New Amsterdam‘s “Seed Money” had Max and Helen preparing for their future together to varying results. On one hand, you have Max, who is not happy at the thought of being replaced or leaving behind the hospital he’s worked so hard to build into a community that serves the people and that people are proud of. But we’re not going to lie, we were kind of annoyed with him and his unwillingness to work with others.
Max preaches up and down about listening and working with those around him. But in “Seed Money” he was doing everything but working with Dr. Fuentes. (This was before finding out the kind of person she truly was.) And if there’s anything that we’ve learned on this show is that patience is needed on all fronts because people are different and complicated AF. But the more time that passed the more we were like, “Get it together Max. If not for you, then for Helen, who is struggling with her own stuff.”
We felt the complete opposite for Helen. She practices what she preaches. She listens, she makes strides, and she learns quicker than Max ever will. We said, what we said. Helen is just like Max in that she cares for patients. But the way that she goes about it is completely different. And honestly, we can’t help but wonder what kind of show this would be if Helen was the lead. Again, we said what we said and we hope that New Amsterdam keeps giving Helen juicy storylines that are her own.
That comment from Iggy hit the nail on the head too about why Max was bothering us so much during “Seed Money” too. He doesn’t have to worry about being seen as uppity, rude, overbearing, or like he needs to dial it back. He’s a man and as one he’s seen as risk-taking, full of bravado, and a game-changer that that is going to make New Amsterdam better because of who he is and what he does. Not everyone can walk through life like that.
That’s not to say that we love Dr. Fuentes. In fact, we kind of hate how we trusted her in the beginning and thought that maybe Max was wrong about her. And then her whole bullshit about neglecting white patients showed us the light and the true bullshit that is her way. Representing more people doesn’t mean that others are neglected. If anything it levels the playing field and makes sure that others feel as loved and cared for like others have their entire life and like they have a fighting chance out in 2021.
Dr. Fuentes and her crap aside, for now, what we’re saying is that Max and Helen work better as a team. That’s why seeing them come together at the end to “Just the Two of Us” by Grover Washington Jr. felt like exactly what “Seed Money” needed from the start. We didn’t need Max acting like an entitled man who is so sure of himself that he listens to no one and tries to assert his dominance left and right. And we didn’t want Helen to struggle and try to figure out what she needed on her lonesome.
What we do want is a partnership. And that’s what Max and Helen are building on when it comes to New Amsterdam and with every episode that passes. Sure, they only have 5 weeks left and we still firmly believe that they are going to leave for London. But together, they can accomplish anything. We know it. We feel it in our bones. And we hope that the next episode of New Amsterdam sees them making those plans together and honestly giving us more screentime and actual smooches.
Which, on a major side note, we missed seeing Lauren and Leyla together and their smooches. We understand that they’re adjusting to a new mode of living and that they’re working hard on themselves. It makes sense and makes us want more of them together, especially if this is the kind of real representation New Amsterdam is going to continue giving us when it comes to its LGBTQ characters. We just hope that it isn’t too long until Leyla comes back.
Like Max and Helen, Lauren and Leyla are one of the core reasons we watch this show. No, we don’t watch for the medical drama or to watch two people in power argue over a plot of land. We watch for the relationships and the ways they grow as the episodes and seasons pass by. And both of these couples have the absolute groundwork to transforming how we view relationships on TV and between such vastly different people.
New Amsterdam airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on NBC.
