New Amsterdam Season 5 Episode 5 Review: Grabby Hands
New Amsterdam Season 5 Episode 5, “Grabby Hands,” is ripped directly from the headlines. This entire episode could have been a timely commentary on the plight of nurses in the real world.
In a post-RaDonda Vaught world, the nursing profession as a whole has had to ask itself very serious questions. This episode is a chance to consider these implications authentically and compassionately.
For those unfamiliar, the brief version is that Vaught is an American nurse whose medication error resulted in the death of a patient. Enter Nurse Andrea, the fictionalized version of Vaught, who also makes a fatal medication error.
The debate regarding whether it’s appropriate for nurses to be criminally charged is still playing out. However, this represents new territory for the entire nursing profession, which is self-regulated in many places around the world.
This means that the nursing profession doesn’t exist outside the law. Issues with nursing practice are addressed by a governing body that has the power to make recommendations that can include formal discipline or mandatory education.
New Amsterdam does a good job of snapshotting possible consequences of nurses working with the fear of criminal charges hanging over their day-to-day work. Unfortunately, this is the best that can be said of how the show handles this.
What makes this storyline infuriating is the resolution. Telling nurses that they basically need to suck it up and put patients first, damn the potential consequences, comes across as a slap in the face.
It’s not that nurses should be above accountability. And of course, there are no easy answers. However, it rings more than slightly hollow for Max and Elizabeth to put all of the blame in this situation at the feet of the hospital’s nursing staff.
To say that this isn’t fair is a massive understatement. Nurses are blamed for protecting themselves (and, realistically, also the hospital) from liability. This is a massive systems issue that can’t be fixed by nurses simply soldiering on with the status quo.
If the botched story about nursing wasn’t enough, as per usual, Floyd’s story makes little to no sense. Identifying systemic inequity that puts patients in a revolving door of the hospital is absolutely the right call.
The question is: why is this Floyd’s fight, in particular? He hasn’t exactly been on board with Max’s single-minded mission to identify every possible barrier in the American healthcare system.
It makes perfect sense that the tenants of this death trap of a building don’t trust a random man whose best advice is that they need to pay significantly more to continue living in their homes.
This storyline is further proof that New Amsterdam still doesn’t quite know what to do with this character, and perhaps never has. There’s not much time left to resolve the story with his father. There’s also arguably no time to start this new relationship.
Lauren’s story continues to be crushingly heartbreaking. New Amsterdam continues to refuse to give this character any kind of happiness, never mind a break.
If there’s anything to be said about Lauren’s storyline on this episode, is that it does effectively show just how complicated addiction can be, especially within families. Yet another example of a situation for which there are no easy answers.
Lauren has always been a strong character and is incredibly resourceful. It’s more than believable that she will be able to find her way and come out of all of this ahead.
It’s a shame that New Amsterdam continues to put this character through so many tests of character when she’s proven herself many times over.
Surprisingly, the highlight of this episode may be Iggy’s hiking misadventure with his teenage patients. This alone should be a red flag since Iggy is by far New Amsterdam‘s weakest character.
Is a version Iggy who takes accountability for his own actions really Iggy at all? This is the existential question the show asks on this episode.
There is an important point being made here, about phones and technology being demonized without context. Phones are an essential part of everyday life, to communicate and connect with one another. They serve their purpose.
Ultimately, anything can be addictive and harmful if used to excess. The kids don’t need to be blamed for making use of the tools available to their generation. Iggy gets his comeuppance for dismissing the kids, and it’s nothing less than glorious.
New Amsterdam squanders a near-perfect opportunity to tell an incredibly compelling and important story effectively. These missed opportunities don’t seem to be stopping in the show’s final season.
It’s clear that it’s not only the main characters that are suffering from a lack of development. Stories are being introduced, only to be discarded carelessly. It’s not that New Amsterdam is expected to provide solutions or fix real-world issues.
Instead, fans should expect reasonable resolutions to stories with characters we’ve come to know and love. A show’s final season can be an opportunity to reflect on its legacy. New Amsterdam is looking bleaker every week.
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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Justine Kraemer
Justine is an unashamed fan of too many TV shows and movies with a particular love of all things Marvel. She balances her love of massive massively popular shows with hidden gems that are just waiting to be discovered.