Warning: this review contains full spoilers for The Pitt Season 2, Episode 12!
The Pitt may be an engrossing watch, but it sure doesn’t qualify as escapism. This is not a series I can recommend to anyone looking to turn on, tune in, and drop out for an evening. Watching the series is nothing if not a stressful experience, and that’s only become more apparent with the most recent episodes. Now you have Episode 12, a chapter wherein I could practically feel my blood pressure rising in real time.
It’s actually impressive how much the series has managed to ratchet up the tension in Season 2 without having some all-encompassing disaster like Season 1’s Pitt Fest shooting as an instigator. It’s more like a death by a thousand cuts this time around. You’ve got the ongoing turmoil caused by the hospital turning off its network, the steadily increasing flow of incoming patients, and the fact that multiple doctors and nurses are now reaching their respective breaking points. One sympathizes very much with Dr. Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) and her recent panic attack. It’s a wonder half the ER isn’t in the same state by now.
Above all, the subplot involving the drugged-out golf nut choking Emma (Laëtitia Hollard) fuels the tension in Episode 12. Luckily, Dana (Katherine LaNasa) is there to give said golf nut the treatment he deserves, but that opens up a whole new can of worms when it becomes clear her methods weren’t 100% legal. And while it might have been nice for this subplot to focus a bit more on Emma herself in the immediate aftermath, there’s no denying that LaNasa really rises to the occasion as the show explores her new predicament.
Even before this week, I felt that LaNasa was probably the show’s acting MVP. “6:00 PM” simply clinches that title. She’s great throughout this episode, fully conveying Dana’s rage at the patient and her disgust at a system that would punish nurses for having the nerve to defend themselves. We also get several terrific scenes between Dana and Robby (Noah Wyle), as it becomes clear even their warm friendship has its limits. It’s been a hellish day, and it’s obvious both characters are on the verge of snapping. Unfortunately for them both, there are still three episodes and three hours left to endure.
It’s also worth noting that it feels like the Langdon (Patrick Ball) situation has finally hit critical mass. The series has been a bit slow to dig into the meat of that conflict, but it’s making up for lost time now. Dr. Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi) now knows the full scope of his crimes, and she’s started giving him the full Santos (Isa Briones) treatment. It’s interesting to see Robby forced to defend Langdon at one turn and then really lay into him while arguing with Dana on another. More than ever, I’m eager to see where the series leaves things with Langdon by the end of the season. At some point, maybe he’s better off finding a new home and a fresh start at another hospital (though I’d hate to see Langdon written out of the series in Season 3).
In general, Episode 12 isn’t one of the show’s more memorable hours on the medical front. We get another fireworks-related injury and a fairly underwhelming subplot involving an elderly couple that takes up more screen time than I’d like. Only at the end, when it becomes clear that another previous patient isn’t out of the hole just yet, do things start to pick up on that front.
But, in any case, “6:00 PM” mostly makes up for the lackluster medical cases with strong character moments, both humorous and dramatic. It’s always fun watching Javadi (Shabana Azeez) fawn over Mateo (Jalen Thomas Brooks), and we get a nice, overdue little brouhaha between Whitaker (Gerran Howell) and Santos. But even though their “fight” is one of the more entertaining moments of an otherwise tense episode, let’s not forget it was preceded by a shot of Santos contemplating cutting herself again. Even at its most lighthearted, The Pitt is always ready to dial up the darkness again. Let’s hope we all survive this final stretch.
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