New Amsterdam Season 1 Episode 3 Review: Every Last Minute
Jasmine Blu
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Will there ever be an hour of New Amsterdam that doesn't make you emotional?
Probably not, and New Amsterdam Season 1 Episode 3 was no exception.
It had the usual formula that is proving to be magic. Max gives impassioned speeches and bats his puppy dog eyes. He charms the heck out of people and makes someone's life a little bit better than it was when he met them.
He also gives us scares because he isn't taking care of himself the way that he should.
The promos for this installment were intense and led one to believe that Max's new job would be in jeopardy. Max wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, of course, but it was surprising that the situation wasn't as intense as we were led to believe.
The Dean of Medicine is almost as helpless in the face of Max's go-getter attitude and optimism as nearly everyone else when it comes down to it. Max is there to improve the hospital, and so far, they can't say that he isn't. His methods are unorthodox and often unrealistic, but he has been effective.
The budgeting and monetary part of everything was bound to come up at some point. The dean tasking Max with showing off Mrs. Moneybags was fun because everyone had to toe the line between kissing her butt, minding their P's and Q's, and not telling the woman off because she was insufferable.
Riley: What a radiant smile.
Helen: Thank you.
Riley: How do you keep it up?
Helen: Excuse me?
Riley: Billions of dollars on a cancer research and no cure.
Mrs. Riley's initial reaction to Helen was a cringeworthy moment, but it was also one of those moments where you couldn't disagree with the woman. The search for a cancer cure doesn't hinge on whether or not Helen is rocking a designer bag, but you can also understand why someone who isn't Mrs. Riley would feel that way.
Related: New Amsterdam Season 1 Episode 2 Review: Rituals
It's one of those things where so much is going into finding a cure, and it's like no one is making progress. Mrs. Riley's reaction to Floyd and his staff of black female doctors was a doozy too. The woman was a pill.
Max knows how to get past a person's defenses and get to the heart of who they are when he has enough time to do it.
Mrs. Riley didn't get to make decisions and do things just for herself. Everything she did had to be her late husband's wishes. The entire time she was at the hospital, she couldn't shake doing what her husband would have wanted her to do.
In the end, Max encouraged Mrs. Riley to reclaim her agency and stop living in the shadow of her late husband's expectations, and he also was able to keep his word to his pregnant Riker's patient.
Yeah, it can rub a few people the wrong way that Max went all "savior" on the women, particularly in leading to Mrs. Riley finding her voice, but it led to the desired outcome.
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It was appalling that they had that young woman handcuffed to the bed the way that they did. You would have thought she was a mass murderer the way they wheeled her into the hospital tied to the bed and surrounded by armed guards and extra security. She committed armed robbery for Pete's sake! She didn't kill anyone.
Lauren took a liking to the girl instantly, and that was such a Lauren thing to do. How heartbreaking would it have been if she had her baby and couldn't see it in the weeks she had remaining of her sentence?
Other medical series have explored the terrible conditions of health care in women's prisons. Grey's Anatomy Season 13 Episode 10 is one of the first that comes to mind. Many of the women in prison may have done bad things, but they aren't animals. They are human beings and should be treated that way.
Max persuading Riley to use the $10 million on Rikers was a mixed bag because the hospital could have used some of that money too. The Kangaroo program he started at the prison was smart though.
Max was also trying to put in some time with another pregnant woman. Max is putting his all into fixing his relationship with Georgia, but doesn't it seem like she's not receptive to it or trying?
Georgia had every right to consider going to Connecticut to be with her parents. She needs to be in a stress-free environment, and she needs to be tended to by someone who has the time to do it. The thing is, it would have been horrible if their baby and Max couldn't be there for it.
It's odd that Georgia either didn't consider that or didn't think it mattered. It was also strange that Georgia took off without giving Max a heads up that she was leaving. Max is doing his best and committed to improving their marriage, but is it all for nothing?
Georgia agreed to stay for now, but there is no way in hell Max is going to be able to run the hospital, get all the treatment he needs from Helen, and take care of his pregnant wife. It's unrealistic and too much for a man who notoriously stretches himself too thin and will not be weaker than ever.
I need you to be my doctor. I want to be a father. I want to be a husband, so I'm putting my life in your hands.
Max
At least Georgia's near absence gave Max the kick in the pants he needed. Max not taking care of himself or taking his diagnosis serious was grating. He's inspired to do better and get healthy because he needs to be there for his wife and daughter.
Helen needed that reassurance too because she was catching it from every angle. The most hurtful was the couple who kept gushing about her media representation but then using that to question her credentials and dedication to the job.
Helen couldn't have anticipated patients doubting her because she spent so much time in the media circuit.
They were dismissing her under the guise that she was a fake TV doctor and not the real deal. Helen looked like she was about to cry during that scene, and I wanted to reach through the screen and comfort her.
Also, who spends weeks trying to get into an appointment with one of the top doctors in the country so that they can degrade her and say they won't be using her services? It was pointless.
Helen's adjustment period is not going smoothly, and that's refreshing.
Iggy is refreshing too. He continues to have the best cases every hour. That man deserves a medal for all the work he puts in at the hospital. Also, he and Kapoor remain a fantastic duo.
It's like Iggy and Kapoor are on a different show, but in a good way. Their case with the grave-digging, naked, invisible man was entertaining.
Iggy: Oh holy hell. He wasn't digging up her grave. He was digging up his own.
Kapoor: He didn't think his fiance was dead.
Iggy: He thinks he is.
It provided most of the humor and the perfect amount of "WTF" with the nudity, embalming fluid, not-dead fiancee, and more. Everything about Ray's case was a treat.
When are we going to find out more about Kapoor's son? He's breaking my heart here!
There wasn't enough Floyd during the hour, but he made good use of his time, especially when he ran those stats on women of color in the medical field. I'm still not feeling the Floyd and Lauren flirtation, and why is she popping pills?
Floyd: Nineteen percent of the surgeons in this country are women.
Lauren: Well, I didn't know the exact statistics.
Floyd: You want to know the statistics for women of color?
Lauren: I'm scared to ask.
Floyd: They don't exist. So while I intend to hire folks of every ethnicity and gender for my staff, I'm hiring women of color first.
What are your thoughts on Georgia and their marriage? Do you think Helen will adjust to treating patients? Are you relieved that Max is taking care of himself now? Hit the comments.
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.
