New Amsterdam Season 1 Episode 19 Review: Happy Place
Jasmine Blu
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Is it necessary for this show to do this to us with every installment?
No, but the show feeds off of feels and tears; it the currency they use most and New Amsterdam Season 1 Episode 19 was no exception.
It hurts so well though.
There were many elements the hour touched upon, and they flowed beautifully. Each of the cases was emotional, and how do people make it through this show without crying (some of you) or at least feeling the urge to cry (myself)? Is it possible?!
Max's health is still on a decline, but Virginia remains an oncologist who takes no crap for Max and ensures he does whatever he needs to do to fight this battle. Sometimes, it's easy to forget that Max is battling cancer, but with Virginia, there is no forgetting.
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If Max were still under Helen's care, he would've have ignored her advisement to his detriment, but Virginia doesn't allow him to disobey her even if he pushes back against her.
Virginia: Max. I'm starting a feeding tube to mitigate that.
Max: Put me in, coach.
He has lost five pounds in a week, and he's unable to keep any food and substances down due to his nausea. He needs to have a tube instilled to make sure he doesn't waste away, and he's not pleased about it. It's not the news he wanted to hear.
It was heartbreaking at the end of the hour, after dealing with a hectic and saddening day, he had to sit in that room and await this procedure he doesn't want. As customary, however, Helen was right there to be a supportive friend to him and hold his hand through the process literally.
Their friendship is so damn special, and it's a relief they haven't experienced any real friction since their winter storm angst. Max is going to need all the support he can get.
He had his hands full dealing with the Blue Wave when Marie came through those doors. Everyone knows when it comes to first responders, they support their own. The ER was a sea of police officers there in support of Marie and hoping for updates on her condition.
Max: Sorry, you know you're not my doctor anymore right.
Helen: Yes, but I'm still a friend.
Angelo, however, was intense. Angelo's ire while understandable to a degree also caused discomfort. Law Enforcement officers are human like everyone else. They put on the badge and risk their lives, and they are not invincible.
They have feelings like everyone else, and they hurt like everyone else, and they aren't exempt from being human, which means they are not exempt from making mistakes or letting their emotions get the better of them.
Unfortunately, in their field, society and the public entrusts them not to let their emotions get the better of them. Angelo was irrational, and his anger blinded him. He was reactionary when Leon was wheeled into the ER too, and he never took a beat.
At no point did he cool off. He studied where doctors were taking Leon and disappeared when no one was looking to track the man down, and God only knows what he would've done if Max, Helen, and others didn't come in when they did.
It's scary to think that Leon's life and the position he was in didn't matter until Angelo heard he had a stroke and was a veteran. Ironically, Leon having a stroke was the first thing that came to mind when everyone assumed he was drunk. Sadly, strokes can present themselves as intoxication and accidents happen a great deal.
It's also heartbreaking and irritating to learn Leon had a malignant tumor and couldn't get the help he needed at the veteran hospital. If you are a veteran or know any, it's enraging when you see the conditions of the hospitals and subpar care one receives while in them.
Either we save Leon and hurt the care of other veterans, or we stand up for the care of all veterans and Leon dies.
Max
Angelo's great moment of redemption came in him not only handling the tragic death of his partner Marie well, but he took the money raised for her and gave it to Leon for his care. He said it was what Marie would've wanted, and he also admitted they protect and help their own.
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It didn't matter of Marie was monitoring traffic; she put on the badge and uniform, and thus she was a hero. Period. As one hero, on behalf of a fallen hero, he could give the money to another hero and know it would go to great use. It was one of many scenes which brought out the waterworks.
It was devastating watching Floyd break down in Evie's. He was so excited to escape the lovable Dora's watchful eye and his two-finger typing expense reports.
He was itching to get into the OR, but no amount of happy music and his endearing rituals changed the fact that Marie's heart was in pieces, and there was nothing he could do.
While those were the sad stories and tears, New Amsterdam always provides us with some hopeful and happy too. The Jemma update was so moving and sweet.
Initially, it seemed as though Jemma wasn't doing well in her placement. I was nervous for her, and I couldn't wait for Iggy to get down to the bottom of why she was behaving so strangely and flaky.
It's the opposite; Jemma is doing well in her new home, and her issue was every time she saw Iggy, it made her feel broken again. The relationship between Jemma and Iggy was one of the sweetest ones to come from this season, and they both cared about each other and had a special bond.
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With great difficulty on both of their parts, it was time for them to part ways. Jemma was doing well, and like a baby bird who blossomed and learned to fly on her some, it was time for her to leave the nest.
Jemma: When I see you I still feel like I'm the same, that I'm still broken. I don't want to be that anymore.
Iggy: You know Jemma I am so, I am so proud of you. You've come so far. Look at you now. You don't need me anymore. That's a good thing. That's a very good thing. It's time for me to go, and that's alright. Just try to remember one thing for me, you were never broken.
While it pained Iggy to say it, he knew he had to let Jemma go, and she hated to say goodbye, but she knew it's what she needed. Their scene together was one of the best of the hour, and Iggy couldn't go without reminding her she wasn't broken and never was.
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I loved how his next young patient stated the same thing Jemma said and felt once upon a time.
There was someone else who needed him more; someone else who required his aid. It has to be both gratifying and bittersweet watching patients whom you've formed attachments to and know well grow up and move on for better things after you've helped them.
Iggy also was helpful with Margot and Tori. They have to be my absolute favorite couple on this series, and we only had them for one installment.
They knew each other so well, and they were both willing to sacrifice so much to help and support the other and make the other happy.
I appreciate how this series makes valiant efforts to give so many different types of people and their experiences a voice. They try to make these different experiences visible, and even if they don't always execute it perfectly and flawlessly, they make an effort.
Iggy: Why do you want the implant?
Margot: So I can hear.
Iggy: OK, that's what the implant does. Why do you want the implant?
Margot: I want it [signs at wife]
Margot was deaf, and Kapoor was helping her with her cochlear implant, but it was far too overwhelming for her. She had a rough time sitting in the park and experiencing sensory overload. Can you imagine going from mostly silence to the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple?
It's overwhelming for people who are not hard of hearing -- or people new to the city. What was beautiful about how this storyline played out is Margot realized cochlear implants were not for her.
She wanted to hear Tori's voice, but she loves her world, and the series emphasized through her decision and her speech, that there is nothing wrong with being deaf.
Yes, she opted to have her implants removed, and it's a legitimate choice. She's comfortable, and she feels like herself as a deaf woman. Her deafness isn't wrong nor something which requires "fixing."
I love how the series "normalized" for lack of a better word and validated the community. At first, it was odd how the ASL translator wasn't readily available for Iggy, Tori, and Margot's conversation, and they took for granted Margot could read lips, and sometimes they didn't face her directly too.
She wants to be deaf again.
Iggy
However, Tori and Margot had a lovely conversation in ASL. We were privy to the conversation, like Iggy, but by not having subtitles or being accommodated, we were guests in their world and conversation.
It was something which carried over into the beautiful scene done in complete silence when Margot woke up. It was such a thoughtful and lovely scene to incorporate -- powerful, and it reminded me of Switched At Birth Season 2 Episode 9, which was an all-silent, all-ASL hour of the series, and it was stunning.
So, New Amsterdam gave us those happy tears too!
Over to you, 'Dam Fanatics! Are you concerned about Max's declining health? Are you happy for Jemma?
How adorable were Tori and Margot? Did Angelo, Marie, and Leon move you to tears? Hit the comments below!
You can watch New Amsterdam online here via TV Fanatic!
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.
