Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Doctor Odyssey episode 15.Doctor Odyssey episode 15 added yet another pairing to its possible romance roster, but the choices are beginning to overwhelm everything else in the medical drama. While Doctor Odyssey's ridiculous theme weeks and celebrity guest stars offer much-appreciated moments of levity among the high-octane medical emergencies, the interpersonal relationships between the trio running the infirmary are blurred beyond recognition and saturated in drama. Only Don Johnson's Captain Robert Massey is left out of the workplace romances — and that's only because he's committed himself to a guest he met aboard the Odyssey (Shania Twain's Heather).
Every other main character in Doctor Odyssey's core cast — Phillipa Soo's Avery Morgan, Joshua Jackson's Max Bankman, and Sean Teale's Tristan Silva — have had multiple romantic configurations with each other and with other members of the Odyssey's diligent crew. No amount of action-packed sequences and gore-riddled surgery scenes seems to be enough to distract from Doctor Odyssey's confusing love plots, and the overall series is suffering for it. Yet, even as the Avery-Max-Tristan dynamic seemed to settle down, another bombshell was dropped in Doctor Odyssey episode 15 regarding a past relationship.
Doctor Odyssey Episode 15 Reveals Spencer And Avery Have A Romantic Past
Yet Another Smitten Suitor (But Not Necessarily Prospective)
As Avery is weighing the pros and cons of medical school and her convoluted love life, First Officer Spencer Monroe (Marcus Emanuel Mitchell) appears to give her a pep talk. In the process, a conversation regarding "fraternization" aboard the Odyssey reveals that Spencer and Avery were previously together romantically, and Avery is apparently the only woman Spencer has been with since he joined the crew of Doctor Odyssey's luxury cruise ship. Spencer goes so far as to call Avery his only exception and, though she brushes it off as a dalliance from "a long time ago," Spencer is undeterred.
Despite his flirting, Spencer doesn't ask Avery to stay on the Odyssey for him. Rather, Spencer urges her to follow her dreams and go to med school, a simple act of solidarity that ironically proves Spencer is the only man who fully understands or respects her. Throughout episode 15, both Tristan and Max question Avery's medical expertise, even though she is meant to be the lead medical professional for the week (or, as Spencer describes it, "head b— in charge"). Spencer's romantic past with Avery came out of nowhere, but it wasn't the only confession of the episode.
Tristan And Max Both Confess To Avery In Doctor Odyssey Episode 15 (Again)
The Love Triangle Just Won't Die
The most exhausting aspect of Doctor Odyssey is Tristan and Max's tug-of-war battle over Avery. Since the pilot, both men have been fueled by their egos and brittle-thin "feelings" for the nurse practitioner, culminating in a threesome during Doctor Odyssey episode 6. While Avery was content to explore a throuple structure, Tristan and Max both tried to stake their claim, and the plan fell through. Doctor Odyssey episode 15 confirmed that, despite how much time has passed, nothing has changed. Both Tristan and Max restate their feelings for Avery in episode 15, just as she's preparing to leave.
Doctor Odyssey's love triangle does more than grate, however. Characters like Vivian Montgomery (Laura Harrier) get caught in the crossfire, like when she asks Tristan to make their relationship official. Sadly, she becomes a mere plot device that propels Tristan to profess his love for Avery once again, insisting his schoolboy crush on his older colleague isn't "childish." Additionally, after an entire episode laying out how much a hospital in his hometown needs him, Max makes the pseudo-romantic gesture of sacrificing the job for Avery. According to Max, she is the only thing that makes his work worth it.
Doctor Odyssey Cannot Rely On Romantic Twists For The Long Run
It's Already Getting Stale
The unnecessary love triangle only serves to limit Tristan, Avery, and Max's futures in Doctor Odyssey. Tristan and Vivian would've been a much better-suited couple, Max could've put down roots with his hospital job, and Avery shouldn't be contemplating whether she's going to fulfill her lifelong dream of attending med school. In a mere 15 episodes, everyone has kissed, broken up, rekindled the flame, and let the spark fizzle out again. Doctor Odyssey has squeezed the life out of Avery's romantic prospects, making any love story involving the trio feel inevitable and redundant.
If Doctor Odyssey season 2 is confirmed, the medical drama should scrap its love triangle and let the characters act in their own best interests. If the only recurring conflict throughout the series is deciding which man Avery should date, there's no point to her character other than a love story. Likewise, any growth or development Tristan and Max go through will be watered down as steps taken in the pursuit of Avery. If Doctor Odyssey would just free its characters from workplace romances, the medical drama might have long-term potential.
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