Reaction: The Pitt, "8:00 PM" | Season 1, Episode 14

Having a creative team responsible for several network television gamechangers and staples has been The Pitt’s not-so-secret weapon. I have brought up pacing several times during this season because The Pitt’s writers team is attuned to typical TV beats, while not relying on certain expectations. For instance, Dr. Robby’s breakdown had penultimate episode all over it, but instead, this pressure cooker exploded at the end of the thirteenth hour. In doing so, we now see how Dr. Robby will respond without it feeling rushed. To have Whitaker as the one who finds Robby having a “brief moment of silent reflection” (as Whitaker politely puts it) took me by surprise. Yet, it also fits with the overall theme that everyone is a student and a teacher at this hospital.

It isn’t like Robby is immediately cured after returning to work, either, as he is snappy and ill-tempered with different people (he publicly yells at Gloria), including patients’ families. While he might be saying what people are thinking, he also has a responsibility, and at the moment, he has lost the ability to filter his thoughts.

What follows are the observations I took from this fourteenth episode.

• Continuing with Dr. Robby, I have to say these scenes between Noah Wyle and Gerran Howell, both during the panic attack and later, are some of my favorites of The Pitt’s run so far. There is a lovely full circle moment with Whitaker repeating back Robby’s advice from earlier in the day, and Wyle’s wry smile when Robby recognizes those words is lovely. Another highlight is when Robby sees an emotional Mel after she has reunited a patient with her daughter and Mel immediately tries to suck her tears back in, apologizing and saying it won’t happen again. Taylor Dearden’s empathetic performance has led to Mel becoming a fan favorite, and it is incredibly gratifying to see Robby not only tell her not to apologize but also comment on her excellent work.
• One person Robby is less thrilled with is Dr. McKay. It is confirmed David is not the shooter, as the person who committed this atrocity died by suicide, confirming it would have been far too sensational if David were the killer. Robby wants McKay to fix the mess she created, which I think is harsh considering how troubling David’s behavior was. I also don’t think the writers are suggesting that Robby’s choices this episode are good ones, and this storyline highlights how limited resources are when dealing with this scenario.

• There are a few more patients from PittFest that come through the doors, including the brother of the woman whose husband was killed. Brian is a Navy corpsman who was shot in the leg but has spent the last two hours using his medical training to aid other victims (he put his brother-in-law in the first car he saw). Brian has driven a person he found in the parking lot to the hospital, who he suspects has OD’d, but needs urgent medical attention himself. Because things are returning to normal, pulling tricks out of bags is now seen as reckless rather than appropriate, leading to a spat between Abbott and Dr. Walsh. I suspect they might have been romantically involved at one point, from the shared smile at “nipples to navel is no man’s land” to how spiky they are with each other when Abbott gets Dr. Mohan to do this daring procedure.
• The suspected OD is a curious case, as his skin is a blueish hue, and having Dr. Ellis immediately clock the Santos-Langdon beef adds another layer to these scenes. The two feuding doctors haven’t really crossed paths since Langdon returned, and the animosity is palpable. Ellis hasn’t witnessed the earlier disagreements and tension, but Langdon’s changed register (even from how we have heard him) speaks volumes—as does his calling Santos “bright spark.” Seeing how Ellis responds to Santos—giving her the Kit Kat and then making it clear she has a job to do—underscores how different temperaments can gel or clash. Rather than being overwhelmed by many new nightshift characters, the ones they have introduced slot right in while establishing personality traits.

• Take Dr. Shen, who is still giving off a mostly chill aura but can get down to business quickly. He isn’t superstitious but accidentally jinxes the team twice regarding no new admissions, and both times, I laughed, which was a needed (brief) mood cleanse. The latter occurs with Mel when an ambulance rocks up with a non-PittFest patient. This next one is ripped from the headlines (or depressingly predicted what is happening at the moment) as Dr. Robby identifies that the teenage boy has measles, and he has a one in five chance of survival. When the parents arrive, it is not surprising to learn that their son is unvaccinated, and the mother immediately cites reasons why she is against a spinal tap. Robby starts to rub his neck (the tell that he is about to lose it) and snaps at the woman, which is what I was doing, yelling at my TV. Dr. Shen has a clearer head, and despite his inexperience as an attending, he is more than qualified to have this role. “Fucking Dr. Google bullshit” is great rage description from Robby and they make it clear that Shen agrees with his boss while also needing to maintain a more civil tone.
• It is both jarring and impressive how the department switches from emergency protocols to getting back to regular service. Victoria is our wide-eyed stand-in as she struggles with the gear shift, and as a viewer, there is a sense of whiplash combined with a shrug of “okay, back to before.” Again, the pacing of these later episodes has been particularly striking. Victoria’s head is understandably all over the place, and I am delighted to see her get another awkward flirty moment with Mateo. At first, she thinks the juice box he gives her is infantilizing, but he calls her a rock star, and she becomes the personification of heart eyes. I don’t think he shares the crush, but it is a sweet moment.

As the extended shift winds down, there is a sense that the finale won’t be too explosive, but McKay getting arrested at the end of “8:00 PM” definitely throws a wrench in the works—oh and yes, that is Brad Dourif playing the onscreen father to his off-screen daughter, Fiona Dourif! Rather than speculate about the last episode, I do want to quickly touch on the recent interview with Casey Bloys by Josef Adalian that digs into the success of The Pitt and how the weekly release has been a huge part of its growing audience. It is well worth a read for multiple reasons, but I want to highlight that Season 2 will debut in December, which is excellent news for those who don’t want the streaming lag between seasons.

Unsurprisingly, there will also be an FYC Emmys campaign, and Bloys mentions Wyle by name. We discussed this earlier in the season, but now that The Pitt is getting all this attention, I am curious whether Wyle will be the only actor they will push. I know Myles previously said he thought Wyle would be the only actor to get nominated, but is there room for Taylor Dearden or Katherine LaNasa? Variety is suggesting Dourif rather than Dearden could be in the mix too. What does everyone else think? Regardless of how likely (and Wyle aside), who would you like to see get recognized?