Warning: The following contains spoilers for Tuesday. new amsterdam. Proceed at your own risk!
We have good news and bad news, “Sharpwin” fans: Tuesdays new amsterdamMax and Helen took a big step forward in their relationship…and then suffered a devastating blow.
Following last week’s cliffhanger, it was revealed that Helen (along with Casey, Dr. Wilder, Dr. Castries, and Trevor) were drugged by a bartender who was angry at the toll COVID took on his business when, according to him , it was just a bad cold. He blamed medical professionals for exaggerating its effects, so he spiked the group’s drinks. But that’s enough about Adam Rose’s terrible bar owner.
After Max found Helen unconscious on the floor, he rushed her to the hospital, where they learned that she was suffering from many blood clots throughout her body. Among the surgeries she would need was a hysterotomy, which gave Helen pause. While Max pushed for her procedure to save her life, Helen argued that it would fundamentally change who she is as a person, not to mention the fact that she would not be able to have children. (And yes, Max assured her that he really wants to have a baby with her.) Finally, Helen opted for a different and risky treatment, which worked to remove some blood clots. But then things took a turn for the worse and Helen was rushed in for an emergency procedure. When she woke up towards the end of the episode, she struggled in anguish to respond to Max.
“He’s had a massive stroke,” showrunner David Schulner tells TVLine.
The doctor has lost the ability to speak, and “we don’t know if she’ll ever get it back,” adds executive producer Peter Horton. “[It] it may take a week, it may take two years, it may never happen. And that is what is at stake in that story. A love that is just blossoming and about to be consummated is a good early challenge to their dedication and fidelity to each other.”
Helen’s medical crisis presents her and her new fiancé Max (more on that in a bit) with a question they haven’t had to address before. “It’s so easy when you’re in love with someone, and everything is in front of you, and everything is potential, and you have this whole plan laid out in your head,” says Horton. “And then all of a sudden, for whatever reason, somebody, the partner, can be unfit for that future. What does that do to your system? What is love in those conditions? What is dedication and fidelity when that happens? And that, to some degree, is a question that Max has to face.”
So unfortunately, it seems that the flower is no longer with Helen and Max. very recent engagement. But let’s look at the bright side, okay? In fact, “Sharpwin” is officially engaged after an impromptu proposal, during which Max popped the question while Helen was in an ICU hospital bed. It wasn’t how he imagined it, but the sincerity was there, as was Helen’s genuine happiness when she said she was.
“I mean, it never goes as planned. I can only speak for myself. When I proposed to my wife, I had big plans in Florence, Italy, to propose to her on the Ponte Vecchio, and every time I was close to proposing to her, I chickened out and couldn’t do it,” shares Schulner. “And as a result, I couldn’t sleep at night. So one night at three in the morning, I woke up my wife and said, ‘I’m not going to be able to sleep unless you marry me.’ So I woke her up, proposed to her, and then finally I was able to go back to sleep. So I wanted to give Max and Sharpe an equally memorable proposal story but not as planned.”
And then, of course, the other shoe fell. Exclaims Horton, “For him to be right in that ‘I’m telling you, we did it this year’ moment, and then boomShe can not speak!”
new amsterdam fans, what did you think of Max’s proposal? And how worried are you about Helen? Also, stay tuned to TVLine for more information!
Reference-tvline.com