Joshua Jackson Dishes on THAT ‘Doctor Odyssey’ Conspiracy Theory

From its very opening moments, ABC’s latest procedural,Doctor Odyssey, feels like a fever dream. Starting with the jump scare of the iconicRachel Dratchguest starring as a passenger whose husband gets iodine poisoning from eating too many shrimp, to a dance-off betweenJoshua Jackson’s Dr. Max Bankman andSean Teale’s Nurse Tristan Silva (not to mentionDon Johnson’s lengthy monologue about the ship being heaven), the fantastical vibes are heavy. And, we aren’t the only ones to feel that way as,after just two episodes, a conspiracy theory has already been sparked aboutRyan Murphy’s latest co-created production.

The theory lies in one of thefinal scenes of the pilot,during which Dr. Bankman and Nurse Avery Morgan (Phillipa Soo) are sharing a vulnerable moment in bed. It’s here that Dr. Bankman explains his YOLO-like philosophy, admitting that he was patient zero at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. For some viewers, alarm bells went off immediately, signifying that maybe the Doctor never woke up from his coma and that he had slipped off into a fever dream of his own about The Odyssey, its passengers, his new co-workers, and his new job.

During a conversation with Collider’sChristina Radish, Jackson admitted that he and his co-stars were also on the good ship conspiracy theory, having also posited such an idea. However, Jackson admitted that there’s only one person who knows for sure what’s going on aboard the luxury cruise liner — Murphy.

Giving credit where credit is due, Jackson said:

“I think it is atestament to the depth and diversity of Ryan’s imaginationand the shows that he puts on the air that everybody who looks at something that he’s doing is like, ‘Hmm, it can’t be what it looks like on its face, so what’s actually going on here?’ I think that is a huge compliment to him. And I will tell you that, on set,we came up with pretty close to that same theory. I have no idea. The only brain on earth that knows the truth is Ryan’s brain. But I love this as a conspiracy theory.”

Should Passengers (Viewers) Prepare Themselves For Rough Seas Ahead?

Intrigued by Jackson’s dodgy answer, Radish wondered if there was a possibility that audiences would find out that something more was going on later in the season. Doubling down and ensuring that should this be the case, we’re all in this together, Jackson said:

“The only person who knows whether that’s true or not is Ryan.I don’t know that we’ll find out this season. I don’t know that we’ll find out ever. And we might just be wrong.We definitely have the same kind of conspiracy parlor game going on, on set.So, I just want you and everybody at home who’s like trying to figure out the details to know that we are on the same page. He definitely didn’t pitch it to me as a fever dream transitioning to heaven, but it also may just be that he didn’t tell me the full details.”