NBC medical drama New Amsterdam has reached its end, but a twist in the narrative during the two-hour series finale has left fans confused and angry. It was revealed that Helen Sharpe, a character who left the show during Season 4, had been “unethical.” This was in complete contrast with the woman audiences got to know during her run on the series.
New Amsterdam series finale has fans angry over Helen Sharpe treatment
While some viewers were likely impressed with the New Amsterdam series finale, a huge swathe of fans have taken to Twitter to call out the “hypocrisy” of one particular moment in the show. It was revealed that Helen Sharpe, who had spent her time on the show fighting against inequality and rallying for more diversity in hospital programs, had been “unethical” during her time at the hospital. One viewer took to Twitter to say “the idea that Helen would promote a racist cancer treatment trial is absurd.”
Diversity and inclusion advocate April Reign said that she has “never seen TV writers/showrunners/EPs treat a character so poorly,” suggesting that it would have been better if Helen had died rather than her character being sent down the path that was chosen. She added that the decision to label Helen as “unethical” was “completely contradicting earlier episodes,” and even called out New Amsterdam producer and director Peter Horton personally, saying the character’s treatment “smacks of misogynoir.”
Some Twitter users alleged that the white savior trope had reared its head, after writers “invented a trial that never happened and had the two white saviors call Helen unethical.” Others said they were “disgusted” by the decisions made by creative, claiming that only a “bad writer” would “retcon previous storylines for your writing to make sense.”
In other news, The Last of Us HBO viewership figures have revealed the TV series is a huge hit, while YouTube’s Attorney Tom is suing Logan Paul for his CryptoZoo “scam.”
