‘Doctor Odyssey’: ‘The Wave’ Puts Max in Mortal Danger in Mexico

[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for Doctor Odyssey Episode 17, “The Wave.”]

The penultimate episode of Doctor Odyssey is bound to send shockwaves through the show’s fan community because it puts Max Bankman (Joshua Jackson) in very serious danger.

The episode begins with Avery (Phillipa Soo) giving Max a stern talking to about his declaration of love for her. She doesn’t feel the same — or so she says — and he’s only trying to make it harder for her to leave for medical school. This is all about his feelings, she insists. He doesn’t believe that she doesn’t love him back, though.

Neither does Tristan (Sean Teale), who’s been catching all of their subtly tense exchanges from a distance. Not only is he curious what is really going on between Avery and Max, but he’s also tired of being turned down for various trysts by his ostensibly casual bedroom buddy.

Meanwhile, the Odyssey plays host to a wedding party — and one ignorant karen, it seems — but becomes host to a bunch of locals in need of shelter after an earthquake strikes and sends a tsunami ripping through the shore.

Max leads a small party — including Jim O’Heir as a very talkative dad/coroner named Barry — to higher ground and safety, but, after gathering supplies from the nearby village, he ventures back down to shore (with Barry in tow) to see if he can help anyone who didn’t make it out of the surf. After a kind local store owner with a friendly dog perishes as a result of his injuries, Max and Barry seem ready to depart and search for more. They’re only stopped by a call from Avery, who will need him to vocally assist her with surgery to remove a piece of glass from a patient’s heart.

Their conversation is cut off, however, when an aftershock strikes the shore, and the church he’s been sheltering in is reduced to rubble.

Back on board, Captain Massey (Don Johnson) is insistent, above corporate policy, that he’ll return the ship to shore after a temporary trek to deeper waters to avoid the worst of the wave — with just a few passengers hurt by the sudden swell. But will he get there in time to help Max and Barry and little Peanut the pooch? We’ll find out when the finale airs next week.

Doctor Odyssey, Thursdays, 9/8c, ABC