Review: The Pitt, "8:00 AM" | Season 2, Episode 2

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Despite the many hours of medical dramas I have watched over the last 30-plus years, I don’t profess to be an expert in rotation timelines or in the likelihood that all these characters would work together again like this. But I do know television. The second episode adds more layers to The Pitt’s interpersonal relationships established in the first season, takes time to address how characters have evolved professionally, and reveals more about how the new faces fit into this high-pressure environment. It is a lot to juggle, but on the whole, Joe Sachs and R. Scott Gemmill’s script moves the story forward after the premiere without relying too much on exposition—or when it does, it is organic. 

One stumble at this early stage is the broad-brush strokes painting Dr. Al-Hashimi into an antagonistic corner as the newcomer trying to assert control. Take her interactions with Robby, in which Al-Hashimi continues to sneak up on him in medical exams, trauma rooms, and even the ambulance bay. Treatment orders differ enough that a pattern is emerging. With the patient who has broccoli stuck in his throat (an image that will haunt me), Robby is proven correct. Ditto when getting the abandoned baby to pee without an invasive procedure. He is not the only senior member of the team to disagree with Robby’s cover. Early in the episode, Garcia calls Al-Hashmi “Dr. Wishful Thinking” about waiting for an ortho consult for the open dislocation (also haunting) and agrees with Robby that they should proceed in the trauma room.

There is a danger of repeating how Dr. Kerry Weaver was introduced in the second season of ER as the stickler for rules, but this is only hour two, and butting heads might be growing pains from different styles of leadership and of practicing medicine in this pressure-cooker environment. Curiously, last week’s cliffhanger isn’t resolved either. There is nothing in the abandoned baby’s test results that Mohan missed, or a reason given for Al-Hashimi’s frozen response—she purposefully dodges Mohan’s questions. Sepideh Moafi’s guarded performance in scenes with the infant doesn’t emphasize a particular cause, and it is helpful that Moafi gets to play different shades beyond admin efficiency. If it triggers something personal, we don’t get flashbacks showcasing why this patient is hitting close to home.