SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Doc Season 2, Episode 4.

Doc Season 2, Episode 4 is an effective rebound from the previous episode’s mess of unflattering personal drama. In “Something to Prove,” many characters get the chance to repair differences instead of creating them. But one thing is starting to stick out like a sore thumb: that Westside Hospital is not a pleasant place to work.

The cases of the week are split between one that works and one that doesn’t. The main case, in which there is a dispute over whether a man’s ex-husband or his current partner gets to make his medical decisions, is a strong plot that has a very nice resolution. The one complaint is that Michael comes to his conclusion by referencing his breakup with Amy—another plot plot that comes back around to Amy in some way. But the best scene in the whole episode comes between the ex-husband Grant and the new boyfriend Nathan, as they speak about their experiences and wind up being there to support each other through a trying time. That sentiment is touching, and the best medical dramas are the ones that give the patients and their families full lives, too.

The other subplot, in which Dr. Jake Heller, Amy and new intern Hannah Clark treat a college student named Seth who’s gone blind while dealing with erectile dysfunction, is nowhere near as effective. It feels more like a way back into the ongoing situation between Jake and Amy, as Jake winds up giving Seth romantic advice. And the Jake-Amy scene in “Something to Prove” is only slightly less frustrating than the one in “New Blood.” The events of that episode have made their way back to Dr. Joan Ridley, and so Jake dumps a ton of information on Amy: they’ve lost their professional permission to see one another, and he might either lose his position or have to leave the hospital altogether, so in case she wasn’t sure they are definitely over. This is about three different huge developments, all stuffed into one scene. Whether or not viewers are rooting for Jake and Amy as a couple, it feels like this could have been given more room to breathe.

Joan continues to be a purely antagonistic character, although there is one scene of her getting an update on her own condition. Doc hasn’t figured out what the hook is for audiences to keep watching her; Joan’s past with Amy felt like it was supposed to be that, but that seems to have been put aside for now. The big development in Amy’s history is that audiences learn the story of what happened between her and Dr. Brian Clark—Hannah’s father. Amy questioned Brian’s job performance and “erratic behavior,” leading Brian to file a human resources complaint against her, which then prompted Amy to tell him to either leave or be fired. Obviously, this is meant to create conflict between Hannah and Amy in the future.

But what is the point? What does that potential conflict add that Doc isn’t already doing? Amy and Joan are on an obvious collision course. Amy already has Sonya antagonizing her with her comments about how she doesn’t belong at the hospital—comments that Amy quotes back to her in this episode. It would be more interesting if Amy had an ally who wasn’t Jake or Gina. Season 2 is an opportunity to expand her world and her social circle, not contract it. If nothing else, the officializing of the breakup between Amy and Jake is a chance to explore who both of those characters are beyond each other.

“Something to Prove” is still worth the watch because of its main case of the week, and because at least the flashbacks to Amy’s past tell a complete story, which sheds more light on who she used to be. Most of those flashbacks have been Amy being an antagonist of her own yet in Episode 4, she appears to have a very valid point. That’s an interesting contrast to show that “Old Amy” wasn’t just difficult. Doc makes Amy feel like herself again (outside of that moment of understandable pettiness with Sonya), and it proves it can provide cases and guest characters people care about. But it does have to be careful not to make it seem like these people don’t like each other very much. Because if the doctors don’t like each other, why should viewers like them?

Doc airs Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on FOX. Photo Credit: Courtesy of FOX.

Article content is (c)2020-2025 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.