8 Burning Questions for ‘New Amsterdam’ Season 3
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Season 2 finale of New Amsterdam, “Matter of Seconds.”]
It wasn’t the finale planned for New Amsterdam‘s second season, but “Matter of Seconds” did leave us wondering what’s coming next for several characters.
But it’s unclear just how anything may be resolved, given that showrunner David Schulner told TV Insider “all our plans are out the window, and like everyone else in the world, we’re going to have to rethink everything we do,” due to the coronavirus pandemic. Furthermore, they’re not going to ignore what’s happening in the real world on the show.
Will there be changes at the hospital as a result? Will this affect relationships, including potential ones? Might we be heading for a Max-Helen-Shin love triangle?
Scroll down to see the questions we have for the upcoming third season. (The series has been renewed through Season 5.)
Is there hope for Max and Helen?
Schulner revealed that the original plan for the Season 2 finale was to revisit the doctors’ major moment in Episode 16. However, at the end of the early finale, she chose to spend the evening out with Shin rather than join Max in doing paperwork, something the showrunner called “a macro decision about where Sharpe sees herself in the future.” How will plans changing for the next season affect what’s to come with “Sharpwin”? Are we heading for a love triangle, or might Helen and Max’s potential relationship be pushed back to another season?
Can Helen & Shin work romantically and professionally?
There is something attractive about the two of them together in and out of work. At the hospital, they do things differently; he focuses on making sure he can treat trauma victims — even if that means a nap, shower, or protein bar — while she pointed out she saves lives without any of those fringe benefits. And while there are no plans for Shin’s attitude to change and they’ve been able to work together, he did just start at New Amsterdam and they could end up butting heads over it.
On the romantic front, it’s still up in the air if anything will come of their night out. But there’s definitely something between them — Bloom picked up on it as they exchanged greetings — and it would be fun to see it explored.
Will Reynolds return to New York?
Reynolds left New Amsterdam for a job in San Francisco after his fiancée Evie took a full-time position out on the West Coast. But given that Schulner said they have to address the real-world pandemic and its effects on health care works in the series’ fictional world, could that bring Reynolds home?
Has Kapoor found love in Brantley?
It looks like there’s going to be a new romance in the hospital halls soon. After dealing with a patient’s wife flirting with him — and discovering the reason for her behavior after getting an up close and personal look at her pupils — Kapoor made a connection with Brantley in the elevator. Will anything come of it?
How will New Amsterdam handle the post-pandemic world?
Schulner pointed out they have to address its effects on the show; an episode about a deadly flu outbreak in New York City was postponed this season due to what’s happening in the real world. (They haven’t yet figured out how to fit that into next season.) Will the hospital lose characters? Will anyone change as a result of the pandemic in the fictional world of New Amsterdam?
Will the hospital lose any of its staff?
Max is still grieving the death of his wife; he realized he couldn’t keep pretending in his new relationship with Alice in the finale. But could we see him — and the rest of the staff — have to grieve another loss? Someone could die as a result of the way the real-life pandemic is incorporated into the show. As Schulner pointed out, “Without proper protection, our health care professionals are dying. We’d be irresponsible not to address that.”
Might Max change his "how can I help?" attitude, especially with Shin around?
“Up to now, no one has challenged Max’s approach,” Schulner said. “Everyone has fully bought into his philosophy of running the hospital, but obviously, there are downsides to trying to care of everyone, that perhaps you’re not taking care of yourself.” With Shin on board, and refusing to change how he operates, could we see that have an effect on the way Max works? Could Max try to overcompensate for Shin not asking everyone how he can help and that lead to the medical director having to reconsider his approach?
Should we worry about Bloom relapsing?
In the middle of figuring out what was causing their patients to crash, Bloom tasted the medicine in the auto-injector and confirmed it was morphine. (It turned out that there was just too much in each injector.) Should we be worried about her relapsing, especially with her mother (and the stress that could very well ensue) around more?
