'New Amsterdam' Season 2 Episode 4 will see Max's unsolicited attempts to help backfire but Helen is accommodating of the patient
Season 2 of 'New Amsterdam' is seeing a new Max (Ryan Eggold), a mourning Max, a Max who seems vulnerable and is clearly scared of letting people in. However, one thing stays the same about him from episode 1 - his obsessive need to help, even when it is not needed.
For the longest time, Max was portrayed as the sweet guy, who would go to great lengths to fix things. In season 1, especially, when he tried to win Georgia (Lisa O'Hare) back we saw this side of him, and it was sweet.
He was fighting for his love, for his family and that made it all worth it. From the premise of the upcoming season 2 episode 4, it seems clear he will display this pattern again, and we may not like it all that much this time around.
"Max's unsolicited attempts to help a patient backfire," reads a part of the synopsis for 'The Denominator', which is set to premiere Tuesday, October 15. As a doctor and as the medical director of New Amsterdam, Max is expected to maintain some professionalism, which he often doesn't, and we are grateful for that.
His humanity overrules the hierarchy in the hospital, as we have seen time and again, but when he crosses the thin line between doing right by the patient and thinking he knows better than the patient is when the problem arises. In the last season, we saw him try to convince a rabbi to change his mind about his treatment, later acknowledging he should not have butted in.
Even from the trailer of the episode, it is clear there is a patient who has made up her mind, but Max tries to convince her to change her mind. On the other hand, we see Helen (Freema Agyeman) doing exactly as the patient wants, even though it is clear she is also personally on Max's side.
However, she is willing to put the patient first, which is something, I have a feeling, we will get to see more and more this season. Max, despite rejecting her offers to be a good friend and confidant in his time of need, tried to guilt-trip her into doing what he wants in the previously aired season 2 episode 3 as well, and Helen did not stand for it.
She told him, in no uncertain terms, she will not be manipulated as such and that is the upward curve we see for her character this season, and we are ready for it. Hopefully, Max will come to terms with the fact that he is grieving and needs to process it and work through it before throwing himself at work and imposing his thoughts on others.
Find out how Helen and Max deal with the patient in question when 'New Amsterdam' airs Tuesday, October 15, on NBC.
