The Domino Effect

## Episode Chronology

**"The Domino Effect"** is the seventh episode and the first season on NBC drama series *New Amsterdam*. It aired on November 13, 2018.

## Synopsis

With a big domino transplant procedure on the line, Max must decide if he can be present in the hospital while also dealing with his illness. Meanwhile, a bond with a patient makes Bloom consider her personal life and Iggy makes progress on a long-standing case.

## Plot

Max and his wife, Georgia meeting with Helen as they discuss his medical options; Georgia worries about his odds and Helen explains this is their best option. Max tells Georgia all the things he needs to get done before he starts the treatment, sounding more like excuses now that Georgia is there. He says he will be free as early as this afternoon, but Helen doesn’t seem so convinced.

Floyd walks into work with Evie, who works in the legal department from the hospital; the two seem to be really hitting it off as Floyd says he has been enjoying himself the past few nights. Even though Lauren introduced them, they feel they shouldn’t walk in together as people tend to gossip at work.

Lauren tells Casey heck about drinking energy drinks, saying they make them bounce off walls; she wants to work more and he wonders if she has a life outside of these walls. Dr. Bloom meets Diego and his daughter, Gianna who is having trouble breathing. She tells them not to worry about ICE and they treat everyone there and won’t report them. Lauren leaves the room, tells Casey she needs an x-ray and needs Dr. Reynolds right now.

Jemma is building something with some of the other kids when Dr. Iggy reveals that he pulled some strings and was able to make Blanca an emergency foster provider and passed the site visit this morning and Jemma has a home. Jemma tears up as Iggy tells her by this time tomorrow she will be moving into her new digs; she smiles briefly.

Vijay watches as a man closes his restaurant, but walks away. Meanwhile, Dora sets up a conference call for Max talks with the harvest team about the domino transplant one last time. They have 6 patients receiving partial liver transplants today and 6 living donors from 3 states; apparently, all donors have family members that don’t match each other but are willing to donate to the next person.

Dr. Kapoor is with his patient who is happy to see his sister, Tanya. Kapoor explains to her how she is a match for someone else, she thinks it is complicated but he feels it is simple as everyone lives in the end. Lauren asks Diana where Dr. Reynolds is, since the last 3 days he seems too busy to come to any of her consults; but she chooses not to answer her. Dr. Flores reveals to Diego that there is fluid collecting in Gianna’s lungs, saying she needs to drain it to find out why it is there; hoping she will breath better after they do the procedure.

Iggy does a psych evaluation on Tanya to see if she is doing this of her own free will. She wants to know if Dr. Frome would have given a part of himself to save his brother, and he says he absolutely would; she starts to cry. Iggy goes to see Max and Helen informing them he cannot clear Tanya for surgery and there are some deep, old wounds between her and her brother, Matty; without her, the entire chain is broken and Max asks them all how they can fix it without her?

Max calls the other hospitals, telling them they need to put it all on pause. Max feels most of the recipients still have donors and they can still proceed but Helen doesn’t want to hear it because her patient Aminah Ali is the anchor patient, and this is all happening because of her. Max promises they will find Aminah a donor, just not today; but he still wants to use her husband Tariq’s liver to donate to the next patient in the chain.

Kapoor and Iggy meet with Matty and just as Matty feels guilty and explains he knew the risks of asking his sister; Kapoor storms out of the room. Iggy runs after him as Kapoor wants to know what kind of person makes a promise, flies across the country just to throw the promise in your face? Iggy tells Kapoor he cannot make this about him and his son.

Aminah is sad that she cannot have a transplant today, as her husband says she waited 7 months and cannot wait another 7 months. Helen reluctantly asks Tariq for him to do the surgery, even his mother says their religion asks him to do so, but he refuses to do so.

Flores asks Reynolds about why he is avoiding Bloom and he explains they had a bit of a situation. She tells him to start answering his own pages. During surgery, they learn that draining the fluid from Gianna’s lungs didn’t work.

Iggy is called when Jemma has an episode. She smashed the project she was working on and is placed in the quiet room when she is smashing the wall, shouting, “It’s not my fault!” The worker asks Iggy if they should place her new home placement on hold.

Floyd talks to Diego, informing him that his daughter needs a new lung but because they are undocumented, the transplant foundation won’t put them on the list because post-operative care requires stability. Diego wants to give his daughter his lung and Floyd says they will check to see if he is a match but there is no guarantee.

Max begins to remove more recipients photos from the chain, leaving only four pictures up. Floyd brings in the file to Max asking if he can make a call to get the father and girl documented as Diego isn’t a match for Gianna, but she needs a lung. Max looks at the chart and shows Helen, saying they might just be able to save everybody.

Max shows the chart saying they have a new match for Aminah in Diego if he agrees to donate part of his liver to her. Max explains that everyone will be willing to help, especially since they are getting something in return; now they quickly need to talk to their patients and see if someone is willing to donate a lung to save Gianna. Diego doesn’t hesitate, saying he would do it himself; just give him the knife.

All the doctors speak to all their patients begging for them to help. Georgia comes to see Max and tells him Helen pulled some strings and got them in to see the best oral surgeon; he promises he is not avoiding it, he just needs a few more hours.
Iggy talks to Diego who says they come from Guatemala and when she got really sick they came there and it is his fault. It doesn’t matter what happens to him, he is going to fix it. Lauren is about to head out and sees Gianna crying and afraid of being alone. Lauren tells her she doesn’t like being alone either and suggest they keep each other company until her dad gets back, crawls onto the bed and talk about the book Gianna is reading.

Max talks to Diego, saying they have 12 perfect strangers who are willing to donate their lung for Gianna and they are sure they can find a match for her today. Meanwhile, Gianna stops breathing Floyd acts very rude towards Lauren, saying he’s got this and begs for Gianna to come back, looking at Lauren.

Max and Floyd talk to Diego, telling him that Gianna’s heart is failing and they have to bring her to the OR; right now she is not strong enough to handle transplant surgery. He begs them to take care of his little girl. Max worries about making this chain work. Floyd asks Lauren if they can talk; he was worried about their history-making things complicated now that he has been spending time with Evie. Lauren tells him that she is the one who introduced them and just asks him to save Gianna.

Iggy opens the door to the quiet room as Jemma yells at him. He asks her to close her eyes, telling her to picture the machine she broke. It makes her feel sad as it was a waste and also sad because it is useless and nobody wants it. She feels like no one wants her and he says that isn’t true. She worries Blanca wants her now but one day she won’t as she will mess it up. Iggy knows trusting someone is always scary, but nobody deserves a family more than she does and if she takes that leap of faith and trusts Blanca, he will be right there with her.

Max leaves the hospital with Georgia, but he feels like he is giving up on these people. Helen and Diego catch up with them as they are getting on the elevator and Diego wants to donate part of his liver still. Max is surprised, telling him he’d be giving part of his liver and getting nothing in return, as Gianna may not get a lung. Diego says 12 people were willing to give her a long, how could he not help them? Max hands everything over to Helen as Georgia takes him to his appointment.

The domino chain runs smoothly as Dr. Floyd Reynolds works on saving Gianna. Iggy brings Jemma to her new home. She walks into her own bedroom, where she tears up and Iggy gives her a box of Contraptions and welcomes her home. Blanca stands at the door as Iggy holds Jemma whose crying in her arms. Max is put under anesthetic while Kapoor congratulates Helen for completing her chain; she tells him it is OUR chain.

Diego wakes up as Floyd welcomes him back; his first question is about his daughter Gianna who is able to talk. Dr. Reynolds tells him that they were able to make her heart strong enough and she got her lung. Her dad says she is strong like her mother, but Gianna says she gets that from her Papi. Floyd says he only saved 1 life today but Diego saved 6!

Outside the ICU, Floyd invites Lauren out for lunch with him and Evie, but she declines telling him not to keep her waiting. He walks into her department and when she asks him what he is doing there; Floyd walks up to Evie and grabs her, saying he does want to walk into work with her and kisses her. Lauren arrives at home, where her doorman greets her, saying he hasn’t seen her in a while. She calls the hospital, asking if she can still pick up the shift for tonight and hops back into a taxi.

Dr. Kapoor stands outside the restaurant where his son sees him and they stare at each other. Max wakes up at home looking like a chipmunk. Georgia brings him lunch which is only broth; he wants to see the text messages but Georgia tells him the only one he needs to know is that Helen told him the Domino transplant was a success and to thank him for not letting them lose hope. She refuses to give him the phone, telling him he needs to drink the broth first. He grabs a pen and paper, writing, “What if I can’t do this?” Georgia kisses him on the forehead as he cries. She holds him, promises they will do it together, one piece at a time.

## Cast

* Janet Montgomery as Dr. Lauren Bloom
* Freema Agyeman as Dr. Helen Sharpe
* Jocko Sims as Dr. Floyd Reynolds
* Tyler Labine as Dr. Iggy Frome
* Anupam Kher as Dr. Vijay Kapoor

Guest Starring* Vandit Bhatt as Rohan
* Margot Bingham as Associate Director Evie Garrison
* Lizzy DeClement as Jemma
* Zabryna Guevara as Dora Williams
* Alejandro Hernandez as ED Nurse Casey Acosta
* Lisa O'Hare as Georgia Goodwin
* Megan Byrne as Gladys Miller
* Keren Lugo as Attending Dr. Diana Flores
* Liba Vaynberg as ICU Nurse April Kosloff
* Greta Quispe as ICU Nurse Sabrina Zambrano
* Therese Plaehn as Tanya
* Naomi Serrano as Gianna
* Babak Tafti as Tariq Ali
* Emmy Berkowitz as Tanya Kid 5YO
* Nathalie Carvalho as Blanca
* Tod Engle as Uniformed Doorman
* Rula Gardenier as Maryam
* Aubrey Hickerson as Tanya Kid 7YO
* Soraya Kelley as Aminah Ali
* Scott Stangland as Matthew "Matty" Levy

## Multimedia

### Videos

New Amsterdam 1x07 Promo "Domino Effect" (HD)
## References

1. ↑ New Amsterdam Listings - thefutoncritic.com
2. ↑ "'This is Us,' 'The Rookie,' everything else unchanged: Tuesday final ratings" - TV by the Numbers
3. ↑ Upcoming Episode Titles - Various Shows - 10th August 2018 - SpoilerTV