Doc Season 2 Episode 19 Shakes Things Up with Major Power Plays & Jamy Angst

Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0

4

Everyone is moving around like chess pieces on Doc.

And based on Joan’s move after Doc Season 2 Episode 19, Miller may be moving out the door again. Won’t that be something?

The hour gave us our answers about who will be holding shiny new titles. I have to say, it went about as I would’ve expected.

But we have to talk about Amy and Jake.

As many have predicted, they’re in a rocky place these days, partially because of the situation with Rachel and secrets.

But also because Doc wants to give them some conflict. And there will always be strong opinions about that.

Their case together was tailor-made to tap into some of the conflict between them, especially given their respective roles as parents.

At first, it seemed like Hayley’s stress and antacid use might point to something like an ulcer. Instead, we quickly learned she was dealing with an ectopic pregnancy.

Ultimately, her case wasn’t even about her but served as fodder for Jake and Amy to clash over the built-up tension between them, and it was tough to watch.

Amy was clearly triggered, and Jake wasn’t wrong to point that out.

She let her personal feelings spill into the case, from pressuring Hayley to tell her mother to the digs at the father. Amy totally lacked decorum here.

Jake and the father were correct in pointing out that Amy didn’t know their family situation well enough to behave like that. It’s a sore spot for her to have a daughter who favors her father over her mother.

Amy was reverting to that old way of dealing with people, a more diluted version of who she was pre-accident.

But then part of the case’s conclusion validates her when the husband makes the wrong choice by listening to Jake’s suggestion over Amy’s, and he seems helpless and out of his depth.

Hayley’s father did reinforce the tension and “sides” thing, which sucked, obviously. He relished being the chosen parent and validated Hayley’s feelings about her mother, and kept her in the dark instead of trying to mediate a bit more.

It seemed he was genuinely trying to be supportive and not judgmental toward his daughter in a difficult situation. He was focused on a non-invasive treatment rather than a more extreme one.

Somewhere along the way, he becomes the petty, clueless man who bungles a situation because he gave in to his daughter.

It’s one of those cases that causes conflict for Amy and Jake and simultaneously triggers and validates her when she’s right in the end.

And Jake later concedes, at least to the father, that he has to do better at co-parenting and communication.

But where the episode stumbles a bit is in how it ties this case to the Rachel situation Amy has been stewing on. Framing Jake’s position as his being “okay with secrecy” doesn’t work.

Rachel is a grown adult woman allowed privacy.

Amy, as Jake’s partner, isn’t entitled to details about his co-parenting dynamic with Rachel and Mia. She’s his girlfriend who didn’t get full disclosure, but not a wronged mother here.

And because of that, it never really feels like Jake is the one being unprofessional or allowing personal feelings to cloud judgment. If anything, he’s the one separating personal from professional here.

We see some cracks in Jake and Amy’s relationship.

Amy is still in her feelings about Rachel, no matter what she says. And Jake called out the double standard: things are okay when Amy does them, but not when others do.

Even Jake pointing out that he gives her space when it comes to Michael is fair. He’s arguably been more understanding than most people would be.

But on the flip side, bringing that up mid-fight is point-scoring and suggests he hasn’t let go as we thought.

Once you add to that the fact that he’s bothered by Amy not telling him about the joint save in Chicago, their communication issues are pronounced.

Whether intentional or not, it adds another layer to their communication issues.

It feels like we’re seeing Amy retreat again as she did during Doc Season 1’s finale.

Not only is she hurt by the Rachel situation, but she also didn’t seem to like that Jake criticized her.

Jake has never routinely torn her down, nor does he ever define her by her flaws.

But Amy could read it as Jake banking criticisms he has about her and then lobbing them at her and catching her off guard.

There’s a lot of unresolved stuff there that the two just smoothed over too quickly before. Now it’s coming back to haunt them.

Amy took some L’s with her relationship with Jake, got validation for the case, and then they split the baby with the chief residency thing.

Joan’s heel turn would’ve felt a bit more organic if we had built up to it a bit better. Joan fell by the wayside later on, especially with her relationship with Amy.

I’m conflicted by the co-chief residency move. There’s some solace in knowing that when I spoke to Felicity Huffman, she was as passionate about this arc, too. So stay tuned for our exclusive with her.

It’s frustrating that after Jake held the position by himself, we have two women sharing it rather than one stepping into it on her own.

It’s the embodiment of how women have to work twice as hard to get half of what men get.

Joan’s conflict here on a grander scale is that you don’t want the perception of the hospital’s rampant nepotism to be the focus if Amy gets it. But you also don’t want to screw Amy out of a position she deserves.

In many ways, it feels like a cop out. But Joan’s speech at least sells it better.

She’s fresh off her own new lease on life after she recognized the value in mending her relationship with her son, and she’s made peace with her diagnosis and stepping back from her calling.

With all of that, she sees Amy as a brilliant person who gets distracted easily and is all over the place. She wasn’t wrong about Amy grabbing at certain things; it makes sense because she wants to feel in control.

Amy feels untethered without power, achievement, or a sense of her worth.

Joan’s assessment is valid. Amy is constantly reaching for what grounds her. She needed to pursue her memories so she could better understand the truth. Amy reaches out to Michael for comfort and familiarity.

She reaches to Gina for a shoulder to lean on and a sounding board. Amy reaches for Jake because he makes her feel secure and “seen.” The job itself is fulfillment and, as Joan notes, validation.

The job is her domain and what Amy is great at, undeniably, regardless of her superiority complex.

As for the latter, it was interesting to hear Joan call Amy out on that. Doc has firmly established her as the one person who nurtures all of that in Amy.

But perhaps that’s why she was the one who could get away with calling her out, too, because we know she has no ulterior motive and doesn’t want Amy to scale back her greatness.

Instead, Joan wants her to pour that greatness into helping other doctors become great.

Being chief isn’t about being the smartest person in the room but about elevating everyone else. Teaching, mentoring, and being amicable with others, whether you like them or not.

Joan felt like Sonya possessed that — an ability to do what’s necessary for the job and not let grievances interfere. And maybe she does. Unfortunately, all we really have to go on is her treatment of Amy, and that wasn’t great.

In Joan’s eyes, Sonya has the interpersonal skills and temperament for leadership, while Amy has the raw talent and brilliance. Combined, they make the perfect candidate.

And maybe, with that reasoning, she’s onto something. It could also put the Sonya/Amy friction to bed if they have to work together.

Joan wasn’t leaving without shaking some things up.

Interestingly, she also pulled Liz aside for a chat and a reality check that Liz can’t fully bounce back from the damage to her reputation after she lied for Miller. But she hoped that she had inspired her to use her voice to advocate for herself.

Joan planting the seeds for a Richard reckoning on her way out is such a boss move. She cannot and will not let things stand with this man weaseling his way back after the harm he’s caused and what he’s disgraced: the job.

And Joan backing Michael for her position caught me off guard. I want to say it comes out of nowhere that suddenly Joan likes Michael enough to bond with him and back him for her position.

But if we follow the line of thought that Joan is in this for the love of the game and the actual craft, her responding to Michael going back to his roots after hearing and seeing his passion? That would appeal to her.

If the narrative is that practicing medicine is Michael’s calling, Joan would find him more respectable for returning to it. She can’t do it anymore, so she’d want that for others.

Doc’s timeline is confusing.

But our latest thing is that Michael is, in fact, a great doctor who likes practicing and saving lives, and that he always wanted to do that while also getting in the boardroom to make real change and hold power.

Westside is apparently the first time he had to take a job that’s all admin and not practicing, which is one of many reasons he’s been miserable and ineffective in the position.

He had one hell of a pedigree returning to hospitals around, so he was in high demand. And he got that job in Westside because of that, not just because they hoped he’d handle Amy when they couldn’t.

Did I laugh at him and Joan collectively twisting Max’s arm into letting Michael succeed Joan? Yeah. Only on Doc!

I guess the arguments hold up. It gives Michael a new plot that doesn’t have to revolve around Amy and their family. It also puts him in more medical action.

And Max hiring a new “Yes Man” gives them a new antagonist that everyone could be against at once, without putting that role onto an already established main player.

It’s a ridiculous move, but I’m also here for it, so let’s go.

Also, are we getting an arc of Gina adopting little Walter?

I liked that this particular case reflected how broken the system is.

Walter is a brilliant little kid who is slipping through the cracks because there are too many children in the system and not enough funding and staff to accommodate everyone.

Every time Gina had to call Cliff, and his phone went to voicemail, I wanted to scream.

The whole idea of a doctor forming an attachment to a baby or child and then wanting to foster or adopt is an overdone trope, and yet, I’ll totally be here for Gina wanting to foster sweet Walter.

He’s such a smart kid, and Gina nerding out with him over space and rockets was too cute. She was already willing to break the rules for his best interest.

It aligns with her knack for over-involvement with patients. The story could open the door to more in-depth exploration of her personal life, especially since we don’t know much about her marriage. Bring it on!

Over to you, Doc Fanatics. I know you have a lot of thoughts, so I’ll grab a beverage and some snacks and meet you in the comments.

Also, don’t forget to check out our exclusive intervew with Felicity Huffman!

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