Dr. Zachary "Zach" Ligon, is a recurring character on New Amsterdam. He is the physical therapist and also the ex-hook up of Lauren Bloom. He is portrayed by JJ Feild.
Dr. Bloom goes to Dr. Ligon for physical therapy after the accident to recover mobility in her leg and they exchange many battles of wit. This leads to a physical relationship which ends when Bloom realizes she has replaced medication with sex and that this is very unhealthy. Due to being an ex-addict, Bloom asks Ligon to oversee her medication after her second surgery as she has no choice but to take pain medication or risk her mobility permanently which would not allow her to do her job. She chooses Ligon because he is not her friend and understands how important it is not to give in to her demands, as he too is an ex-drug addict. Ligon agrees but cannot control himself enough to resist temptation and steals some of her pain medication.
After a harrowing day of being denied more medication due to Ligon having taking it, and having to perform a surgery in a lockdown with a broken, post-op leg, being held up by Ligon to save a woman whose appendix was about to rupture, Ligon confesses what he did. Although Bloom suspected him, she kissed him for the last time and then asked him never to contact her again after he leaves rehab as she has finally learned to put her needs first. It is a tender and yet powerful moment in her character development.
Personality[]
Dr. Zach Ligon is described as someone insufferable and his colleges don't have the best opinion about him. He's quite smug, shallow and, in words of Dr. Bloom, the worst person ever. Ligon also displays a twisted sense of humor, making sarcastic coments about Lauren's physical therapy and constantly mocks her for her slow recovery.
However, Ligon is actually a more complicated person, as he hid the fact that he, like Lauren, is a drug addict. And with the passage of time he came to actually develop feelings for Lauren which is why he chose to confess her he'd been abusing of painkillers of New Amsterdam, in a desperate act to not lose her since he'd already lost his family and all his friends.
Appearances[]
- New Amsterdam (1 season, 7 episodes)
Gallery[]
