New Amsterdam Review: Right Place / How Can I Help? (Season 5 Episodes 12 and 13)

New Amsterdam Season 5 Episode 12, “Right Place,” and New Amsterdam Season 5 Episode 13, “How Can I Help?” is just the end. At this point, there’s frankly not much else to say.

To be fair, perhaps it was never going to be possible to wrap this show up in a satisfactory way. So the question now is, has the legacy of this once-great medical drama been tarnished irreparably? 

What’s going on with Max? Seriously, throughout the entire final season of New Amsterdam, he’s been all over the place. The finale is no exception.

It’s bad enough that he’s been an attending, a very flighty medical director, and now a researcher for some reason. In his latest role, he’s in bed with Big Pharma, captivated by the promise of a cure for cancer. 

Let’s blow past the fact that this isn’t how medical research works at all. This is a terrible, underhanded way to bring back Helen Sharpe and besmirch her name one final time by painting her as a seriously unethical clinician, regardless of her expected outcome. 

This storyline is the perfect way to illustrate how rushed the Elizabeth-Max storyline has been. Brief glimpses of a cutesy getting caught being in love montage aren’t enough to sell this relationship. 

Of course, New Amsterdam waits until the actual final episode to give us any backstory at all into Max. Fans can rest easy knowing where Max’s famous catchphrase originates. 

His backstory is one of many. Yet, shockingly, not one is interesting. Perhaps each of these individual stories is worth exploring more.

It defies belief that every single doctor here would have had a profound moment at which point they knew they wanted to devote their lives to medicine. The decision to practice medicine frankly isn’t always that deep. 

The random backstory is almost as out of left field as the reveal that Max is leaving to work for the WHO in global health policy.

It’s been a while since Max has been a “doctor first.” It’s a bold choice for the show to end, letting him think that’s what he’s always been. 

Right to the end, New Amsterdam does a disservice to the great Elizabeth Wilder. She is such a phenomenal character, who’s become so enmeshed with Max’s story.

She deserves so much more. Truthfully, it would have been more satisfying to have Elizabeth’s story end with her taking charge of a deaf-only medical school. 

This would have established Elizabeth’s legacy. She would have been able to stand on her own, in her own right. 

It’s a shame that New Amsterdam never fully realized what a powerful character Elizabeth could have been. Even though whether or not she ended up with Max in the end is left open to interpretation, she ends her story still being tied to a man. 

Perhaps surprisingly, Iggy might hold the distinction of having the least disappointing story on this episode, sort of. Let’s not discuss the fact that there’s even a question of submitting a patient to a conservatorship in the year 2023. It’s not worth it. 

Iggy’s effort with Martin is actually super sweet. The fact that Iggy takes the idea of a new beginning literally is incredibly charming.

This version of Iggy shows signs of being worthy of Martin. It’s been too long since this version of Iggy has been a part of New Amsterdam. 

This is far too little too late however. Martin has always deserved better, and it’s a shame that an actual resolution is rushed. 

Perhaps there’s nothing more that could have come from Floyd. His limping to the finish line feels right, considering how much New Amsterdam has struggled to do anything interesting with this character. 

His heroic moment feels unearned. The brilliant surgeon hasn’t been seen on this show in some time. 

Maybe the most unintentionally funny part of the resolution of this character’s arc is the fact that he has a child, who isn’t even brought up once. 

This is a testament to just how many lose ends this character has, that are never to be resolved. A mentally ill father? Where?

It’s fine, he gets his happy ending with a nurse (Gabrielle) that no one ever had the chance to know. New Amsterdam evidently has nothing else in mind. 

At least New Amsterdam‘s finale doesn’t feel the need to continually traumatize Lauren. She’s been through more than enough on this season alone.

Even here though, the series shows its fundamental misunderstanding of addiction, even though it’s tried to show the medical condition authentically. 

Of course, she deserves to be in a good place. She’s put the work in, and is supposed to have the support of her loved ones around her. However, addiction has no instant cure. 

With the tease that healing may also be on the horizon for Lauren’s sister Vanessa, 

Finally, it has to be said that the actual medical case on this episode is endearing and heartbreaking at the same time.

However, for a show that has historically tried to portray real-world issues, it’s too bad that the plight of Ukrainian refugees is just being brought up now on the show.

The finale’s two E.R. references aren’t enough to distract from the fact that the ultimate ending isn’t all it should be. The passing of the torch should feel like a homecoming. It decidedly does not. 

So now, New Amsterdam is all over. In a way, it’s a blessing. This show has been begging for someone to put it out of its misery for some time.

So much of the series finale feels like it’s just not enough. However, considering how the final season has been, maybe this was always going to be the case. 

This has always been a far-from-perfect medical drama, even at its best. The finale accentuates what it is at its worst; misguided stories, with little to no emotional depth. 

The legacy of New Amsterdam may still unfold. In the meantime, it might be best for fans to reflect on what could have been, and write a new ending. 

What did you think of these episodes of New Amsterdam? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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New Amsterdam Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on Netflix. 

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