New Amsterdam: Season 2 – Episode 1 ‘Your Turn’ REVIEW

We’ve just started the second season of New Amsterdam, and there’s already more layers to Max than we see in most medical dramas.

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New Amsterdam is back with its second season, and it’s an understatement to say it was incredible, based on ‘Your Turn’ alone. One of the strongest points about this series is its ability to tug at your heartstrings and get you invested in its storyline. Quite often medical dramas get caught up in cliffhangers, a crazy patient case, or its love stories. New Amsterdam, however, veers completely away from that but still keeps the emotional aspect involved.

At the end of its first season, New Amsterdam ended with a tragic car accident that claimed a character’s life. Yes, it was a cliffhanger, but it wasn’t the only thing that fans were looking forward to when the series returned. There’s so much more to the story here, and the manner in which the second season began is a testament to that. Having said that, using a cliffhanger to end a season isn’t always the best way to go. Fans aren’t always pleased by being left in the dark for months at a time. It’s a show’s way of ensuring viewers will continue watching once the series returns and answers the question. New Amsterdam doesn’t need to do that so it’s rather frustrating that they chose to go down that route with the accident cliffhanger.

Cultured Vultures spoilers

New Amsterdam’s second season is going to focus a lot on loss, the ability to move on, and what comes next. Max is a very strong character in the series, and carries the entirety of ‘Your Turn’. He is a multi-layered character that has dealt with the trauma of his illness while balancing his duties as a medical director (the best MD we’ve ever seen on a series). This type of character is completely unique in comparison to the other medical dramas out there. We’re often dealing with lead characters that are caught up in some love story or pointless storylines, but there is something magnificent about Max.

We could use more characters on television like him that inspire, uplift, and push us to be the best version of ourselves. When you look at shows like Grey’s Anatomy or The Resident, it’s hard to find a character that projects the same feelings. Sure, we’ve had the occasional character that does so, but Max is on a whole different level. Which is why, in the season 2 premiere, the manner in which the story unfolds over the course of the house is unbelievable. By the end of the episode, it’s revealed that the character that passed away was Max’s wife, Georgia.

This isn’t apparent off the bat as we see Max wake up next to Georgia at the start of the premiere. But by the very end of the episode, the manner in which the narrative plays out, it catches you completely off guard. This is something that is very, very unique to New Amsterdam, especially as a medical drama. The entire narrative of the season 2 premiere plays out in a way that keeps us in the dark about which character died, but it manages to do it in a way that doesn’t drag it on or annoy us. You can thoroughly enjoy what is going on without the cliffhanger hanging over your head in a way that takes away from what you’re watching.

Going off that point, Georgia’s death seemed rather predictable given that she wasn’t a very strong character in the first season. She’s not exactly a throwaway character, but didn’t impact the story that much as a character on her own. However, it appears her loss will play a big role in how Max’s storyline plays out this season. So, while losing her was predictable, here’s hoping that it takes the story to the next level.

During the season 2 premiere, it becomes very clear that the second season of New Amsterdam will be focusing a lot on Max’s journey as he moves forward in life. He’s on a new treatment regimen, and it seems to be working well. Of course, that comes with the downside of losing his wife and raising their child on his own. But that is where the focus of this season will take us. How will Max handle this on his own? What will happen if the treatment stops working? There’s still a lot of mystery in Max’s storyline, but New Amsterdam will likely tackle this slowly but surely in a satisfying way.

The reveal on who died in the season 1 finale wasn’t revealed until the very end of ‘Your Turn’. But there was a lot that led us to that moment. The moment itself unfolded as the audience realized that Max is imagining Georgia – she’s not really there. This gives us a very deep insight into Max’s psyche, that of a character who is conflicted but has a duty in life to keep things in order. As has been said before, New Amsterdam thrives on this sort of very deep character development. Let’s take a look at a medical drama like Grey’s Anatomy. We’ve got characters like Meredith Grey, Alex Karev, and a handful of others that have been there since the series began. In all these years, there hasn’t been the type of character development we’ve seen in New Amsterdam’s Max. While there’s been a lot of opportunities for these characters to grow, it took many, many seasons to get there.

We’ve just started the second season of New Amsterdam, and there’s already more layers to Max than we’ve seen in any character on Grey’s Anatomy. Think about it. Max has been dealing with cancer, he’s the best medical director we’ve ever seen, and the way he inspires those around him is something I’ve just never seen before. Looking at a character like Meredith Grey, she also went through a very drastic journey, but that was over the course of 16 seasons. If New Amsterdam was to end tomorrow, a character like Max feels like he has just as much depth. That’s impressive, isn’t it?

New Amsterdam is one of the strongest dramas on television right now, and there’s a lot to be noted about that statement. In a world of television where the competition is fierce and some of the best shows are in existence, it’s hard to keep up with that. But New Amsterdam is doing it, and doing it very well. ‘Your Turn’ proves that with Max’s storyline, the reveal at the end, and catching up with all the characters.

Another phenomenal aspect of ‘Your Turn’ is a storyline that Max has with one of the patients. She can’t afford insulin, and as a result, has been trying to use them in moderation and ended up very will. Max fights tooth and nail against big pharma until she lands a way for this patient to get a lifetime’s supply. This type of story has been seen in other medical dramas, but again the emotional impact is very different here. The characters are tackling issues that are very relevant in today’s world, and while the episode manages to solve the issue in their own way, it doesn’t make it seem unrealistic either. Instead of focusing on how a certain situation can be made more dramatic, New Amsterdam allows its viewers to relate, and that’s not always easy.

Catch up on our previous New Amsterdam reviews here.

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new amsterdam your turn ryan eggold
Verdict
New Amsterdam is back, and based on what we saw in the season 2 premiere, it’s going to be quite the emotional adventure once again.
8.5