Review: The Pitt, "9:00 PM" | Season 2, Episode 15

Hey free subscribers—it's been fifteen hours at The Pitt, which means it's finale time. As always, here's a preview for of Emma's review of the finale. Becoming a paid subscriber lets you keep reading and join the conversation.

When Dr. Al-Hashimi starts to drive off toward the end of The Pitt finale, my immediate reaction was “Oh no, she’s going to crash!’ I then remembered what show I was watching and that this kind of sensationalist plotting does not fit the series' tone. Instead, Al-Hashimi stops her car and starts to cry. Similarly, we don’t see Robby ride off into the night sans helmet and immediately end up back in the hospital as a patient, or an intervention leading to a psyche-hold (two theories I have seen on other sites). While there is still room for a medical case that ramped up the tension, it is a more low-key sign-off for Robby et al. It is left up in the air whether he ends up on a cruise, makes it to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, or is right back at work. 

Cliffhangers vary throughout the season, but I wasn’t expecting a life to hang in the balance when the credits hit (well, maybe that split second with Al-Hashimi). Perhaps the most surprising aspect—though maybe it shouldn’t be— is how hope and community are threaded through those final moments. First, with Robby giving Baby Jane Doe (and himself) a pep talk, followed by the cathartic release from Mel and Santos singing Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” at karaoke mid-credits. I did not think I would finish watching this season with a huge smile plastered on my face.

Tying Robby and Baby Jane Doe together without giving direct answers about his trip or the identity of the infant's mother might rankle with its lack of closure. I don’t mind the ambiguity because it fits with The Pitt’s single-day framing storytelling. Creator R. Scott Gemmill (who also wrote this episode) doesn’t take the sickly sweet option of having Robby take up the kinship fostering that Dana mentions early in the episode. Neither does any other character volunteer. If this were another show, even ER, I guarantee someone would be heading home with Baby Jane Doe in tow.