The February 18 episode of Doc is going to be the toughest one yet for Dr. Sonya Maitra (Anya Banerjee) — and the person she has to rely on is none other than Dr. Amy Larsen (Molly Parker), with whom she has a complicated history.
“Secrets and Lies” sees Sonya wrestle with treating the man, Ravi (Ritesh Rajan), who raped her, and TV Insider has an exclusive sneak peek of her making a shocking decision about his treatment. Banerjee tells us “it’s so difficult” for Sonya to both try to be a doctor to her rapist and also trust someone else who has hurt her in the past (Amy).
“Since the beginning of the season, viewers have seen how much Sonya dislikes Amy, but in this episode, we actually get a little bit of insight as to why. We got a flashback from before where Amy tells Sonya to consider that not everybody’s meant to be a doctor, but in this episode, we see that not only was Sonya a struggling med student at the time, she’s also just been the victim of date rape,” Banerjee says. “So even though Sonya might’ve respected Amy back when she was a student and probably would’ve taken a jab like that in her stride at any other time, that timing is just so terrible that it completely changes the way that Sonya sees Amy. And so of course she can’t come to Amy for help during all of this and has to just try and soldier through, but as we all know, repressing things and burying things doesn’t work, and it kind of blows up in her face a little bit — or a lot, I should say.”
In our clip, Ravi insists he didn’t rape her and taunts her. Watch the full video above — which does include flashes to the night of the assault — to see how she reacts.
“Sonya is completely dissociated [in that moment], which a lot of victims of trauma do, and she kind of just acts from this position of fight or flight,” Banerjee explains. “And I had to, as an actor, just let my body lead the way in that moment.”
What comes next? “Somebody’s got to pick up the pieces, right?” she teases. Amy’s the next one to enter the hospital room. “With this surprise patient and all of the drama that goes down, Amy now has to help Sonya. So that’s fascinating, to watch that hierarchy flip back and forth throughout the season [pre- and post-accident], but especially in this moment.”
What do you think of Sonya and Amy’s dynamic so far? Let us know in the comments section below.
Doc, Tuesdays, 9/8c, Fox
If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, contact the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network‘s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.