‘Doc’s Patrick Walker Talks TJ’s Coping Mechanisms & Sonya’s Pregnancy

TJ (Patrick Walker) may have said all the right things when Sonya (Anya Banerjee) told him she’s pregnant, but in the latest episode of Doc, his main strategy is simple: avoid. TV Insider spoke with Walker about that and much more. Warning: Spoilers for Doc Season 3 Episode 5 ahead!

TJ can’t sleep at Sonya’s, choosing instead to leave while she’s sleeping and send her a text, and she worries that, as she tells Amy (Molly Parker), he’s “detached” from the situation. When Amy checks in with him, he brushes off her concerns. But, as memory flashes tell her, avoiding is what he does — after a breakup and when she woke him from a nightmare, and he attacked her years ago. She’d told him that he needed to talk to someone, but all he said was he’d think about it — and while he claims now that he did see someone, we don’t buy it.

As for TJ, Sonya, and the pregnancy, he insists he’s handled more stress than this and tells his girlfriend that he just needs some space that night to get some sleep.

Below, Patrick Walker does a deep dive on TJ.

TJ’s go-to coping mechanism is avoidance. Why?

Patrick Walker: That’s a great opening question. Oh my gosh. What’s funny is that I personally am very similar. I will avoid things to not face the truth of things. And I feel like TJ, him and I are so much the same in that way where… I was saying to my therapist recently, actually, I was like, “Oh, I had this situation going on with a family member, and I want to talk to him about it, but I don’t want to mess up the relationship. So I’ll go the long way and try to figure things out on my own.” And I know that TJ’s the same. He likes to control situations to a certain extent, so because he likes to control things, he’s like, “OK, I’m going to avoid dealing with it this way, and I’ll just go the long way, or I’ll just hopefully self-heal in certain ways where he should be going to get help.”

How does he feel about the pregnancy and his relationship with Sonya? Because she brought up concerns about their relationship and where it is with Amy, but he’s not talking to anyone about this.

Listen, I’m here to tell you as a spokesperson on behalf of Dr. Coleman, TJ is genuinely, in my opinion, extremely excited about having a child. It is really scary with the aspirations that he has in life, like him wanting to be moving into surgery now, wanting to be a surgeon, wanting to be the best surgeon, wanting to prove Ben right by giving him a position, wanting to prove Joan Ridley right before her passing away, giving him this position. And he’s growing and excelling extremely fast. I know that he’s excited, but it’s just a little block in the road, but it’ll get worked out. But I know he’s genuinely happy about it.

But what about his relationship with Sonya? Because she points out, I don’t think they were together that long before this happened. So there is that concern of what it means for their relationship. Has he started thinking about that yet, do you think? Or is he focused on pregnancy?

I don’t even think he started. I think he was thinking about his relationship with Sonya, which is going well; it’s going great. He’s basically at her house all the time, and oh, there’s so many cool things coming up. But that was one thing. And I do believe now that the baby element has come into play; it’s just like when it comes down to military —for this episode, I did a lot of prep. I talked to a few combat medics. I talked to at least 15 veterans just in the course of finding out what was happening in this episode and doing the episode. Within a week, I was on the phone [for] at least 15 hours of conversation with veterans. And I’d already done characters who were in the military before, so I’d already talked to countless people.

And I was in a veterans’ golf tournament two weeks ago. My first time golfing was with veterans ever, and I love golf now, but it’s not about golf.

…  I believe that it was about Sonya, and now it is strictly, let’s do this, let’s do this, let’s do this, let’s get on a roll. He’s looking at it like a mission for sure.

You brought up Joan. Is there more pressure on him to do right by Joan because she died than maybe by Ben when it comes to surgery?

Great question. Wow. Wow. Wow. It’s interesting because TJ respects Ben, I think, because he’s an amazing surgeon, and there is a familiarity in terms of our race, us both being Black men, that I already look to him in a, I don’t want to say, fatherly way, but he exudes that presence, Ben does. So I want to make him proud. But Joan was, her unfiltered nature and her straight-shooting, made it clear that he knew that he earned everything from the moment he first saw her to getting her respect; that was a long road. So I knew that Joan meant a bit more in terms of what he’s doing, and really deep down, even though we don’t see it on the show, a real reason as to why he’s pushing extremely hard is the fact that she went and the fact that she passed away handing off these torches to people.

TJ didn’t seem too happy that Sonya talked to Amy about what’s going on — you’d think he’d be happy that those two women are getting along about anything, really. So is that just because of the way he’s processing the news right now, because he knows that Amy can see through him?

Yes. Yes. Because Amy’s always on TJ’s side, but yes.

And that’s also why he’s pushing her away too, because it’s like if anyone is going to force him to face it, it’s going to be Amy, right?

Exactly, exactly, exactly. Good observation.

TJ told Sonya that he just needs space for the night to get some sleep. Did he really mean that? Was he lying to himself?

I’ll tell you, on my paper, I write down what I believe the character’s actually saying and what the truth is. I feel like he went home that day, and he was just lost in thought. He didn’t turn on a TV; there was no phone. I think he really did go home for space, but just to process. But I believe that night when he went home, on my notes I wrote, “I’m going home to figure this whole thing out. I am going to put down a plan.” But I just believe he was sitting in a room, no television, no nothing, just figuring out, doing research. Even we’ll find out things later on, but he is very research-driven in terms of this pregnancy. So I know that night he did research and he just though about everything, so he needed that space.

So what does this mean for TJ and Sonya going forward? How is their relationship?

Truthfully, I believe that they… I think that there’s something… Even though they’re very different, there are things very much the same about them. Their nature is very similar. Their drive is very similar. And also in the show in earlier seasons, you see TJ’s first scene in the show, Season 1, he’s talking about going on Hinge and he’s talking about having a lady coming to date, and she looked much older than her profile picture. That’s scene one. So there’s this thing where I go like, oh, he’s always been on the lookout — ooh, this is deep. He’s always been looking for something that he couldn’t find. Sonya on her end, liking Jake in the beginning of Season 1, and then being a little heartbroken by that and then moving along her own. And I’m like, these two people have been looking for something the entire time. So I think them finding each other, seeing that something works, that I think that they’re driven nature to their careers and their lives, I think it will work for each other as well. They’ll be driven to be better for one another. It’ll get rocky, rocky, rocky, but it’s going to be fine. I think it’ll be fine. I don’t even know what’s going to happen, but I got a good feeling.

How about when the parents get involved?

Now we’re on to something. Oh my gosh. It will be different. And some things I do know, some things I don’t know, but there will be a day when they all have to sit down. In that episode, I am very — I mean, just as a viewer, I’m not saying that as the story, but I know that as I watch the show, I’m like, “Oh yeah, that family and that family have to sit together. These people are cops. They aren’t super wealthy. These are…” I think her dad’s a billionaire, a multimillionaire, but sitting at a table together will be very interesting, coming from different places and different classes per se.

And how is TJ going to handle that, considering we see what he’s doing right now right after the pregnancy news?

I have no idea because we’re shooting right now, and TJ’s doing things that I am surprised. I am shocked. And sometimes, because I’m shocked and I’m reading about what a character’s doing that I’m playing, I’m learning more about him every day. So even though I know the character, I don’t know, know, know him. I’m discovering him as it goes along because he’s doing things that I don’t expect. So I don’t know how he would handle it if that went really south. I got to write that down.

We also got the TJ and Amy flashbacks, which are really good. Did he ever get help and speak to someone, or was he lying to Amy when he said he did? Because I’m leaning towards lying.

Me too. I’m leaning towards lying as well. But also, you could see it in his face. He didn’t even look at her when he said it.

I don’t even think he made an appointment because it’s always like he could have maybe tried, but at the same time, I feel like even if he went to one appointment at this point, he has not gotten to consistent therapy like he needs to.

I agree. And see, now we’re talking again. This idea of therapy is something that I’m discovering in my own life, and I know when — there were points in my life where things were really challenging, but again, me and TJ are the same. I go, “Oh, I can handle this.” And somebody said, “Hey, you should talk to someone.” And I went, “OK, great.” I talked to somebody a few times, and that was it, so I didn’t even give it the full time. So you can’t really heal from something after a few visits. I do believe that TJ saw somebody. I think it might’ve been so quick and so brief because his life moved so fast, and he’s moving here, he’s moving there, and I don’t believe he’s gotten all the help clearly that he’s needed it. We’re going to see.

What can you say about what TJ and Amy’s dynamic is like going forward? Because it feels like he’s just going to keep avoiding her, but she might be pushing him…

I don’t think it matters what TJ does. Patrick Walker, I love Molly Parker just deeply, deeply, deeply, deeply, deeply. And I think that if not very similar relationship to TJ and Amy. But I think that no matter what TJ does, we know Amy. She pulls things out of people. She will confront people. She will say things, and she’ll do it in such a nice way that it forces them to bring the truth forward. So I believe that if he doesn’t come to her, which he won’t, he will avoid her, but she will come to him, and she will pull out answers from him.

Especially because she’s different with him than with others. Even back when she was who she was before the accident, it was a different relationship between Amy and TJ than Amy and anyone else.

Yes. I think that TJ, in my opinion, the most unbreakable relationship in the hospital is TJ and Amy, of anybody, of anybody.

It’s about how far they go back. That’s the thing.

Yeah. She saved his life when he was 15. They’ve been connected. And as the audience goes along, they’ll see how much they were connected by the way that they communicate. But her and Michael broke, her and Jake, but I think her and TJ will never… I think that nothing will separate them because they are their family. Or her and her daughter.

We talked a bit about Ben and TJ earlier, but what does TJ see in Ben that he wants to replicate, and is there anything he sees that he doesn’t?

Let me tell you what I do as an actor. I am on set. When everybody doesn’t work, they go home or whatever. When I don’t work, I still go to work. I drive to set. Every show I’ve ever done, I drive to set and I watch people do scenes. I watch everybody. I did a show with Julia Roberts my first day before I shot, I snuck in to watch her —they let me sneak in and watch her work. I watched every great actor I’ve worked with. I’ve watched them work. And in watching Blair, it’s similar to TJ watching Ben, similar to Patrick watching Ben from afar in other scenes, is that there’s a poise that Ben carries that I think TJ would love to get to in terms of when things happen or when situations come. Ben has a really good way, seemingly good way of handling things and he never gets too high or too much energy, where TJ is the opposite, as you can see. So I think that there’s a level of poise, a level of control that Ben has that TJ aspires to, on top of just the fact that he a boss. He a boss, he a handsome man. Come on, come on. Both of us, we trying. But yes, his poise I think is what TJ wants the most.

And what about what he doesn’t want to replicate?

What’s interesting is that Ben is so good — Patrick’s opinion is that Ben is really good at hiding his motives, but in coming episodes, TJ, people are already questioning Ben from the beginning. I think it’s running over TJ’s head. He can’t see it because he’s so blinded by the man. But I feel like there are things in himself that he’s like, “Wait, what’s this guy doing that is coming very soon?” And then down the line, hopefully there’s going to be something that’s pretty blatant that TJ knows that he doesn’t want to be like him, similarities. But as of right now, I don’t think that TJ sees anything to ring the alarm in his brain yet.

Speaking of what’s coming up, is that related to the trial that Ben has going on? Because we have Amy having those flashes of her talking to him about it. Is that something that’s going to involve TJ in any way because he’s working with Ben, and is that going to be what may have changed his opinion of what he sees of the way that Ben carries himself with that trial?

Interestingly, no, not at all. Nothing with the trial. As we know now, TJ’s having a child as we know, and we see how he’s dealt with it, and we know that his job is most important. So I think in that nature of — I also think that there’s this imposter syndrome that lives inside of him, and I think we’ll see more of that as to you’re dealing with a regular boy and you’re about to be dealing with a millionaire family. So I think that he always feels a bit outside of it. He’s also in this new surgical area. He’s in it, but he’s also, as we’ve seen in the last two episodes, outside of it because Dr. Fox is in the way, and he always feels outside of something. So I think that that’ll be things where he’s just overcalculating or overwatching or being a little more hypervigilant to figure out what’s happening and what’s going on. Ben feels like he’s on the side, then he feels like he’s not, then he feels like he’s with Dr. Fox, and he feels like he’s not. So I think just their personal relationship is what will do it. The trial, that is so much bigger than TJ.

I want to see more TJ and Michael scenes.

Me and Omar were just saying that the other day. We don’t have many scenes together. Yeah, we need more. I mean, obviously every time he moves, he moved and I moved at the same time, but we do need more. You know what we need more of? Michael smiling.

I mean, yeah.

We need more happy Michael. That’s what we need. I said, oh, we need more, because Michael’s always going through, he always has to clean up fires or something to do with Amy. I’m like, I just want to see him smile. I want to see him be happy.

Well, I mean, after this episode, I want to see TJ smiling again.

But you know TJ — if you see him smiling, you won’t know if it’s real.

That’s what I was going to say.

Or if it’s fabricated.

Doc, Tuesdays, 9/8c, Fox