New Amsterdam is the type of show that you often find yourself gushing about over and over again. It’s a common theme in every review as weeks go by, but it’s not enough praise if I’m being honest. In this week’s episode, “A Seat at the Table” Max begins chemotherapy while the rest of the team face interesting dilemmas of their own. But, let’s start with Max. It took a lot for Max to decide that he is going to do chemotherapy. And now that he has started, it’s hard to get him to sit still. Once again, it’s a testament to the type of person he is and what makes New Amsterdam so intriguing to watch. Max’s character operates from a place of passion and care, and this episode highlights that quality in a whole different way. Instead of sitting for the three hours while he does his chemo, Max chooses to do it “on the go”. He continues his hospital duties as he would on any normal day and has a unique situation he finds himself dealing with. This part of the episode is one of the best to watch and proves Max’s commitment to the hospital – but in a different way. Whereas usually he’s eager to spend money left and right, this time around, he wants to save it.
He notices that a homeless patient has come in many times over the year, costing the hospital about $1.4 million. This is a huge strain on the hospital’s finances and he comes to a whole different solution, one that you may have never heard about. He opts to rent out an apartment for this homeless patient because he believes it will help solve the health problems and save money in the process. The reason for diving so much into this part of the episode is because it speaks to Max’s character. New Amsterdam has given us such a unique character in Max, and episode after episode we are left in awe over how he operates.
It’s the type of character we really need in these times and it’s refreshing to see someone like Max in a successful medical drama. It’s hard to find role models in television shows sometimes but it’s wonderful that we can get that with Max. The little things go a long way and Max’s heart always opts to do what will benefit others. But in all this, there is one interesting part about Max’s story in “A Seat at the Table”. When starting chemo, the group in the room asks him to join, but he refuses. It’s a little surprising to see him reject the notion of sitting there with others, but it’s also a reminder that he’s human. He doesn’t want to sit there and be reminded of his current situation and he’d rather stay busy doing other things. Perhaps he needs to sit there and understand it and embrace it, but seeing him do the opposite makes him more human than he’s ever been.
Another part of Max’s story that is wonderful to watch take place in “A Seat at the Table” is the relationship he shares with Helen. A lot of the fans are shipping them, even though he’s married. But that’s the beauty of their friendship. It’s never going to be romantic and they’re just simply great friends. Our minds always seek to create ships and look for romance in everything but seeing how Max and Helen interact is so refreshing. There’s no sexual thoughts or innuendo involved, they just care about each other a lot in a completely platonic way. There ought to be more medical dramas that follow in their footsteps. Even ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy subtly hints and throws in the idea of an Alex/Meredith relationship, instead of just letting them be friends. Nothing has happened there but there have been references to Meredith being in love with him, and…well, we’ve all seen this movie, haven’t we?
Speaking of Helen, she has more interaction with Lauren in “A Seat at the Table”, but in an awkward way. Lauren is trying to ease off the pills she had become addicted to and tells Helen that she has stopped cold turkey. But Helen isn’t convinced that Lauren is telling the truth which causes friction in their friendship. It’s rare to see female friendships be a part of a medical drama. In fact, Grey’s Anatomy took a while to get there too and it’s only in recent years that they’ve focused at all on these types of friendships. It’s great to see New Amsterdam rope it into the story without all the catty drama that often comes with it. It’s an important thing to focus on because not every relationship/friendship has to be about romance and seeing female friendships has a certain sentiment of empowerment that comes with it. Helen does overstep with Lauren in “A Seat at the Table”, but it’s part of what happens when you truly care about a friend.
We can’t talk about this episode of New Amsterdam without talking about Floyd’s arc. It was downright inspiring, uplifting, and reminiscent of the types of episodes Shonda Rhimes has given us in Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder. Floyd’s past catches up with him this week as we learn about his 2008 arrest that occurred simply because he’s black. It comes up during an interview with a journalist but becomes one of the most inspiring aspects of the episode. Jocko Sims does an incredible job here and we latch onto every word he says about racism, his efforts to be inspiring for his nephew, and how this all has affected him. He’s an intelligent, well-educated man who was still subjected to racism – and as he points out, the Yale bumper sticker did nothing for him when the cop pulled him over. This highlights a huge problem we still face today, and it’s inspiring to see it as a part of a medical drama. It’s a harsh truth many deal with, but many are ignorant to it because it doesn’t affect them. Kudos to New Amsterdam for giving Floyd’s character a platform to speak on a serious issue.
Iggy has a very different arc in “A Seat at the Table” in which he deals with a patient riddled with hallucinations of seeing a wolf. It’s very heartbreaking to see how this consumes the patient and how surgery doesn’t help his problem. It was so sad to see that the problem couldn’t be fixed and how his father had to make the ultimate decision to place him in a facility. We don’t often think about the kinds of illnesses people have to deal with, but New Amsterdam allows us to empathize in a way no other medical drama has really been able to. Grey’s Anatomy and The Resident are two successful medical dramas that often try to depict such stories, but it just doesn’t come off in the way New Amsterdam does.
Here’s to counting down the days until the next episode of New Amsterdam – it simply can’t come soon enough.
Catch up on our previous New Amsterdam reviews here.
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.
