Previously on the HBO Max series The Pitt, Robby’s friend Duke may have a tumor, which could delay Robby from going on his sabbatical. Nurse Jesse gets arrested by ICE agents after defending a patient, while Baran saves a mother from walking into incoming traffic outside. The episode ended with medical student Emma being put into a chokehold by a startled patient.
The episode begins with Dana hearing the commotion involving Emma and the patient. She immediately runs to help her. Robby notices the code “Hula Hoop,” which signals a worker in duress, and runs over to the room. Emma is okay, but shaken up.
Once everything is settled, Baran pulls Robby to the side to let him know that she wants two attendings on shifts “at all times.” She brings up the tension between Langdon and Santos, so he tells her about their complicated history. Baran treats Langdon differently, not letting him make doctoral decisions.
Tension rises between Robby and Dana. Dana admits to him that she feels like his sabbatical is going to be his death, and that he doesn’t care about anything right now— that he’s giving up on everything.
Samira and King take turns assisting with an elderly couple. The wife was hit by their vehicle, and she thinks the husband did it. She may have suffered a hip injury, while the husband may have had an effect as well. Their daughter comes to check on them and learns that her father may lose his driver’s license. The three of them urge the couple to think about moving into an assisted living facility. They later on learn that the husband’s combination of medications is affecting his health.
One of the nightshift nurses, Mateo, comes in, ready for his shift. After Dana talks to him, she receives the test results back for the patient who choked Emma. She shows McKay. We find out that he had both alcohol and cocaine in his system, creating a metabolite that causes aggression, confusion, and paranoia.
Robby goes outside to find Dana. He asks her what actually happened when she came to save Emma. He believes that Dana has been looking for an excuse to use a vial of Versed on someone who would attack her. The two of them go back and forth, yelling at each other. He says, “How am I supposed to leave this place when it’s a shit show?”
Before Whitaker walks over to Santos, she grabs a suture blade and hides it in her pocket. He comes over to check on her, noticing she’s been moody during the entire shift. She tells him that now that Langdon is back, her insecurities as a doctor are coming back to her. She’s also upset that Whitaker is moving into Robby’s place while he’s gone.
McKay subtly tells Robby that she knows that this sabbatical is a way to avoid everything and basically end his life. She tells him that he’s been weird all day, and he walks away, awkwardly laughing.
At the end of the episode, the night shift starts to shuffle in. An incoming patient comes in, and Samira immediately recognizes him, Orlando, who was her patient at the beginning of the season.
Overall, this was a really good episode, but slightly uncomfortable to watch. One of the things that made this episode uncomfortable was the tension and stress between Robby and Dana. Katherine LaNasa is doing an amazing job as Dana this season. We have been given the chance to see a more emotional side of her, and it’s easy to see that she cares deeply for Robby and the ER staff as a whole. Now that the night shift is here, what’s more to come?
Rating: 9/10