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It was a uniquely filmed, stealth hour that centered the characters in a way the series needed.
“All Night Long” provided us with these tidbits of insight into these characters we love while also giving us a fun backdrop and the friendships we deserved and craved. Then, by the end of New Amsterdam Season 4 Episode 16, they walloped us with a shocker that has us counting down the seconds until its continuation.
What in the bloody hell happened to Wilder, Mia, Helen, Casey, and Trevor?!
TV veteran actor Néstor Carbonell was back to direct a great hour of New Amsterdam, and from that standpoint alone, it was a complex, fascinating experience.
They took a bit of a Groundhog approach, as we revisited similar scenes from different angles to provide some context to what happened with our beloved character the night before.
Floyd: How are you not nauseous and dying?
Max: Well, I get English tolerance now, more than anything, I got the greatest hangover cure, purpose.
It had some confusing moments. We didn’t have indications as to what was the day before the karaoke night versus the next day. It was hard to follow in those moments, but it all came together nicely.
The kids will play when Veronica is blessedly away, and a karaoke night celebration was what the doctor ordered for this group of people who have been through hell and back.
They needed this, and so did we. It’s always good when the series can not only center the characters outside of their respective jobs, but we can have everyone coming together as a group to have fun and explore the different friendships and dynamics.
Dynamics and friendships are at the heart of almost every series, especially this one. You can watch an entire installment devoted to those alone, and it’ll do wonders for exploring a character than anything else.
Karaoke night brought the characters together to mend fences and explore new things while progressing storylines that felt like they had been lingering for a bit forward.
It also gave us more background on some of the characters we have not spent as much time with or gotten to know, like Mia and Wilder.
Mia has been the biggest mystery and wild card out of the bunch. She’s finding her place in the New Amsterdam family, though. She was the most visibly ecstatic about everyone coming together, and she dons a cloak of loneliness.
She soaked in the partying and singing, which seemed to fuel her. She also got some exciting scenes with Floyd. She could read that he’s been struggling, and she had a solution for him that seemed adequate.
The two of them had a great bonding moment, and there are hints of a flourishing friendship between the pair, if not something more.
But then her entire mood changed when we’re left to assume a married or involved man she’s in a relationship with canceled their plans because the other woman came home early.
We don’t know if that’s the nature of her relationship with this person, even though it reads as such, but it was enough to send Mia spiraling. She doesn’t typically drink, but suddenly she did.
And it was worrying when she took off on her bike and headed to the pier to meditate. But the last we saw her, she was standing over the banister and looking sad.
It wasn’t until the end of the hour that everyone realized that she was gone, and now we have no idea what happened to her.
She was one of three we last saw in worrisome positions who never showed up the next day.
Wilder opened the hour with her saga, and it was filmed beautifully. I love how they transport us into her world, with everything quiet, and they focus on different shots to capture the tone.
Wilder, the party animal, didn’t want the night to end. But by the end of the night, the ominous nature of her experience played out like scenes from a Lifetime movie and had me humming Billie Eilish’s “When The Party’s Over.”
Like Mia, Wilder is another person who carries the weight of loneliness on her and hides it behind a fabulous outer persona.
And did anyone else find her chemistry with Max fascinating? If many of us weren’t such diehard fans of Sharpwin and knew that those two were it for one another, you could imagine a world when Wilder and Max were something more.
They have such a strong bond with one another despite the little time they’ve known each other, and they make fascinating confidants for each other.
Wilder knows that Max is head over heels for Helen, and she was delighted when he announced that he intended to propose, but she was awash with such sadness when Helen showed up, and he abandoned everything to be by her side and leave.
Trauma locks you in the past. Climbing keeps you in the present. That’s not the only thing that can do that for you, though. That camera, it doesn’t see the past or the future or anything. It just sees what’s right in front of you right here right now. What do you say? Maybe you even see a way out.
Iggy
And while it’s more likely that Wilder felt it was a reminder of her not having that type of love in her life, it did make you wonder if she harbored feelings or an attraction to Max.
She spent the rest of the time trying to secure a late-night hookup because the idea of going home alone didn’t seem to appeal to her in the least. And it dovetails nicely with what we’ve previously learned about her and the codependent relationship with her brother.
Without much, we can conclude that Wilder is someone who isn’t comfortable with being alone. And the scariest part was her getting prepared for a potential one-night stand with someone she met on a dating app.
All the hairs went up when she let this person into her apartment building and unlocked her door. She’s a drunken, single deaf woman living it on edge by inviting a stranger into her home like this.
And we never got to see what happened after that. All we know is that in all the years that Ben has worked with and known Wilder, she’s never been late or unreachable, and she is now.
By the end of the hour, we saw Helen passed out on the apartment floor, so her level of danger doesn’t feel as terrifying, but it begs the question, what happened to everyone?
Was there something in the alcohol? Were there foods that only those people consumed? And how do Mia and Wilder’s situations relate to Helen?
Is Mia somewhere passed out at the pier? Did she take a dive? And if so, is she at another hospital?
If Wilder passed out too, does that mean her date never made it upstairs or helped her? Has Ben gone over there yet? Is she alone without anyone knowing what happened to her?
They’ve gone the entire day with these people missing without a word!
The last time we saw Trevor, he was with Iggy, implying that Iggy should take a stab at spontaneity and risk it all with him. So we have no idea if he’s related to the other cases or if he bailed on work because Iggy rejected him.
As frustrating as the Iggy situation is, you can’t help but think that he’s played with fire just enough to raise some eyebrows and piss people off, but he hasn’t crossed the line.
Trevor’s a bold enough person that if he and Iggy did make out or something and part ways, he would’ve come into work the next day, no matter how Iggy reacted. But we don’t know Trevor well enough, so maybe that’s offbase.
Kudos to Gladys for being the voice of the fandom and calling Iggy out for his behavior, and expressing her concerns, though.
Iggy’s trajectory with Trevor has been concerning and irritating for some time now. And it only got worse as he got wasted, indulged in more flirting, then confided in this man that his life was dull and domesticity wasn’t fun.
It would be really freaking nice if he spoke to his actual husband about all of these issues he’s conjured up rather than the hot dude who keeps flirting with him inappropriately. Iggy is a therapist; communication comes with the job, and he’s been at this with Martin for a long time.
Iggy: I love so much of it but I would be lying if I said there felt like there were moments when I was missing something.
Trevor: Spontaneity.
Iggy: Spontenaity feels like something of the past.
Trevor: Well, there’s only one way to find out.
Why can’t he freaking talk to his husband? It’s more frustrating that Martin bends backward for Iggy at every conceivable turn. Martin deserves so much better than this.
But drunken tongues reveal truths, and Iggy’s midlife crisis, marriage doubts, or whatever you want to call it, is in force. We made some forward movement with this aspect of his life and arc, so we’ll have to see what comes of it.
Meanwhile, we at least go Iggy the great therapist back. Some of his previous issues with patients have challenged his former status as a halfway decent therapist during New Amsterdam Season 4.
However, he was so good with Gustavo and guided him through finding something safer and more grounding to keep him in the present and not dwelling on the past trauma of his sickening experience in Rikers.
They nodded at the unfair justice system that had a man who was only supposed to get a 90-day sentence for writing a bad check stuck in Rikers for six months due to a combination of not making bail and the mess of a system during the pandemic.
Iggy’s tactic of getting Gustavo to take the pictures was comforting, and it was a great scene between him and Gustavo.
It was enough to make you not consider that he spent his entire day avoiding Trevor and treating one patient who technically should’ve stayed at urgent care with Max and the others.
Casey also landed himself in a precarious situation. He went from avoiding karaoke night to making some amends with Lauren and singing to his heart’s content.
Lauren: How much longer?
Casey: What?
Lauren: How much longer am I going to be in the dog house? A month? A year? Give me a ballpark figure? Casey: Can we not do this here?
Lauren: I screwed up, okay? I know that I screwed up. But I’m doing everything I can to make it right. You know I am. I lost everything. Leyla, my job, my best friend. I’m a shell of a person now, is that not penance enough?
Casey: No it’s not.
Lauren: Why?
Casey: Because honor matters.
It’s a relief to have their friendship back on track, but now it’s scary because we don’t know what happened to Casey after a high, depressed Ronnie drove them into oncoming traffic!
Casey’s old army buddy is struggling, and he’s been doing that for a while. Casey was probably trying to help him out, too. It was one of the few genuine glimpses we’ve gotten into Casey on his own without Lauren, and it was appreciated.
I just hate that it ended on such a terrifying note! Where’s Casey?
His absence prompted Lauren to reach out repeatedly, donning that ridiculous taco hat. I’m happy that she made amends with him, and they’re on the right path toward a strong friendship again.
And it’s refreshing that the tides are turning in their relationship, and it feels more balanced. So often, Casey is in a supportive role to Lauren, either helping and guiding her or calling her out on her shit. And because we know so little about Casey, we haven’t exactly seen their friendship when he’s at the center.
Hopefully, that means things are changing.
Lauren also was doing her diligence in avoiding Leyla as much as possible to give her space. Even though you had to giggle at her hiding around the hospital, ducking behind walls and plants, her efforts were admirable.
But when they finally spoke, it was good and even hopeful. For the most part, Leyla appears to be doing well, and she’s in a much better place and doesn’t seem to harbor anger toward Lauren.
And Leyla appreciates that Lauren respects her boundaries, however silly her attempts are. Lauren wants the opportunity for them to reunite and come back stronger than ever, and she’s willing to do whatever it takes for them to get to that point.
And I think they can get there. Of course, they have another pickle now that Leyla feels she’s on the verge of deportation because of some immigration issues.
Why won’t they let this woman be great?! We don’t have enough details yet to start a full-blown freakout, and Leyla was eerily composed about the ordeal, so maybe it’s not that bad.
However, we know how Lauren reacts when her world gets upended, and Leyla is indeed her world. She’ll try to help as best as possible, but she’ll have to figure out how to extend that help to Leyla in a healthier manner and respect Leyla’s boundaries and desires.
Lauren: I’m trying to give you space. I”m really trying to give you that, even if it means hiding in a plant, so… Leyla: Thank you.
Lauren: You okay?
Leyla: There’s a problem with my visa.
Lauren: What kind of problem?
Leyla: I think I’m being deported.
Are we doing a wedding, though, or not? Because as cliche as it is, I wouldn’t hate it.
Also, name something cuter than a nervous Max practicing his proposal in the mirror only to find Helen fast asleep?
Max and Helen are so deeply in love with each other. The pure happiness and love between them when she showed up at the bar with her suitcase was palpable! When they’re together, it’s like the rest of the world melts away.
But as all-consuming as their love can feel, they also can thrive and do their own thing outside of one another. Max was happy to watch Helen sing her heart out on that stage, suppressing the urge to hop on for a duet.
As much as they wanted to jump into bed together, they allowed themselves the space to reconnect and spend time with their friends and enjoy the moment of their night out.
Helen and Max are so sweetly and happily domestic, which contrasts with many of the other romantic relationships right now.
It feels fitting that Max wants to propose to her now. I mean, assuming that we’re ignoring all contrived and random issues they had before, which seems like we’re supposed to, this feels like a natural next step.
How adorable was it when Helen talked about seeing her baby Luna and how excited she was to be back in her life? They’ve become such a perfect family that a marriage will only make things complete.
An engagement would be the best thing, but we still have to figure out other things, like London.
For now, the implication is that Max will remain in New York for another two weeks until Veronica returns from wherever the hell she’s at, and they have their board meeting.
We don’t know how long Helen is supposed to be here or her job situation and future in London. London is what still looms over Sharpwin as a couple and their future together as such and how they factor into New Amsterdam.
One can only hope that Sharpwin is in its golden era right now, regardless of how things pan out, and they’ll be great.
It’s more than can be said about Floyd and Lyn.
Claude sharing that he got a job in Colorado and that he and Lyn intended to relocate there is precisely what made this situation too needlessly complicated and messy.
Floyd doesn’t have any rights or say in matters when he’s the third person involved with a married couple. And now that there is a child to factor in, they have too many complications.
Floyd had to recover from Lyn moving to Colorado, but he seemed fine with it in the end. It’s like a part of him is over Lyn. But then she threw the curveball in that the baby is his, and now we’re deeper in a mess.
The baby is yours.
Lyn
Lyn seems hesitant, and it’s possible she doesn’t want to move to Colorado with her husband, but what does that mean? Are she and Claude calling it quits?
Will she and Claude do long-distance while she remains in New Amsterdam and has a child with Floyd? Does she think that Floyd should accept that he’ll be away from his kid?
Do they intend to offer Floyd some reason to move to Colorado with them? Ugh, I don’t know. But sadly, I’ve been over this arc for such a long time I want it over.
The real twist of the hour was whatever mystery caused all of these disappearances and left our darling Helen lying on the floor! That was a heck of a cliffhanger and a great way to hook us.
Over to you, ‘Dam Fanatics.
What are your theories about what happened to the others? Did you love this fun-filled hour? Sound off below.
You can watch New Amsterdam online here via TV Fanatic.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.