AlthoughDoctor Odyssey’s weakest season 1 episode does sort of ruin the show’s best fan theory, the series could still redeem this promising plot with one minor retcon.Doctor Odysseyseason 1 followed Joshua Jackson’s Dr. Max Bankman, who worked as the doctor of a cruise ship that was prone to wild, high-stakes medical maladies on a weekly basis.
WhileDoctor Odyssey’s season 1 finaledidn’t end on a cliffhanger, the show did leave a lot of questions unanswered. This makes the uncertain fate ofDoctor Odysseyseason 2all the more frustrating, asSoapCentralreports that the cast’s contracts weren’t renewed by the network, but ABC has still insisted the show is not necessarily canceled.
One of the main reasons thatDoctor Odyssey’s uncertain future is so frustrating is that the series seemed to be setting up an all-time great twist throughout season 1, but it is not clear whether this revelation will ever happen without a second outing. Admittedly, however, season 1’s weakest episode poked a hole in this popular fan theory.
Doctor Odyssey Season 1 Episode 15 Should Never Have Sent Max Home
“Crew Week” Ruined An Intriguing Fan Theory
A majorDoctor Odysseyfan theory argues that Max is either dead or in a coma, and The Odyssey is either Heaven or purgatory, as this would explain the weirdest moments from season 1.Doctor Odyssey’s coma fan theorybegan to gain traction early in season 1, primarily because of how absurd the show’s events were.
Max was the COVID-19 pandemic’s patient zero in the United States, and he was quarantined for months as he fought for his life in the early days of the pandemic.
The most obvious explanation was that this was all a dream of some sort, but Max’s backstory provided a much clearer argument for the coma theory. Max was the COVID-19 pandemic’s patient zero in the United States, and he was quarantined for months as he fought for his life in the early days of the pandemic.
Of course, as soon as viewers learned this backstory, they immediately put one and one together and assumed that Max’s struggles to survive weren’t over yet. The captain of the Odyssey literally compared the boat to “Heaven,” and the ship’s very name suggests an epic quest that fundamentally alters its protagonist.
Sean Teale
Tristan Silva
It was increasingly clear, to some viewers at least, that Max’s version of events would be revealed to be a coma fantasy or the dream of a dying man in the finale. This trope is so common that there is an entireTVTropespage dedicated to the “Dying Dream” twist, and it would fit with show runner Ryan Murphy’s usual campy style.
In fact, another Murphy series from 2024,Grotesquerie, betDoctor Odysseyto this exact twistwhen its season 1 ending revealed its earlier events were all a coma dream. Just as this show seemingly proved that Max’s story wasn’t beating the “It’s all a dream” allegations, the show threw a proverbial spanner in the works.
Doctor Odysseyis available to stream on Hulu.
In season 1, episode 15, “Crew Week,” Max returned home to the mainland to catch up with family while the show focused on the crew that remained on board. This badly hurt the coma dream theory, since it was assumed that the boat was some sort of psychic space that Max couldn’t leave until he ascended to a higher plane of existence.
Doctor Odyssey Season 2 Could Redeem Max’s Trip Home
Max’s Twin Trouble Also Subtly Underlined This Theory
The fact that Max could leave the boat without consequences proved that the boat wasn’t entirely imaginary, which was a big blow toDoctor Odyssey’s entire coma dream theory. That said,the story of “Crew Week” was still strange enough to fit within the fan theory, especially when Max encountered his identical twin brother.
The revelation that Max had an identical twin brother who reminded him of an earlier brush with death, which also provided him with a new outlook on life, still seems suspicious.
The very act of Max’s arriving home proves thatDoctor Odyssey’s story isn’t as simple as “The boat is purgatory, so he can’t leave.” However, the revelation that he had an identical twin brother who reminded him of an earlier brush with death, which also provided him with a new outlook on life, still seems suspicious.
In “Crew Week,” viewers discover that Max’s COVID-19 experience wasn’t the first time that being bedridden with an illness changed his life. Max’s twin notes that Max was hit with mono in his teens, and the dose was bad enough to change his entire outlook on life, leaving him always searching for the next adventure and chasing new passions.
Max’s twin was an obvious foil to him, and one thatDoctor Odysseyseason 2 story can’t simply ignorejust because he lives ashore. He was a sensible, stoic family man with a life, a job, children, and an established routine on land. In contrast, Max spent season 1 assisting in absurd medical emergencies and getting embroiled in a love triangle.
Max’s brother represents all the life paths he didn’t take, hence the dramatic differences between their current outcomes.
As such, it is still possible that the entire trip home seen in “Crew Week” is still part of an elaborate way for Max to cope with his transition to the afterlife. His brother represents all the life paths he didn’t take, hence the dramatic differences between their current outcomes.
Doctor Odyssey Season 2 Needs To Confirm Max’s Coma Theory
The Medical Drama Was Too Absurd To Dismiss This Twist
By reminding Max of his teenage trauma and the way it impacted his outlook on life, Max’s twin reminded him why he really decided to become the ship’s doctor. As much as he blamed his COVID-19 diagnosis, the very fact that he pursued the high-risk, high-effort, high-stakes world of medicine proves his personality was set in stone before that.
There are a lot ofunansweredDoctor Odysseymysteries after season 1’s ending, but Max’s personality actually makes much more sense now that viewers have met his twin. This might not be a coincidence, as it may not be just the show’s audience that needed to see this side of him.
If Max is in a coma and working his way to the afterlife, as the theory states, his trip home could be seen as him letting go.
Going home allowed Max to see a new side of himself inDoctor Odysseyseason 1, and this led him to return to the boat and embrace the chaos this lifestyle involved. If Max is in a coma and working his way to the afterlife, as the theory states, his trip home could be seen as him letting go.
Visiting his brother and nieces, who may or may not have even existed in reality, allowed Max to let go of the other, more sensible and sedate life he chose not to live. This would explain why his previously unmentioned identical twin played such a big role in the outing.
Early on inDoctor Odysseyseason 1, a woman’s nose fell clean off her face from doing cocaine. As such, the show needs to reveal it’s not set in straightforward “Reality” sometime beforeDoctor Odysseyseason 2 ends. Fortunately, thisDoctor Odysseyfan theory offers a perfect justification for its surreal tone.
