It’s finale time on HBO Max’s The Pitt as our exhausted staff fight their way through one final hour.
Missed a review? Episode 2.01 / 2.02 / 2.03 / 2.04 / 2.05 / 2.06 / 2.07 / 2.08 / 2.09 / 2.10 / 2.11 / 2.12 / 2.13 / 2.14
Let’s tackle the cliffhanger right off the top. Robby (Noah Wyles) is, indeed, looking at the medical records for Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), who admits that she has had two seizures during her shift today. It’s an anomaly, she claims, but that hardly matters to Robby, who argues that regardless of how short or irregular her symptoms are, such a delay in decision-making could easily kill a patient.
It’s gruff…but also warranted? The reality of her medical situation definitely calls into question her ability to act as an Attending given how many eyes would be looking to her and especially during Robby’s sabbatical without him there to hold down the fort. After all, it was just last episode that Robby admitted he’s concerned about his people when he’s not there to look after them.
This escalates over the course of a few interactions throughout the episode (it was not lost on me that Dr. Al almost immediately ducks out of their initial conversation the minute that Robby’s attention is diverted). The reality is that Dr. Al understands that this admission will likely cost her her career, which is a contributing factor for her delay in admitting it and why she doesn’t want to face Robby now.
Possibly related, but unsaid is that fact that Dr. Al has also witnessed Robby’s lack of empathy towards (particularly female) staff members that he has concerns or lacks confidence in, including Dr. Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) and Javadi (Shabana Azeez).
It’s unclear what this means for Moafi or Dr. Al moving forward. Last we see of her, the attending is crying in her car while the rest of the cast celebrates Independence Day fireworks on the roof. Is there a way to keep this character around considering what Robby said, or is this the last we’ve seen of Dr. Al? It feels like it could go either way, which would be a real shame because Moafi was an excellent addition to the cast this year.
*At the time of this review, we know for sure that Ganesh is not returning and that the decision was story-based, not hers. We don’t know about any other departures.
In other news, Robby continues to spar with both Dana (Katherine LaNasa) and Langdon (Patrick Ball), though a great deal of this now feels contextualized in the wake of the confirmation we got about Robby’s mental health, particularly his suicidal ideation confession to mentor Duke (Jeff Kober) last episode.
There’s also some much needed closure between Langdon and his mentor, particularly when the former finally presses the latter about expecting people, including Robby himself, to be perfect. After fifteen episodes of dancing around their baggage and issues, it’s extremely cathartic to hear Langdon say the quiet part out loud: “You need help, Robby…At least be honest with yourself”
Both Duke and Abbot (Shaun Hatosy) wind up having have a go at Robby, though he technically never agrees or admits to anything. But the shift away from flat-out denial feels like progress and the closing moment when he swadles baby Jane Doe and he advises her about all of the wonderful things she’ll see and the people she’ll love certainly feels hopeful.
- Sidebar: goddamn, how good is Wyle that he can pull off this level of emotionality without a speaking scene partner and just teary-eyed acting?!
Other Observations:
- The ‘case of the week’ is Judith (Nicole Wolfe), a pregnant woman who wants a “free birth”, which means no medical intervention at all. By the end of the hour, Judith is experiencing seizures and can’t be intubated until the paralytics kick in, then has an emergency C-section before her baby is born a dark shade of blue. It’s extremely harrowing and the body horror stuff with the cesarean is both graphic and gnarly.
- I appreciate it when The Pitt works in social issues, but the dead body that’s been sitting in the waiting room all day feels a little too much like a punchline without the necessary commentary. It’s hard to shake the feeling that this is especially unnecessary given that this is the finale and the body barely earns more than a minute of screen time.
- Robby does wind up issuing Mohan an apology when he once again encourages her to go into geriatrics. She, in turn, reminds him that they need him at the hospital and to be safe on his trip. The last we see of her character is on the roof, a nice moment with the others under the fireworks. It’s a subdued exit that made me realize how much I’ll miss Mohan.
- Someone else who’s struggling to find their concentration is Javadi. Thankfully she’s helped by Whitaker (Gerran Howell) who recognizes her passion and competency for mental health. Emergency psychology it is!
- Speaking of Whitaker, after all of Santos’ (Isa Briones) concerns, and even a speech from Robby, our final image is of him climbing into the truck with farm girl Amy Miller and her baby. <sigh>
- Of course it was unhoused man Digby (Charles Barker) who stole Whitaker’s ID card.
- Another nice moment is Mel (Taylor Dearden) and Langdon connecting about their shared experiences with her sister. For the record: it definitely seems as though Becca is much more put together than Mel, and that may not change by S03 considering we learn poor Mel is being called back in for another round of depositions.
- Finally, Santos fully passes out in the midst of completing her charting, but she rallies by episode’s end in order to go scream-karaoking Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” with Mel, which is a hilariously delightful way to play out the credits and wrap up the season.
The Pitt has finished airing its second season on HBO Max. It has been renewed for S03.
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