Tonight on NBC New Amsterdam airs with an all-new Tuesday, January 28, 2019, season 2 episode 12 called, “Hiding Behind My Smile,” and we have your New Amsterdam recap below. On tonight’s New Amsterdam season 2 episode 12 as per the NBC synopsis, “Sharpe has an important realization that will affect her career. Meanwhile, Max and Reynolds take on uncharted waters when a young patient comes to New Amsterdam with symptoms of a heart attack.”
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New Amsterdam begins tonight with a young Dr. Vijay Kapoor inquiring about his patient, Jacob. He opens the curtains, exams, Jacob; adjusting his plant before he leaves. He continues to have Jacob as a patient for many years; watching as his wife cries for him. He spends time reading to Jacob, leaving to go out with his wife. In present day, Dr Kapoor (Anupam Kher) checks on Jacob, crying over his wife’s bracelet. He even eats his meals with a comatose Jacob until one day the nurse tells him she was looking for him as Jacob has opened his eyes, even crying.
Dr. Max Goodwin (Ryan Eggold) brings Luna to the daycare; learning that the daycare opens late the following day. He places a call to Alice Healy (Alison Luff), the woman he snuck in to watch her son’s surgery. He suggests a play date for Luna and baby Bobbie. He agrees to meet her at the Madison Garden at 8 am. Meanwhile, Evie Garrison (Margot Bingham) reminds Dr. Floyd Reynolds (Jocko Sims) that is it very easy for him to tell Max that he is moving to San Francisco; wondering if he is dragging his feet for a reason. He is determined to tell Max, who brings up other work immediately and asking if Reynolds will cover for him so he can be a dad. Evie stops Floyd from revealing what is going on and tells Max that he would be there.
Dr. Iggy Frome (Tyler Labine) arrives at the psychiatric ward, where a patient, Ashley is screaming at the top of their lungs; something she’s been doing for 3 days straight. He dumps a box full of sweets in the garbage saying he is only making healthy choices for everyone. Dr. Lauren Bloom (Janet Montgomery) informs the tech that every time they update the system, the delay is unacceptable. Rodney insists that he is fixing things, but before they can continue, Casey Acosta (Alejandro Hernandez) brings a file over for patient, Louise Galena (Stacie Greenwell) and Lauren tells him to page Dr. Helen Sharpe (Freema Agyeman) for a consult.
Helen is in a meeting, run by Dr. Valentina Castro (Ana Villafane); she asks them to send her files of any patients they can use in the trial experiment. She meets with Louise who has been using pantyhose to hide the extra skin on her arms and had this kind of infection before. She suggests medications, but Louise tells her that she’d prefer to take her garden sheers and slice the excess skin right off; something that affects Helen. She tells Lauren that Louise just suggested self-harm.
A group of “Prayers for Healing” has gathered in the lobby. Max tells the security guard, Joe, that he doesn’t need to remove them as they are not harming anybody. Joe tells Max that he heard shortly after the group showed up a guy who has been in a coma for 14 years, woke up. Max is very skeptical.
Kapoor tries to convince Jacob’s wife that these are simple reflexes. He says people have been known to wake up from comas after several years but that is not Jacob as he remains in a vegetative state. She feels this is the miracle she has been waiting for and her husband is back and now Kapoor needs to make him whole again.
Iggy bumps into Max, who can’t stop smiling about the prayer buddies. Max understands that they want to help, but he doesn’t know how they are going to do that from the lobby. Iggy informs him that right after they showed up, Ashley, who has been screaming out her lungs for 3 days has stopped. He doesn’t ask questions, he only enjoys the silence. Max says that Luna and her friend have a playdate. Iggy supports the next step, as Max doesn’t think this is really a date.
Casey finds Max, informing him they have a 13 yr old patient who came in with symptoms of a heart attack. Reynolds is with Jackson’s family, explaining what they need to do to help him. Max tells the parents that the disease he has is from vaping or smoking an e-cigarette. Max tells them this is an epidemic as Reynolds tells them this is an unknown world to them because the disease is too fresh.
Max calls Alice, canceling the play date. He passes the prayer group, who feel he could use some positive vibes. Max says he doesn’t mind them being there but if they really want to help out, they could donate blood or volunteer. He tells Max he loves and believes in science but it can’t explain the things he loves most in the world; the intangible – the deeper truth. As Max is about to walk away from a patient shares that he is in remission and asks to sit in with the group.
The computers are still not working in the ED, causing utter chaos. Lauren tells everyone they don’t need computers, all they need is their wits and some paper. One of the doctors doesn’t know how they are going to give their discharged patients meds and she hands him a prescription pad very sarcastically, saying she has no idea! Lauren learns one of her residents doesn’t know what to do about a tummy ache. She gets frustrated when there is not a single working pen in the department. EMTs arrive and Lauren takes the new patient.
Iggy sits with Louise, who speaks about always being a bigger person, barely able to walk. She tells him her whole story. She loved that she lost weight and felt healthier but no one told her about the skin flaps; making her feel like she is wearing an extra coat and people stare at her more now than when she was fat. She cries when he asks her about thinking about bodily harm. She explains this is her life now because the surgery to remove the excess skin is not covered. He promises not to give up on her. In the meantime, Helen speaks to a colleague who informs her that Dr. Castro’s program has funding for 40 patients, but she didn’t select anyone’s patients that they know of and he wants to know where the patients are coming from.
Back in Jacob’s room, Sam Singer (Zach Appelman) is less than enthused when he sees his father lying in the bed with his eyes open. His mother is positive that their father is still inside and determined to communicate with him. She chastises the kids for not being there as they try to explain that these are simply involuntary movements. She won’t change what she believes, even though Kapoor tells Sam that these movements are not any different and Sam wants to know if his father is alive; Kapoor tells them sadly that 14 years ago, he is not alive. Sam demands to know how much longer their family has to be stuck at the never-ending wake. They all want it to be real, but it isn’t. She learns that if they “let him “go” they would remove the feeding tube and he would die in a few days but wouldn’t experience any pain and suffering; suddenly Jacob begins to moan, shocking everyone.
Max finds Floyd doing a scope, both trying to figure out any ideas. They review what the CDC suggests for this disease, but it all seems to be temporary solutions. Max leaves to look for more suggestions.
Sam tells his mom to stop as Vijay explains the sound was just the vocal cords releasing air, just like his eye movements. She can’t believe she almost was giving up as Kapoor informs his children that Jacob could easily live another 20 years on the feeding tube; something the kids find unbearable and cannot do this for another 20 years. Sam says Jacob was her husband and it feels that both his parents died that day. She is determined not to remove his feeding tube and Sam walks out.
Lauren’s patient worked the L train expansion; revealing he doesn’t wear a mask in the tunnels and doesn’t exercise. She suggests treatment and better life choices. He jokes that if he drops dead, it is only going to take the L train longer. Back at the desk, Lauren finds that someone has taken her chart and makes a new rule that everyone must come to the charts, not the other way around.
Helen rushes out the door, catching up with Valentina, who admits she is only enrolling 15 patients into her trial. She says her goal is to help people later, as Helen says she brought her there to help people now, not later. Dr. Valentina Castro reminds her that she didn’t bring her there and now that she is the chair, she doesn’t even have to have this conversation with Helen and walks away.
Iggy stops at accounting, who says they do not cover Louise’s surgery as it is cosmetic. He knows technically it is but with Louise, her skin leaves her with some real psychological and physical problems. Her claim is rejected as Iggy says he can play hardball with her and changes her need for the surgery. He is rejected again as mental illness is not a reasonable cause for cosmetic surgery. He persists that this is a life or death situation and they need to help her as she came for them with help. She will only allow coverage for medications for the rashes.
Annie calls Dr Kapoor, saying something is wrong with Jacob. He rushes into the room to see that Jacob’s eyes are closed. He again tells her there is nothing he can do for Jacob and she needs to see that he was not improving and Jacob isn’t there, and he never was. She says that Jacob is all she has left.
Max is on the phone with Floyd, and their patient, Jackson is now crashing on the table. Max notices that the prayer group is gone and finds out they left 5 minutes earlier; making him question the power of prayer.
Helen runs into Max, sharing her concerns about Castro’s clinical trial; but he says that Castro came to him voicing concerns about Helen not being able to accept her new role in the department and overstepping her trial. Helen says Valentina is not helping the other 25 patients she could be. He agrees with her but IH is funding the trial and they are paying the hospital with Castro in the driver’s seat. He says they need to let Castro run the trial the way she wants as those are the rules. Helen storms off.
Vijay finds Sam and his sister; explaining that his mother loves him very much, but they both feel she barely knows them as she gave up everything right after Jacob’s accident. He shares that his wife died 7 years earlier but if she was laying in a hospital bed, breathing, even he would find it difficult to say goodbye; even as a neurologist. Annie sees that and is trapped between life and death, she wants to move on and let go but she can’t because she has pushed both her children away and if she lets Jacob go, she will be truly alone.
Lauren tells Rodney he is lucky they are in an emergency room right now as she is getting desperate without the computers. Her patient begins shouting for her as he suddenly lost vision in his right eye. Meanwhile, Floyd meets with Jackson’s parents, saying his lungs have failed and he is on bypass now. They don’t know enough about the disease to make any predictions about his survival rate. He wishes he had better news for them, saying he will do everything in his power to help their boy but they need to be prepared for the worst.
Max finds the prayer group, explaining about the teenager’s dilemma. He is running out of time and thought maybe they could pray for him as he could really use a miracle. Max is told it doesn’t work that way, confusing him. He is reminded that when they pray it changes the people, not the other way around. When they pray, they are looking in and if Max can do that himself, then he’s got a shot at one of his own miracles.
Iggy is in the stairwell eating a muffin when Helen barges in and freaks out. She explains how she is getting in trouble with the unfair system; he knows that all too well as he too as crossed the line. He talks to Helen about Louise’s case and how insurance won’t cover her surgery. He feels Louise has been abandoned halfway through her treatment because even though obesity is a disease, it still isn’t being treated like one. Helen says they should give her cancer then, so it will be covered.
Floyd checks on Jackson disturbed at the situation but decides to sit at his bedside. Max is in the gallery, saying he isn’t into the praying thing but his parents did a lot of it when his sister was sick and it didn’t do a lot of good. He could really use a miracle, even though he knows that isn’t how it works. He admits he has an empty apart of him he is willing to fill up with something. He tells God that Jackson could really use his help, but he shouldn’t have to explain specifics.
Casey places gauze over the patient’s eye as Lauren looks for a chart. The doctors share what is going on in their cases and Lauren is able to figure out one patient, saying he’s an elephant. She tells her patient that he better get that L train running on time. Lauren smiles when Rodney tells her that he got the system working; she asks him to take his time as she enjoyed them working together.
Helen meets with Louise and together with Iggy, counting her moles. Louise isn’t so sure this is going to work but Helen says if there are more than 100 moles they consider it skin cancer and would normally get a biopsy but since she supposedly lost count she wants to skip the biopsy and bring her into surgery to have the skin removed just to be safe. She begins to cry when Iggy informs her that her procedure will be covered completely.
Dr Kapoor returns with Sam and his sister, who tell Annie they want her to be a part of their life and her own life. They only want their mom back. She looks back at Jacob, leans in and kisses him. When she returns to look at them, she takes them into her arms and cries.
Floyd talks to Jackson’s parents, who wonder how it happened as he is laying awake and breathing in his bed. Floyd says it could be various things as CDC is still finding treatments and there are people his age who aren’t so lucky and sometimes they just have to take the win. Max says “Amen to that!”
Outside, Max finds Helen who approved Louise’s surgery as today was full of miracles. Helen learns that Max canceled the date as he isn’t ready for that. Helen finds out the details, explaining that it doesn’t sound like a date; more like a playdate. Max does admit that she said specifically that it wasn’t a date, revealing that he doesn’t know what he is doing. Helen reminds him that Luna deserves to have a new friend, as does he.
The following morning, Alice is in the park with Bobbie when Max arrives with Luna. Jacob’s feeding tube is removed as Dr Kapoor covers him up with his blanket. He continues to water his plant and read to Jacob. He walks into the room, signing papers and finding an empty bed, but the plant still there. Vijay takes the plant with him.
THE END!
