The fallout of that pregnancy twist on Doc is far from over — in fact, it is just getting started.
Patrick Walker spoke exclusively to Us after his character, TJ, learned that he is going to be a father amid girlfriend Sonya’s (Anya Banerjee) pregnancy.
“As we’ve seen this episode, he is avoiding things, and he’s going to [keep] doing that. He’s going to be playing a lot of different faces, and then there’s going to come a moment where everything hits the fan,” Walker, 33, teased. “And he has to anticipate some consequences.”
The actor teased “a big change” for TJ, adding, “But it is over the course of a lot of episodes. What’s beautiful about this story line is that things get addressed a little more, but it doesn’t really get addressed much. It stretches over time. It’s something that will get addressed through the entire season.”
While fans are waiting in anticipation, Walker enjoyed spending the time unraveling TJ’s state of mind.
“What I found just from even asking men about their experience when they found out that they were having a child — and even women about what happened to their husbands or their partners — is that there’s something that happens in the brain where men realize that life is about to change,” he explained. “That is where the complexity comes for anybody. But then TJ is dealing with his mental health, so then it takes it to a whole other level of complexity.”
Walker noted that TJ is “happy” to be expanding his family. “But overall, he sees it as a mission. He’s going back to his roots if there is a challenge that’s in front of us and these are the steps we need to take to accomplish said mission,” he continued.
He added: “But there was something so beautiful about that story that it happens to people. People in the heat of the moment make choices, and it ends up working in his favor in a much different way than he expected.”
TJ is also dealing with his PTSD after serving in the military. Doc has already touched on the aftermath of such trauma, but Walker teased more getting unpacked throughout the third season of the Fox medical drama.
“While prepping that episode, I talked to at least 15 veterans and had hours and hours of conversations. Representation is super important. There’s no way in the world I’m going to go and misrepresent veterans or anybody who served for the country that I love — that’s not happening,” he told Us. “So I took great caution and care in putting that together.”
Looking ahead, Walker is excited to keep seeing new sides to TJ.
“We will see this journey of him getting to that place with his mental health. But what’s beautiful is that it’s not easy,” he noted. “The TJ case is something that’s stretched, and you really get a chance to get into him getting help. It’s just really challenging for men to do, especially Black men. I like that it’s not easy and it takes time.”
Doc airs on Fox Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
