10 New Amsterdam episodes to help get us through this hiatus

“The Domino Effect” (written by Y. Shireen Razack, directed by Laura Belsey)

If you’ve watched The Lion King you know all about the circle of life, but this episode of New Amsterdam introduces what I call the circle for life. Each person a part of the domino transplant procedure could not find a match for a partial liver transplant within their own family, so their family member will donate a part of their liver to a match from another family who will in turn donate a part of their liver to a patient who needs it within the donation circle. It’s a quid quo pro situation, but when one person backs out of the procedure and another is left without a donation a question of morality is presented.

Would you proceed with the arrangement despite receiving nothing in return or would you subject someone else to the same fate as yourself causing a chain reaction that stalls the entire procedure? It’s difficult to know what you’d do until you’re in a similar situation, but it’s the kind of question New Amsterdam likes to throw at its audience while insisting that we rely on our better angels. We are at our best when we can give selflessly and help without reward. Or at least that’s New Amsterdam’s argument for the generosity we are capable of exhibiting.