The Doc season 1 finale completely shook up the love triangle at the center of the series — but what does that twist mean moving forward?
During the Tuesday, March 18, episode of the hit Fox medical drama, exes Dr. Amy Larsen (Molly Parker) and Dr. Michael Hamda (Omar Metwally) didn’t have time to address their kiss. Amy’s boyfriend Dr. Jake Heller (Jon Ecker) was also not made privy to her brief reconciliation with her ex-husband — until the end of the finale, when he returned to Westside Hospital to find Amy and Michael sharing an intimate moment.
Ecker, 41, and Metwally, 50, sat down for an exclusive joint interview with Us Weekly that presented more questions — starting with what exactly was happening between Amy and Michael when Jake noticed them together?
“I have to clarify that we don’t actually see what is transpiring between Amy and Michael in that office,” Metwally noted, despite acknowledging that Amy and Michael seem to lean in. “They are in an intimate situation but it’s not really clear what Jake is seeing.”
Best Love Triangles in TV and Movie History Over the Years
Ecker joined in on the fun by suggesting that perhaps Amy “was taking off” an eyelash from Michael’s cheek, adding, “We don’t really know. There was a lot of talk and rewrites on that last episode — not necessarily about what the situation was — but what the audience sees. Do we end with Jake looking in or do we see what Jake sees? They even shot it a couple ways. They weren’t quite sure how we were going to end it.”
According to Metwally, it remains to be seen whether Jake caught Amy and Michael in a compromising position or not. “I think there’s still some mystery there for all of us about what exactly is happening in that moment and what is Jake seeing or not seeing?” he noted. “That’s going to be clarified in season 2.”
Based on the Italian TV series Nelle tue mani, Doc follows a doctor (Parker) who loses her memory in a car accident and wakes up to find her entire life has changed. Amy starts the season off thinking she is still married to Michael — even though she isn’t. As the episodes continue, however, Amy finds out she was in a relationship with Jake before the accident and they start things back up despite her ongoing chemistry with Michael.
“It’s a very complicated situation and almost an impossible situation in some ways,” Metwally told Us. “Michael has a new life, he has a new wife who’s pregnant and about to have a baby. To fully rekindle things with Amy would be in a sense discarding all of that. That would be an extraordinarily difficult choice for him to make.”
He continued: “At the same time, this is a very unique and kind of unprecedented situation that no one could see coming. There is certainly a part of him that can’t help but wonder what life [would] be like with her again.”
Which Iconic TV Love Triangles Should Have Just Been a Throuple?
As for Jake? Ecker has questions about whether Amy’s potential infidelity will cause his character to take himself out of the equation.
“From Jake’s perspective, obviously it hurts but I think with time he is very empathetic. Just by the nature of being a doctor and tending to people’s needs, once Jake gets over that hurt I think it is pretty understandable — Amy wanting to fall back into Michael’s arms,” Ecker noted. “Because for her, she’s in a very fragile state and looks for some sort of comfort and something solid. Since she’s missing those last eight years, I think Jake is going to understand why she feels the way she does. So it is that balance between how subjective and objective he can be with his emotions.”
While Jake could see Amy’s perspective, that doesn’t mean he would immediately forgive the situation.
“Although we didn’t hash it out too much in season 1, it gets mentioned that he has a history with his ex-wife and infidelity. So he’s going to carry a certain sensitivity towards that issue,” Ecker explained. “I don’t think he’s going to respond well. And then moving forward it is all about whether or not he’s able to trust her [which] is separate from whether or not he understands why she does what she does.”
Ecker told Us his character has even more options moving forward, including the option to “move on to another relationship.”
“He could be somewhat jaded and guarded because now it’s two times that effectively he’s been cheated on,” he explained.
Luckily, Fox has already renewed Doc for a second season — with an extended episode order. Ecker and Metwally broke down what they would like to see explored for their characters.
TV Couples We Need to See in 2025: From ‘Summer I Turned Pretty’ to ‘9-1-1’
“I would obviously like to see a little bit about Jake’s ex-wife and his daughter. We just mentioned it but actually seeing those relationships could be interesting. That would be kind of nice for me,” Ecker said before Metwally added, “I’m curious about Michael and Nora’s relationship and filling in some of what happened in the past and seeing how they built their relationship and what their bond is.”
There’s also potential for Jake and Michael to form a friendship despite their individual connections with Amy.
“There’s a mutual respect there, and I think that can be the foundation for a friendship,” Metwally told Us. “So I think it’s definitely a possibility.”
Ecker couldn’t agree more, adding, “They’re both very rational people. Up until now, nobody is out to get or has any type of malicious intent towards the other character that would make you not like them as a person. If enough time goes by, I can definitely see them just getting over it.”
Doc has been renewed for season 2 on Fox and episodes are currently streaming on Hulu.
