Upamanyu Biswas
After the chaos of the last episode, the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center finds itself pushed to its extreme as new patients from the Pittfest shooting continue to be wheeled in through the doors of the ER. In the thirteenth episode of ‘The Pitt,‘ titled ‘6:00 P.M.,’ an increasingly frantic last hour turns into more confusion, turmoil, life and death situations, and psychological anguish for our main characters. While it is evident the day is ending with a tragic set of circumstances, Robby and his team forge ahead with as much resilience and perseverance as they can muster. However, the mounting casualties take a toll on everyone involved, with the senior attendee being the most haunted after a grueling shift. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The PTMC Pushes Forward as Fresh Medical Supplies Arrive to Bail Them Out
The episode begins with Robby heading back to the ER floor to treat the police officer who was wounded in the previous episode. A contingent of officers surround the man, providing moral and emotional support for him – his name is Richie. The doctors are worried about the presence of the SWAT team on the floor. Rumors are circulating in the trauma department about the shooter potentially heading for the hospital. Dana asks the men in blue to leave the floor as the workspace is getting crowded. Meanwhile, Whitaker and Javadi head upstairs to collect a fresh supply of blood from a helicopter transport. They head back down and start distributing it to those who need it the most. Meanwhile, Bridget, the head nurse in charge of night duty, comes in, and Dana welcomes her to the mix.
Whitaker and Mel take on the responsibility for Buster Pirelli, a children’s entertainer who got caught up in the Pittfest shooting. The intern uses an IO (Intraosseous) drill on Pirelli, causing him to scream out in pain. Mel pulls him aside and instructs him that the method is only applicable to those patients who are unresponsive and in critical health. Meanwhile, Robby and Dr. Mohan face issues with intubating Richie. Dr. Abbott arrives to help them out, and Richie is finally intubated. Elsewhere on the floor, Kiara and Lupe take pictures of a dead patient’s body. As explained in the last episode, the photos are meant to identify the patient with the help of relatives. Dr. McKay calls Javadi in to supervise a patient named Sally, who cannot move her legs following gunshots to the back.
Langdon and Mateo try to treat a patient who only responds to pain. As they try to assess his situation and potentially help him, the man gets agitated and reaches for his leg, where the doctors find a concealed gun. The SWAT team moves in and removes the weapon from the man. Once the area is secured, the doctors get back to work. However, McKay’s ankle bracelet goes off as she is well beyond her work hours. She heads off to deal with it. She takes an IO drill and cuts a hole through the device while everyone watches with fascination. Whitaker asks her if she might get in trouble, to which she says, “Probably.” After Langdon faces issues with intubating the man with the gun, Robby steps in and starts using a more old-school approach – tactile intubation.
Robby Reunites With Jake in a Less Than Ideal Fashion
Kiara and Lupe talk about the photos flooding in from relatives. They recognize the picture of a man named Vincent Rivera, who is the dead person they photographed earlier. Whitaker responds to a new patient named Carmen, who has a bad wound on the top of her leg. He consults Dr. Mel briefly before resuming his attention on the patient. Kiara and Lupe go to the waiting room and inform Vincent’s wife that her husband is dead. She is understandably distraught by the news. Meanwhile, Robby heads down to triage to check up on the doctors providing immediate for freshly arrived patients. As he wanders around the area, Jake is brought in with his girlfriend on the back of an open truck. Robby is relieved to see his stepson but gets back into work mode as he wheels the girl into the ER.
Robby tells Jake to leave as Leah is critical and needs help asap. He immediately gets to intubating the girl. Meanwhile, the ER resources are stretched as Whitaker tries to take care of Carmen’s wound while Mr. Grayson, the older citizen who was brought in with a bullet graze injury to the head, loses consciousness. There are no free doctors on the floor as Santos goes wheeling through the department, hoping someone can attend to the cases. Worried about Leah, Jake watches Robby work on the girl from a distance. Her condition is not improving as Jake also starts bleeding from a leg wound. Whitaker gets him in a wheelchair after some coaxing from Robby. The senior attendee asks Dr. Mohan to help Dr. Mel, Whitaker, and Santos in the yellow zone.
Whitaker finds that Mr. Grayson is bleeding internally in his brain, which causes Mel to rush off seeking a neurosurgeon’s help. Meanwhile, Dr. Mohan arrives and takes matters into her own hands by drilling a hole into Grayson’s head with an IO. Everyone is stunned, but it seems to work. Mel returns with Dr. Walsh, but the operation is already over. In the meantime, Robby continues working on Leah’s case with as much diligence as possible. He uses three packs of blood on her while also continuously performing CPR. They feel a faint pulse, but it is not enough to move her to the OR upstairs. Robby asks for another pack of blood while Dr. Abbott criticizes the move from afar. The latter is of the opinion that the senior attendee is letting his emotions cloud his better judgment.
Robby Fails to Prevent Another Tragedy and Takes it Hard Upon Himself
Elsewhere, Santos treats Jake’s leg wound while the boy asks her for any information regarding Leah, which she says she will get to after taking care of him. Determined to save Leah, Robby administers the fourth pack of blood with no effect on the girl’s recovery. Dr. Abbott moves in and tells Robby that he is using up too many resources and too much time on one patient who is unlikely to survive. However, the latter keeps persisting in his efforts. As Whitaker takes care of Carmen’s wound with a junctional tourniquet, Mel notices that a wheelchair patient is walking around the floor. She follows her and sees her observe the entire chaos of the trauma floor as bloody patients and doctors are engaged in a fight for survival. Mel takes her back to the wheelchair.
Down in triage, David arrives to meet up with his mother. However, the police detain him before he can make a move. Upstairs, Robby confirms that Leah has no pulse. He finally calls her death and stops the CPR. He immediately has a flashback to the COVID-19 pandemic and the grief that he felt back then. He is brought out of his thoughts by the arrival of David on the floor, who the cops lead in. Robby and Mohan decide to treat his head wound first before the cops can question him. David insists that he is innocent. Robby watches Leah’s body being covered with a sheet through the glass door. Mel deals with the wheelchair woman, who seems completely out of focus and confused about where she is. Her stats show she is fine, but Mel wonders if she has PTSD.
Santos catches up with Whitaker, who has completed his installation of the junctional tourniquet on Carmen. However, the woman loses consciousness as the blood loss takes effect. After a quick assessment, the team realizes there is internal bleeding in her abdomen. Santos heads out to flag down a resident doctor, but everyone is busy. Robby exits David’s room and takes Leah’s body away. He stops by to perform a tube insertion in Langdon’s patient. Subsequently, he finds Jake and takes him to a private room, where he delivers the news that Leah is dead. Devastated, Jake asks Robby if he can see the body. Elsewhere, Santos decides to perform a REBOA on Carmen, much to everyone’s chagrin. She starts the procedure while Mel leaves to find a senior resident.
Robby takes Jake to see Leah for victim identification. Mel brings Dr. Abbott to supervise the REBOA, which helps Carmen regain consciousness. Abbott reprimands Santos for ignoring medical protocol, while also praising her for taking matters into her own hands and saving a life. Back in the victim’s room, Jake has an emotional breakdown and blames Robby for not doing everything in his power to save his girlfriend. More traumatic memories from COVID-19 assault the senior attendee as he has another one of his panic attacks. He also remembers all the people who died during his long shift at the hospital. He sends Jake out of the room before slipping down to the floor and sobbing uncontrollably as the wear and tear of the day takes effect on his psyche.
Read More: The Pitt Episode 12 Recap: 6:00 PM
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