Spoilers ahead for Episode 6 of New Amsterdam Season 5, called “Give Me A Sign.”
New Amsterdam is just short of halfway through the fifth and final season, and the first six episodes haven’t been easy for Max. Losing Helen was a rough way to kick off the premiere, and the hits have kept on coming. Sure, his friends have supported him, and the relationship with Dr. Wilder keeps getting stronger, but he just hasn’t had many wins that didn’t come with some drawbacks. “Give Me A Sign” gave him a drawback-free win, which is good timing… because the medical drama is about the stack the odds against him again.
Max’s jog with Wilder was rudely interrupted when she was nearly hit by a car in a dangerous intersection, and a teenager and his grandmother were actually struck. This started Max’s crusade to get a crosswalk painted, and winning the court battle (after negotiating a deal with a fun new character) was only the beginning of the fight. When there was no sign that they’d be able to cut through the red tape and get the crosswalk added to hopefully save lives anytime soon, Max just had to pay the lawyer her fee and hope for the best.
But as it turned out, lawyer Callie Cruz embraces her own version of his “How can I help?” mantra and used her fee to buy a whole lot of paint, and recruited the services of some street painters to get the crosswalk done. Max pitched in, and even Wilder showed up to have a laugh with him over the fact that their good deed was probably illegal. (And I’m not sure where all of the New York City traffic went or how they hoped for the paint to dry without being ruined, but it was a win!)
The crosswalk felt cathartic after the end of another tough case involving a child, although thankfully the young boy whose parents had refused to let him learn sign language didn't have quite as dark of an ending in the episode as the child bride a few weeks ago. New Amsterdam often lets Max get a little bit of a win, or at least find a silver lining, but there were no strings attached in “Give Me A Sign” in a pretty great way.
And it looks like there will be strings attached to just about everything with the episode that will air on November 11. Called “Maybe Tomorrow,” the episode description from NBC reveals that the hospital staff will face the new realities of the Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion rights.
Brantley – who is usually more likely to bring a reality check to Max than to indulge him in going off the beaten path – will encourage him to find a solution for patients living outside of New York state. Wilder will have her hands full in advising a woman whose life is in danger due to her pregnancy. In case you missed it, check out the promo for Episode 7:
It looks like emotions will be running high for the doctors and the public, if the shots of the staff staring at the news in shock and Iggy (who has been having a rough season himself) pushing his way through a crowd of protesters are any indication. Brantley wants Max to help and will give him all the resources he needs, but that doesn’t mean he can do anything that will undo the Supreme Court ruling. Even Max has his limits.
So, how will Max and the rest do what they can to help their patients with some new constraints? Find out when the “Maybe Tomorrow” episode of New Amsterdam airs on Tuesday, November 1 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, and revisit past episodes streaming with a Peacock subscription now.
