The Pitt‘s unique style of showcasing just one hour from a full fifteen-hour Emergency Room shift per episode and its realism in showcasing the everyday lives of medical staff has quickly made it one of the most popular medical shows of all time. Now, it’s wrapping up its second season, and that’s what this article is all about–but beware! This article contains spoilers.
Season 2 of The Pitt gives viewers a more personal story, focusing more on the internal conflicts between the employees of the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, rather than on one external event. We start this season 10 months after the Pitt-Fest shooting on the 4th of July. Dr. Robby, the Chief Attending Physician and head of the emergency department, is about to take his first sabbatical, but throughout the season, it becomes more apparent through his concerning actions and conversations that he wants to end his own life. This is one of the largest conflicts throughout the season. Another large conflict is that Dr. Langdon has returned from rehab. He left on a very bad note after being exposed by Dr. Santos for stealing meds from the emergency department. Because of this, Santos still has ill feelings towards Langdon, as does Dr. Robby, who feels as though he failed Langdon in letting him get addicted and not noticing.
In this season, a few new characters are introduced, such as the new attending physician, Dr. Al-Hashimi. She is very pro-innovation, and at the start of the season appears uptight, but by the end, she blossoms into a more complex, empathetic character. Next, we meet two new med students, Ogilvie and Joy. Ogilvie is a stereotypical “gunner.” A med student who is a know-it-all. Comparatively, Joy doesn’t really care and is just trying to get through the day. I’m very excited to see these characters in future seasons and learn more about them. With season 2 being less action-packed, many fans weren’t happy, as they thought it strayed too far from the first season. I, personally, think it was a nice change to an already great show. I loved being able to see deeper into the doctors’ minds and relationships after a 10-month timeskip.
One thing I think The Pitt is amazing at is writing flawed and real characters. Because of his inflammatory actions and comments this season, many fans have started to dislike Dr. Robby, but I think it showcases the progression of his character as a man struggling with the trauma of working in an emergency room and consequently becoming more suicidal. It seems to me that he’s attempting to destroy all of his relationships so that when he leaves for his sabbatical, he doesn’t feel like he’s leaving behind any loved ones.
This is a show that deviates from most shows today, as it delves deeper than surface-level topics. You can’t passively watch this show; you need to pay attention, otherwise you’ll miss important details. Most shows use music to cue the watcher in on various emotional or important scenes, but The Pitt has hardly any music at all, which makes doing other things and passively watching nearly impossible. Overall, the Pitt had an incredible second season, and everyone should be excited for the next season.
