Critic’s Rating: 4.3 / 5.0
4.3
The Doc characters are wonderfully human, which often results in messy, emotional, and infuriating moments.
There wasn’t a single character on this series who didn’t drive me absolutely mad during Doc Season 1 Episode 5, except Jake. Jake is pretty consistently great.
I am intrigued by the combination of compelling medical cases and personal drama, and as the season progresses, Doc is finding its footing with this.
Sonya versus Amy: The Sequel
We’ve been trying to figure out what’s at the heart of the beef between Sonya and Amy.
As it stands now, it’s been entirely one-sided. Pre-Amnesia Amy didn’t think of Sonya at all, and Amy now had no idea what was happening.
It’s resulted in Sonya coming off as one of the series’ most unfavorable characters because we didn’t have a lot of context for her attitude and why she still held so fast to a comment that was not unlike what many come to expect in the competitive medical field that’s prone to hazing.
We’ve speculated about what could prompt Sonya to behave as she did when we weighed in on whether Doc viewers were being too hard on her.
And “He Ain’t Heavy” at least adds some much-needed layers and development to Sonya, better filling in her characterization and background.
The Hour Fills in Some Question Marks About Sonya
Is it enough to lay off her? You’ll have to judge that one. But at least we have a better understanding of Sonya’s thought processes.
It appears Amy isn’t the only one who brings her emotional baggage to the hospital and lets it spill out into cases. Sony does the same, and it’s at the root of her issue with Amy.
Presumably, Amy reminds her of her parents, who never thought highly of Sonya or listened to her, so coming into the medical field, eager to prove how capable she is, especially to someone she may have admired, drove Sonya.
When she faced Amy’s callous demeanor and cruel words, it triggered Sonya, and things went downhill from there. Fair enough.
Both Amy and Sonya Were Horrific During Their Case
We knew the moment Amy had to work under Sonya on a case, it would be a horrific experience. It also resulted in clarity, mutual understanding, and maybe even healing.
The problem is that they both nearly imploded before that point.
Sam and Leo’s case was utterly heartbreaking and difficult to watch. It’s never comfortable to watch instances of “savior babies” where younger siblings are utilized as human pincushions and essentially used for parts to save their older sibling.
Anyone with eyes could see that Leo was struggling, but the burden of needing to save his brother is what drove him to continue pushing his body beyond its limits time and again.
He didn’t have anyone advocating for him because his mother was mostly focused on saving Sam. Kudos to the hour for making a very solid effort in portraying this with nuance and trying not to villainize the parents.
The mother expressed that she was thinking about both of her kids because, in addition to not wanting to lose one son, she didn’t desire the other to endure not only losing his brother but also the guilt of feeling as if it was because of him.
A mother trying to save her son (even if it did seem like it was at the expense of the other) was a perfect parallel to Amy as a mom whose child died and who lost sight of her other kid in the process.
Amy Forging Ahead Recklessly and Emotionally Could Cost Her Everything
The case was triggering for Amy (it’s through these moments that it feels like we get to see post-Amnesiac Amy grieve, which is something lacking in this story).
Amy was totally out of line for most of the case. There isn’t any getting around it. I genuinely enjoy Amy as a character; however, unlike Jake, I’m not an Amy Apologist.
She was forceful with her opinion and pushed things on Leo when he expressed his concerns. She was quick to dismiss what he had to say and pushed him toward treatment despite his valid concern for his brother.
The dismissiveness of Sam’s role in this, all because Amy could relate to the parents’ perspective, was infuriating because it felt like no one was advocating for this other child who needed it.
Amy crossed many lines during this hour, led by her own experiences. It wasn’t fair to either of these boys, and Sonya had every right to be pissed off by how Amy was handling things.
The last straw was Amy pursuing the compressions despite the DNR. It’s a fireable offense and can cost a person their license, and Amy was already on the thinnest of ice as it was.
All she could think of was that she couldn’t let this boy die in front of his parents. And she didn’t want to see this child pass away either. But her feelings on that matter shouldn’t have mattered.
Amy is Giving Miller Reasons to Take Her Down, But Michael and Gina Need to Rope Her In More
Even if the hour goes out of its way to tie things up in a nice little bow, the entire family is grateful for Amy’s choice because it allowed them to finally talk things through, but the flagrant disregard is concerning.
Michael and Gina cannot be fighting harder for Amy to keep her job than she is, and with some awareness of how people are rooting for her to fail, Amy has to be smarter about this.
However, one can also fault her allies, who still keep too much from her in the first place and don’t emphasize the seriousness of all involved. Although, we’ll get into that in a few seconds.
For as terrible as Amy was throughout this entire case was pushing her agenda, Sonya wasn’t much better either.
Sonya Had Moral Standing But Poor Execution All the Same
Ironically, I agreed with much of what Sonya was doing and saying. We finally got a glimpse past this seemingly hardened woman with her own walls up because the situation with the brothers resonated with her.
Sonya advocated for Leo and Sam, recognizing that someone needed to be a voice for Leo and that the adults were far too dismissive of a legal-aged Sam.
But the case with Sonya has consistently been that her feelings and stances are valid, but her attitude, approach, and execution always suck.
Sonya’s chip on her shoulder makes sense, given her parents’ treatment. Now I understand why she likes to carry herself as if she’s the smartest person in the room.
But she has to make smart moves to get the desired results, and she falls apart when it comes to that part. Sonya needed to get her ducks in a row, enlisting Gina, a social worker, or the board to work through this situation to varying degrees.
Instead, she overdid validating Sam by reminding him of his age and that he holds so many cards, bickering, and having these ethical discussions and disagreements right in front of him with Amy. It was unprofessional and a hot mess.
Sonya takes a nuclear approach with little restraint and seems unaware of her attitude and how people respond to it.
Sonya’s Development Still Needs Some Work, But We’re Getting There… Maybe
It was easier for her to jump all over the assumption that Amy ratted her out than to consider that her own attitude and behavior with the parents and Sam may have been why she was potentially in trouble.
Unfortunately for Sonya, her emotions are written all over her face, coming off in her tone, the way she reacts to people, and her body language. When they’re negative, they stand out like a red flag.
I hate criticizing Sonya for that because it’s such a common thing that happens to women of color. Tone policing and commentary about “attitudes” and so forth are such common microaggressive statements. But I’m at a loss because with Sonya, it simply always goes back to that.
Sonya isn’t even wrong about Amy’s special treatment. Her feelings are completely valid.
But there’s also a part of me that can’t help canting my head to the side and wondering what’s not clicking about this not being new or a surprise and why she can’t learn to navigate that in a way that serves her instead of tripping herself up.
Fascinatingly, Sonya and Amy can be two sides of a similar coin. They’d probably be great friends if all this other stuff didn’t constantly get in the way.
Jake’s Case was Underwhelming, But His Love for Amy Is Overwhelming
The case with the bride and groom had sweet moments, but the family case largely overshadowed it.
Jake was great, though, and he’s genuinely good with patients. It was mostly an opportunity to drudge up some of the personal entanglements and messiness of this love triangle.
It was hilarious to learn that Jake owns the energy drink Amy hates at her apartment and that the toothbrush is the only indication he’s been there.
But to be fair, Amy’s entire apartment lacks personality, including hers, so there’s that.
Jake’s conversation with Sonya only served as a reminder of the lengths he and Amy had to go to keep their relationship under wraps and how sucky that is. It also reminded me that Sonya had the hots for Jake, and she still can’t wrap her head around how he could end up with Amy.
Gina’s Conflicting Goals as Friend and Therapist May Not Benefit Amy at All
However, it was his conversation with Gina that was interesting. Amy tells Gina everything, but she never once confides in her about Jake, which remains one of the strongest pieces of the story.
The chemistry between Amy and Jake is better than it was in the series premiere, and the series does a decent job of convincingly building on that. I enjoy their scenes, even if I still don’t know what to make of their romance.
But it frustrated me to no end that Gina processed this news about Jake, seemed genuinely shocked and maybe hurt that Amy didn’t tell her, but then she put her finger on the scale when she advised him not to tell Amy and to allow her feelings for Michael to play out.
My problem with Gina is that I can’t discern where she stands. She’s one of the primary people in Amy’s life who doesn’t share nearly enough information with her and dodges questions and knowledge that Amy should need.
However, she pushes other agendas, typically when they affect her. She wanted Michael to tell Amy the truth about his wife and the pregnancy, but mostly because she didn’t like that she and Katie had to keep something so huge from Amy.
Amy and Jake’s Romance Secrecy is Contrived and Dangerous
And that’s fair and valid. It needs to come out. But since the Jake thing doesn’t affect her, she wants it kept quiet. She hides behind reasoning like the HR concerns of a boss dating their subordinate, but it’ll be a point of concern no matter what.
By now, Sonya knows the truth, and if she’s placed in a bad scenario, she could use it against Amy or even Jake.
But whatever the ramifications, Amy made her choice, and she should know about it and have a voice in what she wants to do and the ramifications she could face.
It’s all a needlessly contrived way of dragging out this love triangle and keeping this valuable information secret for no good reason other than drama.
Michael’s Home Life Reveals How He Tried to Move on Too Fast
Meanwhile, Michael was grappling with telling Amy about the pregnancy again, as it didn’t seem to go over too well the first time.
But so much of Michael’s issues now are that he’s still deeply in love with Amy, and the version of her that he always loved is back, but now he’s married and expecting another child.
What’s sad here is that Michael never properly moved on from Amy, but it seems like he felt that he should, so he met his wife and got married, and it feels like it was more a step in his healing journey than a genuine step forward.
This woman moved into the house he lived in with his first family. Danny’s room is still exactly as it was when he died, and up until six months ago, Michael was sitting and sleeping in it when the pregnancy news threw him into a tailspin.
I already discussed how Michael hasn’t been able to properly grieve Danny in eight years because he spent so much of that time blaming himself, taking on Amy’s blame, and raising their daughter.
Not Even Michael’s Unlikable Pregnant Wife Quells the Michael/Amy Connection
Michael getting married to someone new was probably the last thing he needed to do, and it shows in his personal moments and scenes at home with his wife.
It’s also grating that her idea of supporting Michael includes bashing Amy. Given the context of their relationship and what happened, it’s rather gross.
There’s also likely an awareness that Michael never got over Amy, so as long as his wife can sow the seeds of tension, it’s not a threat to her marriage. It makes you wonder, however, why she married a man who’s still struggling and hung up on his ex-wife.
Michael assuming that his wife couldn’t have kids was interesting because it makes you think that was something he hoped for when starting his life over. And the notion of this “miracle baby” is hard to swallow when he already lost a son.
Interestingly, returning to that house may be critical to Amy’s healing journey, but is that even something that Michael’s wife will allow? And how awkward will that be?
Over to you, Doc Fanatics.
Should Jake tell Amy the truth?
Do you like Sonya better now?
What are your thoughts on Michael’s wife? Sound off below!
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