New Amsterdam: Season 1 – Episode 9 ‘As Long As It Takes’ REVIEW

And just like that, we’re at the New Amsterdam midseason finale. It’s been an incredible, emotional ride so far, hasn’t it? There’s a lot to process about what happened in the fall finale, but most importantly how it ended. So far, the series has dived into the idea of life and survival through varying narratives and characters. At the epicenter of New Amsterdam is Max who is struggling with cancer and also his new job title at the hospital. It’s taken him quite a while to grasp his condition and move forward with a treatment plan. The reason why this particular storyline adds to the value of the show is that it’s different and relatable. While other medical dramas such as Grey’s Anatomy would opt to seek a more dramatic, thriller approach to such a plot point, New Amsterdam does the complete opposite.

In fact, Max’s illness is just another part of the entire storyline, rather than the biggest part of it. It speaks volumes to how the writers bring the show together and how they take a unique approach to their job. During “As Long As It Takes”, Max makes a big decision regarding his health and opts to participate in a clinical trial rather than undergo chemotherapy treatment. It’s a tough decision to make, but once again the series uses it to reflect on the nature of who Max is. At his core, he wholeheartedly cares for the well-being of his patients and the success of the hospital. He knows that if he gives that all up for his treatment, it won’t bring him happiness. New Amsterdam has an amazing way of bringing us extremely close to the characters, and it did once again during “As Long As It Takes”.

And if you thought New Amsterdam had reached its capacity of emotionally heavy moments – you were wrong. It’s something the show thrives on and excels at better than medical drama out there (past and present). That’s a strong statement to make but if you’ve watched New Amsterdam, you understand why. This is depicted very strongly through Max’s character who brings forth an inspiration and a kind heart that other characters in other shows don’t. For example, in “As Long As It Takes”, Max saves the life of a patient who received his sister’s heart after she passed away.

Watching Max face this emotional conundrum made for an intriguing episode. Most medical dramas would probably have spent far too much time focused on why Max shouldn’t be involved or why it’s such a big deal. But New Amsterdam took a different approach. It focuses the energy on how Max evolves from the experience while progressing the storyline into a cliffhanger. After working relentlessly to save her life, she gives him ashes in an urn to spread. What is significant about this is what happens while Max spreads the ashes into a lake. He collapses and falls to the ground leaving viewers to wonder what will happen to Max – not to mention how his coworkers will react after learning about his cancer.

Once again, the approach to such a dramatic moment isn’t as drastic as other medical dramas. Sure, New Amsterdam could have gone and above beyond to make this entire episode extremely dramatic and full of twists and turns, but it didn’t. And that is why “As Long As It Takes” and the episodes that precede it are so engaging and thought-provoking.

Another storyline that New Amsterdam has been slowly building on is Lauren’s growing addiction to pills. In fact, “As Long As It Takes” brings it all to a head when Lauren completely zones out while treating a patient. Quite often, medical dramas focus on the lives of patients and the thrill behind this week’s mystery diagnosis. However, New Amsterdam is concentrating on the Lauren storyline in a different manner, from the perspective of a doctor – a doctor who has her own demons which she refuses to face. Instead, she’s using the pills as a means to stay awake and just put all her energy into working 24/7. But this has detrimental effects as we can see in the fall finale, and sheds light on the topic of addiction. It’s not often medical dramas will focus on the doctor’s struggles in their job, but New Amsterdam does. It’s heartbreaking to see Lauren ignore her needs and frightening to see the toll it takes on her, especially at work. Doctors save lives, but they are people too – with the same problems, same heartbreak, and same mental health issues. Thank you, New Amsterdam, for reminding us of that fact.

The best part about the series is the love it gives to secondary characters. Each one has a rich past full of secrets, hardships, love, romance, and happiness, and they’re equally as important as Max. It’s hard for shows to accomplish this feat but somehow New Amsterdam pulls it off seamlessly. One of the storylines of “As Long As It Takes” revolves around Iggy, the psychiatrist, and his attempts to counsel a transgender teen. It ultimately backfires, and the teen takes to social media to attack Iggy because he refused to approve his surgery. It takes a toll on Iggy who is a married gay man and honestly, amazing at what he does. But it’s also interesting to see how New Amsterdam takes a sensitive topic and incorporates social media into it and thus demonstrates how ingrained it’s become in our daily lives. Iggy means well, but social media becomes his enemy rather quickly. It takes away from the medical decision he has made and ignores the thought and emotion he put into helping the teen. New Amsterdam is able to, time and time again, tackle these types of topics so well, and then add in layers to give it more substance and emotion.

“As Long As It Takes” ended on a cliffhanger, but we assume and hope that Max will be alright. He is the heart and soul of the show and stands for everything good about it, and humanity – if we’re being honest. It will be interesting to see how the series will handle everyone’s reaction to Max’s health, and how the story will progress from here. Here’s to hoping the new year brings more emotionally jarring and relatable episodes of New Amsterdam – because we can’t get enough!