Living in New York and having a chronic illness, one thing I have developed is a deeper appreciation for the medical system here. I know that New Amsterdam is a fictional hospital, but to be honest, I have seen some of the same passion in some of the doctors that treat me, so I can’t help but love the show on another level.
Because I feel like it captures that feeling – that passion that doctors should have for their job. Being a doctor isn’t easy. It’s really fucking hard.
I know, because I know what I put my doctors through, and the patience that they still have is what makes me have faith.
If you aren’t familiar with New Amsterdam, you are missing out on one of the best shows on TV.
Dr. Max Goodwin is brilliant, charming — and the new medical director at America’s oldest public hospital. While he’s set on tearing down the bureaucracy to provide exceptional care, the doctors and staff are not so sure. They’ve heard this before, and no one else has delivered on those promises. Not taking “no” for an answer, Max disrupts the status quo and proves he will stop at nothing to breathe new life into this understaffed, underfunded and underappreciated hospital — the only one in the world capable of treating Ebola patients, prisoners from Rikers Island and the president of the United States all under one roof — and return it to the glory that put it on the map. Inspired by Bellevue in New York City.
Last season tore at us, and so let’s talk about what we want to see this season.
MAX TAKING CARE OF MAX
Max Goodwin is a saint. Ok, maybe not a saint, but he’s selfless and he definitely puts everyone before himself to his own detriment. The man has cancer and is acting like nothing is wrong.
But everything is wrong.
I think that though I admire Max’s commitment to others it aggravates me to not end that he doesn’t see that in order to really be there for others he needs to be there for himself first. He has to get better.
And he has to get better for his child.
I admire Max. I admire his commitment to life. But what kind of life is he truly living if he isn’t alive? I think that it’s hard for anyone to admit that they are not as strong as they have always been. But I think that there is more strength in admitting that you need help.
DR. SHARPE FIGURING OUT WHAT SIDE OF BOUNDARIES SHE’S GONNA BE ON
I think that the relationship between Max and Helen is important. We all have work wives or work husbands. But there is a boundary and when you start to cross that boundary, one has to worry about that person’s ethics. And I worry that Helen is way too attached emotionally to Max.
And though I am sure that this is a friendship, it borders too close to seeming like it’s not and that is scary. I don’t think that Helen has platonic feelings towards Max. And that is not healthy for either one of them.
MAX AND GEORGIA’S BABY BEING OKAY
Let me rephrase. I need to know that the baby is okay. But I also need to know that Georgia is okay. We left last season with everything happening to the Goodwin family, and I feel like they deserve better.
But it would kill me to know that anything happened to any of them. And so I feel like I have to hold out hope that they will all be okay.
Hell, I NEED them to all be okay.
IGGY FIGURING HIS SHIT OUT
Iggy is a good – hell a GREAT – therapist. He’s there for those that need him. But the thing about a therapist is yes, you need to know that they care, but you also need that boundary between you and them. And though I admire Iggy’s connection and passion – he’s not giving these kids tools for when they go back into the world, by protecting them at the level that he is.
By being as invested in them as he is.
I want to believe in him. I want to think the world of him. Because I feel like he’s saved so many. But there are others that he’s not.
And he may not see it.
He’s going to change people’s worlds, and in turn change the world. But he also has a responsibility to those to give them the skills to be able to cope in the world.
NEW AMSTERDAM PROSPERING
The United States health care system is in shambles. It’s to the point where people have to decide between the health care they need and living their lives. I know that New Amsterdam isn’t real, but it gives me hope regardless. And I like feeling like there is hope.
So I want to see New Amsterdam continue to prosper.
After all, there is only one like and giving people hope is something important.
