What an incredible first episode of Doc season 2! The season 2 premiere was pretty intense with the staff and patients of Westside Hospital facing a tense hostage situation that put everyone’s lives at risk. There was also a shooting that left one major character in an uncertain place.
Now, we're headed into the second episode of Doc season 2, which introduces a brand-new character to the Fox medical drama series. That character is Dr. Joan Ridley, played by Felicity Huffman. Below, we broke down everything that happens in the second episode of the season titled "Delusions of Grandeur."
Major spoilers are ahead from Doc season 2 episode 2!
Amy treats a patient experiencing a false pregnancy
Most episodes of Doc follow Amy and the rest of the medical team at Westside Hospital as they care for various patients. In episode 2, two new cases take center stage, including a young woman named Megan who appears to be pregnant and visits the hospital complaining of abdominal pain, soreness, and nausea.
When Amy first meets her, Megan explains that she doesn't have an OBGYN and lives in a tight-knit community that doesn't believe in traditional medicine. Amy performs an ultrasound, only to find a large mass and no sign of a fetus. Follow-up blood work confirms that there was never a pregnancy to begin with.
Amy shares her findings with Gina, who explains that Megan is experiencing pseudocyesis. In other words, Megan truly believes she’s pregnant, and her body is showing pregnancy-like symptoms even though there’s no baby. Amy still needs to address the mass with a biopsy and CT scan, so Gina advises her to carefully play along with Megan’s belief for now.
This way, they can complete the necessary tests without frightening her or causing unnecessary distress. Gina reassures Amy that she’ll assist when it’s time to gently deliver the truth, but for now, this approach is the safest plan. As Amy and Gina prepare the CT scanner, they ask Megan a couple of questions. They learn that she has a brother she hasn’t seen since she was 11, after they were separated and placed in foster care.
Just as Megan is about to enter the CT scanner, a woman named Ann rushes in. She claims to be a family member and insists that Megan cannot undergo the scan because it's bad for the baby. However, Ann isn't really a blood-related family member. She's just one of the ladies at the commune where Megan resides, and she has taken it upon herself to protect Megan. Amy and Gina manage to convince Megan to undergo an MRI instead, and during this time, they reveal to Ann that Megan isn't really pregnant.
After the MRI is finished, Amy shares the results with Megan. She has a tumor in her abdomen, and the next step would be to perform a biopsy. Megan doesn't want to do it at first, but Amy manages to convince her. Later, Ann speaks with Amy and Gina and tells them that she's spoken with her commune members. They've agreed to leave Megan in their care. Amy performs the biopsy and successfully removes the tumor from Megan's abdomen.
Now, she has to break the news to Megan that she's not actually pregnant. Meanwhile, Gina is able to get in contact with Megan's long-lost brother Jordan. After hearing the news, Megan begins to panic and becomes overwhelmed with emotion. Gina and another doctor must quickly administer a calming medication to her. Once Megan is stabilized, Gina helps her process the situation before inviting her brother Jordan into the room. He'll help her feel supported and reassured, providing comfort as she begins to come to terms with the truth.
Dr. Joan Ridley returns to Westside Hospital
While Amy naps in one of the on-call rooms, Dr. Joan Ridley quietly approaches her. Having been abroad for five months, Joan has finally returned. She is Amy's former mentor and an instructor of medicine and surgery. Joan asks Amy if she plans to reclaim her position as Chief of Internal Medicine, to which Amy replies that she’s currently an intern following her car accident.
Joan then introduces Amy to her new students that she's mentoring. At this time, Amy has a flash of an old memory. The memory briefly flashes back to a glimpse of a chocolate cake. Throughout the episode, Amy continues to have flashes of this same memory. The full memory eventually comes into focus at the very end of the episode.
Besides the patient experiencing pseudocyesis, the other patient in this episode is an artist who can't stop hiccuping. He's Joan's patient. She eventually discovers the cause of the problem. He has a lipoma. She treats him successfully, and everything returns to normal. During this episode, Michael also offers Joan the job of Chief of Internal Medicine, to which she accepts. Gina discovers that Joan has been given the position after walking by Richard's old office and seeing Joan sitting at his former desk.
She texts Amy about the news, and the memory that's been constantly resurfacing throughout the episode for Amy suddenly comes flooding back in full. Five years ago, before Amy lost her memory, Michael attempted to invite her to a musical concert in hopes of mending their relationship. However, Amy declines, explaining that she already has dinner plans with Joan that evening.
Michael then approaches Joan and asks her if she can help talk to Amy as he's tried everything to repair their relationship. Joan agrees to speak with Amy, but the conversation doesn't go as expected. Instead of encouraging Amy to fix things with Michael, she encourages her to leave him. We already knew that Amy broke off things with Michael, but now we know that Joan played a part. But why would she do that? That's the confusing part.
Here are some more important things that happen in the second episode of Doc season 2:
- TJ finds out some unfortunate news about his recovery journey. The doctor explains to TJ that he's going to need a lot of rehab to get his strength back after surgery. It'll be about six months before he can walk normally again and about a year before he can take on more strenuous activity. This means it might take a while before he can start working again. Sonya comforts him.
- Although Michael is happy to have another son, he struggles with feeling like he's replacing his first son, Danny, who died from a heart rhythm problem. Amy helps him work through his guilt.
- The hospital board advises Michael that he should take his paternity leave now rather than later. After Michael lied to UNOS in the last episode, all eyes are on him, so it's best that he steps back temporarily to avoid any further scrutiny.
- Amy and Jake are officially no longer together. Amy wants to work things out, but Jake is firm in his decision to move on. He thinks Amy still loves Michael, and doesn't want to subject himself to more heartache.
- Nora asks Michael if he still loves Amy. Michael responds by telling her that he loves her and that he isn't going anywhere.
The third episode of Doc season 2 is set to air on Fox on Oct. 7, 2025, at 9/8c.