Star Jon Ecker Breaks Down Doc Season 1, Episode 6’s Ending & What It Means For Jake And Amy

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Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Doc season 1, episode 6.Doc season 1, episode 6 marked a big progression for Jake and Amy. The relationship between the two doctors is one of the most dramatic elements of the new FOX series, as Amy’s memory loss has caused her to forget what had been happening between them at the time of the accident. Still, things took a step forward in the most recent episode, with Jake and Amy kissing after the latter figures out that the two were in a relationship.

The situation is complicated, as Amy has also fallen once more for her ex-husband and is reprocessing the loss of her son Danny. Jake actor Jon Ecker plays his character with compassion for Amy, but also as someone who struggles to navigate their tenuous relationship especially as he manages his own relationships with a daughter and ex-wife. With a few episodes left in the season, there is still much that can happen between the pairing.

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ScreenRant’s Rachel Foertsch spoke with Jon Ecker about Jake’s journey on Doc and specifically in episode 6. Ecker discussed the nuances of his relationship with Amy, especially as things develop between the two of them in the wake of her memory loss. Ecker also spoke about Jake’s approach to working with patients and revealed what he would like to see from his character if there were to be a Doc season 2.

Jon Ecker Discusses How Jake’s Personal Life Impacts His Approach To Work

“He Does Have A Personal Connection To These Patients”

ScreenRant: What did you find most interesting about the CIP case in Episode 6?

Jon Ecker: That’s a crazy thing to think about: the fact that you couldn’t feel any pain. I do a lot of woodworking and stuff with tools, so I’m sure I’d probably slam my hand with a hammer or a nail or something and not even notice. But I think the nice thing about that episode and what the writers do is not just the medical aspect of that case, but the personal side behind the people that are involved in the case.

The really interesting thing is what’s going on with the father and the daughter and this father who’s overprotective, with good reason, of his daughter going off to college and trying to find her own independence given that situation. That, mixed in with everything… it’s good how layered that whole situation is.

Jake really took the time to listen to Chloe and understand what she was going through. What do you admire about Jake as a doctor?

Jon Ecker: I think one thing is that he really likes medicine and doing a good job. And beyond the superficiality of being good at the medicine, it’s deeper than that in his caring for the patients. I think any time anybody is good at what they do or at least trying really hard to be good at what they do and excel at it, that’s always a very admirable quality in whatever profession it is.

But I think the fact that he does have a personal connection to these patients and cares about them beyond just what their medical situation is, since he’s emotionally involved, makes you care even more about them and to try to go deeper to really figure out what’s causing whatever problem it is depending on the week and what case it is.

In this episode, Jake, although we don’t really explore that situation in the first season, has a daughter and is a divorced single dad. So, even though his daughter’s much younger, he can still relate not only to what the daughter’s going through, but the father trying to be the best dad he can be.

I was actually going to ask you about that, because Jake mentioned that he had a daughter, and I was curious if that was something that we might touch on this season.

Jon Ecker: Yeah, I won’t get into any spoilers since there are four episodes after this to know if we get into that. But up to this point, we haven’t really gotten into that besides just the fact that he mentions he has a daughter. But I think that, obviously, having a kid can help him relate to the father in this episode.

“I Kind Of Expected It To Happen Further On In The Series”

Ecker Weighs In On The Romantic Rekindling Between Amy and Jake

Dr. Larsen and Dr. Heller look on blankly in Doc

Jake has had these feelings for Amy, but she’s still in love with her ex-husband. Can you talk a bit about his headspace these past episodes?

Jon Ecker: It’s obviously a very interesting and difficult situation, and a little hard to wrap your head around. I approach it from the standpoint of going through a breakup, which everybody’s gone through. [Everybody] can relate to some level of being in love with somebody who doesn’t return the feelings. But this is obviously a little bit different because the person has a traumatic brain injury and legitimately does not even remember my existence, much less our relationship and much less our romantic relationship.

So, it’s a little different because you’re dealing with a breakup, but in a way there’s this hope that maybe things will change. It’s kind of good and bad because there’s also no finality to it. It’s not like this person left you and you’re moving on. It’s “Okay, well, this person is kind of in love with her ex-husband and doesn’t remember me, but we did have a connection. Is our connection just this universal thing and we’ll fall in love again? Or, tomorrow, will she show up to work and all of a sudden the brain injury has kind of fixed itself, she remembers me, and we go back to normal? Or do I need to move on with my life?”

And I can’t really have this discussion with her because that’s per the doctor’s recommendations. From a psychology standpoint, you want her to slowly regain the memory and not remind her of it, so I’m just sitting on the sidelines with a little bit of hope, but I also don’t know. It’s this weird kind of purgatory situation up until this episode and the door gets opened back up.

Granted, it’s not necessarily the way that I would’ve hoped in that she just wakes up one day and her memory’s back and she remembers everything and she’s in love with me and has moved on from her ex-husband. She just kind of comes to the realization that we were together. So I’ll take it, but it is not exactly the ideal circumstance, because that history is not ingrained in her yet.

I was going to ask if you were surprised about how that came about, because, like you said, she didn’t get her memory back. She figured it out on her own.

Jon Ecker: Yeah, I wasn’t really surprised because from a dramatic standpoint, if she had just woken up one day and had her whole memory back, that’s kind of like, “Well, there’s the end of the show. She remembered everything, let’s all go back to normal.” So I think it made sense that if it was going to happen, that she would kind of start piecemealing her old life back together.

We, as actors, when we’re shooting this, are kind of in the same boat as the spectators watching it now, where we’re getting the episodes [one by one]. Sometimes they’ll give us a hint what’s going to happen–and it’s not like they keep it from us. They’re writing episodes as they go, too–but I kind of expected it to happen further on in the series than episode six.

But I expected it to be that she just kind of piecemealed it together and it just made sense in her head, because even though she doesn’t remember me, we obviously have already started to build a caring connection and relationship in these weeks since her accident anyway. I think she can pick up on that we had a bit of a different relationship than her and some of the other colleagues.

They kiss, and she comes inside, but do you feel they’re ready to jump back into a relationship? It feels like Jake knows Amy in a way she no longer knows him.

Jon Ecker: Yeah, I think you can’t just jump right into it. I think Amy and Jake have a connection with each other that, even without the memory, I think we’ll pick back up. But, obviously, there is a lot of baggage to deal with that we didn’t have to deal with the first go-around with our relationship–mainly that she is in love with her ex-husband and dealing with the loss of her son. That wasn’t really the case when we started our relationship.

Prior to the accident, obviously she had lost her son and she had divorced her husband, but years had gone by, and so she was kind of in a good headspace with that, and now she’s kind of grieving all of that at the same time. It’s probably not the healthiest place to start a relationship, so you’ve got to tiptoe into it a little meekly. But we’ll see.

Jake fell in love with the Amy he knew, but she’s not the person she was before the accident. What has it been like for him to witness these different versions of the same woman?

Jon Ecker: Well, I think we explore some of their history and how they got together throughout flashbacks throughout the season, but we haven’t gone too far back in their relationship much before when they started dating. But I think for Jake, the Amy that he knows isn’t that different from this Amy.

I think part of the bond that they had was that when she was the old Amy, he, in a way, cracked that hard layer and that facade that she had put up and everybody else saw. He got through that and he saw that softer side. For whatever reason, Amy decided to open up to him and let down that barrier. So, even though she’s different to the patients and her colleagues right now, I think that was the Amy that Jake knew and fell in love with because he had kind of gotten through that hard outer layer.

Ecker Would Like To Follow Jake Home In The Future

The Actor Is Eager To Explore More Of Jake’s Personal Life Outside Of The Hospital

Dr. Heller looks over his shoulder with a concerned expression in Doc

Are there any specific questions that you have about Jake that you are hoping the show is going to answer?

Jon Ecker: I’m eager, whether or not it happens this season or in a–knock on wood–future season, to explore more of Jake’s personal life outside of the hospital. When we started filming, we talked to the writers and have an idea in our head–whether it’s from the writers or something we’ve just created–of their childhood, their relationship with their parents, and all that. [I thought about] that formation of Jake that has, over his life, made him who he is today.

He has to deal with his daughter and ex-wife and stuff, so I kind of have in my head from talking to the writers what that situation is, but it would be interesting to actually see it play out on screen in future episodes. So, it’s not necessarily a question, but aspects of his life to explore outside of the hospital would be interesting. Then, [I’m interested in] continuing to explore this relationship with Amy and the love triangle that has been created thanks to her brain injury.

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About Doc Season 1 On Fox

Created By Barbie Kligman

Doc follows Dr. Amy Larsen, who suffers a brain injury erasing eight years of her life. As she attempts to continue her medical practice, she relies on her estranged 17-year-old daughter and close friends to navigate this challenging new reality and bridge the gap in her personal and professional life.

Doc airs Tuesday nights at 9pm on FOX.