There is never a week that passes on New Amnewsterdam where I don’t feel something. There’s never a week where it doesn’t hit me so hard that I feel like I want to make changes in the world and do better.
I want to be better.
I want to leave a better Earth for the generations to come.
Max wants to change the system, because the system is wrong. The system makes me angry. But what New Amsterdam does is that they are never afraid to take that head on.
IGGY’S SELF REFLECTION
Week after week, I don’t think that they could make me cry anymore than they do – but I am always wrong. But what I have learned is that with every storyline, with every detail, I cry because I am invested in these characters and their growth is a beautiful thing to watch.
When it comes to New Amsterdam, they do character growth unlike any other. And this season, no one has grown more than Iggy.
In the opening moments we see an intimate scene with Iggy and his husband, where Iggy can’t leave the lights on. His husband wants to leave the TV on, he loves Iggy. He thinks that Iggy is beautiful. But Iggy can’t have it on, because of his own personal issues.
I think that one of the things that strikes me and that people should see about Iggy’s issues is that the things that we say and do stick with people for a lifetime. It’s one of those times where we need to stop and think of how we use words.
Iggy wants everyone to see his strength and the way that he handles things with others. He doesn’t want to let down his walls.
But this moment and the day that follows will change Iggy and his character evolution is one of the strongest that I have ever seen in an hour.
Kapoor is supposed to return to work and Iggy has set up a surprise party for him. Everyone is going in and out – they have work to do and Kapoor is late. Iggy is trying to keep everyone there, but they all tell Iggy that he should just tell Kapoor to go see them in their various departments.
And before you know it – Iggy is alone. Waiting. Alone until Agnes walks in and tells him that Kapoor emailed everyone in the neurology department and told them that he was resigning. He may have survived Covid-19, but he can no longer serve his patients.
And that kills Iggy. He’s been friends with Iggy, best friends, and Kapoor didn’t tell him. And so he does what we’ve all done – calls repeatedly, trying to get someone to answer the phone and telling his friend that he isn’t mad, then he is mad, and then if he doesn’t answer the phone that they can’t be friends the way that they have been.
And with every phone call you see him breaking. With every phone call he hurts.
And then Ella calls and tells him what is going on. Kapoor won’t talk to her, he won’t talk to anyone. But he’s not healthy enough to return to work. Covid took his strength and he can barely make it to the door. And Ella reminds him of how much Kapoor loves him and how he told her that Iggy was the savior of souls.
I will miss Vijay so much.
Yup, I lost my shit there. Because he is, and that validation triggered something in Iggy. It triggered the fact that Iggy realized that he looked for Kapoor’s validation, he was like a father, and he wants to find validation in his own self.
And he validates himself by stripping down naked in a mirror, in front of his husband and leaving the light on.
It’s a beautiful moment and though Iggy still has a long way to go, it is a start and the way his character is evolving will continue to be a beautiful thing to watch.
LUNA THE BITER
I have to be honest, I am glad that we are finally seeing Max’s struggles with parenting. Because I think that it’s so important to figuring out who he really is and how he will grow. Also with Meena arriving in the states, I feel like seeing him and Hellen, although on separate parenting paths, will unite them and as we all know, we’re Sharpwin til we die.
Luna has been banned from daycare, because she’s a biter. She’s not a single offender, apparently she’s a repeat offender. And even though Max is the medical director, he can’t secure a space for his daughter.
There is no plan B for Max and he doesn’t know what to do. He’s obviously got to keep Luna with him, but she’s a terror. Well, terrible 2’s. She’s destroying the hospital, until he finds his assistant and has her take care of Luna.
Max isn’t used to having to deal with all of the parent issues. He’s learning. He’s been able to deal with being in the walls of the hospital and bringing all the people that he loves into those walls. Having Luna there has been important, because it’s how he can see her. And we all know that there is no one more important than Luna to him.
Say what you want about Max, but the truth is that I believe that his heart wants to fix so many problems because he sees the injustice in them, but also because he wants nothing more than a better life for his little girl. She’s given him hope and is a defining part of him.
He’s attempting to find a nanny, but realizes that this would not just be an overnight thing. It takes time. He wants to do his best for this little girl but when he realizes it’s not that easy, he’s forced to realize that he can’t do this alone.
And he’s not meant to.
Luna misses her Grandma. And so for him he takes a moment to realize that putting his little girl first means that he has to accept that he has to ask for help. And with him, you know that this is a big moment of change and growth.
But hey, it’s funny how kids bring out the best in us.
WHO IS HOWIE?
Max is normally able to solve New Amsterdam’s problems in 45 minutes or less, but the beauty of this episode is that he realizes that he can’t, but it sets up the series to potentially take on something and make a change.
The entire cast of New Amsterdam pours their soul into every episode, and I admire that. The way that the show takes things on is a testament to the impact that it makes. And in this episode they take on medical regulations and homophobia.
And they do it brilliantly.
Max gives the former medical director, George, the utmost praise. He says that he is his hero. But here’s the thing about heroes, they have secrets too and when they come out, they may not be the hero that you think they are.
When George’s picture is defaced and there is a name left under it – Max goes into problem solving mode. Who is Howie Cournemier?
When Max pulls his medical records, there is the weirdest thing. He donated thousands of pints of blood in a month and the blood type wasn’t always the same. Max sets out to track down what happened.
But when he tracks down Howie, he has no idea about the blood. He was actually in jail when the blood was donated. In the 80’s, Howie was out protesting for his friends. At the height of the AIDS epidemic, the medical field failed gay men. And they did.
Howie’s honesty and bluntness with Max lead him down a road that confronts New Amsterdam’s dark past.
When Max finds the former blood bank director, Andre, and we come face to face with what happened. He was inspired by Howie, and used his name. Howie was a fighter and Andre wanted to make a change.
His friends were dying and he couldn’t do anything. They were watching men die and there were so many that couldn’t donate blood, because they were gay. So Dale made a choice and allowed them to donate and put all the donations under Howie’s name to keep people safe.
But when the former medical director, George, found out about it, he threw out all the blood. All the blood that he knew was safe. He endangered lives, and I don’t think I have ever been so mad watching a show in my life. New Amsterdam turned its back on the LGBTQA+ community at a time when they needed it the most, because HIV was considered a disease that only affected them. And it was wrong. It is wrong.
It is an issue that the community is still fighting now. It’s something that needs to change. Max, he’s decided that he is going to let gay men donate blood and if he gets in trouble, he will take them to court because the ban is bigoted and needs to change.
Howie and Andre are two of the most powerful patients of New Amsterdam that I have ever seen. They steal every scene, but leave you with a feeling in your gut that you need to do something to change the ban and help the LGBTQA+ community.
Amazing episode, New Amsterdam.
JUST HELEN
Helen and Lauren are talking and to be honest, I am starting to love Helen more and more. She’s given up her position, she’s ready to take on having her niece with her, and she is trying to mentally prepare.
But her niece shows up early, without telling Helen. Helen is nervous and overwhelmed. She wasn’t ready to have Meena there. And unfortunately this means that Meena is going to need to spend her first day in New York in Helen’s office.
But we quickly learn that Meena is ready to take advantage of the situation and Helen is going to have to set boundaries. She doesn’t feel she can, because she doesn’t know Meena. But Meena left the hospital with someone she had met on the internet, dismisses Helen like she is just a friend (because Helen had said that is how they should be) and is acting like she owns the city.
Helen knows that she needs to backtrack on her words, but it takes Lauren telling her that she needed boundaries growing up and if Helen doesn’t give Meena those boundaries, she’s not good for Meena.
Tough words hurt. But sometimes they are necessary.
THERE ARE NO WORDS FOR FLOYD
I love Floyd. Normally. But right now, I am pissed at him.
I get that doctors have to honor their patients wishes, but when a man comes into the ER and is diagnosed with HIV, the way Floyd “helps” him is infuriating. In the ER, Lauren and Floyd are dealing with homophobia and the church.
Kwame is in the US studying with the Church of Latter Day Saints. When he is told that he has HIV he freaks out and leaves. But when he returns, unconscious, and the doctors save his life, he speaks with Floyd about his situation.
The Elder at his church has turned his back on him because he had sex with a man. And Kwame says that sex is not who he is, but God is. He can’t live without his church. Floyd was upset over the way that Kwame was treated, but was also willing to help him put himself back in the closet to help him.
And I don’t find that to be help at all. Lauren was outraged by the way that Floyd decided to help Kwame, and it made Floyd think. But he also believes he did what was best for his patient.
That’s the thing about New Amsterdam… what they do is face the issues head on. We may not always like the way that they handle things, but they remind us that these things are happening out there and open our eyes to the way that things need to change.
And that is why every hour of this show is impactful television.
