New Amsterdam delivered a tragedy in Season 4 with the death of Vijay on top of all the struggles with Dr. Fuentes, but it may just turn out that triumph can come out of that tragedy thanks to the return of Max Goodwin to New York. Max saw for himself just what the hospital has turned into under Dr. Fuentes, and things are worse than ever for the doctors now that the resistance has been crushed due to Reynolds’ betrayal. It’s up to Max to oust Fuentes, but how can he actually do anything without any power at the hospital? Star Ryan Eggold previewed to CinemaBlend what’s on the way.
The promo for the next episode of New Amsterdam, called “Two Doors,” shows Max threatening to “rip” Fuentes from the hospital if she doesn’t resign, which are really big words coming from a man who no longer holds any power there. When I spoke with Ryan Eggold about what’s on the way, he shared Max’s perspective on what he can actually do to help without working at the hospital:
In this episode, we get to see kind of a different side of Max where he doesn't really have a place at this hospital that he has been at the center of for so long. And loves so dearly. I mean, he gets kicked out at the very top of the episode. So it's just about, you know, Max is pretty inventive and optimistic. And I think he will sort of [try to] figure out his way back into this hospital by whatever means he can, with of course the help of allies, of all the incredible doctors, and Karen Brantley, and all these people who are sort of realizing that they need to take this hospital back.
Max’s mantra has always been “How can I help?” over the years of New Amsterdam, but it sounds like he’s going to need some help himself if he wants to successfully defeat Fuentes, and he’s short on allies with much power within the hospital. Bloom has been fired, Iggy has been demoted (and Tyler Labine weighed in on how that’s affecting him), Wilder is being blackmailed, and Reynolds gave the resistance up to Fuentes.
Luckily, Max is ready to bring his inventiveness to the situation… and if he can recruit Brantley, all the better for him! She came closer than anybody else in Season 4 to ousting Fuentes, and has plenty of motivation to try again from a more Max angle. But what about Reynolds? He flipped on his fellow doctors to some pretty disastrous results for their careers, but he did it to save a patient from a surgery that could have gone very wrong. Ryan Eggold weighed in on where Max – knowing Fuentes as he does – stands on what Reynolds did:
I think Max and Floyd are friends. And I think Max, like everybody, feels betrayed and doesn't understand. Especially not having been there, [Max] doesn't understand why this would happen, and why he would seemingly sort of sell everyone out. And I think he feels just betrayed that he's supposed to be on their side. But I think as friends though, there's a road for them to repair that and figure that out.
Max may have an idea of how challenging Fuentes can be from how they butted heads before he left, and he certainly was shocked by what she did to the hospital when he returned for Vijay’s funeral, but he hasn’t experienced what all the other doctors did. His happy life in London with Helen (who will remain part of the show despite the action moving back to New York) is certainly different from what Reynolds and Co. were going through!
Plus, the whole situation does look awfully bad for Reynolds. Not only was he the only department head who wasn’t punished during the big meeting with Fuentes, but he was rewarded with more resources for his department. His good intentions may have gotten lost in the immediate aftermath, although only time will tell on that front.
See what Max has planned to try and get rid of Fuentes in the wake of Reynolds' betrayal with the “Two Doors” episode of New Amsterdam on Tuesday, February 22 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC. The medical drama is then going on another break, with the miniseries The Thing About Pam temporarily taking over the time slot in the 2022 TV schedule. New Amsterdam will return with more Season 4 on Tuesday, April 19.
