HBO Max’s award-winning medical drama The Pitt is approaching its final episode (for now!) after the release of episode 14 on Thursday, April 9. In discussion with TVLine, series creator R. Scott Gemmill (NCIS: Los Angeles, JAG) elaborated on the critical plot moments of the new release, which had been written by series star Noah Wyle (ER, Falling Skies).
Senior attending physician Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (played by Wyle) has spent the second season preparing for a planned three-month sabbatical from the Pittsburgh ER five months after the events of season one. Episode 14, in many ways, shows the stretched-thin nature of working in emergency medicine as Drs. Robby, Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi; The L Word: Generation Q, Black Bird)), and Langdon (Patrick Ball; Law & Order, Becky Shaw) confront their personal darkness in the shift’s final hour.
[ SPOILERS AHEAD FOR SEASON TWO EPISODE 14 OF THE PITT ]
Robby and his patient Duke Ekins (Jeff Kober; The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy) spend time together in the ambulance bay fixing his motorcycle, which had been accidentally knocked over. His longtime friend notices signs of suicidal ideation in Robby, and when asked what comes next, Robby responds that he will ride his bike like he’d said before – but this time, he admits that the hospital is his only distraction and he can only say for sure that he’s trying to get away from it all. Duke counters him by stating, “That’s not riding, that’s running. That’s your final lesson for these kids?”
At the same time, Dr. Langdon (Ball) regains his confidence on this first return shift after stepping up to perform a risky surgery on a patient, encouraged by Robby to renege on his self-doubt.
The episode ends on a cliffhanger-style reveal of the cause to Dr. Al-Hashimi’s (Moafi) atypical disassociation throughout the shift; When she asks Robby for a second opinion on a 40-year-old patient with a decades-sustained seizure disorder that began after contracting viral meningitis in childhood, reporting that the seizure symptoms had recently worsened, the pieces fall into place. Robby asks, “Baran [referring to the character’s first name], is this you?” While the show cuts to black before she can answer, this moment for the viewer connects both her freezing during the 14th episode and her call to her neurologist in episode 7.
On Duke’s line of truth to Robbie, via TVLine, creator Gemmill highlighted the relationship between the two and how important that shared moment is between them. Where Robby’s co-workers may not feel comfortable, Duke has had similar lows and recognizes what the doctor is struggling with. “Duke says his piece,” said Gemmill on what it meant for Robby, “And then lets the chips fall where they may.”
Robby encourages Langdon’s confidence by telling him to “doctor the f**k up,” forcing and empowering him to get back into action after the 10 months he’d spent away in rehab. Gemmill said, per TVLine, that this was Robby’s way of proving that he’s still a good doctor who can do the job, and while “it’s not the right way to go about it,” it still has a positive outcome and acts as a win for both Langdon and his patient.
When asked about Al-Hashimi’s diagnosis reveal, Gemmill’s discussion with TVLine drew a connection to the classic idiom “physician, heal thyself,” which has been used in medicine as a proverb urging healthcare providers to tend to themselves before treating others. While the characters of The Pitt have explored mental health struggles openly, there hasn’t been a physical issue that could derail a career like Al-Hashimi’s. By acknowledging that she has been pushing herself, she is faced with the potential that she might not be able to continue practicing medicine. When asked about Robby’s first use of her first name, Gemmill said that “he starts to see her as a person,” that he moves past their prior friction upon seeing her vulnerability by acknowledging that she needs the comfort of a friend instead of a colleague.
The final episode of the second season of The Pitt will be released for streaming on April 16 on HBO Max. mxdwn reported prior that an early release screening of the finale will be available nationwide on April 13 (the Monday prior to the Thursday release), through select Alamo Drafthouse Cinema locations in support and recognition of healthcare professionals and their work.