Is There a Major COVID Twist Coming in ‘Doctor Odyssey’?

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the series premiere of Doctor Odyssey.]

Doctor Odyssey set sail on ABC on Thursday, September 26, and the first episode of this new Ryan Murphy medical drama got the wheels in my head turning quickly about the possibility of a major plot twist on the horizon.

I’m far from alone in thinking something big is coming. We already previously theorized that the luxurious Odyssey ocean liner has more to it than meets the eye. But now having learned a key piece of information about Joshua Jackson‘s Dr. Max Bankman in the series premiere, I think there’s a much darker twist coming, one that will bring the COVID-19 pandemic center stage if I’m right.

Our previous Doctor Odyssey theories still hold water, but the reveal about Max’s history with COVID in Episode 1 have led to a new one. Here’s a breakdown of all our theories of where this ship could be sailing.

1. Everyone on the Odyssey is in a COVID coma

Disney / Tina Thorpe

There are several signs in the show that make me think every single person on the ship is actually in a COVID-induced coma. First and foremost, there’s Max’s backstory that explains why he came to the Odyssey in the first place.

Max revealed to Phillipa Soo‘s Avery in Episode 1 that he not only nearly died of COVID in the pandemic’s earliest days, but he was patient zero in the United States. He spent weeks nearly unconscious and clinging to life hoping that he would get another scan that he desperately knew was needed to figure out more treatment. It’s simple to understand Max’s desire to live more joyously after his near-death experience, but making him COVID patient zero ups the ante. That’s not just something you reveal and then never return to. I think that flashback to his hospitalization will prove to be vital to the plot moving forward.

The ship and its surroundings are luxurious and pristine and practically glowing; you could argue that it looks too fantastical to be real life. Don Johnson‘s Captain Robert Massey also literally says that “this ship is Heaven” and repeats words like paradise, angels, and dreamers. And when a man fell overboard in the premiere, Johnson’s character was deeply concerned about that passenger’s rescue as any captain would be. But there was something about Johnson’s performance that implies he knows something everyone else doesn’t.

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Also consider the real-life stories of cruise ship passengers being stranded on their vessels for weeks or months when the pandemic first hit. Additionally, the ship’s name is a reference to the Homer’s epic poem that is all about a long journey home after a perilous war. Is Captain Massey some kind of spirit trying to guide all of these people back to life? If they die on the ship, does that mean they’ve died in real life? No patient has died just yet on this voyage.

The very small medical team also has to be savvy with their care due to lack of resources. Being on this ship with no help reasonably close by could also be representing hospital staffs who were completely overwhelmed and overworked by COVID hospitalizations.

On top of it all, Murphy is bold enough to be the first TV creator to center an entire series around the pandemic, not just an episode or a season as seen on Grey’s Anatomy and The Morning Show. Someone was going to be the first to make a show about COVID, and I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if it ended up being the Glee creator.

2. The Odyssey actually is Heaven

Given that Max was patient zero, it would be easy to believe that he didn’t actually survive and that the ship is the afterlife. He arrived to the boat with no luggage and was granted entry without a pass. This could be because his new employers were expecting him, or because the afterlife was.

3. The Odyssey is taking passengers to the afterlife

This would be very Good Place of them if true. Each batch of passengers could be on the Odyssey to complete some kind of journey before moving on to the great beyond — or being sent back to life.

4. Captain Massey is a ghost

Disney / Tina Thorpe

This previous theory was based on Massey only interacting with Max in the teasers and trailers, leading us to believe that the captain is an apparition sent to guide Max. Massey does interact with the ship’s employees in the first episode, but he could still be some kind of guardian angel or spirit tasked with taking care of these living passengers.

5. It’s all virtual reality with real-life dangers

Referencing “Heaven is a Place on Earth” in the trailer could be a direct reference to Black Mirror‘s famous “San Junipero” episode, which is about people close to death choosing between their consciousness living forever in a digital afterlife or complete death. The show’s creators have said that the series is a modern take on the classic procedural format. It would be quite modern to have the ship’s passengers be part of a virtual-reality simulation that poses real-life dangers, like if you get hurt in the game, you’re hurt in reality. Good thing there’s a doctor on board!

There’s also still the possibility that this really is just a standard procedural on the high seas, but I think the hints in Episode 1 were too heavy for that to be true. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

Doctor Odyssey, Thursdays, 9/8c, ABC