New Amsterdam Season 1 Episode 4 Review: Boundaries
Jasmine Blu
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There is a reason why this series follows that family drama that reduces fans to a puddle of tears.
New Amsterdam Season 1 Episode 4 was an hour that would have most people reaching for the box of tissues. If you happened to watch it after This Is Us, then it's possible you're currently drowning in your own tears. Thanks for joining us!
New Amsterdam's specialty is tugging on heartstrings, and this hour was no exception.
There is something magical happening with television series and the musical supervisors who work for them. I don't know who these people are, but they are excelling at pairing the perfect soundtracks to scenes. Good music and great television go together hand in hand.
While New Amsterdam has a slight issue with their music being too loud and drowning out the dialogue at times, their musical supervisor knows how to squeeze every ounce of emotion out of the viewers with a song choice. It happened about five times during this installment.
Related: New Amsterdam Season 1 Episode 3 Review: Every Last Minute
Max is a consistent character. He's a chronic do-gooder, and he is incapable of stopping or slowing down. It's terrible that he puts himself under so much pressure, but this time he pressured the entire staff. At least he acknowledged his wrongdoing later.
I always found stillness to be a highly overrated human ability.
Max
There wasn't a single person who wasn't overworked. A medical conference for Cardiothoracic surgeons had all of the Cardio docs in the city away, and that left one in charge of overseeing major Cardio issues in their absence.
That sounds like a stressful position to be in, but when the Cardio head at Baptist was down, ironically, with something Cardio related, that left Floyd the top Cardio doc in the city.
That also meant many of Baptist's patients were rerouted to New Amsterdam. That place was a freaking zoo in a blink of an eye. Max turned his head away for a few minutes to tend to a homeless family, and when he came back, it was pure chaos.
Lauren managed most of it well considering how distracted she was. So, as some of you speculated, the pills Lauren has been popping are Adderall. It's not uncommon for Med students and doctors to use uppers to keep up with their intense schedules.
This storyline is so mundane though. There was nothing spectacular about it, and to be honest, there is nothing spectacular about Lauren. It's hard to pinpoint what makes her an annoying character, but my interest in her is waning with each installment.
For one, the whole thing with Lauren and Floyd is boring. Lauren doesn't respect his position and keeps chasing after and flirting with him. He keeps flirting back and failing to resist her. Ho-hum, let's move on already.
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During the hour she was visibly agitated for most of it because she couldn't find her "Ibuprofen" and was dependent on her pills and in some form of withdrawal. She was noticeably cranky, and most of her scenes were irksome.
She spent most of her scenes trying to track down her pills, being exasperated by the overcrowded ER and waiting room, and barging into Floyd's surgery a million times.
Resident: Dr. Reynolds?! Uh, Dr. Bloom asked me to um,
Floyd: Start with the subject, then with the very, and see where it takes you from there.
The number of times Floyd was interrupted while operating on someone was preposterous. That's not supposed to happen like that. Don't they have intercoms?
Floyd, bless his Type-A heart, was stretched thin and didn't want to admit it. The man couldn't be two places at once, but that didn't stop him from trying. His refusal to delegate was asinine and reckless.
"Tall One" didn't have any issues, and he knew how to operate. Floyd refusing to put the kid to use sooner was a disservice to him, the kid, and the patients. Floyd does need to work on his control issues.
Max needs to work on a few things as well, mainly not spreading himself thin. It was unfortunate that he signed the hospital up for a hectic day and spent most of the day tending to the homeless woman and her family.
The homeless family storyline was heartbreaking because the debt from their mother's medical expenses is what led to them living on the street. Can you blame them for never wanting to step foot in a hospital if that's what they associate with hospitals?
Max couldn't pass up the opportunity to help someone in need, but he needs to do a better job helping himself. He slowed down significantly and did what Helen needed him to do, but he still has to try harder.
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It was an overwhelming day for him, and hectic days come with the territory. How is he going to pull off running the hospital while doing radiation and Chemotherapy before and after work? On top of that, he's trying to take care of Georgia too.
It makes sense why he wants Georgia there with him, and he wants to work things out with her, but he has to take care of her all the while keeping her in the dark about his health. It's a less than ideal situation, and he should have let Georgia stay with her parents.
Is anyone else having a difficult time figuring Georgia out? It was grating when we saw that Max has been sleeping on the couch because apparently, she's not ready to share a bed with him. Does that make sense to you at all?
If the primary issues in their marriage were that Max overextends himself, doesn't have enough time for her, and took on this new job, then what does that have to do with him sleeping on the couch?
Their relationship is confounding, and it comes across like Max wants to put his all into making it work and making amends, but Georgia isn't as invested in that at all. Am I missing something? Please, let me know in the comments if I'm reading that wrong.
Right now, Max has stronger chemistry and a stronger relationship with Helen than his wife. The Max and Helen scenes continue to be the absolute best scenes. Their friendship has developed quickly, but it's nice.
Max: There's so much to do.
Helen: You're going to have to prioritize.
Max: You mean start saying no.
Helen: I mean start saying yes, to you. What do you need, Max?
They know how to be supportive of one another, and they have a noticeable mutual respect for one another. Helen is the only person Max can confide in about his cancer, and she is all the support he has.
Max is helping her cope with adjusting to treating patients again. If every installment Helen has to cry her eyes out or come close to it, it will be unbearable. Protect Helen at all costs!
Thankfully, the writers of New Amsterdam spared us the visual of Tianna dying, but it was a devasting case regardless. Oncologists have the worst job, and they should be commended regularly. How do you look at that little baby and tell her that she's going to die?
Helen's poignant description of what she felt death was to Tiana was the saddest scene of the hour.
Tiana: Everyone looks sad.
Helen: Sweetheart, your cancer is back. Tiana, you asked what it's like when you die. I think that it's like this. Come. So, when it happens, you won't be able to see your mum and dad, and they won't be able to see you. But they will always be there.
Tiana: And I'll always be here?
Helen: Yes, you'll never stop thinking of each other. You'll never stop talking to each other. You'll just be on a different side of the room.
Tiana: Mommy, can you hear me?
Tiana's Mom: Yes, baby doll.
Tiana's Dad: We can hear you.
Tiana: I can hear you too.
Another standout moment with a fantastic quote came from Iggy and his time spent with Jemma. Jemma is a great character, and it was nice to see her appear again.
She's a little discouraged about not being placed with her former foster mother's daughter, but the reality of how long it takes to go through all the motions was refreshing.
Iggy's advice to her was so profound and striking. Iggy spent much of the hour cracking jokes about Kapoor's crush on the cafe lady, and it reached a point of silliness. He made up for it with that Jemma scene though.
Iggy: Hey, are those facts or those feelings?
Jemma: Feelings.
Iggy: Right. They're feelings, so why don't we try sticking to the facts.
Kapoor is a consistent character as well, and it was a pity that I doubted the man when the patient came on telling him that she was dizzy. Doesn't dizzy mean dizzy? What else was he looking for her to say?
Kapoor always takes his time, slows down his methods, listens, and figures things out. The joke is on me for ever doubting him.
Alright 'Dam Fanatics, what did you think of the hour? What's your impression of the Max and Georgia relationship? Is anyone 'shipping Lauren and Floyd? Hit the comments.
You can watch New Amsterdam online here via TV Fanatic if you missed anything.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
