,” you can’t blame me for wanting a little bit more from a season finale that could also be the series finale.
Let’s use the “compliment sandwich” method and start with the good. From the very first episode, Doctor Odyssey has been about bringing on guest stars and making them suffer. Honestly, it’s one of the best parts of the show.
In this particular episode, we got to watch Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar actress Annie Mumolo discover a cryptic pregnancy and then have to deliver a baby all while still being an insufferable bitch to the Spanish-speaking midwife who is helping to deliver her child. There’s something so special about watching a WASP-y woman telling a midwife to speak English as she literally helps to deliver her child. Just glorious.
This episode also gives us more moments with Barry (Jim O’Heir) and Matt (Jonathan Bennett), the adorable and relatable couple separated by the combo earthquake tsunami. They get to reunite briefly, but only for a few minutes before Barry has to undergo field brain surgery at the hands of Avery (Phillipa Soo) and Max (Joshua Jackson). Similarly, Ugly Betty‘s Christopher Gorham had to go under the knife with Avery in Episode 17. It’s safe to say that the guest stars are a highlight of the finale.
On the not-so-positive side, the episode was a snooze fest. I’m sorry but it has to be said. The craziest part of this episode was Mumolo’s character having her water break only for her to continue to deny that she is pregnant. Girl, get with it, there’s a baby in there and it is coming.
The massive problem here is that everything about the show has been the opposite of convenient and neat. I’ve come to expect a messy, beautiful amalgamation of comedy and drama. For the season (and potentially the series) to end with everyone walking away happily with their stories wrapped up in a tight little bow, it just doesn’t sit right with me. I get not wanting to leave too many doors open in case they are not renewed but that’s a cop out.
We can leave with a little bit of drama and still get a little closure. I didn’t need to watch Avery and Max seemingly sort out all of their issues and for Tristan (Sean Teale) to sit there and root for them happily — totally uncharacteristically, I might add. It’s not giving what they think it is. In fact, I would go ahead and say it feels like they were just being lazy and trying to wrap it up.
To end with one more compliment — hence the “compliment sandwich” method — I will give them credit for giving the world one wholly incredible season. I started out this season thinking that this might be one of the worst shows I have ever watched only to come out the other side a leader of the Doctor Odyssey unofficial fan club. I truly went from making one TikTok where I told people not to waste their time to articles and videos urging people to pick up the remote and start it ASAP. That’s a true feat in my book.
If this really is the end (and please don’t let it be, Ryan Murphy and ABC!) I am overall pretty happy with the show. It was my silly little escapist show week to week and you will be missed dearly by this TV fanatic.
The entire first season of Doctor Odyssey is currently streaming on Hulu and Disney+.