New Amsterdam 4x03;

Season 4 of New Amsterdam continues to satisfy in all categories for these viewers. Episode 3 gives us focus on the troubles that each of the main relationships in the show are going through and their ways of dealing with it. Sharpwin remains iconic, Leyran in cahoots to get the other residents to respect Leyla and Floyd/Lyn questionable at best.

Opening;

We open with all of the main characters (Lauren, Flloyd and Iggy) discussing the news bomb that was dropped on the hospital in the last episode; Helen and Max are leaving and moving to London together. All of them are clearly mourning the potential of the pair moving as they talk to their significant others.

· Lauren (interaction 10/10): seems to be woken up by the weight of her thoughts regarding Sharpwin moving to London. She discusses her concerns with Leyla who seems half asleep throughout most of their conversation. It isn’t until near the end that she literally springs awake to pin Lauren with a command of ‘stop talking.’ While Sharpwin is easily my #1 on this show, these two are such a close second.

· Iggy (interaction 5/10): thinks Max is his hero, precious. He seems like the one that is most bothered by overall change at New Amsterdam. His scene ends with a cute moment between him and his husband that seems to leave Iggy in a much better mood.

· Floyd (interaction 7/10): acknowledges that Max is the glue that holds them together, which is such a sweet sentiment to me. We need more scenes with those two! Let’s discuss how unfair/unjustified it is that they only interact like three times a season. His concerns end when Lyn claims that ‘she thinks she can help.’ I’m not sure about you but I’m still not sold on them. Maybe their development over the season will change my mind.

Helen and Max on the other hand are dealing with their own problems as they are woken up from their sleep by Luna playing a loud (so loud, who gave her that tablet?) kiddie song. Max seems barely phased by the interruption as he gets up to tend to her. However, Helen is visibly unsettled as she sits up and watches from the bed. Like the other two episodes of the season, we are given a new issue that has come about in Sharpwin’s relationship.

Cue the jazzy intro!

New Medical Director?

Naturally after the intro, we are introduced to the new villain of the season, Veronica Fuentes. Now I don’t know about any of you, but I found all her interactions with the leads to be interesting. They gave each of the character an opportunity to shine.

Her first real conversation is with Floyd, who briefly offers to assist her with finding Max before she runs off. He is the first of many that fails to get her name during their conversation.

Second came Helen who was berated with a terrible English accent after getting an ear full about how “excited” Fuentes was for her. My favorite part about this interaction was how genuinely confused Helen looked through most of it due to not having any idea about who this woman is. She just nods and head tilts the entire time it’s fantastic. Her confusion is only amplified when Fuentes addresses the work ethics that come along with her relationship with Max. How he is technically her superior and if they ended up staying at New Amsterdam their dynamic would have the potential of making their co-workers and HR not happy. Helen stands there shocked for a moment and then proceeds to ask for her name. Much like with Floyd, she fails to get it and just gazes as the mysterious woman walks away.

Third was Iggy! Their interaction focused on the idea that nurses are severely understaffed in the psychology department. Iggy obviously agrees with her stating that he has been saying that for years without any results. Fuentes laughs and says that when she worked at a different hospital, they solved it within a day to which Iggy is shocked and asks how. Simply put? She let go of a lot of patients to level out the work between the nurses that she was given. While it’s not unheard of, the fact that she laughs and smiles while saying that is unsettling for both us and Iggy. Just like with Floyd and Helen, Iggy is left standing alone questioning who he just talked to.

Last is Lauren and honestly? They have the best interaction. Casey is pointing Fuentes out to her and after asking if she is with a patient and he answers no, Lauren pounces. She goes straight up to her and claims that she is a ‘walking HIPPA violation’ and that the world is dealing with a mass global pandemic so they don’t like when random people just walk around the emergency room. When all is said and done, Fuentes simply states that ‘she must be Dr. Bloom’ before walking away. Why do I feel like these two are either going to get along or Lauren is going to bully her out of the hospital?

Max the Hero;

A side plot to this episode involves Max and a Novaco science fair. He begins with talking about a can crusher he made, and ends being baffled by how advanced teenagers now are compared to how he was. Easily the best part of this plot line, him not understanding modern technology and how it has aided the current generation to create more outstanding projects. What a puppy.

During his confusion over technology, a simple entry to the science fair catches his eye. A girl with a turnip. She ends up discussing with him how a chemical in a turnip suture can detect temperature changes in a wound the same way a smart suture can. Her logic is that anyone can grow turnips and that it would save the communities that can’t afford smart technology. At the mere concept of saving lives, Max jumps at the opportunity to make her the winner so that he can fund her project.

Quickly after the win, Max introduces Imani to Ron who is the head of Novaco. Not surprisingly he isn’t that gung-ho about the idea of her turnip sutures. He claims that they already have a smart suture and that her idea will most likely be shelved. When he goes to Imani with this news, he ends up sparking something within her and she ends up asking for his help to find a solution. Enter the iconic ‘how can I help?’ phrase here.

Next time we see them they are on the garden roof discussing how many turnips Imani will need to make her dream possible. The total ends up being a whopping 95k which results in max just staring at her until Karen and Imani’s parents show up. Karen hands Max a breach of contract notices as well as the news that Novaco is suing. Max doesn’t seem to care and throws around numbers for a settlement. All three of the other adults in the room look uncomfortable as it’s revealed that Novaco isn’t suing New Amsterdam but rather Imani.

Max’s solution is to make sure that if they settle Imani can still get into a good school but as he goes over the options, he realizes that Novaco is on the boards for them all. Before anything else can be done Imani proclaims that she doesn’t care what Novaco threatens and that she will happily take them on if it means she can help make the world a better place. While this is a courageous idea, it’s clear that Max feels responsible for her choice. In the end they do give up but not before Max manages to connect with a Dr. Rahul who happens to be the dean of Columbia’s Art and Science department. He offers Imani a full scholarship on the spot, much to the girl’s surprise. They both end up happy and yet another one of Max’s impromptu chaotic ideas ends up working out.

Helen hates messes aka Max’s apartment;

For the first time this season, we get a Lauren and Helen scene! I know the reaction to them is typically mixed, but I love them. You know what I also love? The complete disgust that is in Helen’s voice as she talks to Lauren about the mess that is Max’s apartment. She and Lauren discuss the issues that have arisen in Sharpwin’s relationship; Max is messy, and apparently snores loud enough to keep Helen awake all night. The problems are little but seem to be of real concern to Helen who claims that she was ‘so busy falling in love.’ That she forgot a relationship needs work to stay afloat. Lauren jokingly (bitterly lets be honest) says that maybe Helen should dump Max so at least the hospital will get to keep one of them. RIP their friendship for now, I guess!

The next segment we get on this topic is with Karen of all characters. Her and Helen discuss the struggles that come with dating Max with the details like the conversation she had with Lauren. The biggest difference comes in the way that Karen reacts to the information. She claims that if Helen is worrying about how he squeezes toothpaste this early on, maybe it’s because their relationship is a mistake.

By the end of the episode Helen makes the decision to move into his apartment as practice for when they move to London. This leaves a big question in our minds; why? Doesn’t Helen have the money to buy a place like hers in London? Here’s hoping episodes in the future will address this.

Lauren and Leyla plot to overthrow the ER;

Lauren’s first real conversation is with Casey (blessed boy) after the shooting victims all get settled. She asks him how Leyla had been doing on trauma to which he sighs (he’s so sick of everyone I love him) and says that Roxana was the leader throughout it. Lauren and her manic self begin to panic and say that there is no way she is going to let Leyla fade in the back of the group.

When she finally finds Leyla she begins straight away with questioning (and sport analogies for some reason) why she is letting herself be in the shadows. Leyla doesn’t say much until Lauren asks where the woman who pulled off a renegade needle decompression and who pinned her down in bed that morning. At this point Leyla claims that she’s right there and that she will ‘ride the ball or whatever.’ We stan Leyla in this house.

Their final moments of the episode involve Leyla trying to place an IV line and Lauren comes up suggesting that they use ultrasound guidance. Leyla declines and the two of them go back and forth before she successfully places the line much to Lauren’s surprise. One of the best moments in this episode is when Leyla is done, Lauren and Roxana just stare off into space. They don’t even look at each other they are that shook.

Floyd is overworked and needs a break;

Floyd has one of my favorite story lines this episode simply because it kept my attention all the way through until the end when we finally got answers. We see near the beginning that there are multiple shooting victims that are all being rushed into the hospital. As viewers who live in the State’s, the issue of seeing these victims feels all too real. The emotional toll that is felt from having to handle all these victims is what eventually breaks Floyd. He rotates through four patients and as the time passes, he mistakes the victims for each other. It’s a well-done segment of the episode with details such as the doctors and nurses in each individual surgery changing depending on which victim is in the operating room. Upon first watch I didn’t notice that due to my focus being on Floyd and what was wrong with him. By the end of the episode, he discusses with Lyn that his mind was overwhelmed by how many shooting victims he had to operate on during that week. We as an audience learn in this moment that he wasn’t imaging one person as four but rather four as one. The single tear that he sheds as he discusses his struggles is the final spec of depth that makes his story line the standout for the week.

Iggy’s release of control:

Iggy has one of the lesser involved plot lines this episode, with his attention mainly being on his top resident; Wendy Agliar. Soon after we are introduced to her character, she gets the bad news that one of her patients committed suicide. Both are shocked at the news, but Wendy fails to react the way that Iggy deems to be “correct.” This results in Iggy becoming obsessed with getting her to show the emotions he believes she is bottling up. By the end of the episode, he does manage to break through to her only to figure out that she didn’t want to feel the emotions he forced her to. In her mind, keeping the emotional aspect of her job at bay is healthier and provides a steadier method for her work.

Once again, the writers choose to make Iggy the villain by making the choice to not understand people have different techniques on handling work. It’s an odd cycle that they are keeping his character in but at least by the end of this episode he appears to understand where he went wrong with Wendy. Here’s hoping that in the future he gets to keep this emotional development and it isn’t taken away for plot convenience again. I say all this fondly!

The last scenes:

The last two scenes of this episode are roller coasters of emotion. You start with all the main characters showing up to go home and running into Sharpwin which results in a massive group hug. All seems good and well until Karen pops up with Fuentes and tells the team that she will be taking over the spot of medical director. It’s here that we are introduced to the story line of her and Max having a history. Fun!

Final Thoughts and Rating;

Episode 4x03 of New Amsterdam didn’t disappoint in any of story lines. So far, this season has the potential to be the most consistent in quality with all three premiered episodes being topped rank for this viewer. (8/10)

Best Quotes

• ·“How can I fix the world when the people in charge want it to stay broken?” -Imani

• “You’re a walking HIPPA violation.” -Lauren

• “So, all of this technology, all of these crutches, they only get in my way” -Leyla