Ep 2. Rituals

In New Amsterdam season 1 episode 2 titled Rituals, the audience is taken on an emotional ride as Dr. Max Goodwin (played by Ryan Eggold) continues to make bold strides in turning the hospital around.

As Max prepares to remove his wedding ring, he is interrupted by a young boy who is part of a ritual that involves a hospital visit to see his sick mother. This encounter triggers Max’s memory of his own heavy loss, and he decides to join the young boy on his visit to give him emotional support. As they arrive, Max discovers how dire the mother’s condition is, and he struggles to keep his emotions in check.

Meanwhile, Dr. Iggy Frome (played by Tyler Labine) is dealing with a peculiar case of an expectant mother who says she hears her baby talking to her. Despite concerns from the staff and her husband, Iggy continues to believe that the mother’s claims are real and even engages in a unique form of therapy to try to validate them.

In another part of the hospital, Dr. Lauren Bloom (played by Janet Montgomery) is dealing with a patient who is a famous painter and is dying. The painter refuses treatment in favor of dying on his own terms, leaving Lauren feeling helpless. Despite the painter’s reluctance, Lauren insists on performing a procedure to relieve his pain, and her conviction reminds the painter of his late wife, instilling a newfound appreciation for life in him.

The episode also sees Dr. Floyd Reynolds (played by Jocko Sims) questioning his own abilities when he makes a mistake on a patient. He seeks the guidance of Dr. Kapoor (played by Anupam Kher), who helps him realize that doctors are not infallible and that the outcome of a patient cannot solely be attributed to one individual’s efforts.

As the day progresses, the staff at New Amsterdam cling to their respective rituals in the face of the hospital’s everyday chaos. Max, in particular, is dealing with not only the emotional toll of his wife’s cancer but is also pushing himself to make drastic changes to the hospital’s system that often clash with traditional methods.

The episode offers insightful commentary by exploring the challenge of maintaining human connections in a hospital environment that is designed to prioritize efficiency. It addresses issues such as how a hospital’s bureaucratic processes can be detrimental to patient care, how doctors need to distance themselves at times to maintain boundaries, and how personal experiences can shape the way doctors care for their patients.

Overall, New Amsterdam season 1 episode 2 is an emotionally charged episode that offers a glimpse into the personal lives of the doctors and staff at New Amsterdam. The episode is well-acted, engaging, and manages to keep the audience invested while exploring the many themes that are fundamental to the show.