Ryan Murphy’s Doctor Odyssey has been an interesting addition to the network television line-up. The medical drama takes to the open seas, following a team of doctors as they care for patients aboard a luxury cruise ship. Like a modern-day version of The Love Boat mixed with a traditional medical procedural, the show has gotten weirder and weirder as it progresses, leaving fans to question where it can go from here.
With the future of the series still up in the air, the latest episodes, including Episode 15, “Crew Week,” make it seem as if the show could be prepping to end. And that ending might validate an intriguing fan theory that would be huge if proven true.
What Is the ‘Doctor Odyssey’ Theory?
The theory that has been floating around about Doctor Odyssey for the last month or two is that the entire show is Max’s (Joshua Jackson) fever dream and none of it is real. He indicated in the beginning that he was Patient Zero with COVID-19 in his hometown several years prior. Some theorize he either didn’t make it and is stuck in some form of purgatory, or all the events aboard the ship are in his imagination. He’s actually in a hospital bed, potentially in a coma.
Stoking the fire of this theory is Episode 15, “Crew Week.” Max visits his family and gives thought to what he wants to do next. He also meets with an old friend at a hospital to interview for a job there. But the shocking part is when Max arrives at a suburban home and the door opens to reveal a supposed twin brother named Merrill. Played by Jackson as well, the brothers embrace, and Merrill welcomes Max into the home to hang out with him, his wife, and two kids. Max never mentioned being a twin before. What’s more, the fact that Merrill is an ordinary family man with a boring job suggests that he could be a figment of Max’s imagination.
Some believe that Merrill represents the alternate life path Max could have taken, and what his life could have been like had he not taken the more adventurous route. During a conversation, Merrill reveals that Max had a serious illness when he was a child. Max was bedridden for a long time, missing out on so many activities as a child. This is what drew them apart from one another.
This childhood illness is what pushed Max to take risks so he would never have to miss out on anything else again. Merrill may have been the alternate persona he created at or after this time, and now he’s questioning if he made the right choice, getting a first-hand look at what he missed out on by not settling down with a family.
Further Evidence To Support the Theory
- Captain Robert Massey constantly refers to the ship as being a “fantasy” and “heaven,” even once telling Max that “this ship is a dream. It’s your job to keep everyone alive.”
- Nurse Tristan (Sean Teale) is the antithesis of Max and could represent another part of his psyche. In the Halloween episode, the two even show up more than once dressed in the exact same costume.
- Max tells TV star Ken (Justin Jedlica) that his show helped him through his toughest times in the hospital, making fans wonder if he’s dreaming of meeting Ken while watching or listening to the show.
- Angela Bassett’s crossover appearance as her character Athena Grant-Nash from 9-1-1 could be another clue that maybe that series exists in the show’s world, and Max watched it as well, and dreamt of Athena being on the ship with him
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Other Evidence the Show Could End
Beyond Max’s self-reflection, the storyline seems to have nowhere to go from here. Avery is planning to leave, heading off to medical school to become a doctor. That means she isn’t returning to the ship next year. If she agreed, Max would likely go with her. But she has already said “no.” If Avery sticks with her decision of wanting to pursue her education instead of starting a family and being in a relationship, this might mean she is leaving the show. The previous episode confirms that she was never actually pregnant, but had a cyst that mimicked the results of a pregnancy, which put that whole storyline to bed.
Meanwhile, Captain Robert Massey (Don Johnson) was expecting a child with Heather (Shania Twain) and made it clear that he wanted to do things right this time. With his first son, Robert notes that he was away a lot for work and missed out on important moments in his son’s life. He doesn’t want that to happen again. However, with Episode 16, “Double Booked,” revealing that Heather has lost the baby, some feel this signifies Max losing his potential baby as well, along with any opportunity to have a serious relationship with Avery. It seems awfully coincidental that both these things happened at the same time.
When it comes to episode 15, which was likely written long before talks of a renewal were made, the general feel and tone suggest that perhaps the creators thought the show would not continue beyond a single season. It feels like they are starting to wrap up storylines, even if that isn’t the intention.
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Will Doctor Odyssey Be Renewed?
There’s no word yet on a renewal or cancellation for Doctor Odyssey. As of this writing, Doctor Odyssey is the only major primetime scripted ABC show not to get a renewal or cancellation announcement yet. According to Screen Rant, the Season 1 ratings for Doctor Odyssey were better than Grey’s Anatomy, but that long-running show was swiftly renewed despite its viewership numbers declining.
For now, the writing seems to be going in the direction of either an ending to the story or a major cast shake-up. It makes little sense for Avery to decide to stay when she has been yearning to become a doctor for so long. Max wants to settle down, which goes against the very nature of working on a cruise ship. And he has returned without any mention of his mysterious twin, which has fans questioning whether or not Merrill was even real.
It will take some serious creative writing to make Doctor Odyssey worth coming back for a second season. For the sake of entertainment, hopefully it does. If not, fans hope that the theory comes true and provides fitting and satisfying closure for the soapy drama. The “It was all a dream” storyline doesn’t always work out. But in this case, it just might.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
