New Amsterdam Review: Death Begins in Radiology (Season 3 Episode 14)
The vignettes on New Amsterdam Season 3 Episode 14, “Death Begins in Radiology,” are lovely, but the time jump we take to get them robs us of details I wish we could have seen.
Max and Helen will probably be an item on New Amsterdam Season 4 and while I’m just going to have to accept that (and they don’t have the worst chemistry I’ve ever seen), New Amsterdam does not handle this build-up quite right.
Something goes wrong during Seasons 2 and 3 with the hints that are dropped about Sharpwin’s relationship.
On “Death Begins in Radiology,” using the metaphor of Max’s lost wedding ring and then seeing him take it off once it’s found should work well. I’m just someone who wishes we had a few more blatant moments of them truly flirting before this big, romantic run to Helen’s doorstep that Max does.
Luna has also been a big focus of Season 3, and it would have been nice to see a scene featuring Max calmly and confidently parenting her.
New Amsterdam wants us to feel closure in Max’s journey — I do not. I’m not even convinced he’s ready to take off that ring.
Iggy’s journey also leaves a lot to be desired because of the time jump. TV is about watching transformations as they happen, and we miss Iggy’s altogether because we meet him in the woods after his attack.
Perhaps New Amsterdam has no choice but to sort of tie the last few steps of healing into a bow before the cliffhanger but especially in Iggy’s case, a few lines of dialogue is not enough to convince longtime viewers that Iggy is going to completely stop seeing patients.
It’s easy to understand why he loves being in the woods with his family and how his talk with Samira helps him realize that he can’t escape New York forever. It’s even in his character to make a huge declaration to Martin that he’s not going to see patients anymore.
It’s just a shame that we only get about 15 minutes to see exactly why he reaches that conclusion.
The same holds true for Floyd’s dilemma. One episode prior to this he just absolutely could not see himself sharing Dr. Malvo with any other man and because of a time jump, we are supposed to just accept that he’s agreed to the unconventional arrangement now?
The couple’s chemistry helps us with that — but no matter how beautifully written the episode is, everything we are just forced to accept is a little bit unfair.
Hopefully, New Amsterdam does not choose to go the traditional love triangle route with Floyd, Dr. Malvo, and her husband Dr. Baptiste. Floyd deserves his position as Assistant Chief of Surgery if only because watching him in his demotion was getting boring.
So, I do want to see conflict within the two men’s working relationship. But the last thing TV needs is another love triangle and New Amsterdam is mature enough to know that.
Lauren’s vignette is the most effective. She’s a recovering addict who might have traded her addiction to pills for addiction to Leyla.
The scene where she’s distraught about Leyla’s residency placement and has to say the serenity prayer is perfect.
But since we are meant to believe that she does bribe the Dean of Surgery to get her girlfriend a residency spot at New Amsterdam, is she really accepting things she cannot change by putting her whole career in jeopardy?
Her money gave her the courage to change the things she can change… but at the risk of being really cheesy here, it sure doesn’t seem like she knows the difference and I’m scared to find out if she’ll emotionally survive those consequences.
Overall, New Amsterdam‘s cliffhangers are compelling. I’m even ready to watch whatever is in store for Max and Helen. It’s just disappointing that we have to take such a huge shortcut to get here.
It leaves New Amsterdam Season 3 with a disjointed vibe.
Doctor’s Notes
- Sorry but Helen’s whole storyline has no real point other than to keep her away from Max. Especially because her mom just has bronchitis.
- I’m sad we’ve never seen Ella again and don’t know that baby’s name.
- At least we have Sandra Fall from billing.
- Would it really be horrible if Max kept his wedding ring on?
- Floyd really made Lynn two whole pieces of french toast she just doesn’t eat.
- I resent the fact that the writers of the episode just took the best quote and made it the title, it doesn’t encompass the episode as a whole.
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New Amsterdam will return to NBC next season.
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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.