More Joy

## Episode Chronology

**"More Joy"** is the first episode of the fourth season on NBC drama series *New Amsterdam*, and the fifty-fifth episode overall. It aired on September 21, 2021.

## Synopsis

Max and Sharpe wake up to a new, more personal dynamic. Iggy calls upon an old contact to help with an explosive situation at the hospital. Bloom begins a tricky dynamic with her new Emergency Department residents and Reynolds finds himself in an awkward position with Dr. Baptiste and his wife, Dr. Lyn Malvo.

## Plot

Max and Helen finally giving in to their feelings for each other; after he removed his wedding ring and they make love in her apartment.

THREE WEEKS LATER – Max is walking with his daughter, Luna at the Welcome back picnic at New Amsterdam Hospital. He drops her off at the daycare, checking up on the renovations happening in the hospital. He meets with various staff members, discussing what has happened over the last 18 months. Iggy reassures staff that as their new psych residency director they will be spending a lot of time together with real patients and he is there as their teacher, mentor, and protector.

Lauren introduces herself to her new residents with donuts, insisting they do not come to her with their personal problems and do not complain about their schedule. Mark Walsh will inform them if they have screwed up and if she is the one who has to tell them they messed up they will know it is super bad. She tells them to grab a donut and get to work, also revealing that Resident Leyla is her girlfriend.

Floyd walks into the ER, joining Claude Baptiste, who calls him his “partner”. Claude insists that Floyd should find a way to make things work with the woman in his life, but Floyd tells him it is not that simple. Meanwhile, Max informs Sandra that he doesn’t want her focusing so much on his schedule anymore and wants her to focus on joy and finding it as that is what this new beginning is all about. Suddenly the alarms sound, Max comes outside and everything is on fire and there is a massive explosion, he orders everyone to get out of there as he looks on shocked.

Max is kissing Helen’s back, asking if this is even real; afraid to even say it, feeling there is now a future as Helen tells him she should have never let him in. Max flashes back to the present with the FDNY who informs him the fire was arson and whoever did this knew the layout of the hospital so no cameras; Max is confident that it is someone who worked there. Sandra walks in, saying max has a meeting but he wants to reschedule but it doesn’t change the doctor’s mind.

Dr. Bloom meets with her patient Brandon, informing him that he has gout, but he is in denial saying he is an athlete and in shape. She recognizes him as an athlete she bet against; they are interrupted when another patient is brought in who fell off a fire escape while taking a selfie. Lauren scoffs that they are less than a year away from needing their own selfie wing. Lauren praises her girlfriend while lecturing the rest of the residents, which doesn’t sit well with several of them. In the meantime, Floyd finds Lyn scrubbing in, as he was told to assist her; both are frustrated that he had to let their indiscretion end.

Max walks with Iggy, asking for the psychological department to create a profile of the arsonist. Iggy says the person who specializes in that is not exactly on staff and goes to the prison to see one of his patients.

Max flashes back to when he was in bed with Helen, asking her to talk to him. She says when he talked about the future it made her sad. When in London she felt so exposed, but in the best way; it made her realize how much of herself she hid away when she moved across the ocean to America. She doesn’t want to keep things packed up again. He suggests she takes some time off as she tears up. She tells him she needs to go home for good.

Back at the hospital, Max walks into his office to find Elizabeth Wilder there. He reveals he is trying to replace Dr. Helen Sharpe in oncology, which shocks her as she deeply admired Helen. Max admits they are big shoes to fill. Max is surprised to learn that Dr. Wilder has an impressive resume, if not even better than Helen’s. He is very glad she waited out the fire and immediately hires her. She is surprised and tries to keep up as her translator tries to keep up with his hands as she is deaf.

Iggy shows the fire photos to Mary, who wants to go to the site but he refuses. He insists he is not trying to shrink her, only trying to protect her. He begins to gather up the pictures as she says he is trying to protect her from the only thing she loves. He says the fire is not loved, it is rage and they are done there. She says the accelerant is homemade and that means the person is educated; explaining that the arsonist is a male because of the distance of how it was tossed as well as the jagged way it fell. It was obvious that what was used was from Northern Europe and medium grade and it was thrown with strength.

Brandon is brought back into the ER, saying he did take the meds he was given and Lauren calls for Trauma 1 and needs a surgical consult. In the OR, Floyd, and Lauren attempt to figure out what went wrong, thinking he might have overdosed on the medication. Floyd follows Lyn down the hall, saying they need to talk personally but are disrupted when there is another explosion in the hallway, forcing them to the ground.

Max tries to reason with Helen as she asks him to leave. He feels he wants to fight for this as he has waited so long for this but she reveals that the clinic when she took her mum needs a medical director and they want her. He thinks they can be frequent flyers and make it work. He feels now that he has found her and humiliated himself in front of the entire neighborhood, shouting that he loves this woman; saying he doesn’t care as long as she promises they will try. She questions about Luna and he says she is young enough that she will love the adventure. He promises that if she doesn’t say she will try he will run naked through the streets. She admits that she loves him and he passionately kisses her.

Max is dealing with another explosion with FDNY when Dr. Wilder rushes over, insisting that they shut off all oxygen tanks and make sure all fire doors are latched. She says she will take care of it. Iggy has some information but is not definite. Lauren says Floyd and Lyn have only a few scrapes and bruises but she is forced to put the ED on diversion; Max asking Claude to reschedule any surgeries that he can. Lyn is grateful that Floyd was there as he explains that he only wanted to apologize but all he thinks about is her when he is with her husband and vice versa when he is with her. She says it is hard on her because she feels her husband may like him even more than he likes her. Floyd says something has got to give.

Lauren deals with the ED when Leyla approaches her, furious that she revealed their relationship and she shouldn’t be treated like everyone else as she is a fully licensed doctor. Lauren apologizes as she is trying to work her program, as there is a saying that they are only as sick as their secrets. Something dawns on Lauren and she bolts from the room, thinking she knows what is going on with her patient.

Iggy brings the prisoner into the fire site; she knows he disapproves and he is afraid of her. He says he is only afraid of the damage she has done to her psyche. She doesn’t buy it, questioning why he stopped practicing, saying if he tells her why he quit she will tell him who set the fire. He lies and she calls him out on it. She pushes his buttons, wondering when the white knight stops trying to save everybody, only when he stops believing people can be saved. He demands the police to have her taken away. She says her profile is the arsonist is in pain and is trying to erase something. Iggy tells Max, wondering how the two spaces are connected. Max realizes where the next target is and runs to the new daycare, demanding everyone to get out.

Max sits with Helen looking at their schedules, both finding it very difficult and calling it crazy. Helen feels they shouldn’t do this now, as it is ruining their present time together. Max insists things are going to work as Helen says she wants it to really work but looks unconvinced.

Meanwhile, Max walks in finding the arsonist, Clive pouring paint thinner all over the place. He is furious that Max asked him to paint over the “graveyard”, the rooms that were the COVID units where his wife died. Max talks to him that the third COVID unit is where the daycare center is where is his daughter is in and he shouldn’t want to burn it down too. The police arrive and arrest Clive as Max looks on heartbroken.

Iggy meets with his residents, needing to correct something he said about protecting. He admits he cannot protect them. No matter how much they prepare or set boundaries there will always be patients that will consume them. They will scare the hell out of them, this job comes with a hefty price tag – a piece of their soul. He shares about Mary W, a 60-year-old psychopathic pyromaniac and she is being transferred to the ward as she wants their help. He doesn’t see patients anymore but they do and wants to know if there are any takers; everyone raises their hands. Iggy is pleased.

Lauren confronts Brandon about messing up the doses. Brandon admits that no one cared about his education as he was only a meal ticket because of his ability to play ball; no one cared about his dyslexia. He couldn’t read. Lauren gives him a card, so he can recognize her phone number when she calls and reveals it is her job to fix it once his problem entered her ED. When she exits his room, she screams at Leyla for making a mistake, causing Leyla to smile.

Floyd is back in the OR and Claude demands to put his playlist back on and the two work well together. Max walks with Dr. Wilder, explaining all the problems in New Amsterdam, feeling it’s okay if she wants to bail. She admits she would love to work there, but she cannot replace Dr. Sharpe. Her advice is to not let her go, but her time there was certainly memorable. Max smirks. He stands on the roof when Helen joins him. She tells him her flight was sad, upsetting, and lonely. He says he wants joy and she is his joy. She asks if he found her replacement and he admits he didn’t but he may have found someone to replace him and he is going with her. She is overjoyed with his decision and the two kiss.

## 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

Guest Starring* Shiva Kalaiselvan as Leyla Shinwari
* Frances Turner as Dr. Lyn Malvo
* Megan Byrne as Gladys Miller
* Anna Suzuki as Sandra Fall
* Nora and Opal Clow as Luna Goodwin
* Andrew Polk as Dr. Melvin Skein
* Matthew Jeffers as Dr. Mark Walsh
* Chloe Freeman as ED Resident Pavan Carey
* Jennifer Betit Yen as OR Nurse Aimee Kamoe
* Greta Quispe as ICU Nurse Sabrina Zambrano
* Jenna Hellmuth as Battalion Fire Chief Franco
* Teresa Patel as Paramedic Harvell
* Olivia Khoshatefeh as Dr. Yasmin Turan
* Michael Basile as Paramedic Rob Moreland
* Kerry Flanagan as Marsha
* Amaia Arana as ED Resident Roxana Zamaya
* Sandra Mae Frank as Dr. Elizabeth Wilder
* Conner Marx as Ben Meyer
* Pearl Sun as Theresa Coogan
* Alan Cox as Lyle
* Eric Robinson Jr. as Brandon Dover
* Isabel Keating as Mary Wheeler
* Omar Ghonim as Simon
* Dorcas Sowunmi as Dr. Iyawa Metzger
* Edward Heegan as Fireman
* Patrena Murray as Corrections Ward Guard