The season 2 finale of Doc aired Tuesday, April 14, and left the show in a darker place than it started. A contagion ripped through the episode and killed numerous people, including Liz, while Joan’s leukemia worsened and she was shown on her deathbed in the closing scene.
Barbie Kligman said Joan’s story was always meant to run for one year, and that the character got several chances to say goodbye before the end. Her final real goodbye came in a scene with Amy, Kligman said, before Joan went off surrounded by family and “in a heroic manner.” Kligman also said Joan ultimately did not die from the contagion, calling it a twist the show needed because a contagion story could not unfold without people dying. “That would have been a little too easy,” she said of Joan surviving the outbreak itself.
The finale also pushed other parts of the cast into new positions. Scott Wolf returned in season 2 as Dr. Richard, who floated the idea of leaving Westside Hospital after growing distant from several coworkers. Kligman said she was leaving that future as a cliffhanger and added that the show will keep using Richard in the best possible way, even if he leaves, because flashbacks can keep a character present. She also said the current core group will not change in season 3.
That next season will instead add new residents under Amy and Sonya, who will be co-chief residents. The finale also introduced Ben, played by Blair Underwood, and shut the door on Michael and Jake for now. Still, Kligman said the love triangle is not going anywhere. “Amy loves Jake. Jake loves Amy. Amy loves Michael. Michael loves Amy,” she said, adding that sometimes writers need to let those permutations rest for a minute. For now, the show’s sharpest answer is also its most painful one: Joan’s arc ends, Richard’s status stays unresolved, and season 3 begins with the hospital reshuffled around Amy.
