New Amsterdam returned from its spring break with a pair of episodes that not only ended on huge cliffhangers, but also delivered massive twists for the core characters to deal with as Season 4 continues. For Helen, that means recovery from her stroke, so soon after Max proposed. Iggy’s marriage is on the rocks as a consequence of his too-close-for-comfort relationship with Trevor, and Dr. Castries nearly froze. As for Reynolds and Bloom… well, based on what executive producers David Schulner and Peter Horton had to say, their lives aren’t exactly about to get easier. Let’s start with Reynolds!
After spending most of the season (which you can revisit with a Peacock subscription) struggling with Dr. Malvo’s pregnancy, Reynolds got the news that he is indeed the biological father of her child. His joy was short-lived, as he then got the news that Malvo and her husband were planning to move away from New York. Reynolds ultimately decided that even though he was determined not to abandon his child the same way that his own father abandoned him, having Malvo and Baptiste as parents wouldn’t be abandoning. He’ll be in the child’s life when the time is right, but that time is not now.
When the executive producers spoke with CinemaBlend about New Amsterdam’s return from its break, they shared why the show led Reynolds to make that monumental decision when he was looking forward to becoming a father. David Schulner explained:
Well, we knew that we couldn't give Reynolds everything he wanted, and we knew that putting him to this test was going to make him question and make him revisit his own father. So having this child, becoming a father himself, just is going to bring up all his own father issues in a big way.
New Amsterdam still has Season 4 to finish, not to mention a full Season 5 before the series finale! No character can get everything that they want at this point (if ever), so for Reynolds this means facing his own father issues after deciding to give up a relationship with his own biological child for the foreseeable future.
It clearly wasn’t a decision that the character was happy about, but he did it with the best of intentions, and it may be the best call possible out of a bad situation. Peter Horton weighed in on how this storyline can give Reynolds some insight into his own father, saying:
And on some level make a man who has been villainized his whole life by his mother and by this myth about him, be someone that because circumstances got away from Reynolds, his plan couldn't overcome circumstances, couldn't overcome the unpredictable, the unknown. To a degree, that's gonna give him a little more empathy into his father. Like, was his father really a bad guy? Or what happened? What really happened to him? Was he a man like Reynolds who fell into circumstances that took him in a direction?
Even though this wasn’t the most cheerful of twists for Reynolds (who actor Jocko Sims has said would “be a great father”), it does help open the door for some more insight into the character and why he is the way that he is. Up to this point, New Amsterdam has focused more on his relationship with his mother; now, viewers know more about his dad.
Reynolds definitely isn’t the only character whose future could be pretty complicated after the events of the last couple of episodes. Bloom desperately wanted a second chance with Leyla, but got the awful news that her ex-girlfriend is facing deportation back to Pakistan unless a lawyer is able to find a way out. The problem was that the lawyer required a $10,000 retainer and $10,000 per month afterwards, and Leyla had to go to Bloom to ask for the money.
Initially, Bloom had her reservations, because their relationship would be transactional if she gives Leyla the money, which was part of the problem that led to their breakup in the first place. The former ED doctor decided to give her the money anyway, which bodes well for Leyla hopefully getting to stay at the hospital, but not particularly well for any kind of normal relationship between them. Executive producer David Schulner previewed what the future looks like for them:
Oh, it gets even messier. It gets even harder.
Find out what happens next on New Amsterdam with new episodes on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC. On top of all the new issues that the characters will have to deal with after the doomed karaoke night, they’re still facing the problem of Veronica Fuentes running the hospital. Max has a plan to oust her, but he’s undoubtedly going to be concerned about helping Helen as well, and some of the others might have more than getting rid of her on their minds as well. Iggy certainly has some amends to try and make in his marriage, for one!
There are only a few weeks left before the Season 4 finale on Tuesday, May 24, so now is not the time to miss an episode of New Amsterdam. For when television’s other biggest shows are coming to an end in the 2021-2022 TV season, check out our spring TV finale schedule!
