The Pitt, Season 2

[Anonymous]

Robby's not going to do that, for the effects on the audience alone.

Agree this show is much better if you watch a few in a row or a whole season.

More Mel. Less Dr. Santos. Bring back the male nurse one of the doctors flirted with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He’s going on sabbatical and leaving it open ended in case a new space calls out. This guy is burnt out and considering a career change. I don’t see suicidal.

I don't think he's going to attempt suicide on the show but there's no question to me that we are supposed to see suicidal ideation in his behavior. Especially in the last episode. There was an exchange between Robby and Abbot where it is clearly that Abbott was concerned about his friend self harming. Abbot notes that Robby hasn't taken a vacation in a long time, and that it will be a lot of time to "self-reflect" which can be hard. At this point Robby completely stops making eye contact. Then Abbot says "Just make sure you come back, and if it gets dark, call me." At which point Robby gets clearly emotional, is looking down but is clearly upset, yet has a defensive smile on his face, and walks away.

That scene reads as someone in a very dark place, emotionally and mentally, being scared to acknowledge it to a friend who is reading it correctly. Also Abbot is speaking from a place of experience, and last season that had him standing on the edge of the roof and Robby giving him a very similar "pep talk".

Suicidal ideation doesn't mean suicide. But it can mean self-harm and self-destructive behavior. Like riding a motorcycle like a helmet, as Robby does in the first scene of the season. You should be concerned about someone acting the way Robby is acting, WELL before it gets to a point where they might make a suicide attempt. And multiple people close to Robby (Abbott, Dana, the staff psychiatrist) have openly expressed concern about his behavior and mental state. This is more than burn out.

[Anonymous]

^ without a helmet

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Robby's not going to do that, for the effects on the audience alone.

Agree this show is much better if you watch a few in a row or a whole season.

More Mel. Less Dr. Santos. Bring back the male nurse one of the doctors flirted with.

Mateo (the nurse Javadi has a crush on) is coming back at some point, as he's still listed in the cast for this season. I believe he had a scheduling conflict that made it impossible for them to write him into the first half of the season, because he couldn't film. But they keep mentioning "calling in reinforcements" to deal with the extra workload from other EDs being closed and from going analog -- I am certain Mateo will be one of those reinforcements and that we will see him and Javadi together, especially since it's her birthday.

I'm guessing we will be seeing plenty of Mel in upcoming episodes, since her sister is in the ED and I'm guessing there will be drama with her deposition as well.

I personally like the Santos stuff this season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kudos to HBO/Max for going old school with an episode release once a week vs a whole season drop. It allows a “water fountain” discussion so we can see everyone’s ideas. So much going on during each episode. I might have to do a re-watch this summer.

+1, I love getting it one episode at a time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kudos to HBO/Max for going old school with an episode release once a week vs a whole season drop. It allows a “water fountain” discussion so we can see everyone’s ideas. So much going on during each episode. I might have to do a re-watch this summer.

It's so enjoyable -- I love the wait, and being able to dissect one episode at a time.

[Anonymous]

I think Santos should go into pedes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm really liking watching Santos grow. She was so good with the 12 year old firecracker victim. She has some maturing, but she'll be a good doctor.

And seeing Whitaker be a leader is the best.

And now she's dating Dr. Garcia?

Garcia said they are "keeping it casual" in this episode, so it's unclear if it's actual dating or just casual hookups.

Santos appears to be having some mental health issues. They have been referenced on the margins several times. Early in the season, Robby made some reference to Santos speaking to a therapist, I think maybe in connection to the mass shooter event. My assumption is that after that event, all the staff were encouraged to engage mental healths services to deal with the trauma, and that some people are resisting or pushing away the help in a way that is concerning others. Both Santos and Robby seem to be in this group, and may be sort of enabling each other in avoiding dealing with how that event likely triggered past trauma for both of them (for Robby, his PTSD from Covid, and for Santos, childhood trauma).

They went out of their way to show us that Santos has a history of cutting, and some of the scars on her leg looked somewhat fresh.

She has been pushing Garcia hard for more intimacy during this season and Garcia has been putting up walls left and right. Santos might be relying on Garcia for emotional support in ways Garcia isn't comfortable with.

Santos is also extremely stressed about her R2 year, struggling with workload, and is not getting much if any moral support at the hospital. It's not intentional, but a lot of people are piling on her or dismissing her in ways that are clearly wearing her down and might make her snap. Even in this episode, there was this micro-moment where Mel needed someone to take over her sister's care so she could go to her deposition, and Santos was suggested, and Mel looked at Santos and said "No" right to her face and then "not an R2" before they found Langdon. The focus of that scene was not Santos at all, but given what we know about Santos, her ego, her relationship with Mel (and with Langdon), I bet that stung. Plus right after that, Robby assigned Santos to cover all of Mel's other cases and Santos freaked out about not being able to do it. Santos is nearing a breaking point.

Meanwhile, Robby and Santos are clearly not bad people and are still fairly functional, even to the point that Santos made a point of red flagging Whitaker's relationship with the farm widow to Robby so that Robby could gently talk to Whitaker about it and encourage better boundaries. These aren't villains. But something deep and dangerous is going on with both of them, and I think we are going to see them both bend if not break by the end of the season. I'm rooting for both of them and hope it ends with them both getting the help and support they obviously need and are not presently getting, for a variety of reasons.

I also think that when this happens, it will be poignant that they are essentially in similar positions to where Langdon was at the end of S1 -- in crisis and in need of help and not doing a good job of getting it. I think the show will make some hay of that.

I like that they are showing that Santos treating her coworkers like crap has consequences. Last season, she was awful to everyone, and IRL, that means that people don't like you and are less likely to offer support. It bugged me last season that Santos was not only a jerk to everyone but did dangerous things wrt patients and was either vindicated by being right or just faced no consequences at all. Seeing how she gets in her own way in terms of getting help and support feels realistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do think Robby is displaying suicidal ideation, but I don't think they are going to have him attempt suicide. In part because it's logistically challenging on a show premised on following the doctors through a single hospital shift -- unless he leaves his shift early for some reason and then his attempt is discovered before the end of the shift (which sounds like a horrible stretch even for a show that, yes, does play a little fast and loose with the time line sometimes), how could this work?

Robby’s attempts and care would happen in season 3. Season 2 is just setting the groundwork for it. They’ve spoke about how short the time will be between seasons so it makes sense if it rolls into the night shift.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do think Robby is displaying suicidal ideation, but I don't think they are going to have him attempt suicide. In part because it's logistically challenging on a show premised on following the doctors through a single hospital shift -- unless he leaves his shift early for some reason and then his attempt is discovered before the end of the shift (which sounds like a horrible stretch even for a show that, yes, does play a little fast and loose with the time line sometimes), how could this work?

Robby’s attempts and care would happen in season 3. Season 2 is just setting the groundwork for it. They’ve spoke about how short the time will be between seasons so it makes sense if it rolls into the night shift.

Not happening. Robby is the rock and anchor of this show. They are not going to have him attempt suicide and destroy his character this early on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kudos to HBO/Max for going old school with an episode release once a week vs a whole season drop. It allows a “water fountain” discussion so we can see everyone’s ideas. So much going on during each episode. I might have to do a re-watch this summer.

Most shows do this. At least the ones I've been watching recently, i.e. Shrinking, Outlander's new season, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kudos to HBO/Max for going old school with an episode release once a week vs a whole season drop. It allows a “water fountain” discussion so we can see everyone’s ideas. So much going on during each episode. I might have to do a re-watch this summer.

Most shows do this. At least the ones I've been watching recently, i.e. Shrinking, Outlander's new season, etc.

+1 Real Housewives does this. I find it shot it as I want to binge a couple episodes at once.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kudos to HBO/Max for going old school with an episode release once a week vs a whole season drop. It allows a “water fountain” discussion so we can see everyone’s ideas. So much going on during each episode. I might have to do a re-watch this summer.

Other than Netflix and sometimes Amazon Prime, which networks drop entire seasons on one day? HBO is hardly the outlier in this.

I like the old miniseries release schedule, one episode a day. Makes it an event.

[Anonymous]

I think Robby is on track to have a motorcycle accident and serious scare because he has never addressed his own mental health. This season has shown how he is doing a worse job showing up for those around him because he has ignored his own blinking lights for too long. Dr. Al-Hashimi can be a peer who helps him have a breakthrough that getting help is a strength, not a weakness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Robby is on track to have a motorcycle accident and serious scare because he has never addressed his own mental health. This season has shown how he is doing a worse job showing up for those around him because he has ignored his own blinking lights for too long. Dr. Al-Hashimi can be a peer who helps him have a breakthrough that getting help is a strength, not a weakness.

I agree it’s either that or his friend who is supposed to show up is going to have a serious head injury. They mentioned not wearing helmets multiple times and he has asked if anyone has seen his riding partner multiple times. Then the part where Robbie tells Huckleberry he can have his apartment if he doesn’t return.