'Doctor Odyssey' Season 1 Episode 13 "Spring Break" Review

It’s spring break on Ryan Murphy’s medical drama, Doctor Odyssey. Paris Jackson comes aboard the Odyssey as Vanessa, and some much-needed fun in the sun turns disastrous.

Episode 13, titled “Spring Break,” begins with Vanessa and her friends, Victoria, and Veronica, expressing their excitement about having a summer adventure before entering their senior year and the real world. 

Noah Beck and Anthony Turpel also join the Odyssey. Turpel’s character, Connor, is quite the flirt and Beck’s character, Steve, is the complete opposite, embarrassing himself around women.

Connor, Vanessa, Victoria, and Veronica are all disgusted when Steve’s “Cruller loses its creme filling,” in the pool as Captain Massey puts it. We all know what that means and… yikes. 

Max goes to talk to him and asks if this has ever happened before, which Steve admits it has. Max tells him that it sounds like he has a condition called Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder, also known as PGAD. 

In Rosie’s room, she’s hosting a small meeting for her fellow crew members who struggled with alcohol abuse, especially during this week. They tell each other that they will get through it.

When Avery gets some medicine for a cruiser, Hannah, who’s too busy studying for her LSAT to eat, Max tells her that she will be an amazing mom, which Tristan overhears. This may have led him to revert to his old ways because soon after he’s slinging tequila shots with the college cruisers. 

Tristan isn’t the only one the college crowd wants a piece of. Vanessa, Victoria, and Veronica set their sights on Max when they see him jogging in his gray sweatpants. He tries to let them down gently after being invited to their room, but they walk away telling him that they’ll see him later tonight. 

When Avery checks on Hannah, she doesn’t feel good, so Avery and Max look after her in the infirmary. They determine that her symptoms aren’t related to drinking or being intimate with people, so they decide to run more tests.

Rosie checks on Tristan and tells him about her struggles with alcoholism while working on the Odyssey. She also tells him that she’s starting to notice the same patterns in him, but he completely denies it. He says he can stop drinking whenever he wants, and even throws away all his liquor bottles to show it. Rosie looks very concerned.

Max pulls Steve aside and tells him that his blood tests came out clean and asks how much weight he lost. Steve lets him know that he had stopped taking his depression medication that caused him to gain the weight. According to Max, the Paroxetine medication may be the cause of his PGAD, and he’s going to prescribe a new medicine, Fluoxetine, that won’t cause weight gain.

While in the middle of the ocean Vanessa, Veronica, and Victoria say their trip so far has been everything and they declare that they will have a four-way with “Doctor DILF.” Veronica calls Max into their room, saying that Victoria doesn’t feel well. 

In the bathroom Vanessa sniffs cocaine and then immediately faints after coming out. Max tells the girls to call the infirmary, but chaos ensues when he gives her mouth-to-mouth. Max then passes out too.

Avery comes in, stunned to see Max on the floor. The girls finally confess that Vanessa was taking cocaine, but Avery tells them that it’s actually fentanyl. Tristan comes in to help and gets Vanessa to wake up. Avery wasn’t having any luck, but she finally managed to wake Max up, leaving her incredibly happy and relieved. 

Captain Massey alerts Avery, Max, and Tristan that the authorities have been made aware of the issue. Max tells Massey that he promised that the girls wouldn’t get in trouble if they came clean. Massey reluctantly agrees and tells him to get all the drugs off his ship immediately. 

Avery takes care of Tristan when she sees him throwing up from all the drinking he was doing. She tells him that Max is feeling better and that they can handle everything while he’s resting. They hug, but Max interrupts them.

Victoria is rushed into the infirmary with a severe case of sudden paralysis. Later she starts coughing up blood, causing Max to diagnose her with the bends. They get her to a hyperbaric chamber, and she feels much better and can walk again.

Avery finally discovers Hannah’s condition, which is Hemochromatosis. Hannah confesses that her case is genetic. Avery suggests an unconventional approach from the 1700s, bloodletting, and encourages her to recognize that there’s more to life than just law school. 

Adorably enough, Steve and Hannah start to connect in the pool and Steve’s PGAD is proven to be gone. It’s an interesting full circle moment. 

In a heartfelt moment, the big three, Max, Tristan, and Avery, come together when Tristan gets vulnerable about his father struggling with alcohol abuse. He says that he swore he’d never be that type of man or father. Sean Teale puts on an amazing performance. 

At the end of the tumultuous episode, Max and Avery reassure Tristan that they’re there to support him, and Tristan bravely attends one of Rosie’s meetings. He confesses that he may have a drinking problem. 

Looks like next week the triangle between Max, Avery, and Tristan rears its head when Avery is finally able to take the paternity test. Who’s the daddy? Viewers will have to wait and see. Episode 14 will air April 10, 2025, on ABC. It will also stream on Hulu the next day.

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