New Amsterdam Season 1 Episode 11 Review: A Seat at the Table
Jasmine Blu
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This show is special to me and makes me feel all fuzzy and warm inside. It's like a warm embrace at the end of a tiring day.
Sorry, it's just that New Amsterdam Season 1 Episode 11 was super emotional, which is to say it was business as usual on a series that makes it its mission to trigger a person's allergies.
What are we supposed to do with all of these emotions?!
Let's start with Max's chemotherapy. Max, like most doctors, is the worst patient ever! He wouldn't sit his busybody behind down for anything in the world.
The thing is, chemo has a way of knocking a person on their ass, so no matter how much Max tried to put it off, it caught up to him.
It's easy to think of him as invincible the way he's always on the move, and he never lets anything get him down for too long, so his optimism about the situation was infectious.
Will you be my deputy medical director?
Max
I loved Max's chemo support group. They were warm and bubbly despite the situation that they found themselves in, and they were open to Max joining them and getting to know them.
They wanted to support him, which is why it was so frustrating that he wouldn't spend enough time with them to allow them to do that. They weren't judgmental about it nor did they take it personally.
They bided their time because they knew he would have to sit there with them eventually, so they gave him as much as advice as he was willing to take until that moment.
"That moment" was Max running out of gas halfway up the subway steps. It was heartbreaking to see him like that because this is a man who never slows down. It was time to face reality, and of course, call his second.
As per usual, the series graced us with another fabulous Max and Helen scene to close out the hour. Taking off the shipper friendly glasses for a moment, I love how beautiful and genuine their friendship is because it isn't often that a show captures such a deep bond between two people meant to remain platonic.
Related: New Amsterdam Season 1 Episode 10 Review: Six or Seven Minutes
They're so open and vulnerable with one another, for example, Max had no problem sharing his fears with his friend as he stared into that chemo room. He doesn't want to sit in that chair if it meant his colleagues and friends would see him as another patient.
Helen: We paid enough for those chairs. Our Medical director can sit in them.
Max: I don't want everyone to see me so weak, you know? That's why I can't let Georgia come. That's why I can't sit in that chair. Everyone is going to see me.
Helen: The answer is yes, Max. I'll be your deputy.
Max: Really?
Helen: Go, be weak. Sit.
He didn't want to appear weak. It was an honest and raw moment for him, and at that moment, Helen realized that she had to take him up on his offer. Naturally, Helen was the first person that came to mind when Max decided he wanted to delegate his role.
She stepped up big time during New Amsterdam Season 1 Episode 10, so she is more than capable of it. The problem is that she has a lot of other things on her plate, and I would hate for her to get worn down too.
Helen almost felt like she didn't have a choice though because Max's next suggestion was Lauren, and Lauren is in no position to be running anything right now.
Helen and Lauren's interactions throughout the hour were uncomfortable. Helen meant well checking up on Lauren and trying to make sure that Lauren was quitting her habit. It didn't seem like she was overbearing, but Lauren felt that way.
Of course, Lauren was exhibiting some of the signs of withdrawal. The woman was irritable as hell.
Meet the Amelia Earhart of frequent flyers.
Lauren
Helen's misstep was going through Lauren's belongings in search of pills. I understand why Helen felt compelled to do that because I wasn't buying that Lauren was on the up and up either, but she broke her trust during that moment.
If she had a shot at helping Lauren or getting through to her, she blew it to hell after that. It's going to be a while before Lauren can forgive Helen.
Helen (and Casey) are in terrible positions. They can't keep their mouths shut about this any longer as it is a matter of patients lives being endangered by Lauren at this rate. Lauren needs real help, and she isn't getting it and won't get it if they continue to cover for her.
Meanwhile, while she is on the decline, her "better half" was having a fantastic arc and some much-needed background. It was a solid hour for Floyd, and Jocko Sims was incredible.
The promos teased that he had a checkered past, and the majority of the hour we heard about it but didn't know the details. We only knew that Max didn't need to know the details and supported Floyd and going "full chemo" on the problem at hand.
Floyd: I just want my nephew to know that you can be exemplary without a catch.
Evie: As your legal representative I can make this go away, but as your girlfriend, I think you should on your story. Not in spite of your nephew but because of your nephew. You should own your story. All of it.
Can we get more Max and Floyd scenes? We need more Floyd and Max scenes!
The promos played us real good because it also showed that in some ways, we were as bad as the journalist. Many of us were frothing at the mouth wanting to know why Floyd had a mugshot, right?
Related: Good Trouble Season 1 Episode 2 Review: The Coterie
The only difference is the journalist was writing a story, and she was so eager to get to that instead of anything else. It was beyond satisfying when Floyd called her the heck out for it too. She should have felt two inches tall after that reading.
We find out so much about Floyd in that powerful monologue delivered brilliantly by Sims. For one, he's a Morehouse man! More importantly, his arrest was due to him being pulled over for driving while black on the 2008 election night.
His retelling of the story gave me chills, especially when he casually pointed out that respectability politics? They don't save anyone from racism. It didn't matter that he was a doctor, or that he had his identification or was wearing scrubs. It didn't matter what his position was or anything like that.
It was especially impactful that the incident happened when he was riding the high of the election of the first black president. It was a time of hope of change, and it felt like the country was at a turning point that didn't seem feasible, but all it takes is an incident like that to burst your bubble.
I'm a good surgeon period. That's your story.
Floyd
Evie was back, and she was so supportive of Floyd throughout this ordeal. Her advice to him about owning his story was some of the best of the night.
Iggy, of course, had some valuable advice too. The hardest thing for a person to do is to let their loved ones go. Hector did not want to give up on his son, but in the end, it was best for him.
Tony's hallucinations were terrifying, and my heart ached for him. There was no peace for him, not even after that controversial therapy.
Sometimes it feels like everything works out for the best when watching this series, so the fact that Iggy couldn't rid Tony of his wolf hallucination was a reality check. Tony had to be sent away, which is hard to process.
Max's solution for Andy the lonely, homeless guy was hard to process too. I couldn't help but laugh when Fulton ranted to Max about socialism and the problem with healthcare when Max approached him about buying this man an apartment.
Max's solution sounded ludicrous, but when you considered that it would have cost the hospital less to find Andy a place to stay than it did to treat him nonstop for a year, then it had merit.
I'm prescribing you a home.
Max
Andy was costing the hospital $1.4 million a year. That's insane!
Max did lose me when he said it was something that they would have to keep paying for, however. If the idea was that a home would set Andy on the right path, then at what point did he taking other steps towards getting on his feet?
That apartment looked more like a penthouse. How much did that thing cost?!
A house could cure Andy's homelessness, but not his loneliness. Now, a job could help him with that. It suited Andy getting to work at the hospital. He loved the community at New Amsterdam, and can you blame him?
Now, is anyone else curious about this situation with Rohan, Ella, and Kapoor?
Ella probably should have kept her mouth shut about the money Kapoor gave her. She knew about the strained relationship between the Kapoor men, so it was inadvisable of her to share that anyway.
Kapoor is reluctant to give his son money, which is fair, but it's also awkward when you consider he gave Ella a large sum of money without knowing enough about her.
Rohan: I was wondering if you could, you know?
Kapoor: Give you money? I don't think that's a good idea.
Rohan: Ok, OK. Baby steps.
I couldn't figure out Rohan's reaction though. Now, it seems that he and his father are destined to be on the outs again, and he's using Ella to get to Kapoor.
Over to you, 'Dam Fanatics! Did you enjoy the background on Floyd? How emotional did the episode get you this time? How long can they keep covering for Lauren?
Hit the comments with your thoughts and reactions!
As always, 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.
