There is not a moment of New Amsterdam that does not invoke emotion, make you think twice about the way that life is, and think about the way that life should be.
New Amsterdam both broke my heart and made me want to vomit in the same episode. I mean true, it does that a lot. But in one episode it took on the opioid crisis and incest. And I am not sure that I like the way that it was handled.
Actually I’m beyond positive that I don’t like at all the way that the incest part was handled.
I wish that this episode would have focused strictly on the opioid crisis. It could have benefited more by teaching the world what these drugs do. And I think that the majority of the world doesn’t get it.
But I regress.
From the beginning of the episode, I knew that more was coming. You knew that Karen Brantley was up to something, and that she had a reason for not sharing why she insisted Max take on the opioid crisis.
Everything about this episode was quintessential New Amsterdam. But at the same time I felt like I was watching a show that I had never seen before with doctors who had changed.
There wasn’t a moment that I wasn’t rooting for these doctors to win this fight against what these drugs are doing to the world.
Max starts to take it on by telling the doctors that prescribe the majority of opioids at the hospital, that he’s giving them a year to get their numbers down and prescribe 79% less than they do or they are fired. Karen is peeved at him.
That’s not what she wanted. She wanted full-on Max in problem solving mode.
Here’s the thing about Max. He’s passionate about everything that matters to him, that can change peoples lives; he’s going to figure out the way to be there for everyone. He’s not afraid to take on anyone or anything. And for him, that’s at any cost.
When Karen tells him she wanted more, Max thinks of how they can give other medications. This requires him to shut down the ER for a day, because they all need to go through a training.
But Karen still wants more. And Max is willing to go there.
He gets all of the medical directors together and suggests that they all go up against the Nylars, and that they tear up their contracts. None of the medical directors want to do that. Because, hey, who wants to take on big corporations?
Max does. Of course he does. He’s Max.
The thing of the matter is – that Max is still willing to try to take a stand. But it’s not long before the Nylars start freezing New Amsterdam out of everything. Just because he’s willing to take on the world, doesn’t mean everyone else is.
It doesn’t take long before Max goes to sign another contract, when his assistant tells him the story of how her sister died from opioids. Max is touched and heartbroken by the story. They’re standing there, staring at the Nylar name on the wall, when he makes the choice to put the picture of his assistant and her sister on the wall.
I admit at this moment I was a fucking mess. What made me even more of a mess is that when Max went back to the wall, people were leaving pictures of their loved ones that were also affected by the opioid crisis.
It’s one of the most heartbreaking things I have ever seen.
Max hadn’t asked anyone to do it. Max was surprised. He was touched. One of the other medical directors showed up and said that she had heard what happened, that the Nylars had shut them out and that wasn’t business, that was a shakedown.
Max asked for her ideas. She looked at him and said basically that they need to do it together. She tore up her hospitals contract and put it on the wall.
In the aftermath of this promise to take them on together, Karen walked up and put a picture on the wall. She had wanted Max to wage war because she too had lost someone to the opioid crisis. It was a circular moment that helped contextualize everything, and was deeply heart-wrenching.
WHAT DISTURBED ME
So Iggy has gone on a health kick at the beginning and I admire the resolve. Especially since it looks like he’s drinking shit.
He’s doing marital counseling today and he walks in to see what looks like a normal couple. They are 10 days away from their wedding, but they have a big issue. Due to a DNA test – you know – the kind you take at home – they’ve found out they are brother and sister.
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!
The girl can’t move past this – which hey – I don’t blame her. I would freak the fuck out if I had been with someone for 9 years and found out that his Mom had the same sperm donor as mine. Legit would want to scour out my vag and mind.
The dude is like can’t imagine life without you. UMMM – that’s your sister. NO. NO. NO.
But Iggy tries to help them to find their way back to each other. I don’t understand how that flies. I don’t understand how he isn’t helping them find their way apart.
AGAIN – THEY ARE SIBLINGS.
He helps them find their way to see past the fact that they are related and to what they love about each other.
Again – NO.
NO.
NO.
This is incest. This is wrong.
I can’t get over the fact that this happened. I get that Iggy isn’t in his right mind. I get that Iggy has his own issues. But this isn’t okay in any, way, shape or form.
I can’t.
OTHER THOUGHTS
- Max didn’t handle Floyd leaving well, and Floyd didn’t handle telling Max well. But I get that for Max it is hard because he doesn’t want to lose anyone.
- Helen finding out that Castro is doctoring her trial – I admire what Helen has done to make sure that patients are okay. But I am also scared for Helen because I feel like Castro is going to come at her guns a blazing.
- Max and Alice – NO I AM NOT READY. I want him with Helen, but I guess a rebound is good first.
