Diksha Sundriyal
HBO Max’s ‘The Pitt’ returns with a second season, charting yet another day in the lives of the people at the Pittsburgh Medical Trauma Center. It has been ten months since the events of the last season, and the hospital seems primed for some major changes. Dr. Heather Collins is not around anymore, at least not for the day, and a new attending physician has entered the fray, tipping the dynamics of the workplace in a new direction. At the same time, old traumas remain an important factor in deciding what happens to the characters over the course of their 15-hour shift. To survive it, they’ll have to take it one hour at a time. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Robby’s Replacement Clashes With Him Over Different Approaches
It’s the Fourth of July weekend, and Robby is about to leave for a three-month sabbatical. Before he takes the much-needed vacation, he has to work his last shift, the purpose of which is to hand over control to his replacement, Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi. By the time he reaches the hospital, she is already there. It turns out that she arrived early to meet with the staff on the night shift and has already taken charge of the interns and med students, who are now working on a dummy to demonstrate their skills to her. Robby sees this as a sign of disrespect, but he keeps his thoughts to himself, at least, for now. When he enters the hospital, he takes a minute to look at the plaque they received from the city in honor of their services on the day of the PittFest.
Clearly, he has things to resolve there. He catches up with Dr. Shen and begins by looking at Mrs. Walker, who thinks she is going to die, even though it’s something that a little Vitamin B12 can’t solve. Later, Lena updates him on Dr. Al-Hashimi, revealing that she is a single mother and a strict rule follower. Shen reveals that she is a clinical informatics expert, and when she started to talk to him about AI, he got bored and zoned out. Soon, Robby comes face-to-face with her, and the difference in their methods already creates a clash. She discusses with him the quality improvement changes she implemented at the VA and how similar programs are being adapted at all university hospitals.
Robby would have known about it if he had read the packet he received from Gloria. She also tells him about patient passports, and while he takes a look at that, she catches up with Samira. It turns out they know each other, as well as Mel King, from their previous time working at the VA. If the conversations weren’t enough to show how different they are, a case comes on. A man with a knife in his chest, which is there accidentally, is brought in. While Robby is more flexible and wants the residents to take charge and figure out the situation, Al-Hashimi is more cautious about it. When she tries to take over, he holds her back, letting their juniors work their magic. With a little guidance, the patient is saved, but this highlights how differently Robby and Al-Hashimi work.
Langdon Tries to Make a Fresh Start
Al-Hashimi calls Robby’s ways unconventional, but is not convinced whether they always render results. She also makes a point about not referring to their workplace as the Pitt. She thinks it’s derogatory and makes the people working there feel inferior. He, on the other hand, thinks it is endearing and kinda accurate. They’d talk more, but Robby doesn’t want to discuss anything, and they have a lot of patients on their plate, anyway. While it’s Robby’s last day, Frank Langdon is starting his first day back in the hospital. In the last season, he was fired for stealing drugs, and his addiction had come to light. Now, ten months later, he is back from rehab and ready to jump into the field. However, he is not picking up where he left off. Things have changed.
To begin with, his old locker now belongs to someone else, and he gets another one, showing that his place in the Pitt has changed. He meets Dana and Lena, who welcome him back and are rather amicable. Robby, on the other hand, tries to dodge him. Still, when Langdon catches him and tries to talk, Robby makes it clear that he is not in the mood for it right now. The talk will happen, just not yet. To show that he hasn’t completely forgiven Langdon yet, Robby sends him to the Triage. There, Langdon meets Louie, who has returned to the hospital. This time, he has a toothache, but that’s not the only thing wrong with him. Langdon notes that Louie’s drinking habit is ruining his liver, and by the end, he is sent away to have the liquid drained out of him.
But before that, Langdon confesses to him about stealing his meds. The patient forgives him, and they proceed to discuss his health concerns. Elsewhere, Santos treats a young girl named Kylie, who is brought in for a chin laceration and a chipped front incisor. She is accompanied by her father’s new girlfriend. At first glance, it seems that her injuries are because of a skating accident, but then, more injuries are found throughout her body, including her leg and lower back. It also turns out that she has been to the hospital for other fractures and injuries before. Santos and Perlah try to determine whether she is being abused at home by her father or at school by bullies or someone else. The girl says nothing of the sort has happened, but when she gives her urine for a test, it is all bloody, which makes Santos even more concerned.
A Concerning Case of a Young Girl Comes to Light
Santos shares her findings about Kylie with Robby and Al-Hashimi, and receives permission to contact social services and arrange any necessary tests to treat the girl. Meanwhile, Cassie McKay treats a patient, Mr. William, who isn’t keen on staying at the hospital and getting a huge bill. According to him, he tripped over a laundry basket and fell. Cassie asks him if he hit his head, and he denies it. During the examination, he has pain in his wrist, so Cassie asks him to get an X-ray. He thinks it’s just a sprain and he can take care of it at home, but when she touches his wrist again, it hurts pretty badly, and he agrees to take a scan. A while later, Cassie returns with his report, which doesn’t show a fracture, but she still believes he should be put under observation, just to make sure he is alright.
By then, he complains of pain in his knee, but he still doesn’t want to stay. He becomes so standoffish that Cassie has to call a male doctor to stand by the door. By now, she is convinced he has hit his head and asks him questions about where he is, what time and day it is, and so on. This irritates him further, as he continues to claim that he is alright. So, Cassie leaves to wrap up his reports, while the male doctor still stands by his door. The morning stays busy as elderly patients are rushed in after the scheduled bed checks at assisted living facilities. An elderly man with a DNR is brought in, and the new students must learn how to handle such situations. A homeless man, whom Robby had noticed when he entered the hospital and warned the staff about, smells pretty bad.
His presence causes such commotion that other patients have to ask the staff to take him in first, just so they can breathe easy again. The first place the staff takes him is to the bathroom, where Dana puts the new nurse intern, Emma, whom Dana has taken under her wing, in charge of ensuring he is clean and ready to be taken back into the hospital. Victoria treats a nun with a bad case of conjunctivitis. When the nun asks her if she has ever thought about serving God, Victoria asks which one! Samira treats an old woman, who has been brought in by her son. It turns out that her problems are due to her not taking her medicines for the past few months. When Samira asks why she stopped, the woman says that she doesn’t need them since he started having marijuana cookies.
A Baby’s Presence Shakes Things Up at the Pitt
While Mel stitches up a patient, he tries to ask her out for coffee, but she doesn’t pick up on his flirty vibes. She also has the deposition of an ongoing malpractice lawsuit on her mind, even though Santos assured her that every doctor goes through it at some point, and she has nothing to worry about. For Samira, her mother has become a cause for concern as she is ready to go on a cruise with her new boyfriend, whom she plans to marry. Victoria’s mother continues to hover, prodding her about not returning her calls, especially with her birthday around the corner, which Victoria wants to keep a secret. Then there is the case of the abandoned baby. Langdon is the first one to be alerted to a baby left in the toilet.
Dana comments that perhaps the mom went out for a smoke and will be back. However, this doesn’t appear to be the case. Langdon asks the guard to figure out the identity of the woman who was seen entering with a baby but leaving without one. Meanwhile, Robby and Al-Hashimi are updated on the situation. The baby is taken in for some tests to ensure that everything is fine, as everyone wonders what happened to the mother, and more importantly, how old the baby is. The last shot of the episode has Al-Hashimi intently looking at the baby and completely zoning out as the other doctors try to get her attention. Has the abandoned baby triggered a past trauma for the new attending physician of the Pitt?
Read More: The Pitt: Is Pittsburgh Trauma Medical a Real Hospital?
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