New Amsterdam Review: The New Normal (Season 3 Episode 1)
At the beginning of New Amsterdam Season 3 Episode 1, “The New Normal,” there is a tragic and beautiful montage of what life was like during the worst of the pandemic for healthcare workers.
It’s set to Jon Batiste’s version of “What A Wonderful World” and there is no dialogue. Only images of tired healthcare workers and rosary beads and patients dying and doctors FaceTiming their kids.
For just under five minutes, New Amsterdam shows us what it can be at its best.
So, it’s only natural to be disappointed when it reverts from phenomenal to just very good when the title fades from the screen.
The effects of the pandemic will linger. Dr. Kapoor is awake, but he has serious surgery ahead of him. Max starts a network to help New Amsterdam and other hospitals find supplies, but shortages won’t disappear.
Medical shows are under the most scrutiny when it comes to portraying the pandemic.
Ignoring it completely is somewhat irresponsible, but even though many Americans did not step foot in a hospital during the pandemic, it’s equally irresponsible to make us relive the past year for too long.
It’s just jarring to watch a few minutes of outstanding television only to have it nosedive into average as quickly as Dane the pilot sends the plane into the East River.
I trust New Amsterdam the most of all of the medical dramas on air to tell pandemic stories authentically, and I’m hoping we have more than a few minutes of breathtaking television to come this season.
Most of “The New Normal” is very formulaic.
There are red herrings as to what caused the plane to crash and what “Hawaii 660” means until Max and Iggy save the day and realize that Dane didn’t have a bipolar episode, he was trying to land the plane as safely as possible.
Mental illness stories are so important on TV and Iggy is right that the stigma of having one in the U.S. is what is shameful — mental illness itself is not.
But this story is just used as a plot point for the episode, authentic representation isn’t at the forefront here.
Dane hides his mental illness to keep his job because bipolar pilots are discriminated against and forced out of the profession. So even though Dane is a good guy, it rings untrue that Max discovers he’s a hero instead of a criminal right before he’s taken to jail. That bow is too neat.
Dane’s story is probably more compelling offscreen in the future as he deals with the repercussions of his illness (probably) being common knowledge at work now — but we don’t get to see that.
Lauren has the most unique issue on the episode. Her “new normal” is frustrating her.
Part of me shutters to think about that. We have lost hundreds of thousands of lives in the U.S. and a doctor dares miss the moments she was needed the most because so many patients were severely ill or dying? How dare she.
The other part of me understands her completely. We all yearn to be needed. It feels great when the moment you’ve trained for all of your professional life actually happens. It’s a rare privilege that not everyone gets.
Dr. Bloom wishes 500000+ people were alive today, so I have no ill will toward the character.
Her storyline is messy and uncomfortable to watch because it’s so human. Any of us might feel like Lauren does if we were ER doctors. As Casey tells her, it’s okay to miss the fight.
Cassian and Helen’s flirtation is decidedly not okay, though.
New Amsterdam is in a tough spot where Cassian is concerned because we didn’t get to know him very well before production shut down in Season 2.
I didn’t watch any “previously on” refresher, so their banter is hard to connect to. Theirs is the most personal story we see on screen, everyone else has mostly professional dilemmas.
It feels out of place that Cassian and Helen are smack in the middle of figuring out feelings for each other when the rest of the episode is essentially a reset button on all of the other doctors’ personal lives.
Inara George’s version of “What A Wonderful World” and the pots and pans salute to healthcare workers is a lovely metaphorical circle to come to at the end of the episode, though.
And it’s good to see Veejay awake. So, I’m not mad at New Amsterdam. I just know it was only extraordinary for four minutes and 48 seconds of its Season 3 premiere.
What did you think of this episode of New Amsterdam? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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New Amsterdam airs Tuesday 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.
2 comments
Thank you for a relatively decent portrayal of the Covid 19 debacle. As a health professional I have felt the frustration of the bureaucracy of the medical echelons. Please keep this honest portrayal of the medical scene up!
An aircraft drops into the river. It’s clearly a Boeing 737, yet it’s called a ‘747’ by Dr Bloom. This lack of attention to detail is what, for me, can make or break a show. Please, show-runners, get your facts right. People notice, and it effects your credibility.
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