It was a good episode, but like many episodes this season I find myself annoyed. It's odd to say "Oh it was great but I'm frustrated." I do worry about the creative direction of this series. Of course, I like seeing the doctors having personal lives and struggles, it helps them feel real and makes me care about the characters. The problem is the show is now feeling unbalanced in regards to it being about the hospital/patients vs everyone's romantic inclinations. We have Max and Helen in a long awaited but lackluster relationship where usually he seems far more invested than she is. We have Reynolds involved with a married woman, but he has more chemistry (not romantically) with her husband. Bloom and Leyla would have been fine if she didn't treat Leyla like her pet, there's a difference between helping someone with that person's knowledge and secretly buying the person a job. And Iggy, he's hired a guy who shamelessly flirted with him in a job interview. Not a smart move, I see counseling and maybe a lawsuit in his future but hopefully not. As for the hospital drama this week, I found myself thinking of House. It was enjoyable and felt like there were actual stakes. Then Lyn's pregnancy revelation brought back memories of ER. New Amsterdam is not blatantly copying either show, do not take my comparisons as a strike against NA.
Max and Helen left for real. The London stuff is annoying. Sharpe's reasoning was presented as flimsy. She didn't say, "I want to be close to my Mom, my mom might be sick, I want to help my old clinic, I'd like to be near my niece," all of which would feel like valid reasons. No, she said some "I can't be myself here " weirdness to Max and only mentioned her mom when talking to Iggy about her father leaving. It's flimsy. If it were the man in the relationship suddenly wanting to move overseas and the woman dropped everything for him, giving up her career, home and disrupting her child's life, people would be critical. They sleep together once after an awkward one month time jump and Max is behaving as if they've been dating the entire series, while Helen oftentimes comes off as if this is a fling. I love them both, but the writing for them as a couple is uneven.
The writing for Helen has felt strange. She sometimes seems more plot device than character. London move aside, her characterization has felt off and Max is getting dragged through the oddness with their relationship. I guess it's better than when they write him as too naive for plot's sake, but it's already old. Max often behaves how the plot demands and it's frustrating. It's also odd how Helen seems totally unaffected by this move. The other characters appear far more bothered that Max is leaving and he's the one they kept telling to stay. They've all at least been acquainted with Helen much longer but there's rarely a sign that she's ever been anything other than "Our friend's girlfriend." This season she's suddenly emotionally detached from everyone except Max and it's bizarre.
There were better ways to create non-over the top soap opera type drama for Sharpwin (I prefer calling them Melen) than this London nonsense. They're doing a disservice to both characters and their new relationship. I don't know if the writers just aren't sure what to do now that they're together or if there's a rewarding endgame for this London madness, but I'm sadly leading towards the former. Fuentes is over the top evil and it stopped being entertaining a few episodes ago. Ditching a handful of valuable supporting characters was a huge mistake that I worry may not be amended whatsoever. Taking the focus of helping people (without it being a lecture every week) and making the show too relationship driven is backfiring.
Bring back the warmer but still complex Helen we knew and loved for three seasons. Get Reynolds to wake up and walk away from Lyn for good, do not saddle him with a baby with that woman. They're both very attractive but chemistry isn't there. Have Bloom face some consequences for her entitled rule bending. Don't make Iggy an adulterer. And for the love of Ryan, let Max have a voice for himself. You can be a supportive partner while disagreeing and having your own inclinations. It's not toxic masculinity or problematic patriarchal behavior for him to have a backbone.
My opinions do not reflect how I feel about the cast. They're always stellar, I'd watch most of them do anything but I don't want New Amsterdam to become something I only watch for the cast. I want to keep loving this show as a whole. Thanks to anyone who read this. January 4th we'll see if the next episode warrants a "shout into the IMDb void" rant.
Max and Helen left for real. The London stuff is annoying. Sharpe's reasoning was presented as flimsy. She didn't say, "I want to be close to my Mom, my mom might be sick, I want to help my old clinic, I'd like to be near my niece," all of which would feel like valid reasons. No, she said some "I can't be myself here " weirdness to Max and only mentioned her mom when talking to Iggy about her father leaving. It's flimsy. If it were the man in the relationship suddenly wanting to move overseas and the woman dropped everything for him, giving up her career, home and disrupting her child's life, people would be critical. They sleep together once after an awkward one month time jump and Max is behaving as if they've been dating the entire series, while Helen oftentimes comes off as if this is a fling. I love them both, but the writing for them as a couple is uneven.
The writing for Helen has felt strange. She sometimes seems more plot device than character. London move aside, her characterization has felt off and Max is getting dragged through the oddness with their relationship. I guess it's better than when they write him as too naive for plot's sake, but it's already old. Max often behaves how the plot demands and it's frustrating. It's also odd how Helen seems totally unaffected by this move. The other characters appear far more bothered that Max is leaving and he's the one they kept telling to stay. They've all at least been acquainted with Helen much longer but there's rarely a sign that she's ever been anything other than "Our friend's girlfriend." This season she's suddenly emotionally detached from everyone except Max and it's bizarre.
There were better ways to create non-over the top soap opera type drama for Sharpwin (I prefer calling them Melen) than this London nonsense. They're doing a disservice to both characters and their new relationship. I don't know if the writers just aren't sure what to do now that they're together or if there's a rewarding endgame for this London madness, but I'm sadly leading towards the former. Fuentes is over the top evil and it stopped being entertaining a few episodes ago. Ditching a handful of valuable supporting characters was a huge mistake that I worry may not be amended whatsoever. Taking the focus of helping people (without it being a lecture every week) and making the show too relationship driven is backfiring.
Bring back the warmer but still complex Helen we knew and loved for three seasons. Get Reynolds to wake up and walk away from Lyn for good, do not saddle him with a baby with that woman. They're both very attractive but chemistry isn't there. Have Bloom face some consequences for her entitled rule bending. Don't make Iggy an adulterer. And for the love of Ryan, let Max have a voice for himself. You can be a supportive partner while disagreeing and having your own inclinations. It's not toxic masculinity or problematic patriarchal behavior for him to have a backbone.
My opinions do not reflect how I feel about the cast. They're always stellar, I'd watch most of them do anything but I don't want New Amsterdam to become something I only watch for the cast. I want to keep loving this show as a whole. Thanks to anyone who read this. January 4th we'll see if the next episode warrants a "shout into the IMDb void" rant.
