S01.E05: Cavitation

[Whimsy]

A journalist visits New Amsterdam to shadow Max and learn about the hospital. Bloom and Reynolds have a major disagreement after she makes a call against protocol and Kapoor deals with issues from his past.

[Guest]

Ugh. 

I cried. “The bullet did its job better” right after the shot of Jalen’s Mom crying over her son’s body while her other son holds her. 

Heartbreaking.

[Kelda Feegle]

Why would a newspaper print "hallow"  bullets instead of hollow? Lazy props department or meta commentary on the shallow and shoddy state of the print media or something else?

[luvapickle]

1 hour ago, Kelda Feegle said:

Why would a newspaper print "hallow"  bullets instead of hollow? Lazy props department or meta commentary on the shallow and shoddy state of the print media or something else?

Because they probably caught it after editing. And editing costs money. It wasn't worth it to go back. And yes, they mistakes happen all the time on shows.

Dr Kapoor's face when he sees his son walk away, & then passes by the restaurant breaks my heart. Obviously his son had a alcohol or drug problem by what he says to his dad. But knowing this subject first hand, he needs to talk with his father & tell him why he's angry. Otherwise he really won't be able to move on. Everytime I see the opening credits & see Peter Horton's name, I want that character to show up again....even though he was fired. 

[Suzysite]

This one was not my favorite.  It had a Very Special after school feel that made me ff through a lot of it.   I'll give it another week, but we are on thin ice here.

[Evagirl]

My favorite also.  No wife-drama to clutter it up.  I like the show much better when Max isn't mooning over a pregnant wife who has way too much baggage for this show.  There's enough internal strife without adding the wife subplot.

[Biggie B]

Dr. Helen continues to grow on me each week. I do feel, though, that her strong desire to have a baby seems to have come out of nowhere. I mean, I get that each episode, she's been brought down to earth bit by bit (the two women who felt Helen couldn't put the patient first, above her 'celebrity' status; the wealthy widow acidly pointing out the Birkin bag, etc.), but all of a sudden, she is devastated by the challenge to have a baby right this second. It seemed so random - we as viewers have never been given any inkling that she is so intent on having a baby. I have no problem with her wanting to do so, of course, although I did think for a moment, she was going to ask Max to be a sperm donor!!!!!! 

Otherwise, the rest of the episode was OK. It brought nothing new to the horrors of gun violence, it's a story line that while sadly real, is all too common and thus difficult to convey in a more meaningful way than has been done many a time elsewhere. I'm also getting tired of Bloom and Reynolds - either get together or don't, each week it's the same thing - they have an intense 'moment,' followed by her leaving him in puzzlement/frustration. Move on one way or the other. It was great not having Max's wife around - didn't miss her or anything related to that story line. I did feel bad for Vijay but the second he said "I forgive you," to his son, I knew that was gonna blow up.  It's one of those phrases you should NOT ever say, unless someone first ASKS you for forgiveness! It is guaranteed to make the other person defensive if you say it first, especially without even giving any specifics. If Vijay had said, "I forgive you for doing X,Y,Z," then the son would have at least had a chance to correct, rebut, accept, or refuse Vijay's forgiveness. But saying it as Vijay did leaves room for total misinterpretation - maybe the son thinks Vijay is accusing him of having done something egregious when in fact the son hasn't. And too, the son should have been very specific in his response to his father rather than just storming off. I suspect each of them is completely wrong in what they think the other has said or done. 

[catrice2]

I too think that we weren't giving enough back story on Helen before being thrown into this baby plot. All I can say is that they're going to have to give her a girlfriend to diffuse this growng amount of chemistry between her and the max character. Although I would love to have a drama that does not have the leads engaging in a relationship, they come across as more than just professional colleagues who are relying upon each other. They have more chemistry than the other two that have none that they are trying to force together. I agree with the above either put them together or just move on from that plot because it's not working. She actually is the worst character on the show to me and it was just weird the way they had him say that he can only marry a black woman. Also could care less about the one that's over the mental health part of the show. Always change the channel on his scenes. She was happy to not see the wife this week

[twoods]

I’m shocked that I see a show that actually has specialists doing their jobs instead of the ER or internal medicine doctors doing everything. I love it. It’s my first episode so I haven’t encountered annoying wife, but the chemistry between the main guy and the heme-onc doc is great. Guess I have to add this to the Resident as medical shows that I will be watching.

[doodlebug]

39 minutes ago, twoods said:

I’m shocked that I see a show that actually has specialists doing their jobs instead of the ER or internal medicine doctors doing everything. I love it. It’s my first episode so I haven’t encountered annoying wife, but the chemistry between the main guy and the heme-onc doc is great. Guess I have to add this to the Resident as medical shows that I will be watching.

Except that the show has the attendings and department heads doing anything and everything without a resident, physician assistant or even a nurse around ever.  That is not the way things happen in a real hospital, teaching or otherwise.

[driver18]

I almost wonder considering how the wife plot is being written, and the way Max/Helen are as well if the show was banking on viewers wanting a Max/Helen romance and not being all that into Max and the wife and actually plan on Max/Helen as their slow-burn, endgame romance, but figured that by doing it this way, it would feel more organic. And if that's the case, it certainly does feel that way. Instead feeling like this pairing is being forced, I keep reading about the chemistry that Ryan Eggold and Freema Aygeman have and how it's so much better than he has with the actress playing his wife. And I certainly feel that way myself.

[twoods]

2 hours ago, doodlebug said:

Except that the show has the attendings and department heads doing anything and everything without a resident, physician assistant or even a nurse around ever.  That is not the way things happen in a real hospital, teaching or otherwise.

Didn’t know that- figured it was a one episode thing where there weren’t many residents around. That ER doctor with the tattoos seems to be a resident, and I saw another episode (the last one) where Kapoor had a resident with him, and the surgical resident pleading with cardio surgeon guy to do some surgeries (I assumed he was a cardio fellow and not a resident since he was ready to do surgeries on his own).

[txhorns79]

Quote

Dr. Helen continues to grow on me each week. I do feel, though, that her strong desire to have a baby seems to have come out of nowhere. I mean, I get that each episode, she's been brought down to earth bit by bit (the two women who felt Helen couldn't put the patient first, above her 'celebrity' status; the wealthy widow acidly pointing out the Birkin bag, etc.), but all of a sudden, she is devastated by the challenge to have a baby right this second. It seemed so random - we as viewers have never been given any inkling that she is so intent on having a baby.

I felt like it was kind of lazy given we are only five episodes in, and they can't think to do something with the character other than make her baby crazy. 

[doodlebug]

12 minutes ago, twoods said:

Didn’t know that- figured it was a one episode thing where there weren’t many residents around. That ER doctor with the tattoos seems to be a resident, and I saw another episode (the last one) where Kapoor had a resident with him, and the surgical resident pleading with cardio surgeon guy to do some surgeries (I assumed he was a cardio fellow and not a resident since he was ready to do surgeries on his own).

The guy with the tatoos is a nurse, I think, but definitely not a doctor.  The resident with Kapoor last week was the first, last and only resident we've seen with him.  As for the guy pleading to be allowed to do cardiothoracic surgery by himself last week, he was supposed to be an intern; so just 3 months out of med school. And in no way qualified to do anything unsupervised yet, let alone complex vascular procedures.

In real life, a hospital as large as New Amsterdam would have literally hundreds of residents running around all the time.  During the daytime, there would be dozens of surgical and medical residents there; at least 2 ER residents, probably more and each inpatient service such as psychiatry and neurology would have at least a couple of residents there all day, every day.  I trained at a large community hospital more than 30 years ago and there were 150 residents covering all the specialties.  Even in the middle of the night, there were 30 or more in the hospital on call. 

While there might be more attendings on staff overall, there would be far more residents than attendings throughout the building; especially at night when most attendings are at home while the residents keep the ship afloat.

[starri]

13 minutes ago, twoods said:

That ER doctor with the tattoos seems to be a resident

I think he's a nurse.

That may have been the worst fake CPR I've ever seen.  Max was okay, but the woman who I'm assuming is a neurology resident as basically just flapping her arms around.

So, Iggy is a middle-aged, paunchy, gay psychiatrist in New York City.  Subtract out the kids, and I guess I'm Iggy.

My husband asked me if I actually liked this show because of its earnestness and despite its stupidity.  I'm honestly not sure.

[txhorns79]

Quote

So, Iggy is a middle-aged, paunchy, gay psychiatrist in New York City.  Subtract out the kids, and I guess I'm Iggy.

All I can say is I hope you at least wash your hoodie.  Iggy seems to wear the same one day in and day out.  I'm a little confused about his job at the hospital.  He seems to treat children and adults interchangeably, and is head of his department?  How is that he had all day to just spend with the shooting victim's aunt? 

[LexieLily]

I watched the episode and I'm still not sure where the major argument Bloom and Reynolds were supposed to have was. All I saw was a mild discussion outside where she didn't take responsibility for anything and said it wasn't her procedure that caused the kid to die.

[starri]

35 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

All I can say is I hope you at least wash your hoodie

I don't have a hoodie, but my version of schlubby is that I usually have my shirtsleeves rolled up, which makes some of my tattoos visible. 

[Dowel Jones]

15 hours ago, Kelda Feegle said:

Why would a newspaper print "hallow"  bullets instead of hollow?

Considering the definiton of hallow (verb) is "to consecrate, or to make something holy", that was a colossal blunder given the content of the episode.

[Kelda Feegle]

6 hours ago, starri said:

I don't have a hoodie, but my version of schlubby is that I usually have my shirtsleeves rolled up, which makes some of my tattoos visible. 

Do you also crave chocolate bars when stressed? Enquiring minds need to know :-)

I cringed at the "I forgive you" dialogue but even more at the "isn't that what PEOPLE LIKE YOU need to hear" that just came out so badly it was never going to be a way to communicate. Kapoor does sell the facial expressions of bewilderment and regret well tho.

[doodlebug]

All of them seem to treat kids and adults interchangeably.  Helen is Dr Max’ oncologist but, just last week, she was treating a child with cancer.  Not how it works in real life.  

If you want to be a pediatric specialist like an oncologist, you do a pediatric residency first.  If you want to be an adult specialist, you do a residency in internal medicine.  Kids are not just tiny adults and the kinds of problems they develop, the meds used as well as their overall management is handled differently. 

And, yes, psychiatrists tend to specialize based on age groups, too. Someone who works with adults isn’t going to see little kids or teens.

[Princess Lucky]

This show is improving by the episode. It is what it is (schmaltzy, heavyhanded, almost too liberal - and I say this as a liberal - and overdramatic), but that "it" sure is enjoyable. It's the earnesty of the cast that sells it. If someone else were playing Iggy, I'd probably find him annoying. If someone else were playing Helen, I'd probably think she's an ice queen. If someone else had been playing Dr. Kapoor, I'd think he's insufferable. But this cast just makes it work. I mean, Max's whole speech near the end, about being grateful? When he said "...Go!" and I literally teared up, because Ryan Eggold made that shit work? I can't help myself, I ate it right up.

By the way, Eggold is a better actor than this show, or these scripts. A lot of the time, he gets lost in the genericness of the lines, and he over-smirks and he over-puppy-eyes, but sometimes he manages to find the humanity, usually in a smaller moment, and he shows fear for a second, or wistfulness, or he lands an actually funny joke, or he finds that connection with Freema Agyeman (who is also a way better actor than this show deserves), and he's just a joy to watch. Kudos to whoever cast him in this.

18 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

I felt like it was kind of lazy given we are only five episodes in, and they can't think to do something with the character other than make her baby crazy. 

I always hate it when previously badass and independent female characters suddenly get baby crazy (Joan Watson is the perfect example, or even Olivia Benson), but with Dr. Sharpe I feel this is just the writers fleshing her out. This isn't out of the blue, it's just something we didn't know about her, because the show has only been on for 5 episodes. If I squint, I could also fanwank that she "suddenly" decided to look into her fertility now that she settled down, and settled in New Amsterdam. Isn't the whole point of her arc that she had been travelling all the time, from interview to interview and from conference to conference, and now she's back in New York permanently, in order to treat patients again? I can kind of see the connection.

Speaking of:

22 hours ago, catrice2 said:

All I can say is that they're going to have to give her a girlfriend to diffuse this growng amount of chemistry between her and the max character. Although I would love to have a drama that does not have the leads engaging in a relationship, they come across as more than just professional colleagues who are relying upon each other. They have more chemistry than the other two that have none that they are trying to force together.

I agree with this. The Max/Helen connection keeps getting stronger, and their chemistry keeps feeling accidental (because neither of them is actually flirting) and it's all so warm and organic and, like, sexy in a subdued way, and their scenes just crackle. I'm so rooting for them to keep getting closer and closer, until they randomly share a soft kiss that surprises them both, after a long, bad day, in, say, late Season 2.

(Don't judge me. Also, I assume the wife will be long gone by then.)

And I also agree that Bloom and Floyd have no actual chemistry. If we weren't told they have a thing, I wouldn't have guessed it. And, yeah, their big argument was a few muted lines with zero heat. Max and Helen have more chemistry when they're sitting across the room from each other, than these two have when they fight, or almost kiss. The show needs to move on from that. And I say this as someone who likes both actors (especially Janet Montgomery) and both characters. I just don't see the connection.

Lastly, Iggy has a husband? How delightful, and I mean that. What a casual reveal, and what a fun portrayal. I love it.

[txhorns79]

Quote

This isn't out of the blue, it's just something we didn't know about her, because the show has only been on for 5 episodes. If I squint, I could also fanwank that she "suddenly" decided to look into her fertility now that she settled down, and settled in New Amsterdam. Isn't the whole point of her arc that she had been traveling all the time, from interview to interview and from conference to conference, and now she's back in New York permanently, in order to treat patients again? I can kind of see the connection.

I guess I look at where the character was before, a celebrity doctor on the go who has no time for New Amsterdam, and where she is now, crying over her fading fertility, and it just feels like they could have come up with something a little more original.  

[nokat]

The show is new and a few episodes in. It's growing on me, and I can forgive a few missteps early on. Cancer and a dangerous pregnancy was too much at once. Someone  relates to Iggy, a win. Anupam Kher is so far a delight as Kapoor. I loved him with the dizzy woman. "Tell me what you think is dizzy."
 

[LittleIggy]

Gotta love a character named Iggy! ?

[limecoke]

Someone help me out.  Is it a regular thing to have a psychiatrist right there in the ER (ED) at all times.  This show has one as well as Chicago Med and I'm wondering if that's just for TV plot purposes or what.  Seems to me a psychiatrist would be called in to consult if necessary and not just roam around the ER at random looking for potential mental issues.  

This may be my final attempt to like this show.  I wasn't interested to watch it this week but was bored today so watched it on Hulu.  

[DearEvette]

I started watching this show during a moment of... "uh nothing's on let's see what Hulu suggests." I didn;t realize Freema Agyeman was in this, if I had I probably would have caught it earlier.  I love her. 

Overall I like it ok.  I mean, the only medical show that I think I unabashedly loved from the jump was ER.  But I generally like soapy medical dramas.  The first 5 eps were easy to binge on a rainy Saturday.  I don't work in medicine so the bad medicine just goes over my head.  I am probably their target audience.  LOL. 

I agree with everyone who says Ryan and Freema's chemistry is ridic.  On the one hand I like that they are not making them a couple (just yet?) because that would be just too cliche.  On the other hand it is almost criminal to waste that much chemistry.  I do like how the actors are playing it.  They are playing it straight.  I don't get the impression they are trying to signal some latent romantic attraction, but it is just they are really natural scene partners and they are both really attractive. 

OTOH, Reynolds and Bloom don't look like they've ever had lunch together much less had sex together.  Both are appealing in their roles, but they should deep six the romance element for these two. 

So yeah, I like it and will probably add it to my crowded rotation.

Edited October 28, 2018 by DearEvette

[thuganomics85]

A little late for this episode.  Not having any of Max's wife drama seemed to help quite a bit.  Still a bit heavy-handed and plays loose with the rules, but I thought it did a decent job with using the entire ensemble.

Not sure if I'm wild about the reveal that Helen was a child, but I do like how it has made her and Max grow closer.  Not sure if they'll head down the romantic path, but I do think Ryan Eggold and Freema Agyeman have excellent chemistry.

Definitely cringed over how Kapoor talked to his son, because he really had no idea much he was just making things worse.  It does sound like the son had a drug and alcohol problem, but I suspect Kapoor wasn't completely in the right during his time as a father.  Anupam Kher is still excellent.

Still like Janet Montgomery and Jocko Simms (even if I still automatically think of him as Burke in The Last Ship), but Bloom and Floyd's arguments and butting heads are already getting tiring.

So, Iggy has a husband and adopted children from Bangladesh.

Fun seeing Josie Zuniga as the reporter.

[starri]

14 hours ago, limecoke said:

Someone help me out.  Is it a regular thing to have a psychiatrist right there in the ER (ED) at all times.  This show has one as well as Chicago Med and I'm wondering if that's just for TV plot purposes or what.  Seems to me a psychiatrist would be called in to consult if necessary and not just roam around the ER at random looking for potential mental issues.  

A big urban hospital like New Amsterdam would have its own separate ED for psychiatric patients.  Assuming New Amsterdam is a perfect doppelgänger for Bellevue, they should realistically have a CPEP, which allows you to hold a patient for up to 72 hours to be evaluated.

The show came up in a departmental meeting I had on Friday.  There was agreement that there are some...similarities between Iggy and myself.

[doodlebug]

On ‎10‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 6:14 PM, limecoke said:

Someone help me out.  Is it a regular thing to have a psychiatrist right there in the ER (ED) at all times.  This show has one as well as Chicago Med and I'm wondering if that's just for TV plot purposes or what.  Seems to me a psychiatrist would be called in to consult if necessary and not just roam around the ER at random looking for potential mental issues.  

This may be my final attempt to like this show.  I wasn't interested to watch it this week but was bored today so watched it on Hulu.  

No, there would probably be a dedicated area for psychiatric patients since this show is based on Bellevue, which does a lot of psychiatric intake.  Most large cities have designated hospital ER's where patients requiring psychiatric evaluation and possible admission on hold for 72 hours (where I live, a psych hold is referred to as a 'pink slip' based on the color of the legal paperwork back in the old days) are seen.  That area of the ER would be fairly self contained and staffed by psychiatric residents backed by psychiatric attendings and nurses with psych training and psychiatric social workers, etc.  Regular ER residents might do a rotation or two down there but the ER attendings would not be involved unless there were medical issues involved too.

NO hospital has doctors of any specialty wandering around trolling for patients.

[limecoke]

Thank you both for answering my question.  I appreciate the feedback because it was a genuine question in my mind.

[Superpole2000]

On 10/27/2018 at 8:57 PM, DearEvette said:

I agree with everyone who says Ryan and Freema's chemistry is ridic.  On the one hand I like that they are not making them a couple (just yet?) because that would be just too cliche.  On the other hand it is almost criminal to waste that much chemistry.  I do like how the actors are playing it.  They are playing it straight.  I don't get the impression they are trying to signal some latent romantic attraction, but it is just they are really natural scene partners and they are both really attractive. 

OTOH, Reynolds and Bloom don't look like they've ever had lunch together much less had sex together.  Both are appealing in their roles, but they should deep six the romance element for these two.

The writers keep giving Max/Helen the opportunity to smile, joke, and be tender with each other. They have given Bloom/Reynolds nothing but sour and abrasive dialogue. The writers have essentially failed to make either character endearing by never giving them a chance to smile or be anything but upset with each other. Even at the end of this episode, she just chewed out Reynolds because they are only interested in showing them in conflict. No balance whatsoever.