If there's anything that consistently makes me ponder about The Pitt—and to be clear, it often makes me contemplate a myriad of different aspects, not the least of which is "is that a prosthesis?!"—it's the sheer marvel of how hospitals manage to function amidst their ceaseless endeavors. The never-ending influx of patients and the relentless bureaucratic checklists can leave everyone exhausted and at odds. Season 1 was already a testament to this, but Season 2 elevates it to new heights, particularly evident in Episode 2, "8:00 A.M."
You can attribute some of this to Al-Hashimi. It's not that she's inherently wrong—I'm not even in the medical profession, and I appreciate the sound of those productivity percentage increases—but her relentless pursuit of questioning Robby's methods and her efforts to modernize PTMC through flashy tactics that elicit distrust from everyone around her. She's the embodiment of change, an Orwellian eye that watches everything unfold.
It's akin to how in The Office, everyone acts slightly off-kilter because they believe they're in a documentary. Here, everyone is acutely aware that when Robby takes a sabbatical, Al-Hashimi will be in charge. The show-offy bickering between Ogilvie and Javadi has a "look at me" vibe. Any deviation from the script feels like a cause for extra tension, as if they're being observed doing it. As if this show needed any more tension.
But I was pondering this further when Robby's new fling, Noelle Hastings, is introduced. For one thing, she handles bed control, so she insists that McKay's potential head trauma patient be moved elsewhere, already seeming to undermine the patient's best interests. But the chemistry between her and Robby is undeniable, and they haven't been public about their relationship. With such scrutiny? It's a recipe for disaster.
The Pitt Season 2 isn't short of disasters already, and Episode 2 just adds more fuel to the fire. Mel is still fretting about her upcoming deposition—her anxiety compounded when Al-Hashimi points out that she's never been sued; not as commonplace then!—and to make matters worse, she takes a nasty fall when the patient she was flirting with flees from the police. Apparently, he robbed a liquor store and was hiding out. When he's caught, Mel might have to testify in court. That's all she needs.
Langdon briefly treated Mel, adding her to his list of people he has been forthright and apologetic to, and gave her a nice moment in the dark to help with her headache. Langdon's still floating around the ER like a ghost, supposed to be exiled to triage but constantly being called upon back and forth. I reckon he's got some big moments coming up this season.
If you were wondering about the baby cliffhanger from the premiere, well, we're still wondering. The implication is that the baby's mostly fine, but I refuse to believe that. I know what this show is like. It's always trying to tug on the heartstrings one way or another, and a suffering baby is a good way to do it. Similarly, Huckleberry is tasked with telling the wife of the man who passed away last week that her husband is dead. However, she has Alzheimer's, so he keeps having to do it again and again. See? Awful.
Some stuff is admittedly a bit lighter. Santos and Mel are tasked with treating an eight-hour hard-on that is revealed in all its glory. I'm sure it's a prosthesis - there's that thought again! - but it looks real enough that the sight of a needle going into it made me physically recoil. The maggots weren't pleasant either, and I'm pretty sure those were real.
It's only 8:00 A.M., and it's already clear that Robby's mistrust of AI and Al-Hashimi's insistence on its value are going to be one of the primary arcs of The Pitt Season 2. The latter is a real truther and is determined to implement it into the ER by any means necessary, doing demos in front of patients and interns so that everyone can see its benefit. And she might well be right, but in the context of medicine, it's easy to land on the side of "almost intelligent." The 98% accuracy of generative AI means that two times out of a hundred, someone dies unnecessarily through an avoidable administrative error. Nobody says that out loud, but it's implied. And is that cost worth it?
It might be, which is why the debate is compelling, to say nothing of the friction it causes between Robby and Al-Hashimi, something that I assume is only going to get worse as we go. But that's the point. Maybe if the hospital slows down enough, these two can have a productive conversation on the subject. But I wouldn't count on that happening any time soon.
