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Why did Helen leave New Amsterdam?

By Alexandria Ingham

NEW AMSTERDAM -- "Laughter and Hope and a Sock in the Eye" Episode 406 -- Pictured: Freema Agyeman as Dr. Helen Sharpe -- (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)
NEW AMSTERDAM -- "Laughter and Hope and a Sock in the Eye" Episode 406 -- Pictured: Freema Agyeman as Dr. Helen Sharpe -- (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC) /
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Freema Agyeman said she wouldn’t return for New Amsterdam Season 5. It led to a lot of questions about how and why Helen would leave.

As much as we would have loved to see the Sharpwin wedding happen, the writing was on the wall for this relationship for a while. That’s something Max realized during the New Amsterdam Season 5 premiere.

It all started with a letter. Helen wrote to Max to apologize for leaving—well, for not getting on the plane to New York. She didn’t have any reasons why in the letter, though. She couldn’t even explain things too much, because deep down she loves Max and Luna. She wanted to marry him, but at the same time, she didn’t.

Max was the one who realized what it was. It had been staring him in the face the whole time, but he had to open up and accept it.

Why Helen left New Amsterdam

Max was initially focused on all the happy moments with Helen. Iggy encouraged him to look at the bad moments. What was Helen actually telling him? And that’s what he did throughout the New Amsterdam Season 5 premiere.

Max realized that Helen wasn’t happy. She hadn’t been for some time, and she kept telling him this. Max just had to fix the situation one thing at a time, but what Helen really needed was space. This was one of those cases of “if you love something, let it go.” The idea is that if it’s meant to be, it will happen later.

During the episode, Max realizes that Helen had a lot going on. She was finding out the truth about her family, she was figuring things out in London with what had happened to a health care clinic she used to work at, and she was figuring out who she wanted to be. Max ignored all that, but Helen couldn’t keep putting other people before herself. There was only so much of her that she could give.

It’s bittersweet, but there is some hope in it. As I said, the idea of letting something you love go is that if it’s meant to be, it will be. Maybe Sharpwin is meant to be and the New Amsterdam series finale will bring us that. We can dream, right?

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What did you think of the New Amsterdam Season 5 premiere? What do you think of Helen’s letter? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

New Amsterdam airs Tuesdays on NBC. Catch up the following day on Peacock.

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