The women of The Pitt are losing their cool as the first arrivals from the water park disaster begin to arrive.
Missed a review? Episode 2.01 / 2.02 / 2.03 / 2.04 / 2.05 / 2.06 / 2.07 / 2.08 / 2.09
The day is starting to take its toll in hour ten of the series’ second season as everyone goes through a personal crisis – be it big or small. From Javadi (Shabana Azeez)’s domineering mother issues to Mel (Taylor Dearden) hilariously learning that her sister Becca (Tal Anderson) is having sex (a lot of it apparently!) to Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) having a panic attack about her spiralling options, there’s a lot of folks having a freak-out.
Naturally the storyline that got under my skin the most is the continuing friction between Santos (Isa Briones) and Langdon (Patrick Ball). Obviously there was always going to be tension after the events of last season (see also: Langdon and Noah Wyle‘s Robby), but her prickly demeanour at Every.Little.Thing around him goes into hyperdrive here.
It’s so obnoxious that nearly every supervisor winds up having to comment on it – from Robby to Dr. Al (Sepideh Moafi) to Dr. Garcia (Alexandra Metz), who hilariously orders Santos to seek therapy rather than bring up her Langdon issues again. Obviously this is a fantastic performance from Briones, who manages to convey Santos’ frustration at how seemingly easy Langdon’s return has been while also eliciting groans for being so damn petulant. It’s arguably the most difficult balancing act performance of the entire main cast, and Briones is excellent.
But man was I happy when everyone called Santos on her shit because damn.
In other news, the water park disaster isn’t as devastating as it seemed in last episode’s cliffhanger. There’s only a few patients that get air lifted in, but both cases are incredibly gruesome. In Emily’s case, her right leg has been completely cut off, leading to some hilariously gross moments with Ogilvie (Lucas Iverson), who is made to carry the limb around in a plastic bag.
The other patient of note is Derek Foster, whose son Zack is still missing. Derek is the victim of a degloving incident involving his ring finger (DO NOT google it if you’re unfamiliar) and the repeated close-ups are downright nauseating. The gore in “4:00 P.M.” is downright nasty (and fantastic, obviously).
While Zack hasn’t come into the ER by the end of the hour, it appears that Emma (Laetitia Hollard) has found him using both social media and traditional calls to the police, prompting Dana (Katherine LaNasa) to note that perhaps she should join the FBI. Considering how Emma has struggled with all that the day has thrown at her, this might not be the worst advice…
Other Observations:
- The episode ends on a subdued note as cancer mom Roxie (Brittany Allen) prepares for her final breaths. The Pitt has really taken its time with this storyline and this is a nice, dignified resolution to a quietly devastating storyline. Shout-out to Fiona Dourif as McKay for underplaying it; it would have been easy to go for something much more dramatic in the scene with Roxie’s oldest son, but the somber, calm delivery is even more powerful.
- Mel returns from her deposition, which we learn from the hospital’s lawyer was “aggressive.” That might be putting it mildly considering how rattled Mel looks getting off the elevator. It’s also wild to think that she was absent for the decision to go analogue, which is why she looks so confused when Santos offloads all of the clipboards of her patients on her.
- Sidebar: Langdon interacting with Becca (and reminding Mel about his HIPPA obligations to her sister) are quietly delightful.
- I’m unsure what to make of Robby’s VIP patient, Duke (Jeff Kober) a motorcycle engineer with a raspy voice. It feels as if writer Simran Baidwan wants the character to be a big deal, particularly in light of Robby’s impending motorcycle journey, but this storyline feels curiously muted.
- Robby’s dressing down of Mohan was an interesting event. These two also have a history so his impatience with her isn’t too surprising. His reaction to the news of her panic attack is outsized (and Dr. Al was right to call him on it), though I was surprised that it took their colleagues so long to diagnosis what was obviously a panic attack.
- Sidebar: Joy (Irene Choi) barking at Mohan to get in the damn wheelchair after the latter wanders into the crowded waiting room during her attack was a delight. Joy is 1000% my fave new character and Choi’s line delivery is perfection.
- Finally, I loved the moment when Dr. Al performs a trachea “slash” to save a young boy who is moments from dying as a result of the water park disaster. No one else knows what to do, and it’s only after she performs the risky maneuver that she admits she’s never done it in real life; just simulations. The cherry on top is when she claps back at Dr. Garcia’s criticism of the technique with a quip that the surgeons should be happy the boy survived. Hell yeah, Dr. Al.
The Pitt airs Thursdays on HBO Max