Doc – Season 1 Episode 1 Recap & Review

If At First You Don’t Succeed…

Episode 1 of Doc season 1 starts with an accident. We see a woman bleeding and passed out in a car. The scene then cuts to surgery, and later, the woman who was in the accident is seen answering questions from her doctors. Based on her answers, the doctors grow concerned.

We circle back to 24 hours before the accident; the woman is Dr Amy Larsen, and she is working out before heading to work. We soon realise she is no beloved doctor. Her patients, nurses, and some of her fellow doctors don’t like her. The only one who can stomach her is Dr Jake Heller, and the two are in a secret relationship.

Amy also has beef with Dr Richard Miller too, as she believes Miller accidentally used the wrong drugs on a patient during surgery and caused the patient’s death. For this reason, she has asked for an autopsy report. On the other hand, Dr. Miller accuses her of trying to sabotage him to deflect the ongoing investigation into her bedside manner as a doctor.

On this day, Amy treats a new patient, Sonia. Felicia is pregnant and presenting back pains, chills, and frequent urination. Felicia thinks it is a UTI but Amy clarifies she didn’t go to med school and can’t diagnose herself. The interaction between Felicia, her husband, and Amy makes everyone uncomfortable, especially Dr. Sonia. However, Jake comes to Amy’s defence. As Amy checks Felicia, the latter starts coughing, and Amy orders more tests.

As the day goes by, Amy manages to get under the nurses and interns, like usual. Felicia starts seizing, and Amy orders more tests as they wait for the blood work. While waiting, Amy and Keller hide in the parking lot to get intimate. Unfortunately, the lab sends an update on Felicia’s blood work. The blood work looks normal, so Amy orders a different test that will allow her to see Felicia’s heart from a different angle. Before returning inside, the couple confesses their feelings to each other for the first time. Later, Amy talks to Felicia and insists that she has the T.E.E. exam.

In the meantime, Amy runs into a friend and fellow doctor, Gina. Dr Michael Hamda interrupts their casual talk. He starts pestering Amy about her bedside manner, and the patients complain. This time, Sonia collaborated with Felicia’s complaints. He asks Amy to take the day off and go home.

Amy follows his orders, and this is when she gets into her accident. She gets surgery, and when she wakes up, the doctors realise that Amy has lost her memories of the past eight years. While some of the nurses and doctors celebrate Amy’s accident and call it karma, Keller is heartbroken. He tells Sonia about his relationship with Amy, which has been going on for the past four months.

Hamda promotes Richard to the interim chief position, and the latter is happy for the opportunity. In the meantime, Gina informs Amy of her injuries. Soon, Hamda drops by and informs Amy that they are no longer married. Amy is surprised when she only sees Hamda and Katie, so she asks about her son. They inform her that her son Danny had died seven years ago.  The instant grief of everything she lost in the past years hit Amy hard. At one point, Keller finds her crying on the floor and puts her back in bed. At the same time, Hamda and Katie try to process the new normal. Gina tries as much as she can to help Amy figure out the blanks.

The next day, Keller insists on doing the T.E.E test on Felicia even though her heart rate starts dropping when they start the procedure. Sonia and Peter accuse him of doing Amy’s bidding. As they continue arguing while performing the procedure, Felicia starts coding. They resuscitate her, and everyone blames Keller.

However, later while reporting the matter to Hamda and Michael, they learn that they missed something during the procedure. Amy was right and they try to convince Felicia and her husband to go through with the surgery. Keller is disappointed when Sonia refuses to back Amy’s decisions during the meeting.

On the other side, Amy tries to ask Hamda why they broke up. He explains that their son’s death made her shut everyone out. In the end, she left, and they got a divorce. He clarifies that they both moved on. Gina tells Amy that maybe the accident is giving her a chance to redo things. 

Later, Amy runs into Felicia and her husband while walking around the hospital. They thank her for being a good doctor. Although Amy is a stubborn patient who refuses the nurses’ help, no one can say she is a bad doctor. She calls Hamda and asks for his help to remain a doctor. He promises to help her.

At this juncture, we learn that Hamda is in a relationship and his partner is pregnant.


The Episode Review

It must be difficult for Amy to deal with the grief all over again. She woke up, and the world as she knew it was different. It seems she is holding on to her happy family memories. In these memories, she is happy, and so is everyone around her. This is probably why it is hard for her to come to terms that she and Hamda are divorced and Dan is dead. The director intentionally made her memories look idyllic, almost like a euphoric dream. It helps us get a sense of where she is mentally and understand Amy’s pain better.

Sadly, the nurses and fellow doctors hate Amy so much that they are celebrating her accident. Only TJ and Keller stood up for her. In retrospect, I think Amy was harsh on Felicia because she didn’t want her to die like her son. If I am correct, her son had heart problems too. However, Amy could benefit from a sensitivity lesson. She could have handled her interactions with Felicia in a more compassionate and understanding way.

 

Next Episode

Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!

  • Episode Rating
    (3.5)
3.5

Leave a comment