Doctor Odyssey finally answered the paternity question we have all been waiting for — is the father of Phillipa Soo‘s baby Joshua Jackson or Sean Teale?
During the Thursday, April 10, episode of the hit ABC series, Max (Jackson) and Tristan (Teale) gave samples so Avery (Soo) could determine who was the dad to her unborn child. The answer? No one. Avery found out she was never pregnant and accidentally received a false positive due to a cyst, which made her think she was expecting a baby for weeks.
Doctor Odyssey had Us on the edge of our seats since the medical drama introduced a threesome between Avery, Max and Tristan earlier this season that escalated into a condom breaking — and a pregnancy. (The show followed that up with Captain Massey (Don Johnson) and Heather (Shania Twain) reconnecting during Cougar Week, which also led to a pregnancy.)
“[Creator] Ryan [Murphy]‘s imagination is prolific and bizarre in its ability to hold [space] for the absolutely grotesque and absurd — and then there are his lighter and happier shows. All of that being inside of one man’s imagination is amazing,” Jackson, 46, exclusively told Us Weekly in March. “I will say that for myself, I have wanted to work for Ryan for quite a long time.”
Jackson praised Murphy for providing a platform for actors to explore more fun and light-hearted storytelling, adding, “Ryan’s word was sparkle. He said, ‘Make sure that my show sparkles.’ And we have tried to make sure that this show sparkles as much as possible and just hope that the joy that we feel in performing it and doing it all together is what comes across while you’re watching it.”
After being involved in quite a different love triangle on Dawson’s Creek, Jackson was proud to push boundaries on Doctor Odyssey.
“Well [our characters] didn’t have sex on Dawson’s Creek,” he said to Us with a smile. “I feel like Ryan’s approach to this is a much more adult approach than when I’ve done this on previous shows. It was a ballsy thing to do to not just have the triangle be consummated but to have them consummated together. I have to say [that is] one of the things I’m most proud of [with] us this year.”
Jackson broke down the dynamic between Max, Tristan and Avery.
“There are still certain limitations and restrictions to doing something on network television because of the standards and practice issues that you deal with. [We were] able to take something that is very challenging and daring and play inside of the box of network TV,” Jackson told Us. “We got to explore what you can and cannot show and still created a scene that I think is very sexy and challenging.”
He continued: “It was within the boundaries of what we are allowed to do [and] that is one of the high watermarks of what we were able to achieve from directorial to writing to acting. Everybody came together to make something that you really hadn’t seen before — particularly on network TV. I think we did a pretty good job with that.”
Doctor Odyssey airs on ABC Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET and is available to stream on Hulu.
