Good Soldiers

## Episode Chronology

**"Good Soldier"** is the seventh episode of the second season on NBC drama series *New Amsterdam*, and the twenty-ninth episode overall. It aired on November 5, 2019.

## Synopsis

When Kapoor introduces a patient to Iggy's PTSD group, a creative treatment plan causes turmoil. Sharpe discovers a long-kept secret regarding a patient that leads to trouble for Max and the board.

## Plot

Dr. Max waking up to his alarm when Georgia suggests he calls in sick and they could stay in bed all day. He sweetly remembers those days, as Georgia thought they would have more of those days and so much time. She begs him to stay with her, but he crawls out of bed, saying he needs to go to work. Georgia wants to go to work with him because it is lonely at home alone.

At the hospital, Max finds Helen, apologizing for not accepting the help. She accepts his apology as he shares that he doesn’t want strangers in his house right now. Helen looks concerned. Meanwhile, a young female patient arrives with the EMTs with Lauren and Floyd realizes they need to get her into surgery immediately for a heart condition. Her mother is encouraged to contact anyone while she pleads with the medical staff, saying her daughter is all she has left.

Vijay Kapoor walks with Nathan Fisk who is a military veteran. Iggy introduces himself, welcoming him to the group as they can deal with his PTSD. Nate appreciates what they are trying to do as Iggy informs him that they are all about support in a safe space. But once in the group, two vets argue with each other causing Iggy to tell Quinn to “take a breath.” He reminds them that they both fought for this country, causing Nate to pipe up, saying Iggy doesn’t know what they are talking about as he never went through what they went through. He lifts his pant legs and shows a prosthetic; insisting that Iggy doesn’t understand as there are no words that can heal someone who has lost a part of their body. Iggy says today they are going to try something new, yet thousands of year old – they are going to put on a play!

Helen walks into her office with Dr. Juan Questa to speak to their patient Elizabeth Archer. Juan is an orthopedic surgeon, explaining that she is cancer-free but she learns she needs two doctors, Juan saying a plate was installed where the tumor was for stability and has moved. Fixing it requires another surgery as Helen tells her she is in great hands with Dr. Questa. Elizabeth feels this is her fault; something they have talked about as Helen reminds her that this isn’t her fault. She agrees to the surgery.

During surgery, a discovery occurs and Helen explains to Max that it wasn’t cancer that did this to Elizabeth but it looks like the surgeon did a lot of damage to her spine. He learns whoever the surgeon was, he severed her spinal cord and put the plate inside her to cover it up. Max can’t fathom it all. Helen wants to take the time to speak to the original doctor, but Max feels they should tell Elizabeth before anything. Helen persists that if they tell her, she would only be fed with more misinformation; but agrees to 24 hours before they both tell her the truth.

Floyd is busy working on the heart procedure but is told by Dr. Qahid Halwani that the young girl has leukemia. Her mother is shocked by the diagnosis as Floyd tells her that Makayla Bell will be put on the registry and needs a bone marrow transplant, but she isn’t a match. He encourages her to reach out to any family members but she reveals that she was never the type of woman who would demand her father to support her. She admits that her father is alive but she doesn’t want Makayla to know. He offers to call her father.

Iggy hands out the play Philoctetes Sophocles, comparing it to all of their experiences during the war. He assigns everyone their role. He says this is therapy as Nathan doesn’t have the words to say how he feels and this play can give it to them. Iggy tells them they are performing it at 4 pm.

Floyd calls Hunter Bell, saying Makayla needs him right now and he can be a hero just by showing up; muttering he wished his father did that. In the meantime, Helen and Max go through the old hospital records. They find it as Helene says the report is full of lies. Max discovers the intern was Dr. Clint Hartman and is determined to give him everything he deserves before storming off. Max finds him in the locker room, ordering the other doctors to leave.

Max tells him he isn’t there to talk about Georgia and her death but rather their patient, Elizabeth Archer. He confronts him as to why he just stood there and allowed the doctor to put her into a wheelchair for life. Clint informs him that Dr. Tolman was his department chair and only Clint’s third surgery; Tolman made a mistake and now keeps insisting he forgets what he saw. Clint believed that doctors took care of their own but didn’t feel right and reported him the next morning to the Dean of Medicine, Dean Fulton. He told him everything and nothing happened, not even an investigation.

Iggy has everyone take their places and they rehearse the play, but he is interrupted when Vijay appears, feeling what he is doing making them perform a Greek tragedy is an utter madness. He feels Iggy cannot make Nate do this as the role is exactly his life and will do more damage. He suggests he gets them to do a comedy, but he thinks Iggy moving forward is a mistake. The two begin to bicker about Nate being both their patients; Kapoor walks away angry.

Lauren learns she is cleared for her second surgery. She insists she doesn’t need the medication but her surgeon insists she won’t be able to psych her way out of this. He hopes that she can find a responsible way to take pain medication.
Floyd is shocked to see Makayla’s dad, who actually showed up to the hospital. In the meantime, Helen has to cope with Elizabeth’s questions; saying she might not have needed the plate and promises she will have answers soon.

Max and Karen Brantley arrive at Dean Peter’s door and he welcomes them inside. Karen cuts to the chase, saying cases like this get hospitals shut down. She demands to know what he was thinking when he covered this up. Dean crosses his arms, knowing this was coming as Max suggests he come to see Elizabeth in her hospital room. He knows they are worried about lawsuits, but his answer was to remove Dr. Tolman and ensure he cannot hurt anyone else. Karen tells him he should have gone to the board; causing him to push back, saying none of the people on the board are doctors. He was there to protect his own and that is his legacy; but Karen is irate, feeling she should have fired him much sooner.

After Karen leaves, Max says he looked up to Peter. He knew that but as a leader, the only question to ask was the cost of protecting New Amsterdam is his conscience than make them pay, if not, he isn’t the leader. Max is determined to make sure Dr. Tolman will never be able to pick up a scalpel again. The former dean reminds him that leaders make choices that keep them up at night and if he is sleeping well then he isn’t doing his job.

Hunter learns about the procedure he is going to have, just as Hunter spots his daughter lying in the bed; smiling he says she has gotten so big. Floyd suggests they keep it moving, trying to honor her mother’s wishes. Hunter admits it has been 11 or 12 years since he has seen his daughter. Floyd questions him on whether he thinks about her but Hunter learns Floyd’s father isn’t around and sometimes that isn’t a bad thing.

Lauren walks into Helen’s office, saying she got approved for her second surgery but the doctor says she needs to use pain meds. She frets that she won’t be able to focus on the ED but if the pain is as bad as the doctor says then she might relapse. Helen says they can notify the company and have an exception for the pain medications that will be prescribed. She also suggests she have someone she trusts to keep on eye on her taking the medications responsibly. Lauren says she will call her mother, but Helen says she would like to be that person – her friend!

Iggy is preparing the lobby for his group’s performance, reminding them to let Sophocles guide them. Nate says he cannot do this as it is too much. Iggy encourages him as he is freaking out but Vijay approaches, asking if Nate would like him to sit in for him. Iggy thinks it is a nice offer but this is kind of for the soldiers. Kapoor walks towards the group, revealing he was in the military and with their permission he would like to join their company. Nate thanks him quietly.

Elizabeth is in utter shock as Helen explains what has happened and none of this is her fault. Max says it was their fault; the tumor was real but she didn’t need to end up in a wheelchair because of it. They never would have seen this in the scans, only until the plate was removed. Elizabeth says she is going to get the most bloodthirsty malpractice attorney she can find and sue the hospital.

Floyd finds out that Mr. Bell finished his donation and left the hospital. He visits Makayla, only sharing that her donor wanted to remain anonymous and she got lucky. Floyd says the first step was to use the bone marrow and she needs to have chemo; it is going to be a long road as she thanks him for making the call to Hunter. He admits she was right about Hunter, only wishing he cared more and hung around to do the right thing. Mrs. Bell feels he did the right thing by showing up; something they all can be grateful for.

Lauren finds Dr. Zach Ligon, explaining she doesn’t need a friend, she needs someone who will give her hell if she starts to slip; asking him to be her guy. He confesses he has been down this road several times, knowing all the tricks, excuses and lies. He will make sure she will not get away with anything.

Karen comes to see Max, confirming they told Elizabeth about the mistake. Karen gives him a letter, that has a big enough number. He thinks it is but he hopes that Elizabeth doesn’t accept because Dean may have covered up the way he did, but she is doing the same thing, except in check form. Max is in the middle of writing a new policy and he has no problem revealing to the world what Dr. Tolman does. Max wants their hospital to be the one who holds their doctors accountable. He knows there will be consequences but this is the only way to handle it. Karen leaves, hoping so because their careers are riding on it.

The play is performed in the lobby, Quinn looking lovingly at his wife. Vijay stands up beginning his performance as Helen shows Elizabeth the paperwork. Lauren walks through the hospital more confident as Floyd messages Evie that he would like to invite his father to their wedding.

At his office, Max spins his wedding band deep in thought. Kapoor’s performance is making Nate cry, as does Vijay, who bows down and kisses the ground when he is done. The audience claps, including Nathan. Everyone in the group feels very proud. Iggy congratulates them all on their performance as Vijay says this is something he didn’t wish to speak about until now; Iggy wraps his big arms around him.

Max is at home with baby Luna when all his colleagues appear at the door. Helen reminds him that he didn’t want his house filled with strangers, but they are not strangers. She holds up her gloved hands and says she is positive the sink is full of dirty dishes. Iggy will do the windows as Lauren says she is good at giving orders. Max looks back into his apartment when Georgia tells him it is okay to let people in.

## 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* Ian Duff as Michael Duke
* JJ Feild as Dr. Zach Ligon
* Alejandro Hernandez as Casey Acosta
* Matthew Bellows as Dr. Clint Hartman
* Lisa O'Hare as Georgia Goodwin
* Ron Rifkin as Peter Fulton
* Debra Monk as Karen Brantley
* Jenna Bosco as Paramedic Herrera
* Hunter Emery as Warren Bell
* Eileen Grubba as Elizabeth Archer
* Daniel Jenkins as Dr. Handler
* Janab Kareem as Amalia
* Anthony Michael Lopez as Nathan Fisk
* Alfredo Narciso as Dr. Juan Questa
* Shana Solomon as Mrs. Trombley
* Maeve Crispi as Recovery Nurse
* Ariel Kim as Cardiac Nurse
* Omar Rahim as Dr. Wahid Hawani
* Tim Simon as Lab Tech George
* Michael V. Sulsona as Older Vet
* Sarah Travers Henry as Makayla Bell
* Christopher Walker as Vet #1
* Melodie Wolford as Quinn's Wife

## Multimedia

### Videos

New Amsterdam 2x07 Promo "Good Soldiers" (HD)New Amsterdam 2x07 Sneak Peek Clip 1 "Good Soldiers"New Amsterdam 2x07 Sneak Peek Clip 2 "Good Soldiers"New Amsterdam 2x07 Sneak Peek Clip 3 "Good Soldiers"-0