Spoilers ahead for the winter premiere of New Amsterdam Season 4, called “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution.”
New Amsterdam returned for the first new episode of 2022 to reveal the new status quo with Max and Helen off in London while everybody left behind tries to adapt to Veronica as unrivaled leader. While Iggy, Bloom, and Reynolds all seemed more or less resigned to Veronica’s reign after a six-week time jump, Dr. Wilder was ready to fight for a revolution. The other three were on board by the end of the hour after they scored a win, but will they be able to get any more wins without Max on hand?
It was clear right away that Veronica hasn’t exactly been embraced by the staff at New Amsterdam even a month and a half after Max’s departure, but also clear that she’s willing to take steps to make sure that they at least acknowledge her authority, if not necessarily like her. She laid down the law for the heads of department, with only Dr. Wilder agreeing to her terms right away, and the other heads were appalled to learn that the reason for the budget cuts was so Veronica could hire a holistic doctor by the name of Mia Castries.
Dr. Wilder surprised the others by summoning them to the morgue to try and recruit them to a revolution against Veronica, although they weren’t convinced even after she shared that Max was an inspiration for her. Iggy made the valid point that he has a family and doesn’t want to risk his livelihood, and Bloom and Reynolds had enough going on in their personal lives without trying to stage a revolution... until Iggy had an important program cut, Bloom had a patient whose essential surgery was dismissed by Veronica as elective, and Reynolds got some clarity after spending the episode reeling from the pregnancy bombshell.
They pulled off a surgery in the morgue, and seemed to pull one over on Veronica, but that’s almost certainly not the end of the story. They won a battle, not the war. While Wilder may have the fighting spirit and helped inspire the others, none of them can quite fill Max’s shoes at the hospital. He held a position of power that they don’t, and Veronica has already proven that she can make cuts to their departments. In fact, it was only due to Max’s interference that Iggy, Bloom, and Reynolds still have their jobs.
They don’t have an ally in power any more, and even the board is in her pocket after Brantley’s attempt at a coup failed. They may be able to make some moves behind the scenes, but if they attract Veronica’s attention, that could put an end to their efforts pretty quickly. And somehow I don’t see them miraculously saving the day by hiding their shenanigans in the morgue on a weekly basis. Plus, there’s the potentially sticky issue of Dr. Castries.
For somebody who had been trying to help save an ED patient – even if her efforts were holistic, to Bloom’s dismay – Dr. Castries wasn’t exactly overwhelmed with joy when she got the news that he’d gotten the surgery he needed despite Veronica cancelling it. I can’t help but suspect that she’s Team Veronica and possibly even hired as a spy of sorts, although if that's the case, Veronica probably should have chosen a doctor in another field if she wanted her to win over the heads of oncology, emergency medicine, surgery, and psychiatry.
Still, the good guys of New Amsterdam were pretty thrilled that they pulled off the surgery, not to mention how Iggy found a way to get his patients hired at the hospital after Veronica cut his program. They’re not beaten, even though Veronica has all the power. Max certainly doesn’t seem to be coming back any time soon, if at all, so it’s a good thing that they’re finding ways to cope without dwelling on the fact that he left.
Of course, Bloom is still dealing with the Leyla situation, as she left the hospital due to Bloom’s actions, and both Reynolds and Baptiste remain in the dark about which of them is the father of Malvo’s future baby. Find out what happens next with new episodes of New Amsterdam on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, and be sure to swing by our 2022 winter and spring premiere schedule for what else you can watch!
