New Amsterdam Review: Luna (Season 1 Episode 22)
Max’s daughter arrives on New Amsterdam Season 1 Episode 22, “Luna.”
I’m not sure I’m going to get to Iggy’s storyline. But he says something to his patient toward the end of the episode that sums up New Amsterdam‘s first season as a whole. It also describes Max Goodwin as a person.
Iggy says, “Because sometimes, the world has light.”
This describes so many aspects of the show, but it definitely does not apply to the Season 1 finale.
I’ll admit I am duped by that line and by the fact that everybody is happy when we are almost but not quite at the end.
All of the standard signs that fans were in for a big cliff are so clear to me now — even off-screen. The show got picked up for Season 2 very early. Plus, there is very little promotional material for the episode.
On screen, there are even more clues. But even if you are not fooled by Iggy’s quote and everyone getting out of the Goodwin apartment alive — even if you see the ending coming from Georgia’s speech to Max, so you predict the ambulance crash — the fact is, the ending of the episode is still traumatic.
If you’ve been reading my reviews of New Amsterdam this season, you know that each week, I’ve grown to love the characters more. The show really finds its footing toward the end.
So I need to take a minute to breathe and process everyone’s trauma…
OK, now that that’s done, I have things to say.
I have very high standards for the show. Georgia living long enough to make it into the ambulance is a subtlety that makes it more lovable.
It’s even more obvious now that Floyd is in love with Lauren, but him proposing to Evie is a simple happiness that is unexpected.
All that said, the ambulance crash is a device for shock value, and that cheapens the episode a little bit.
It’s still very good, and there is no point in blaming a hit show that knows it’s coming back for writing in a big ending. This is tough love.
It’s just that… New Amsterdam is the network medical drama with the most mature tone on TV right now. Viewers will be back; they don’t have to be emotionally manipulated.
Ending the episode right before the crash (with Floyd watching it as it’s happening, powerless to stop it) is a preferable alternate ending.
It’s very difficult to discuss the beautiful parts of the episode, like Lauren’s speech to Max that she’ll choose between his wife and baby for him. Or the unique approach the visual effects team takes to Iggy’s patient’s flashbacks, or Kapoor’s speech to Iggy about the way he treats patients.
Or even Iggy’s narration over the scene of the accident.
The last minute or two of shock is all we’re supposed to be talking about. Right now and tomorrow and all summer.
It remains to be seen if this tactic will work for the masses. But as soon as the ambulance crashes, I have a very educated guess about who is going to die. I don’t know for sure and speculation will just make us all dizzy.
I thought I was going to have to rewatch the episode and dissect it further. I could dissect it and go in circles but only a few people really know the answer.
Instead, let’s end here: I love the idea of Floyd having to confront his feelings for Lauren because of this accident. And, thinking purely from a narrative standpoint, there is only one person who should die.
If she does (and this is not a spoiler, as Max is traveling with all women besides the paramedics) the possibilities for the future of the show are endless.
Aesthetically, New Amsterdam is beautiful. Narratively, it has rarely made mistakes recently. The crash and carnage after it are completely understandable. The shock just detracts from the finale’s full potential impact.
What did you think of this episode of New Amsterdam? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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New Amsterdam airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on NBC.
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Esme Mazzeo
Esme Mazzeo is a lifestyle and entertainment journalist from Long Island. When she's not writing for work, she's writing for fun, or searching for something to satisfy her sweet tooth. She thinks rainy days are the best kind of days. Certified night owl.
One thought on “New Amsterdam Review: Luna (Season 1 Episode 22)”
I want to watch that episode again because obviously someone did die (face covered) but I am confused as to who it was. I am thinking it was most likely Max’s wife, because she was already so vulnerable. Lauren has all that blood on her–but probably most of it isn’t her own. I see endless complications ahead for everyone if indeed it is Max’s wife who dies. But if either of the two die, the story lines are truncated. I don’t think the writers are done with Lauren or Sharp!
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