[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Doc Season 1 Episode 2 “…Try, Try Again.”]
As Amy (Molly Parker) continues to adjust to what her life has become, now that she doesn’t have memories of the last eight years of her life on Doc, those around her have to adapt as well. That includes Richard (Scott Wolf), now interim chief, especially as he worries about what Amy will start to remember.
As was introduced in the series premiere, Amy had questions about Richard’s actions regarding a patient, Dixon. Then, she got into the car accident and lost her memories. Now, Richard worries about the autopsy report; if it shows metoprolol in the patient’s system, it could ruin his life. But to Amy, the two are still friends, something that hasn’t been part of their dynamic for a long time.
Having this Amy around is “a very complicated thing for Richard,” Wolf tells TV Insider. That’s in part that “they’ve had this tension in their lives recently and he’s now been made chief, which is where he’s always thought he belonged, but Amy was put in that position, and that caused a break in their relationship.”
Wolf laughs as he tries to figure out for which character it’s the most complicated. There’s also Michael (Omar Metwally), her ex-husband to whom she thought she was still married. There’s Jake (Jon Ecker), with Amy not remembering their months-long relationship. There’s Amy herself.
And so Richard is surprised when Amy, upon seeing him, hugs him and congratulates him on becoming chief; she’s happy for him because she knows he wants that. But he can’t forget his concerns about her remembering about Dixon, especially after the autopsy report comes back and that medication is listed. Richard tells the pathologist the patient was taking it and he just needs to update the chart — and that Dixon’s kids pushed for the autopsy. He keeps a close eye on her as Gina (Amirah Vann) runs tests, and Amy even tries to diagnose her roommate and Jake confers with her.
“There’s this incredible thing where [Amy], in a way, is this kind of ticking time bomb to [Richard], right? Because at any moment, she could just be looking him in the face and be like, ‘Wait a second. I remember something that happened,’ and then that’s the end,” says Wolf.
“So while he’s trying to be warm and welcome her back and he’s so on edge because she poses a threat to his very existence, at the same time, he’s experiencing a version of her that he had lost, that he loved. They were very, very close,” he continues. “It’s this incredible mix of things where she gets up and hugs him and it’s like, that hasn’t happened in years. And so he misses that and welcomes that, but it’s also bizarre because that’s not who she’s been and that’s not who they’ve been.”
When you then add in the secret he has that only she “can uncover if she recovers herself, I mean, chef’s kiss,” Wolf notes. “From an acting standpoint, from a character standpoint, it’s as complicated and layered as it gets, and tons of fun to play, and also really a struggle because he doesn’t just get to be one thing. He’s having to juggle different parts of his person — the part he has to keep private, the part he can allow to be public. He wants to embrace her, give her a second chance, even potentially welcome this old part of her that’s been long lost that he loved, but what price might that come at? It’s really beautifully complicated for Richard.”
How do you feel about Richard and his and Amy’s dynamic so far? Let us know in the comments section below.
Doc, Tuesdays, 9/8c, Fox
