S05.E01: TBD

[DanaK]

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09/20/2022 (10:00PM - 11:00PM) (Tuesday) : Bloom, Iggy and Reynolds rally around Max as he deals with the fallout from Helen's decision. Bloom gives extra space to Leyla but she's in for a surprise. Reynolds and Wilder help a young terminal patient realize his dream to "star" in a Bollywood show. Iggy has a breakthrough with a challenging patient.

[LexieLily]

Everything the showrunners have said so far about the premiere and the fifth season as a whole has actively made the situation worse. I don't want to watch but I also have a perverse need to see how badly Helen's departure is written.

[bros402]

2 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Everything the showrunners have said so far about the premiere and the fifth season as a whole has actively made the situation worse. I don't want to watch but I also have a perverse need to see how badly Helen's departure is written.

Welcome to the hate watch club.

This sounds like an amazingly bad episode.

I think the Bollywood plotline would be better if Kapoor were still around, but yeaaaaaaaaaah I think we are going to see something so bad it is beautiful.

Okay, so this episode isn't on until the 20th, but I am going to just guess now that the worst doctor will be Bloom - she is probably going to do a million and one things that would get anyone else in trouble with HR. Anyone else want to blind guess the worst doctor? :P

[Clawdette]

Awww, I enjoyed the Bollywood part of the episode.  The young patient was so earnest in his love for the genre that I couldn't help but root for him.  I would prefer not to talk about Helen anymore because that ship has sailed and let's move on with new stuff.

[Cloud9Shopper]

Helen’s letter read like a combination of bad fanfiction and the diary of an emo teenager. A grown independent woman can’t even communicate why she stood up her fiancé at the altar in front of their friends? Hmmm. Maybe I don’t blame Freema for leaving after all. Just sloppy.

It’s good to see Martin and Iggy on somewhat good terms and trying to work together on co-parenting.

Still don’t care about Floyd’s throuple baby or Lauren. Although I’ll give Lauren credit; asking Walsh “Can I sleep with you tonight?” was hilarious and well timed. 

I’m really only here because there’s 12 episodes left and well…may as well finish haha. 

[LexieLily]

I have nothing good to say about this episode, and don't know how we are supposed to believe that Helen, a woman abandoned by her father as a young girl and it shaped her adult life, would walk away from Luna and the man she loves in a letter. It's even less believable that Max, King of "How Can I Help?" and someone who uprooted his life and followed her to London, wouldn't fight for Helen, follow her, call her, etc.

[Trini]

So... they decided to not write a reason for the Max/Helen breakup, but still have it be all Helen's fault; then teasing the next possible romance for Max after the lowlights reel of the relationship? It just makes the last season with them getting together finally seem like a huge waste of time.

[KaveDweller]

The boy wanting to be in a Bollywood musical was really adorable, it was just so sweet how much he loved them. And how everyone who talked to him changed their mind and wanted to make his wish come true. I don't know why they didn't just bring dancers into the hospital from the start though. So sad, since it seemed they left it that he's going to die soon, right?

I loved Max's solution to the awful sponsor of their clinic. It felt like an actual good solution and not just him being insane and trying to solve racism or whatever. I doubt the company would really let them get away with that without a fight though.

I feel like they should just drop all the mentions of Helen. If they aren't going to give a good explanation, I don't want multiple episode of Max angsting about it. The relationship was badly done from the second they got together.

Lauren is super rich, right? Aside from being a doctor. Why does she need to beg her co-workers to sleep on their coaches. Can't she get an airBnb for a few weeks or something?

Dr Wilder continues to be awesome. Iggy continues to suck.

[NeenerNeener]

Luna in New Amsterdam > GiGi in The Resident. 

Leyla moved a new girlfriend into Lauren's condo? I think I'd chuck her out and let her handle citizenship on her own if I was Bloom.

Loved the Bollywood musical.

[bybrandy]

I loved the Bollywood plot and I didn’t hate Iggy at all in this episode.  So that was big news. The lack of a reason wishy washy was made of suck but I never really shipped Max and Helen so I’m less irritated by it than others. I don’t ship Lauren and Leyla but moving somebody into Lauren’s apartment without a heads up?!?!?  
 

[circumvent]

Sooooo, Hulu dropped New Amsterdam so I guess the universe wants to spare me the grief.

I think I have a way to watch it though, but I am not sure yet. Maybe I will try. TBD

[cardigirl]

I didn't realize Freema had decided to leave the show. I started watching because she was on it. 

I guess they're going to go for a romance between Wilder and Goodwin now?  

I love Debra Monk's role in this, and was happy to see her. But the storyline of the sex workers' privacy rights seemed contrived to me. 

Weren't they calling for people to reveal their vaccination status just last year?  

Otherwise, I enjoy the show's humor, but sometimes the storylines are just too convienent. 

[AriAu]

Misery index was pretty high....lots of unhappy people. While the show has always been pretty misery lade, it's almost like they need to amp it up now that This is Us is off the air. They even had poor Luna be miserable tonite.

[Frisky Wig]

4 hours ago, circumvent said:

Sooooo, Hulu dropped New Amsterdam so I guess the universe wants to spare me the grief.

I think I have a way to watch it though, but I am not sure yet. Maybe I will try. TBD

I believe NBC's shows are streaming on Peacock.

Regarding the autistic man, why was he in his mid-late twenties and seeing pediatricians? Iggy made a comment like "these doctors are top of the field but they all treat children." Wouldn't these doctors have referred the mom and her son to other doctors once he aged out of a pediatrician's care?

Hold on a sec. It's LAUREN'S apartment? Why on Earth is SHE couch surfing and Leyla's the one living in the apartment? Does Leyla need a residence (thus, can't be kicked out) due to the immigration issue? Also, like a previous poster pointed out, Lauren is wealthy (remember how much money she spent to get Leyla a job at NA?) but all of a sudden, she's homeless. Huh?

20 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I have nothing good to say about this episode, and don't know how we are supposed to believe that Helen, a woman abandoned by her father as a young girl and it shaped her adult life, would walk away from Luna and the man she loves in a letter. It's even less believable that Max, King of "How Can I Help?" and someone who uprooted his life and followed her to London, wouldn't fight for Helen, follow her, call her, etc.

Yes, yes, yes! Shitty writing for both characters! 

[Artsda]

Lauren owns her condo, lets Leyla stay there and Leyla has a girlfriend in there? Lauren should just kick them both out.

Bollywood dance was cute. 

Helen leaves Luna. a child she was raising as her own and called her mom just like that? In a letter? Did she have brain damage from her stroke? Couldn't they send her on a secret medical mission or something. 

[bros402]

Okay guys. It's time for the start of the FINAL SEASON OF WORST DOCTOR

Are you excited?

LET'S START THE EPISODE

oh god a montage

did they really not have enough for the episode and have to fill up a minute with that montage

why did sharpe abandon them through a letter? does she want Luna to have the abandonment issues she has?

hey look the first doctor we see is Iggy... oh my god is he doing his job and is there as a Friendchiatrist?

reynolds is that wine? why are you bringing wine? is it so max can whine?

oh hey it's bloom. hell yeah scrabble

and wait who is this one. wait, is that Dr. Wilder? did she get a haircut and a dye job? At first I thought it was Dr. whackadoodle because of the salad being made. Her hair looks nice

okay so I half hope that that scrabble board is full of sad words just to mess with Max

show, did we really have to have the title sequence be scrabble tiles? BUT WAIT THERE WASN'T HORRIBLE JAZZ??? ARE WE SPARED IT FOR THE FINAL SEASON? IF SO THIS IS THE BEST SEASON

oh right yeah bloom is doing immigration fraud with dr. resident ex-girlfriend

and IGGY BLEW UP HIS MARRIAGE BECAUSE HE IS A MONSTER

iggy you better get back together with him he is so understanding

show why do you have to remind us of that plotline, you didn't have to do that

i'm surprised Max walks Luna to the bus-- oh wait it's her school. I was gonna say "I am surprised Max doesn't have a bus pick up the children of every New Amsterdam employee and every poor person around and bring them to school"

dr. awesome deaf lady you never say you can do it, you say you will try your best

protestors do you really need to have your protest in the ER

Iggy is acting like a therapist, did something get into him?

oh god more looking back on the relationship - tbh I was half hoping that Max would just be kissing a stunt double or a mannequin for that montage

max if you are against this company because of their actions, why not shove it in their face by naming an LGBTQ clinic after them and laugh because they didn't attack that string to it

oh ... fun, Iggy has patients. Let me guess, by the way this actor is sitting, I am going to guess they claim he has autism.

CALLED IT

iggy is not the special therapist for this guy, he will totally make him decompensate and have a huge meltdown - although I wouldn't be surprised if mom caused one first with the learnd helplessness she seems to be imbuing

oh no, drama - iggy wants them to change their entire medical team that has been helping him for 20 years. They should just walk out the door

oh fun, more of the sex worker plot - let me guess, this plot will lead to Max taking the money after all and opening an LGBTQ clinic like I guessed earlier - maybe some focus on sex workers? Hope it isn't just for LGBTQ sex workers, that'd be a very quiet clinic.

um why does the surgeon have to clear the kid to go on a vacation? wouldn't, you know, the ONCOLOGIST do that? Unless he is under Reynolds care right now, though.

uh oh the kid has magical powers to make everyone love him on the spot with his story

So autism guy was diagnosed at 7 and has been seeing these docs for 20 years? the show is trying to claim they saw him this long? even the best peds docs cut patients off around 21

sorry sex worker but you signed a pile of forms and hospital policy is probably to do STD tests on sex workers, it wasn't without your consent

...why is the board getting involved in letting cancer kid go to India? If anything legal would be consulted

uhh autism mom that wasn't too bad of a meltdown - the only severe thing wsa throwing the rubiks cube

iggy with the good point about the autism mom needing to have a good plan in place for when she dies, not just "there are people"

As an aside - I know doctors go into medicine, they train how to tell patients they/their loved one is going to die and will be kept comfortable in the time they have left. What about the poor interpreter? I hope this guy gets a lot of therapy because holy crap, working for an oncologist he must need it. I mean he might be buoyed by the good news he interprets for her, but yeaaah that stuff has to weigh on you

obviously if the kid can't travel to bollywood, bollywood has to travel to him!

iggy, why don't you have the mom come in first, tell the autistic guy that she wants him to sit with iggy for a bit and she is going to go get coffee? 

also, iggy it can be hard to identify those emotions on the spot sometimes for autistics, and assigning a number system to it like that is just idiotic because everyone has their own thresholds and experiences and "really scared" means something different for everyone, so you are not doing well at all at this. 

also, with this patient, from what we have seen nothing about him screams "every big expert would want to see him, even after retiring"

um so this company rep is here already and they magically got space and a sign for a clinic? but the 10 million is probably to add a little wing, not just take a hallway and name it sextopia

but tbh the show actualy made me laugh at "Wholesome Sex Workers Clinic"

not a belly laugh, but a little chuckle

so wait, HIV-test-done-without-consent patient was in the process of discharging like 10 minutes ago runtime - Max managed to figure out what he wanted to do with the money *and* get a sign done up in the time since he talked to Bloom?

so much max/sharpe stuff, please just no, I would rather hear about Rey---- no, I take that back, I would rather hear more sharpe stuff than the Plotline-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named

for the bollywood here, you think they got a locaal bollywood group, brought in a group from India, or got one of those groups that have been on America's Got Talent?

oh look ex-gf found a gf and moved her into Bloom's apartment. You think she would've told her that *before* she moved her girlfriend in? Bloom's rich, why can't she just rent another apartment??

you know, I don't get in media when they are like "oh I know you can't go out so I brought food to you" especially when they don't KNOW the person - what if you got something they hate to eat or they are allergic to?

iggy you better save your relationship before the series is over or else

everyone is happy dancing bollywood

except max

max looks on forlornly

wait

is he going to end up with awesome deaf doc?

oh no that means they are going to ruin her character

they better not ruin her character

So, who is the worst doctor? Honestly, the doctoring in this episode wasn't too bad, at least by this show's standards!

I could go with the non-medical one and go for Dr. Sharpe, in most likely her final Worst Doctor award - since holy crap, abandoning them through a letter along with the annoying montage sequences.

I can't give it to Wilder because she was decent, or Reynolds, since he pretty much did nothing. Max was okayish outside of his grumpy manpain - so I guess the first Worst Doctor award for the final season of New Amsterdam goes to... Dr Sharpe!

next week on New Amsterdam: something will happen and there will be patients. At least I assume, since I didn't watch the preview.

Edited September 22, 2022 by bros402

[LexieLily]

I know this is way down on the list of problems with this episode but the last time we saw Lyn last season when she and Claude left for Denver she was five or six months pregnant, Reynolds said he was giving up his rights and I'm 99% sure Lyn told him Baby Reynolds was a boy. It's only been a couple of months for the time-jump and now the baby is a girl, old enough to sit herself up, and Reynolds gets FaceTime calls?

[bros402]

10 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I know this is way down on the list of problems with this episode but the last time we saw Lyn last season when she and Claude left for Denver she was five or six months pregnant, Reynolds said he was giving up his rights and I'm 99% sure Lyn told him Baby Reynolds was a boy. It's only been a couple of months for the time-jump and now the baby is a girl, old enough to sit herself up, and Reynolds gets FaceTime calls?

Well we don't know when Luna was born, but this has been long enough for Iggy and Awesome Husband to work out a schedule and seem pretty harmonious in it.

Assuming the series starts in September 2018, like the premiere. I think Max got 4-6 months of treatment initially. Season 1 ended in May 2019, Season 2 picks up 3 months later - so we can assume that at least then it followed a reasonable timeline.

So if Luna was born May 2019, her 5th birthday was May 2024.

First full COVID season was Season 3 - we don't know how long that lasted.

So Season 4 must have taken place in 2022/early-mid 2023, for the Thruple Spawn to have been born and sitting up by May 2024

[circumvent]

Well,  it didn't suck.

The Bollywood story was preposterous but I can take it. It was cute and the kid is a good actor. 

Leila is using Lauren as a Sugar Mama. Inviting the girlfriend without even talking to Lauren is simply rude. Remember when she rejected Lauren's help? Yeah, long way from that now.

The autism story was mixed. Iggy was right to point out how the mother should let the son be more independently minded. It is all too common that parents feel like they need to "fix" their children because of what the parents want, because the parents want to feel "loved", but in a normalized way. But the show doesn't go far enough in exploring the therapies that just train someone to respond to basic commands and be compliant with what the "normies" expect. Hardly ever a therapy is the way to make autistic people think by themselves,  make choices that are not based on what others want. That goes for all cognitive/intellectually/developmentally disabled people. They are taught to do things in a way that makes others comfortable and that conform with the  majority, without finding ways for their brain process to work things out. But I don't expect a show like this one to go deeper than they have. It was acceptable, what Iggy did. It wouldn't have results so fast, but that was a good outcome.

So now Max and Wilder are going to be a thing? Why do TV writers are so adamant that the characters MUST pair up and have romance? It is annoying and predictable, there is no creativity. I prefer the social justice warrior Max, as absurd he might be

[4N6MAL]

On 9/21/2022 at 3:30 PM, cardigirl said:

I guess they're going to go for a romance between Wilder and Goodwin now?  

This is so stupid if they do it. It is a show about a hospital not about a doctor hooking up with every coworker!

I agree that I am hate watching to finish what I started years ago.

[bros402]

20 hours ago, circumvent said:

The autism story was mixed. Iggy was right to point out how the mother should let the son be more independently minded. It is all too common that parents feel like they need to "fix" their children because of what the parents want, because the parents want to feel "loved", but in a normalized way. But the show doesn't go far enough in exploring the therapies that just train someone to respond to basic commands and be compliant with what the "normies" expect. Hardly ever a therapy is the way to make autistic people think by themselves,  make choices that are not based on what others want. That goes for all cognitive/intellectually/developmentally disabled people. They are taught to do things in a way that makes others comfortable and that conform with the  majority, without finding ways for their brain process to work things out. But I don't expect a show like this one to go deeper than they have. It was acceptable, what Iggy did. It wouldn't have results so fast, but that was a good outcome.

At least Iggy wasn't telling the mom/son to do ABA?

[circumvent]

4 hours ago, bros402 said:

At least Iggy wasn't telling the mom/son to do ABA?

Although I think it was implied that he did have ABA all his life. All those "therapies" and the mom saying that she just wanted him to love her, pretty typical

[bros402]

19 hours ago, circumvent said:

Although I think it was implied that he did have ABA all his life. All those "therapies" and the mom saying that she just wanted him to love her, pretty typical

Oh yes, I got that vibe too.

(For those who don't know, ABA is pretty much dog training for autistics)

Edited September 25, 2022 by bros402

[SonofaBiscuit]

Had no clue that Freema left the show until I read this thread. I just figured Max would start to move on and then she’d show up again, ready to be with him. Really wish they hadn’t even put Helen and Max together since they didn’t lock Freema in for the final season (which I think they knew was the final season well in advance). So annoyed.

I enjoy Dr. Wilder, so I guess I’ll be fine with Max starting something with her. If I remember correctly, I think they were hinting at her crushing on him last season, so at least it doesn’t come out of nowhere. 

Also, regarding Wilder…this season I just keep seeing Sarah Drew (April on Grey’s Anatomy) every time I see her. 

[SilverLake0315]

I couldn't stand Max and Helen as a couple, so I'm not sad about that ending. I hope his pining doesn't drag on for the entirety of the season, though. I didn't particularly enjoy their couple scenes the first go-round, so re-living them isn't making finishing out the series very fun.

[possibilities]

You know, they did lay the foundation for Helen being ambivalent about the relationship. It annoyed me all season last season, that they were having her do things like deny they were family, and then the next episode they are getting a wedding. I thought it was bad writing then, and I think it's bad writing now, but at least it's consistent in its badness? Why they would plan out such a rotten arc, I don't know. But I guess there's no accounting for bad taste.

The sex worker did not sign the consent form, they made a point of that. I liked Bloom this week. Sh called the bigot behavior rookie mistakes! Good for her! I was worried she'd make excuses for the staff and show her ass again, but she didn't. But there was no reason for her to couch surf when she has money, unless they are implying that she can't officially live anywhere else because she needs to be able to say Leyla is staying with her, and not renting that giant place solo? I don't know.  I do think that Leyla having someone else move in is unbelievably rude and also out of character. Please let that be a fake out (like Bloom being in bed with Reynolds), and it's her sister visiting, or some other resident just studying with her, or a refugee crashing for a night, and not a lover. It sure looked like a lover, though. I guess if you can't assassinate Helen anymore, you have to move on to assassinate the character of another woman, and Leyla gets to be it. I guess when they're done with that, they'll go after Wilder.

Hey! We haven't seen Mia since she was drugged and fell off the pier, have we?

It was fun seeing Max turn the donation into a sex worker clinic, even though I knew it would never happen IRL. I mean, I can deal with some snark and whimsy aimed at the correct targets. The Board would never go for it, nor would the donor. But it was still fun. Of course, we probably won't see it again, just like the prison wing and most of the other Max initiatives.

The Bollywood story was also fun. I thought they knew the kid was dying from the start, so I was surprised when that changed things, but it was always obvious they'd bring the show to the kid vs shipping him and his family overseas anyway.

Sad Luna. Max should have had an answer ready for her about why Mum wasn't there. Helen also should have. But I did enjoy the walk where she's asking why rain, why clouds, why everything. The relentless WHY of early childhood is one reason I'm glad I'm not a parent. Luna is being acted like she's less than 5, though, isn't she? She hasn't really progressed at all, developmentally. Maybe Max needs to have her assessed.

Big fan of Scrabble. Big fan of Dr Wilder. Not just now, but always have been. Please don't ruin this, show. I noticed Max used a sign or two. I am guessing that's all the actor wanted to learn, but I hope we see more signing among her friends and colleagues. A person like Wilder would not spend her social time with non-signers and seem to have no other Deaf friends. She has too much self-respect for that, and they are not even trying. It's like if you were a Spanish speaker and nobody learned anything other than maybe "adios" -- or not even that much. Those people would not be your inner circle.

Floyd is being needy with his father. Dude! Forcing yourself on someone who said no is wrong, even if he's your dad and you wish he would be into being one. I wish people would stop romanticizing stalking and boundary violations.

I thought they invited the sex worker back to see the sign, not that she stayed there after discharge. Honestly, a sign is not hard to make really fast. And all they had was a sign, so I thought that was the least of the time warp issues the show has had.

I love that Iggy is suffering for his sabotaging of his marriage, and Martin didn't cave and let Iggy get away with his BS. You need to do more than text a needy message, Iggy! You need to commit to therapy and work on yourself and really show some growth. Good on both of them for co-parenting, though, in what seemed like a good way.

I might need to buy a Rubik's cube, just for the fun of throwing one at the wall. I imagine they might shatter in a really satisfying way. I never thought of that before. Thanks, show, for inspiring me!

I did think the patient was angry because Iggy and his mom were talking about him like he wasn't even there, instead of talking with him like he was a sentient being. I was disappointed when that wasn't what the problem was, and that it wasn't addressed at all in a direct way. But, at least Iggy did tell mom that she had an adult in the room and not a child, and that it isn't all about her. The bar is very low but at least it isn't non-existent? And guess what!? If you actually connect with someone in an authentic way, without trying to force them into norms, sometimes you actually have a deeper and more satisfying connection than if you make them drive exclusively in your comfort zone. Expand your horizons, mama!

 

[Annber03]

10 hours ago, possibilities said:

You know, they did lay the foundation for Helen being ambivalent about the relationship. It annoyed me all season last season, that they were having her do things like deny they were family, and then the next episode they are getting a wedding. I thought it was bad writing then, and I think it's bad writing now, but at least it's consistent in its badness? Why they would plan out such a rotten arc, I don't know. But I guess there's no accounting for bad taste.

Especially since, from what I've heard, they knew full well the actress was leaving well ahead of time. All that buildup, all that stuff to make fans of the pairing happy and intrigued to see what would be next, and then...that. 

And the fact they don't bother to attempt to give her any kind of decent explanation for why she didn't show makes it all the more frustrating. Other shows have managed to come up with viable explanations, or at least an explanation, even if it's a bad one, with much less prep time when a character leaves a show.

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It was fun seeing Max turn the donation into a sex worker clinic, even though I knew it would never happen IRL. I mean, I can deal with some snark and whimsy aimed at the correct targets. The Board would never go for it, nor would the donor. But it was still fun. Of course, we probably won't see it again, just like the prison wing and most of the other Max initiatives.

The Bollywood story was also fun. I thought they knew the kid was dying from the start, so I was surprised when that changed things, but it was always obvious they'd bring the show to the kid vs shipping him and his family overseas anyway.

 

I liked those parts of the episode, too :). There was quite the whiplash from them hemming and hawing over whether or not they could do something for the boy to suddenly being able to put on that whole production, but it was sweet and fun, so whatever, I could roll with it :). I'm pretty good at suspension of disbelief with TV shows in general, so...:p. 

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Big fan of Scrabble. Big fan of Dr Wilder. Not just now, but always have been. Please don't ruin this, show. I noticed Max used a sign or two. I am guessing that's all the actor wanted to learn, but I hope we see more signing among her friends and colleagues. A person like Wilder would not spend her social time with non-signers and seem to have no other Deaf friends. She has too much self-respect for that, and they are not even trying. It's like if you were a Spanish speaker and nobody learned anything other than maybe "adios" -- or not even that much. Those people would not be your inner circle.

I started checking out this show a little further thanks to @LexieLily, and she and I have talked about how weird it is that there isn't more signing going on between Wilder and the other doctors here, yeah. Given Max's general personality, surely he'd be on board with learning EVERYTHING from the get-go to better communicate with her. 

It is nice when we do get a few scenes here and there of some sign language being used, though, yes. It's neat to see how that communication works, and it's nice to get that kind of representation on TV. 

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I love that Iggy is suffering for his sabotaging of his marriage, and Martin didn't cave and let Iggy get away with his BS. You need to do more than text a needy message, Iggy! You need to commit to therapy and work on yourself and really show some growth. Good on both of them for co-parenting, though, in what seemed like a good way.

Martin has the patience of a saint, truly he does. I've still only seen a handful of episodes, myself, and I was sitting here going, "Iggy, you are an idiot" during that whole storyline :p. When even someone who hasn't seen a show in full can call out the nonsense going on with a character, that should probably tell the show/the writers something. 

And it'd be one thing if we could get a decent explanation for why Iggy messed things up as he did, but his defense, such as it is, just makes no sense.