The midseason finale of New Amsterdam is just days away, and the latest episode finally dropped the news on Leyla that Bloom had crossed a major line to get her the fifth ED slot as a resident at the hospital, but not because her girlfriend came clean out of a desire to tell the truth. No, Leyla is in on the secret thanks to Reynolds, who accidentally tipped her off when simply trying to praise her for a job well done in surgery. Jocko Sims, who plays Reynolds, opened up to CinemaBlend about the new kind of relationship drama on the way because of the reveal, and his character’s role in it.
Reynolds technically didn’t come right out and say that Bloom bribed New Amsterdam to get Leyla the fifth slot, since he doesn’t actually know that himself at this point, but she quickly connected the dots after he revealed that it took a big donation the last time that a special exception was made for the residency program. And it’s clear that Leyla isn’t holding any ill will against him as the accidental bearer of bad news, as they’d had a fun dynamic working together… even if it involved maggots. I spoke with Jocko Sims about the final episodes of 2021, and he shared what it was like to build the dynamic with actress Shiva Kalaiselvan as Leyla:
I loved it. That's fun. My favorite moment was when I walked in the hospital with Leyla, and Bloom asked something to the effect of 'Did he yell at you yet?' or something. And I said, 'No, she likes me way more.' And it's just a light moment of a joke that I didn't even realize how deep that meaning of that could be until I saw it, because I did see a cut of the episode. And that's fun. Because clearly, Reynolds and Bloom have a history as well. And what got it for me, I couldn't see when we were filming Bloom's face, and I saw it on the screen. She just like rolls her eyes, is like 'Yeah, right.' So that was great.
Ah, the calm before what could be a storm when it comes to Bloom and Leyla’s relationship now that Reynolds has accidentally dropped a bombshell into it! It was a fun moment between the three of them as Leyla started her time working with Reynolds for surgery, and everything really seemed to be going well until Reynolds’ compliment and invitation to join General Surgery resulted in Leyla getting the bad news.
And it’s not the kind of bad news that is just going to be swept under the rug and forgiven right off the bat, if at all, based on comments from Jocko Sims. When I asked about the fallout of Reynolds accidentally tipping Leyla off about Bloom’s bribe, he previewed the relationship drama to come as Season 4 continues:
Yeah, yeah. Leyla and Bloom, that's gonna put more than a strain on their relationship. I don't think Reynolds is to blame so much, obviously. You know, she would have found out. The writers would have found some way for her to find out. It would have been Iggy. Tyler Labine, he talks a lot, you know. [laughs] But more so in the future episodes, you'll see Reynolds get kind of caught in the middle when Leyla goes MIA for a little while. And Bloom, she's not returning Bloom's calls as a result, but reaches out to me for some reason that you'll see. And I don't last ten seconds in front of Bloom, she reads my face. And she just knows. And I think that was just a great Reynolds/Bloom moment that we have coming up.
Poor Reynolds stumbled into a sticky situation out of the best intentions, and really, Tyler Labine’s Iggy might have been better suited to deal with any relationship fallout. He’s an expert at talking to people in crisis, after all, and Reynolds has an awful lot going on in his own relationship on top of his work without being pulled into Leyla/Bloom complications. Still, what’s not the best news for Reynolds being pulled into the drama sounds like pretty great news for fans with this storyline! Honestly, even though the story isn’t being played for laughs, it sounds like Reynolds cracking under Bloom trying to read him could be worth a chuckle.
Despite the drama that’s coming from the fallout, the partnership between Reynolds and Leyla was a success from a medical standpoint, and she has a standing offer to come join General Surgery. While she didn’t commit one way or the other, I asked Jocko Sims what kind of mentor he thinks Reynolds would be at this point when his personal life is so complicated, and he started off with a joke:
Terrible. This guy, Reynolds, doesn't know what he's doing. He's not a professional at all. No, I missed the character being a mentor. In Season 2, we had the character of Duke, played by Ian Duff, who has taken off and he's shooting movies. And we miss that guy. It was just so fun to play that big brother role to him. And I'm hoping that I'll get to do that again, with the Leyla character.
Reynolds did play the mentor role back in Season 2, before he temporarily left New York to head to California with Evie. Michael Duke was played by Ian Duff, who went on to appear in Judas and the Black Messiah after wrapping his run on New Amsterdam. Leyla would be a very different character as a mentee for Reynolds, but Sims is clearly on board with that potential storyline as Season 4 continues.
Season 4 is approaching winter hiatus, but not before a midseason finale that could be a game-changer. Max and Helen are supposed to be leaving for London, but Michelle Forbes’ Veronica Fuentes isn’t making that decision easy on them, especially after her big move against Max (and Brantley). See what happens with New Amsterdam’s midseason finale on Tuesday, November 23 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC. Fans will have a bit of a wait to find out what happens next if it ends on a cliffhanger, as the winter premiere will air on January 4 at 10 p.m. ET, following the long-awaited return of This Is Us for the launch of its sixth and final season.
