Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Doctor Odyssey Episode 13.
While the future of Doctor Odyssey remains on the bubble, the series is still marching full steam ahead with some of the most outlandish and delightful nonsense this side of 9-1-1. While the plotlines never fail to entertain, this week’s episode feels a lot like filler, even if it does give Sean Teale some incredible scene work to sink his teeth into. With the looming shadow of the paternity testing in next week’s episode, Episode 13, “Spring Break Week,” serves as a bridge to get Tristan (Teale), Avery (Phillipa Soo), and Max (Joshua Jackson) on the same level before yanking all of that foundation out from beneath their feet.
“Spring Break Week” opens like most of the series’ episodes, with a new cast of characters boarding the Odyssey. For the most part, they are exactly the type of co-eds you would expect to see on a cruise: the beautiful party girls (Ava Phillippe, Charlotte Lawrence, and Paris Jackson), the awkward guys looking to get laid (Noah Beck, Anthony Turpel), and the Ivy League hopeful who is too studious to be having fun (Kathryn Newton). From this group, we also get this week’s medical maladies: the bends, persistent genital arousal disorder, iron deficiency, and fentanyl laced coke. The latter proves to be a major plot point for Max, who also spends the majority of the episode being sexually harassed (and then assaulted) by the party girls, though Doctor Odyssey plays it all off for laughs.
As with previous episodes, Avery — who is so clearly craving female friendship — zeroes in on the loner among the passengers. Hannah (Newton) is a workhorse, spending hours studying for the LSAT, while missing out on all the fun she was supposed to be having on the ship. Avery tries to encourage her to live a little, but Hannah’s health quickly starts to decline after she starts having acid reflux. In the end, it turns out she has an issue with how her body processes iron, leading Avery to take it back to the 18th century with some blood-letting to cure her. Parallel to this medical case, Max takes Steve (Beck) under his wing to help cure a very embarrassing condition that is causing him to run off every girl he tries to talk to. In his case, going off his depression medicine caused him to develop PGAD, which Max is able to cure with a new prescription to help him balance his serotonin. It is interesting that Doctor Odyssey pairs off Hannah and Steve at the end, while leaving Avery and Max in relationship limbo.
Doctor Odyssey has been quite inconsistent with Avery and what she’s looking for in her ideal baby daddy. Together, Max and Tristan make the ideal candidate, but separately, both men have their flaws. Surprisingly, Avery doesn’t seem particularly upset with the idea of Max making eyes at the pretty young co-eds, despite previous episodes (as recently as the shark attack) where she’s been jealous of him simply having chemistry with another woman. Whether it’s character growth or the series needing to turn a blind eye to certain character traits to further plot, your guess is as good as mine. The show also doesn’t seem like it wants Avery to make a choice about Max and Tristan, which could be further proof that we’ll get a happily ever after for the throuple before the series sails off into the sunset. In Episode 13, Avery is faced with her worst nightmare: Max and Tristan being down for the count at the same time, and neither situation pushes the needle for her.

Related

Joshua Jackson Says Only Ryan Murphy Knows What’s Truly Going On in ‘Doctor Odyssey’

“We should allow people to come to Stage 14 and have the cruise experience without actually having to be on the water,” says Jackson, of the sets.

‘Doctor Odyssey’ Episode 13 Finally Delves Deeper into Tristan’s Backstory

Doctor Odyssey hasn’t shied away from touching on complex topics, and this week’s episode is no different. Throughout the series, we have been shown how Tristan likes to party — and how he often uses alcohol to escape situations he doesn’t want to deal with head-on. Episode 13 opens with the ship’s engineer, Rosie (Jacqueline Toboni), leading an AA meeting with several other crew members who openly express their personal reservations about the sheer amount of alcohol that flows through the ship during Spring Break Week. This scene sets the stage for where Tristan’s plotline heads throughout the episode.
After witnessing a moment between Max and Avery (that isn’t even particularly charged), Tristan decides to become the life of the party, drinking and carousing to avoid addressing the way he feels. He wakes up with a nasty hangover, and Rosie takes it upon herself to have a conversation with Tristan about his drinking, which goes about as well as one might expect a conversation with a functioning alcoholic to go. Tristan protests the claim that he has a drinking problem and grandstands by throwing away all of his alcohol and claiming that he can go dry without any issues.
Toward the middle of the second act, Max is called into the party girls’ room to treat one of them, who is later revealed to be dealing with a nasty case of the bends. While he’s in there, Vanessa (Jackson) saunters out of the bathroom after doing a line of coke and promptly drops to the ground. Max begins trying to resuscitate her and, in the process, comes in contact with the fentanyl-laced coke, which takes him out too. Avery and Tristan rush to the room to treat Max and Vanessa, with Avery tending to Max, and it’s touch-and-go for a bit. Tristan seems relatively alright, but there are definitely clear signs that he isn’t handling going cold turkey well. If anything, the adrenaline high of treating two near-dead patients buys him a little time. The following day, however, Tristan starts having serious DT symptoms (tremors, vomiting, fever), and Avery is once again there to save the day. She spends most of the episode — if not the entire series — mothering both would-be suitors, and the entire passenger log. Avery deserves sainthood when she’s done with the Odyssey.
Doctor Odyssey Episode 13 may feel like filler, but Tristan’s storyline redeems it. His relationship with alcohol and his recognition that he has a problem is a major step forward for his character growth, particularly because it forces him to admit to Max and Avery that his issues stem from his father’s own alcoholism. While Tristan has mostly been a “mommy issues” archetype, it’s clear that there is deeper trauma there, and it’s the kind of trauma that has him questioning his ability to be a father. The scene also showcases how balanced the trio is when they’re together, and it’s where the magic happens for the series.
New episodes of Doctor Odyssey premiere Thursdays on ABC and next-day on Hulu.

Doctor Odyssey

Doctor Odyssey Episode 13 sees Avery faced with her worst nightmare: Max and Tristan both down for the count. Read our recap.

Release Date

September 26, 2024

Network

ABC

Pros & Cons

While Episode 13 feels like a filler episode, it’s largely redeemed by Sean Teale’s performance.
Kathryn Newton is a great addition, and a perfect scene partner for Phillipa Soo.

Avery remains a very inconsistent character, and the writing is undercutting a storyline that could be very compelling with the decision ahead of her.
Doctor Odyssey misses the mark with portraying the sexual harassment toward Max.