Warning: This article contains full spoilers for The Pitt Season 2, Episode 13!
Things have been growing really tense on The Pitt in recent weeks, which is exactly what one would expect given how close to the finish line we are. In Season 1, this was the period where all hell broke loose in the wake of the Pitt Fest shooting. Heck, Season 1’s 13th episode marked the pivotal point where Robby (Noah Wyle) finally snapped and had his panic attack. Dramatically, it would seem 13 is the show’s lucky number.
But surprisingly, Season 2’s Episode 13 doesn’t continue the process of ratcheting up the tension. Quite the opposite. There’s almost a sense of emotional release to this episode as the day shift characters finally start to shrug off their respective burdens and allow the night shift to start taking charge. Even Shawn Hatosy’s Dr. Abbot is back in action. It’s an unexpected tonal swerve for the series, and not necessarily a welcome one. My hope is that this is all a deceptive calm before one final storm (we do still have two episodes left, after all), but that doesn’t change the fact that “7:00 PM” feels a bit underwhelming compared to its immediate predecessors.
To be fair, it’s hardly as though there’s no drama to be had in the ER this week. This episode builds on last week’s cliffhanger involving the return of Orlando Diaz (William Guirola), who clearly should not have run off back to his second job. Now Orlando is in even worse shape than before, facing potentially permanent brain damage as a result of a nasty fall.
My read on the situation is much the same as Robby’s. Orlando was probably seeking a more permanent solution to his medical debt woes. Whether or not that proves to be the case (and given Orlando’s current physical state, we may not find out), it’s a sobering commentary on the absolutely deplorable state of American health insurance. The series may not have us quite as on the edge of our seats this week, but it can still channel a righteous anger.
Similarly, the show introduces another case of a patient struggling against an unfeeling, uncaring system with the teen suffering from a bad case of asthma. In this case, the boy’s mother got summarily booted off Medicaid and has been fighting an uphill battle just to get him the meds he needs to live. This particular case seems to have a relatively happy ending, but it’s still enough to boil the blood.
He may not be suffering from any panic attacks this time around, but this did still prove to be a pretty pivotal episode for Robby. He gets some very bad news about Duke (Jeff Kober), he butts heads with various student doctors who clearly want nothing more than to go home for the day, and most importantly, he really has it out with Dana (Katherine LaNasa). That last little brouhaha is easily the highlight of this episode, proving just how much one bad day can tear apart a rock solid friendship. Naturally, both Wyle and LaNasa are in top form during this scene, which plays out exactly like your two beloved parents fighting.
In the end, we’re left to contemplate whether Robby has any real intention of returning to The Pitt after his sabbatical. Is he planning on making it permanent? Is he burnt out for good? Is he dying? Whatever the case, he’s clearly panicking at the thought of leaving his ER in the state it’s in. One would like to be as optimistic as Dana about the situation, but there’s a nagging sense that Robby might be right to worry.
As much as this episode is a bit underwhelming as a total package (as always, “underwhelming” being a very relative term here), I’ll give the show credit for finally coming full circle with Ogilvie (Lucas Iverson). This character started out as easily the most annoying and frstrating addition to the Season 2 mix, but he’s finally evolved into a more human and fully realized person. Ogilvie’s heart-to-heart with Whitaker (Gerran Howell) really cements that transformation, showing just how much pain and self-doubt lurks beneath the arrogant facade. At this point, I only wish Joy (Irene Choi) were fleshed out to the same degree. Though, in her case, you can’t deny that she had a pretty badass exit scene last week.
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