‘Ordinary Joe’: James Wolk Breaks Down the Show’s Latest Twists & Turns
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 1, Episode 6 of Ordinary Joe, “Always Do the Right Thing.”]
Ordinary Joe continues to deliver twists and turns that other network dramas wish they could pull off, and the latest episode, “Always Do the Right Thing,” is no exception.
In the installment, Cop Joe (James Wolk) makes a move to take down Bobby Diaz (Adam Rodriguez) for misuse of political funding, Nurse Joe struggles with single parenting as well as an unexpected visit from a family member, and Musician Joe faces the weight of knowing about his long-lost son, but not being sure how to connect with him in the right way.
The drama was certainly raised a few notches in the Musician timeline as a shooting appears to leave Bobby dead and Amy (Natalie Martinez) bleeding out as Joe tries holding it together. And Uncle Frank’s (David Warshofsky) first appearance in Nurse Joe’s timeline is anything but reassuring as his grungy appearance suggests the hardships of homelessness.
And it’s just the beginning as series star James Wolk teases, “pace your expectations. There’s a lot coming out.” Below, he breaks down the episode’s biggest twists and turns.
(Credit: Fernando Decillis/NBC)
There are a lot of shocking reveals in this episode from Uncle Frank’s fate in Nurse Joe’s timeline to Bobby’s shooting in Musician Joe’s timeline. Was there anything that shocked you the most while reading the scripts?
James Wolk: I am often surprised by what comes out, which is actually fun. I don’t want to learn on the day. But knowing when I read the script is cool. One of my favorite twists is the reveal of Frank, and what he’s gone through in the Nurse world, [that] blew my mind. It was so vastly interesting to me. And then, moreover, when I saw him in hair and makeup, and what they were able to do with him.
Yes, it was wild. I thought someone had broken in and was going to hurt Joe and Chris (John Gluck).
So cool, right? That to me has been the biggest reveal so far. I just love that. And there’s more coming, but I think that this is a really special episode. There’s so much going on. All of the different Bobby Diaz storylines in Episode 6 are fascinating. And I love things like Joe caring for him and being his nurse in one world and then literally showing up at his house to arrest him in another world. I love playing with the theme of multiverses in that way.
(Credit: Fernando Decillis/NBC)
Bobby was shot and is presumed dead in the Musician timeline. Will Amy feel pressure to reveal her one-night stand with him now that Joe has shared he isn’t having an affair, he’s just trying to connect with his long-lost son Zeke?
The audience will have to tune in. It’s definitely going to be something that weighs on her heavily as we go forward. And obviously, both of them have their own secret. Anytime you have secrets in a marriage, it can really affect it. It’ll test their marriage, that’s for sure.
Is Joe setting himself up for trouble or additional heartache by trying to connect with his son through social media?
I think so. I think that my feeling on it is that he is definitely letting his heart get the best of him. He is not thinking with his head, because Zeke has a family, and Joe has a wife, and Jenny (Elizabeth Lail) has a family. There are so many things that he’s risking to connect with him in this very unorthodox way. That’s one of the things that is Music Joe’s biggest challenge, is that he’s a little self-involved. He’s not thinking about all the other players in this scenario.
(Credit: Steve Swisher/NBC)
Cop Joe put his Uncle Frank in potential danger by going after Bobby in this episode. How is that going to test their relationship moving forward?
Well, Frank has been like a father to Joe, and he’s sort of raised Joe. Although he has persuaded Joe to become a cop and he loves Joe… I think at the same time, Frank raised him and his dad raised him to make the right choice. And so he makes the choice that is probably more in line with what Frank and his dad would want for him morally. But it comes up against his own uncle, and it’s going to stress the relationship. The Joe-Frank relationship is the father-son relationship in our story, and it’s going to challenge that. Frank is someone who’s on the wagon, but barely. And now Joe’s throwing a lot at him. So we’ll see Frank start to have his own struggles in that storyline as well.
What about his relationship with Amy now that Bobby has been arrested?
I think the Amy-Joe relationship, at least when we first see it, is one of ease and fun, especially compared to the strife that Joe has in his nurse storyline and in his music storyline. And I think that overall that’s something that we love about that, but it does get complicated. Amy’s directly involved with Joe. He makes a choice that goes against his uncle, and Amy’s very much a part of that. And so that’s not only going to affect Joe and Frank’s relationship, it’s going to affect Joe and Amy’s relationship. So although it starts out very light, it will get more complicated, as all things do.
Nurse Joe has been struggling with single parenting Chris as Jenny continues her law schooling in Atlanta. Does he see Uncle Frank’s arrival in that final moment as a blessing in disguise?
I think that, as you’ll see… there’s been a huge history of the family trying to help Frank. But then, for whatever reason, it hasn’t worked. And I think Joe is just the last hope. And again, Joe looked at him as a father, and you don’t just give up on people like that. So I think Joe certainly feels that although this isn’t going to make his life any easier, he’s all about family. He puts family first, so he is going to look to try and help his uncle.
What else should fans look forward to getting more of as the season unfolds?
There’s some awesome stuff coming down the line with Amy and her political career. We also get to see some really exciting stuff with Jenny and pursuing law. We’ll start to go into the other character storylines as well, and so I’m excited for people to see that … We’re going to meet other members of the family that we haven’t met before. So new characters are going to be introduced in Episodes 7 and 8. I’m excited for everyone to see the world get richer.
Ordinary Joe, Mondays, 10/9c, NBC
