*Warning: this article contains major spoilers for Doctor Odyssey.*
Ryan Murphy’s Doctor Odyssey has once again stirred up a storm among its fanbase, with viewers criticising the show for hinting at a potential three-way romance.
The series centres around Dr Max Bankman (played by Joshua Jackson), who leads a small medical team aboard a luxury cruise ship named The Odyssey. The star-studded cast includes Phillipa Soo (Hamilton) as nurse Avery Morgan, Sean Teale (Skins) as nurse Tristan Silva, and Don Johnson (Miami Vice) as Captain Robert Massey.
While the main plot revolves around the team dealing with unique medical emergencies, it’s their romantic entanglements that have caught the audience’s eye, with many hoping for Avery, Max and Tristan to form a triad relationship.
In the recently aired sixth episode, the show delved into the chemistry between the characters in a group sex scene, much to the displeasure of viewers.
As episode six concludes, Avery, Tristan and Max are seen discussing their top five bucket list aspirations. Tristan kicks off the conversation with his list: learn to kitesurf, break a world record, adopt a dog and own a beach house, fall in love, and participate in a threesome.
His colleagues are taken aback by his final wish but continue the discussion. Avery and Max reveal their own goals and then echo Tristan’s last wish, leading to the trio engaging in a sexual encounter, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Fans of the show have been eagerly anticipating a ‘throuple’ relationship, but a teaser for the next episode revealed that Avery is pregnant. This has led to speculation among viewers that the desired romance will instead turn into a love triangle.
After the sixth episode aired, fans took to X, previously known as Twitter, to express their thoughts. One viewer commented: “I thought we were getting a canon throuple instead we’re getting a love triangle and a pregnancy plot, oh Ryan Murphy you are my enemy.”
Another fan agreed, saying: “If Doctor Odyssey is gonna be stupid and get rid of the throuple storyline that girl better choose Tristan that’s all I’ve got to say.”
On a Reddit thread, one viewer expressed disappointment, stating they “thought it [the throuple] was a very progressive storyline… but the two guys are really having nothing to do with each other, right?” (sic).
The same viewer went on to criticise the series for not portraying either Max or Tristan as bisexual, which they believe diminishes the likelihood of a “progressive” romantic relationship being explored in the drama. They added: “This show feels old-fashioned and so very badly written.”
Another person concurred, suggesting that the scene seemed to set up a storyline of two men vying for the same woman rather than a three-person romance.
“It felt like they wasted an opportunity by not capitalising on the true throuple of it all. They could still technically do it but it’s not going to feel as satisfying as it would have after the threesome,” they wrote.
Doctor Odyssey is available to stream on Disney+