On The Pitt, the morning starts out like any other but it quickly turns into a crazy ride of shocking events, emotional turmoil and life-or-death choices. We see how rough and constant the emergency room is, where doctors have to make some of the hardest decisions of their lives in the blink of an eye. And for Dr. Robby, the day is a painful reminder of how hard his job is on both the patients and the doctors and nurses who are trying to save them.
The Pitt Season 1, Episode 2 Recap
A young man named Nick Bradley, 18, is brought to the emergency room by his parents after they found him not responding. This is a scary medical case that starts the show. It’s clear that he has brain death because his pupils are blown. As Dr. Robby and his team try to figure out what’s going on, they find something that makes things more difficult to understand: Nick’s urine contains fentanyl. Our son’s parents are shocked by this news because they thought he was a responsible student who was going to college.
Robby doesn’t want to tell the family the bad news too soon, so he orders more tests to give them time to think about what’s going on. Even false hope might help them get through this terrible time, but Dr. Collins (Tracy Ifeachor )doesn’t agree with his choice and says he’s just prolonging their grief. Robby, on the other hand, says they need more time, for him and his family. He can’t make good decisions because of how he feels and because he hasn’t dealt with the trauma of past losses, especially Adamson’s death.
Robby is dealing with this tough situation at the same time that his day keeps adding more emotional and work-related problems. Mr. Spencer, an old man with Alzheimer’s who is one of his patients, is dying of sepsis. His advanced directive makes it clear that he doesn’t want life-saving measures like intubation, but his adult children, especially his daughter Helen, are determined to go against what he wants in order to save his life. Because Robby’s medical ethics are at odds with the family’s desperate plea, he is in a tough spot. In the end, Robby has to do what they want and intubate Mr. Spencer, even though he knows it’s not good for the patient and despite his professional warnings.
At the same time, Dr. Whitaker’s first patient dies, and he is still an intern. Mr. Milton, who was admitted because he had gallstones, dies during the night without warning. When Whitaker finds Mr. Milton not responding and tries to wake him up, Robby steps in because he knows Whitaker needs time to deal with the loss. After three rounds of CPR, Robby helps him accept that the person can’t be saved. In emergency medicine, sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you can’t save a life. This is Whitaker’s first lesson in this hard truth.
Robby has to go back to Nick Bradley’s room, which makes the episode even more emotionally heavy. The test results show that the young man’s brain is dead and his brainstem doesn’t work. Robby walks into the room to tell Nick’s parents the terrible news. No matter how strong your heart is, the sound of Nick’s mother crying is enough to break it.
But the emotional damage doesn’t end there. When Robby goes back to Mr. Spencer’s room to do the intubation, his day takes another terrible turn. Robby does the procedure even though he knows the patient has made it clear that they do not want to be kept alive artificially. He does this in silence because he is emotionally torn between his duty as a doctor and the family’s grief-stricken needs.
In a different part of the hospital, Dr. Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) acts quickly to save a sickle cell crisis patient. The other doctors are slow to act, but she is the only one who sees how bad Joyce’s condition is and makes sure she gets the care she needs. This shows how knowledgeable Mohan is and how strongly she advocates for her patients, but it also shows how she is different from some of her coworkers.
Also, something interesting is happening with Dr. Yolanda Garcia and Intern Trinity. Garcia, who is usually rude and tough, becomes interested in Trinity right away, which lets her do a fasciotomy on a person who was hit by a power line and shocked. While Garcia is very good at surgery, she is also very good at mentoring. It’s clear that she sees potential in Trinity.
One of the most intense parts of the episode is when Robby has to deal with Dr. Abbott (Animal Kingdom Star Shawn Hatosy)—a coworker who seems like she’s about to lose it. Robby finds Dr. Abbott on the hospital roof standing very close to the edge and clearly having a hard time with his own problems. It turns out that Robby is having a hard time on the anniversary of the death of his mentor, Dr. Adamson who died during the height of the COVID pandemic. Robby’s PTSD from that traumatic event is clear when he starts having hallucinations and hearing sounds from the hospital on that terrible day.
This moment of emotional weakness makes Robby more real and gives his character more depth. He is more than just an experienced attending doctor who has seen it all. He is also a man who is troubled by his past and dealing with the emotional toll his job has taken on him.
Somewhere else in the hospital, Dr. Langdon (Patrick Ball) and Mel’s friendship keeps getting stronger. Langdon helps her deal with her feelings after a difficult procedure by reminding her that even experienced doctors have times when they question their own abilities. Mel says she has a hard time keeping her feelings in check a lot of the time, but her calming mantra is the words to Megan Thee Stallion’s song “Savage.”
Not only that, but the episode also makes us wonder about Dr. Robby’s past, especially his complicated relationship with Dr. Collins. A small but tense moment happens when Robby sees a police officer flirting with Collins and tells them to stop. Is there more to their story? It’s clear that they have chemistry, and fans are excited to see where this relationship goes.
To end the episode on a lighter note, Dr. McKay (Fiona Dourif) is seen wearing a device that watches his ankles, which makes Dr. Javadi notice him. What’s wrong with McKay? Here’s one more thing that makes the world of The Pitt even more complicated.
The Pitt shows in a second episode that is both sad and interesting that it’s not just about the medical cases, but also about the emotional ups and downs that come with each choice. Things can go badly, and the effects often can’t be fixed. Robby is having yet another hard day, and it’s clear that his work is starting to take a toll on his emotions. The show has firmly set the stage for the medical and personal stories that will come next.
The Pitt creator Noah Wyle shared insights to TVLine about the show, inspired by the pandemic and his past experiences with ER. The show looks at the problems that frontline medical workers face. It focuses on Robby Robinavitch, the chief of the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center—as he deals with guilt over the death of his mentor and leads a new group of medical students.
Wyle said that the real-time storytelling method came about because of the 2020 pandemic, which showed how hard it is on healthcare workers’ minds and emotions. He also talked about how the change from ER to this show gave them more freedom to be creative, which let them show medical life in a more honest and raw way.
Wyle praised the new cast, mentioning their skill and dedication, while talking about his own early days as a medical student on ER. He also talked about Robby’s emotional problems—using the fifth anniversary of the death of his mentor as a way to talk about how many people are grieving because of the pandemic.
Wyle stressed that while season 1 takes place over 15 hours in real time, future seasons could use different time jumps to give characters more room to grow. He also joked about how funny it was that both The Pitt and Eriq La Salle’s new show—On Call, premiered on the same day, bringing back memories of medical dramas from the 1990s.
The Pitt Season 1, Episode 1 Recap: 7:00 A.M.
