SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Best Medicine Season 1, Episode 7.

Viewers know where Best Medicine is heading, and the FOX series gets there in “There Might Be Blood.” That’s what makes the episode pop. It still follows the general formula that the series has settled into, but the seventh episode has more emotional stakes that give its story needed weight. Even if some moments are still buttoned with a joke.

Yes, this is another hour where Dr. Martin Best threatens to rain on Port Wenn’s latest community event—in this case, the celebration of a popular yet poorly written horror novel called The Blood Factory. With that title, it’s no surprise that Martin’s blood phobia is front and center, and Best Medicine takes its biggest steps yet toward dealing with that issue. The townsfolk are still as broadly written as ever, but addressing the hump the show has to get over also means another chance to look deeper into Martin’s character.

Martin has to face his phobia in order to address the medical issue of the week (which turns out to be a recalled dye in Mark’s fake blood, a perfectly on-the-nose cause). And he really has to face it by going through the show’s equivalent of a haunted house to save Louisa’s life. The underlying message may be that Martin’s feelings for Louisa are stronger than his fear, but “There Might Be Blood” is smart to show that it’s not all that motivates him either. The best scene in the episode is another serious heart-to-heart between Martin and youngster Peter, in which Martin tries to encourage Peter to be brave, but also seems to be talking to himself. He has honest character development that is not strictly tied to his romantic subplot, and once again, Josh Charles is wonderful at playing the vulnerable side of his character. He’s understanding that he needs to move forward, if not that he deserves to.

Martin’s phobia and his past will become public knowledge; it has to in order for the show to continue beyond Season 1. Any series that uses a secret or a mystery in its premise eventually has to resolve it. By tying this subplot to the other very clear direction the show is headed—the pending romance between Martin and Louisa Gavin—this episode leaps forward character-wise because both those big ideas are pushed out at the same time. And after a few weeks where things seemed to get stuck in place, the audience gets to see where it’s all going. By the end, it feels like Martin, Louisa and Elaine all have grown a little bit, and that far outweighs the familiarity of the plot. Even the opening scene with Elaine and Martin is small but important, because it shows Elaine’s real concern for Martin, as opposed to all the scenes where she’s pushing his buttons. “There Might Be Blood” has a much better focus on its core characters.

Best Medicine still gets heavy-handed at certain points, as if the script always has to find a joke somewhere. Louisa’s argument with Martin over shutting down the Blood Factory fundraiser is a key point in the hour, but she does indeed come off as childish. Along those same lines, Martin’s conversation with Louisa as she’s loaded into an ambulance is a clear metaphor for their personal relationship, but the show leans far too hard into that, instead of letting a genuine emotional moment just be what it is. And then on top of that, Sarah telling Martin that he’s in love with Louisa is further stating the obvious. The show would still be better served by taking a step back from its humor now and then; there’s no shame in not being funny all the time, especially since it’s billed as part drama and part comedy.

Last but certainly not least, it’s a kick to have Sex and the City alum Evan Handler make a final-scene guest appearance as Blood Factory author Jeremy Gathercole. It might be a brief gag, but Handler nails it perfectly. That closing beat is reminiscent of the Carly Simon running joke in the Bob’s Burgers episode “Work Hard or Die Trying, Girl,” ending the episode on a charming and surprising note. And that’s emblematic of what Best Medicine can do. It doesn’t need to generate charm and laughs; it has that naturally. It simply has to let its characters lead the way.

Best Medicine airs Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on FOX. Photo Credit: Courtesy of FOX.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 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.