New Amsterdam season 2 episode 16 review: Changing perspectives

This week on New Amsterdam there was sizzle, a power shift, and changing perspectives that could rock the metaphorical boat or bring it into calmer water.

Hello, Dam Fam! With the hiatus done and dusted — and “Double Blind” behind us — it felt good to slip into a new episode written by Y. Shireen Razack, one of my favorite New Amsterdam writers, and the co-executive producer of the show. “Perspectives,” in typical New Amsterdam fashion, tackled a lot of issues, from the effects school-shooting drills have on students, to the wrongful death suit Max, Bloom, and Reynolds are entangled in, to the long awaited showdown between Helen and Valentina.

“Perspectives” also took a crack at three out of five of our burning questions for the rest of the season. The first one — Will Max be moving on from Georgia this season? — got answered with a fiery yes in the episode’s opening. With their girls asleep, Alice and Max had a little grown-up fun before Max headed into the office for the day. While I’m personally not feeling the lightning speed at which this relationship is moving, I do appreciate their open lines of communication.

Max was open about not being ready to remove his wedding band, and Alice didn’t feel slighted in the least. The feeling was mutual as was some nervousness about having not been with anyone since their spouses passed. Still, they slept with one another joyously, and Max had some pep in his step right before he was served with papers and made aware that New Amsterdam was being sued in a wrongful death claim.

Care without prejudice

Accused of malpractice and wrongful death by the family of a former patient — George Whitney — Max, Bloom, and Reynolds are promptly pulled into deposition meetings.

We finally got to see Margot Bingham kick it into full gear as the incredibly deft and sharp lawyer she is as Evie. With money, the reputations of the doctors involved (including her fiancé), and the hospital’s future on the line, Evie had neither the time nor ability to treat the doctors with kid gloves or concern herself with their feelings.

As the episode progresses, we see the differing perspectives of those involved in George’s case. Bloom’s perspective is revealed to be flawed. She remembered George’s admittance into the ER as a part of a wave of patients caught in a terrorist attack at a Middle Eastern street fair. But she was incorrect about Casey being on duty that day. The inaccuracy prompts her to ask Vijay about memory loss and to reveal to him that, during the case, she’d been abusing Adderall.

Vijay assures Bloom that the memory loss she is experiencing in regard to George’s case is not a cause for concern. His supporting evidence is his observation of her work as a colleague and the quality of care she gives every day.  While she is an addict, she did not use for a prolonged period of time, unlike her mother who spent years drinking and has lost 15 years of memories as a consequence.

The blame for George Whitney’s death doesn’t lay at Bloom’s door, but for the briefest of moments, it’s suggested that it may lie at Max’s. The day of the terrorist attack, Max was acting in his capacity as medical director and monitoring the situation in the ER. But he stepped out of that capacity to override Bloom’s directive of treatment for the victims. Max describes himself as wearing many hats and in that situation he acted as a doctor.

Evie questions his decision, reminding him that, while he sees himself as wearing many hats, the hospital staff see him as their medical director. His override has more weight than Bloom’s status as head of ER, and any nurse may feel compelled to follow his directive, even if they agree with the treatment that Bloom suggested. There is a hierarchy at New Amsterdam, and Max is at the top of it. For what may be the first time, Max seems to have been hit with the reality of what that means.

As Max wrestles with this moral quandary, Evie moves on to her interview with Reynolds, and in a stunning reveal, we find out George Whitney was a white nationalist and the perpetrator of the terrorist attack. Evie asks Reynolds off the record if George’s hatred factored into Reynolds’ decision to do an invasive surgery on him to “save” his life. The treatment Max had suggested worked for all of those exposed to the botulism toxin used in the attack except for George, who went into cardiac arrest — hence why he was in Reynold’s operating room.

Reynolds doesn’t answer Evie’s question, choosing instead to resume the recorder and ask for the next question. The tension is palpable between the two, and it only settles after Evie questions Knottingham, Reynold’s resident, about his memory of events.

Knottingham is clearly covering for Reynolds, and Evie knows this, but that’s not why she tells Brantley to settle despite the hefty sum the hospital will have to pay. Neither Bloom, Max, nor Reynolds was responsible for George’s death. He died of an embolism. But if the testimony of the doctors were put before a jury, New Amsterdam would lose. There are too many ways for it to be twisted and turned against their favor.

Later, Evie confronts Reynolds about the surgery, seeking the truth. Reynolds tells her that it he did have an emotional reaction to having a white nationalist on his table. He’d made the decision to do the invasive procedure before he was made aware of George’s bigotry, but he still considers his reaction to be a moment of moral failure.

Reynolds has had multiple speeches on seeing himself as a leader and an example to follow. He is a role model for his department, and his momentary lapse was a blow to the man and surgeon he wants his staff to see him as. Reynolds decided to pursue medicine after learning Bessie Smith, Empress of Blues, died due to the refusal of medical assistance from doctors in an all-white hospital. It was then that Reynolds knew he wanted to be a doctor without prejudice.

It should be noted that Bessie Smith being refused treatment at an all-white hospital is not true. It’s an account that has managed to stand the test of time despite it being refuted on more than one occasion in print. Bessie died at G.T. Thomas Afro-American Hospital in 1937. The false account persists because the refusal of white doctors to properly assist Black people was a very real issue then and it is still one now in the year 2020, 83 years after Bessie’s death.

Bias and prejudice slips into medical practice every day, and it has cost people their lives time and again. Reynolds’ disappointment in himself is a testament to the strength of his character and his determination to instill the value of unbiased medical assistance to the medical professionals who looked to him as an example.

I wholeheartedly agree with Evie’s sentiment that Reynolds does embody a doctor without prejudice. He’s a good man who had one moment; it does not change who he is as a doctor or his integrity.

Helen vs. Valentina

Dr. Valentina Castro, however, seems to be lacking in integrity. To be honest, I thought “Perspectives” was going to be the showdown to end all showdowns between Helen and Valentina, but it was more of a dust-up.

Instead of going to Max about Valentina lying about the severity of her trial patients’ cancer, Helen takes it upon herself to sabotage Valentina’s trial by destroying her control group. Of course, Valentina finds out and confronts Helen, and in the face of Helen’s smugness, manages to call her bluff on telling Max.

Valentina’s lies would cost New Amsterdam their NIH funding and jeopardize the credibility of the hospital. Despite this, Helen does attempt to tell Max what’s going on, but diverts tactics at the last minute. Instead of sounding the alarm on Valentina, Helen decides to help her get away with her lies by having Valentina present her resignation statement to Max so she can focus on her research.

I cannot say that I’m sorry to see Valentina go. She has been nothing but a thorn in Helen’s side, and I will never be over her use of Max’s cancer treatment as leverage to secure the position of co-chair of oncology.

Active-Shooter Drills

The third story “Perspectives” delves is school-shooting drills. Iggy’s patient this episode is a young girl named Danica. She refuses to go to school and is distressed because of the drill her school ran based on an active-shooter scenario. Danica saw a girl she knew get shot. Though it wasn’t real, her experience has caused trauma surrounding the event due to her own inaction and the genuine terror she felt during the drill.

This is a fictional account of real-life drills some schools across the U.S. have adopted, but the idea that children are being subjected to these drills instead of changing gun laws is disheartening to say the least. We are putting our children through traumatizing events, no matter that they’re simulated, instead of making their world safer. And in Danica’s case, her school didn’t even provide counseling to help students process their complicated emotions concerning these drills.

Danica’s principal, Principal Colvin, explains that, because of budget cuts, the school lacks a counselor. Iggy volunteers his services and helps a gym full of students talk about their feelings concerning the active-shooter scenario.

“Perspectives” made me wonder about the schools in real life that are in the same position regarding counselors. How many students are dealing with distress due to these drills? And how many have no assistance to help them mitigate that distress? It’s a lot to think about.

Let’s Talk About Sharpwin

There is no way to talk about “Perspectives” without bringing up Sharpwin. The two of them share their worries and frustrations with each other. They’re one another’s shoulder to lean on and the person they can vent to about whatever is going on in their lives or at work. But even though sharing with one another is at the core of their relationship, Max has had an easier time doing that lately than Helen.

Helen has consistently worked through her problems as much as she can on her own. I’m not sure if that’s because Max froze her out, and she’s been dealing on her own for a long time, but for whatever reason, she didn’t disclose to Max the tension between her and Valentina that went deeper than differing opinions in the workplace.

Max was aware of their professional animus, but it wasn’t until Valentina resigned at the clear behest of Helen that he pushed her on just why she’d hired Valentina back and why she’d given her half her department. And in a moment that inspired key-smashing by yours truly, Max got an answer from Helen that deep down he already knew.

Helen had rehired a woman whose vision and work she respects, but whose toxic ambition and manipulations she despises, because she could save Max. And in doing so, Helen upset her work environment, introduced an incredible amount of stress into her life, and put herself in a vulnerable position with a woman who exploited her weaknesses.

Max’s reaction to Helen admitting that she did it for him — that everything she does is for him — was absolute fire. The shock, the realization, the strides across the room to stand before Helen and look deeply into her eyes. He was a man at the precipice! But, he didn’t take the dive. He fiddled with his ring, you could tell that he wanted to say or do something, anything to address her admission, but he didn’t and Helen left.

The last scene in “Perspectives” is Max coming to see Alice. She’s fiddling with her own wedding band, and playfully commiserates about them both being messes, but little does she know how much of a mess Max actually is. His best friend, his person, basically admitted that she loves him, and he doesn’t know what to do.

Even without shipper goggles on, it is apparent that Max’s relationship with Alice is a comfortable one. It allows him to be present and work through feelings that are manageable. The relationship doesn’t ask too much of him, and it’s a connection to someone who knows exactly what he’s going through as a single parent and a widower. It’s as serious as he and Alice want it to be and as light as they can handle.

A relationship with Helen would be deeper by virtue of their bond. It would require more of him than he’s able to give. Max is still working on thinking less about what he needs and focusing more on what she does. He’s still learning to listen. “Perspectives” saw him immediately ending his pity party because Helen said she needed him to be himself not what he’s expected to be as director. But Max, in truth, is not ready for Helen, however, watching him get to a place where he is ready is going to be delicious to watch. I’m ready for this slow burn. Ready.

What Else Happened in “Perspectives”?

• Vijay was superstitious about Ella’s emotional support animal, which happens to be a black cat. After Ella explains how Calliope (Calli for short) helps calm her OCD, Vijay accepts the cat’s place in their home on the condition that they find her a different name, since Calli makes him think of the Hindu goddess of death, Kali. Why Ella didn’t get to explain Calliope is the name of the Greek muse of poetry, I don’t know.
• Reynolds has not told his mother that he and Evie’s wedding is going to be held in San Franscico. His explanation is that he and his siblings learned a long time ago that you tell their mother information slowly so she can get used to it. Clearly, the only way for this to go is terribly.
• Bloom and her mom went to a ice skating rink. It’s Bloom’s attempt at making new memories with her mom. This story arc is moving at a snail’s pace, and it’s feeling like an after thought which is a shame because Bloom’s relationship with her mother and to addiction shaped her as a person and it was incredibly important to her arc last season. It should feel like it means something in the narrative this season and not tacked on.

How did you feel about “Perspectives”? Serve up your thoughts in the comments below!