Warning: This review deals with themes of suicide ideation
The night shift are in full swing, dividing up responsibility for the various remaining patients in the emergency room – but there’s no sign of escape for the day shift, with Dr Robinavitch chiding them that none of them get home until the final paperwork from the shutdown is filed properly.
Robby’s strictness extends to an unnecessary berating of Javadi who’s making a video in one of the empty rooms – giving her grief for her Tiktoks, until Cassie later points out the videos are excellent, and the videos she’s been making today have been about publicising Jesse’s arrest by ICE to her followers to try and locate him.
And it reaches a brutal peak when he cynically tells Samira, who’s still struggling with Orlando’s condition, that it was her patient’s choice and he should have found a higher spot to jump from. To the shock of everyone listening – not least psych consultant Caleb, who overhears it and absolutely tears Robby a new one.
Just to add to Robby’s mood, the paramedics are giving him a double whammy of headaches – one ambulance driver clips his motorbike, damaging it, while another pair almost cause a patient’s death after incorrectly applying ECG leads because they didn’t want to touch her very large breasts for fear of a sexual harassment lawsuit.
The bike damage is superficial, but it gives us the scene we’ve been expecting for the best part of the season – as Duke, fixing up the motorbike, gets Robby to open up about his suicidal thoughts. The hospital gives Robby purpose and distracts him, but he doesn’t know if he wants to continue there – or anywhere – any more. As Duke says to him, “I get it. Hard place to leave, harder place to stay.”
After Robby’s confrontation with Dana last week, it’s been clear he’s suicidal and that the road trip is as much his way of ending things away from the glare of friends, colleagues and any reason to stop him back at the emergency room as it is his way of escaping his ideation. It’s understandable with all Duke, who’s now facing major surgery or a 50/50% of death in a year if he doesn’t have it, has been a nicely calming and fun presence – and offered that outlet which Robby would not have had otherwise.
Among all that we do get some new arrivals beyond the large-bosomed heart attack woman – including a return for the family from the start of the show who’d somehow managed to overdo it early doors. This time the diabetic old boy has managed to injure himself in a family tug of war – and by injure, I mean a gruesome slice through the hand with bits of rope still sticking out.
Equally bloody and bloody stupid are two drunken lads who are brought in after a bar fight – one of whom has been stabbed in the chest with a US flag – and a stoner who managed to accidentally shoot himself in the head while firing his gun into the air. We’re firmly into the lunatic hours in Pittsburgh.
Langdon finally gets a moment to prove himself, too, after having his confidence shaken for the last few hours, carrying out an emergency closed facet joint reduction to the admiration of .. well, everyone, including Robby. Frank gets a moment of pride as he gets his breath back outside, before Dana punctures it completely by reminding him he needs to go do a blood test.
Elsewhere poor Whittaker is discovering no good deed goes unpunished. Having lost his brand new, promotion-confirming security pass, he steps in to help an elderly patient get home by ordering her a Lyft – only to be stuck with a $250 bill when the sweet old granny turns out to be a massive racist who abused the driver before throwing up in the back of the car.
Cassie’s pretty much resigned to missing the date she made earlier in the episode, as she treats the comically sunburned patient from a couple of episodes back. This season has absolutely highlighted that a social life is incompatible with working in PTMC – no wonder Joy got the heck out when she could.
We do get some lovely little moments among what’s a largely gloomy and emotionally charged episode – not least the extra glimpses of the night shift we’re being afforded– from Abbot’s easygoing calmness to Ellis’ weird Rumble Fish reference (although her 80s knowledge doesn’t apparently extend to veteran rockers Styx, it seems).
But as we end the penultimate episode, Dr Al Hashimi asks for Robby’s expert opinion on a diagnosis of a woman who suffers seizures following childhood viral meningitis – and he quickly realises that this is her own condition we’re talking about.
Grizzly factor: The tug-of-war old boy, with bits of rope remaining stuck out of the massive bloody gash in his hand, or the bar fight lad with a near Glasgow smile. Take your pick – both will put you off your July 4th hotdogs.
Best quote:
Langdon: Retrace your steps. Where did you have it last?
Whittaker: With Ogilvie in the ambulance bay
Santos: Not with Colonel Mustard in the library?
Whittaker: Who’s…What? No.
Santos: That boy has no clue…
(Beautiful punning, round of applause to whoever put that together…)
The Pitt – Season 2 Episode 14: “08:00pm”
Written by Noah Wyle
Directed by Uta Briesewitz
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