Van Helsing Exclusive: Rukiya Bernard Discusses Doc/Axel Relationship & Why Doc Left Axel To Die

“Let’s just say they spent a lot of time together.”

If you watched episode 9 of Syfy‘s new hit Van Helsing, then you know all about Axel (Jonathan Scarfe) and Doc’s (Rukiya Bernard) friendship, but did you know it might have been something more?

OMFGTV recently spoke with Rukiya about her character’s relationship with Axel, and the heartbreaking scene where Doc left Axel to die.

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“I can’t comment whether there was romance or not, but let’s just say they spent a lot of time together.” Though Bernard could not confirm a past relationship between Doc and Axel, she did tell us about a documentary that helped inspire their relationship. In the documentary a group of soldiers are forced to live in a bunker together for over a year without leaving, and in that year they learned everything about each other.

“You would talk about things that you would only share with your closest friends” according to Rukiya, “You end up having a very intimate relationship when you’re holed up in a place you can’t get out.” Regardless if their relationship was romantic or not, Doc and Axel were very close, which makes what happens at the end of the episode even more heartbreaking.

Speaking of the end of the episode, Rukiya had a lot to say about Doc’s character and why she left Axel behind to presumably die.

“It’s a moment where she feels she’s gonna die, so does she try to save someone? Well, that’s not true to her character.” Doc calls herself a coward earlier in the episode, and she proves that to be true when she parallels her past by leaving someone behind in an effort to save herself. Bernard points out that Doc’s profession as a forensic pathologist is important, because she works alone and has complete autonomy over it. That is where she feels safe and in control, not in this new world.

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Rukiya also pointed out that Doc leaving Axel behind wasn’t even a decision Doc consciously made, and that the aftermath of that decision will play out in a big way. “The aftermath is devastating for her.”

Make sure to catch Van Helsing Friday on Syfy at 10pm to find out what happens to Doc and the other survivors!