‘DOC’ Season 3 Episode 2 Recap: Amy Remembers Her Past With Ben
Spoiler Warning: This recap contains spoilers for DOC Season 3, Episode 2, “Ready or Not.”
Well, DOC wasted absolutely no time making Dr. Ben Grant even more complicated.
Season 3 Episode 2, “Ready or Not,” throws Westside into chaos when an entire family is brought in after a horrific car accident. But while the doctors race to keep everyone alive, Amy is dealing with another emergency of her own: memories of
Ben are coming back, and the story he tells her about their past doesn’t exactly match what she’s remembering.
The medical case begins with Theo, a teenager who recently got his driver’s license, behind the wheel while his family is returning from celebrating his sister Harper’s graduation. A deer comes through the windshield, sending the car crashing and leaving Theo as the only person able to go looking for help.
By the time the family reaches Westside, everybody seems to have something different going wrong. Theo’s father has been impaled through the chest by one of the deer’s antlers, Harper needs surgery, and their mother eventually wakes up unable to recognize her own son.
As if Theo wasn’t already carrying enough guilt, he starts worrying that he caused the accident, could lose his parents and might even end up separated from his sister. Michael thankfully steps in with one of the episode’s sweetest moments and reminds Theo of what he actually did: he got himself out of that car, found help and gave his family a chance to survive. That kid needed to hear that.
Amy And Ben’s Past Starts Coming Back
Meanwhile, Ben’s arrival at Westside continues creating tension, especially now that he has taken over as Chief of Surgery. Michael admits he isn’t necessarily against the hospital’s decision, but he’s understandably bothered that Ben never told him he was making a play for the job.
Amy has an entirely different problem with Ben. She starts having memories of him. We see Amy and Ben meeting years earlier at a medical conference, where their chemistry begins exactly how you’d expect with these two: arguing about medicine. Their professional back-and-forth quickly turns into flirting, flirting turns into drinks, and drinks eventually lead to them kissing in an elevator on their way back to Amy’s room.
So much for barely knowing each other. The present-day Amy doesn’t remember any of this yet in one complete picture, but the pieces keep coming back as she and Ben clash while treating Theo’s father. Amy discovers a medical issue that makes continuing surgery incredibly dangerous, while Ben argues that stopping could be just as deadly because of the damage from the antlers.
It’s medicine versus surgery all over again, except this time somebody’s life is on the line. TJ ends up playing a major role in solving the problem when he can’t find published research about similar antler injuries. Instead of giving up, he starts contacting hospitals that have treated comparable cases and helps develop a surgical plan. Between TJ, Ben, Amy and the rest of the team, they manage to save Theo’s father while the other members of the family also begin stabilizing.
Give TJ his credit because he earned it.
Ben Finally Tells Amy… Some Of The Truth
After the crisis is over, Amy confronts Ben about why their interactions seem so personal. She tells him that she has been experiencing flashes of memories, which finally forces him to admit that they had a relationship during the years she can’t remember.
Ben describes it as an on-and-off “dalliance” that mostly happened during medical conferences. According to him, it wasn’t serious and eventually just faded away without any hard feelings. Sure, Ben.
The problem is that Amy’s memories already suggest there was more going on than he’s admitting. She remembers their attraction, their time together and pieces of conversations that don’t exactly sound like two people who casually drifted apart.And Ben has one enormous advantage right now: he remembers everything. Amy doesn’t.
That means Ben gets to control the story for as long as Amy has missing pieces, but judging by how quickly those memories are returning, that advantage probably isn’t going to last very long.
Jake Has Moved On — And Amy Doesn’t Know Yet
Amy also has another emotional surprise heading her way because Jake and Rachel are officially reconnecting.
Jake’s relationship with his ex-wife comes up around the hospital, and Sonya overhears the news. She immediately tells Jake that Amy deserves to hear it from him rather than finding out from somebody else, especially considering everything that happened between Amy and Jake.
She’s right. Later, Jake goes to Rachel’s house, and the two share a kiss. Whether Amy is ready for that information is another question entirely, but someone needs to tell her before Westside’s apparently very efficient gossip network does it first.
Amy Is Already Walking A Fine Line
The episode also gives us another reminder that Amy’s second chance at Westside isn’t guaranteed forever.
Max warns Michael that Amy is already making waves and that he can’t continue giving her unlimited freedom simply because of their history. Michael says he isn’t going to fire Amy without cause, but if she does something that puts the hospital at risk, he’ll be the one to show her the door.
That is a pretty ominous conversation to be having just two episodes into the season. Amy may be proving that she’s still an incredible doctor, but with Ben challenging her professionally, memories from their past returning and Jake moving forward with Rachel, Season 3 is piling emotional landmines around her quickly.
And Ben? Yeah, we’re watching him. Because whatever really happened between him and Amy, there’s no way “it just faded out” is the whole story.
DOC airs Tuesdays on FOX.
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