Why New Amsterdam Fans Can't Stand Floyd Anymore

When "New Amsterdam" premiered in 2018, it was touted as a remedy to the homogeneity of medical dramas. Gone, promised an early piece about the series from Entertainment Weekly, were the days of soapy, romance-fueled ERs and zany medical mysteries that borrowed from the pages of obscure medical journals. Rather, the inspiration behind "New Amsterdam" came from the crumbling healthcare system itself. Created in the shadow of the 2016 election, the series challenged for-profit hospitals and the money-grubbing scourge of insurance conglomerates. "Any department who places billing above care, you will be terminated," says Dr. Max Goodwin (Ryan Eggold) in the pilot. The show's mission was well-meaning, if not entirely subtle.

But personal tragedies and salacious affairs quickly piled up in the hallowed halls of New Amsterdam Hospital, and the series became increasingly overwrought as it went on. Moreover, for some, Dr. Goodwin's idealism began to take on the cloying odor of saviorism. Between Seasons 2 and 3, the series' Rotten Tomatoes audience score dropped from 85% to a dismal 31%. By Season 4, it had dipped to 29%.

While certainly not every fan minds the show careening into soap opera territory, some have noticed an issue with character consistency. As a result, even some stalwart fans of "New Amsterdam" can't stand Floyd anymore.

Perhaps no character in "New Amsterdam" better encapsulates the entanglement of work and life than Dr. Floyd Reynolds (Jocko Sims). In Season 3 of "New Amsterdam," Floyd is focusing on his career in the wake of his breakup with Evie (Margot Bingham). Soon after, he meets Dr. Lyn Malvo (Frances Turner), and sparks fly immediately. If their being colleagues wasn't enough of a complication, it turns out that Lyn is in an open marriage with none other than Floyd's boss, Dr. Claude Baptiste (André Blake).

From the jump, fans had a problem with this unlikely arrangement, noting that it was antithetical to Floyd's more traditional nature. "Floyd was a stand up straight laced guy almost to a fault, he wouldn't get involved with a married woman, even if she was in an open marriage," commented u/mdp300 in the "New Amsterdam" subreddit. "And especially when her husband was his boss." Similarly, u/HerRoyalRedness chimed in, "Floyd is far too rigid in his morality to accept the parameters of a non-traditional relationship. Are they so bereft of plot lines for him that this is the best they can do???"

When the polyamory plotline was first introduced, Jocko Sims expressed gratitude for being able to explore that sort of relationship on television. "This is uncharted territory for both of us," Sims said of his scene partner Frances Turner in an interview in Hello! In terms of looking for other series that shine a light on the subject, he added, "there is not much to grasp from." Indeed, polyamory on television is rarely treated as a viable relationship option and often breeds more conflict, as it did on "Insecure" and "Good Trouble."

The general consensus among fans doesn't indicate a problem with polyamory itself. Rather, audiences have flocked to social media to critique the writers' lack of consistency, as well as using melodrama as a crutch. Indeed, u/bodoramzap lamented, "I had really hoped the show was going to have a positive representation of a poly relationship. But instead it was handled poorly for drama." 

"This relationship makes no sense for this character," u/tifferiffic83 concurred. "Frankly, this storyline did a disservice to Floyd as a character and poly relationships."

After introducing what many fans felt was an unrealistic polyamorous relationship, the writers doubled down on the drama by bringing a baby into the mix. In the Season 4 midseason finale, Lyn reveals that she's pregnant. Even though Lyn is pregnant with Floyd's child, she and Claude still decide to decamp to Denver, with Floyd staying behind in New York.

For many Floyd fans, this was the Season 4 straw that broke the camel's back. "And now he's going to abandon his child until he decides it's time he wants to be a dad?" wrote u/MrsDi85. "Makes no sense." Still, the mounting drama opens up possibilities for the end of "New Amsterdam." Just as Floyd once left for San Francisco, it's possible the baby will have him heading west yet again, this time to Colorado. It might be the only way for the writers to appease their dissatisfied fans.