The Pitt Season 2 episode 6 gave us some minor updates on how Jackson and Harlow were doing. Roxie, McKay’s patient, began showing signs of giving up on her fight with cancer because she felt that she had become a burden on her family. On the relatively positive side of the ER, Dana ensured that their prisoner patient, Gus, got a bed in the PTMC so that he could get proper nutrition and treatment, thereby slyly defying Robby’s orders and supporting Baran’s stance. Robby’s spirits were undoubtedly lifted by a patient named Brandon, who was roughly the same age as Robby, loved riding bikes so much that he had tried to pull off a motorcycle pyramid stunt, and was ready to keep riding before his wounds had healed. And the sixth hour of the shift ended on a rather somber note with Robby leading the prayer service for Louie, who had passed away due to a massive pulmonary hemorrhage. What happened next? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
Roxie Wants To Stay In The Hospital
McKay informs Robby that Roxie has changed her mind; she doesn’t want to go home anymore, and she wants to stay in the hospital. Robby thinks that that’s not a good decision; the ER and the hospital are going to keep getting more and more crowded due to the Westbridge diversions. At home, she will be able to heal in peace. Robby is right, but being right is one thing, and convincing Roxie to not be so adamant about staying in the hospital is a whole different ball game. To make things even more difficult, albeit unintentionally, Paul returns to the ER with their two boys, Shane and Tucker, in the hopes that that’ll help her arrive at a decision. While the family and Lena have a chat, McKay and Robby head out, with Robby preparing for an incoming trauma case and McKay going off to check out if she can arrange a hospital bed for Roxie. Later on, Robby spots Paul having a heated exchange with McKay regarding the hospital supporting Roxie’s decision to stay there, and he decides to intervene.
Roxie explicitly states in front of everyone that she doesn’t want to turn her home into a hospital room. Moreover, when she dies, she doesn’t want that home to be associated with her death. At least if she dies in the hospital, Paul and their children can leave behind her “ghost” at the PTMC and cherish her memories at home. Paul obviously isn’t okay with that, but as someone who has lived with a cancer patient during their dying days, and as “cruel” as this might sound, I have to say that Roxie is right. Robby actually agrees with me, because he tells Paul that the best thing that he can do for her now is respect her wishes and be there for her. McKay even gives Paul the assurance that maybe a time will come when Roxie will feel like going home. However, if Paul doesn’t give Roxie the agency to do what she wants to do, then their last moments will be filled with bitterness, and that’s definitely something nobody wants.
Santos Keeps Ignoring Harlow
Santos brings a VRI into Harlow’s room so that a sign-language expert can remotely translate whatever Harlow wants to convey. But unfortunately, the machine begins glitching, and, just to be on the safe side, Santos orders a CT so that she can have a general idea of what’s going on in Harlow’s body without constantly forcing her to explain what she’s feeling. In the meantime, Santos tries to get the VRI fixed, but it seems like the technicians in the building don’t even know what that damn thing is. A human interpreter does eventually arrive, but when Santos sees that Harlow is a bit too busy venting to him, she chooses to let them get acquainted and reconvene at Harlow’s room later.
Over the course of the last few episodes, we saw what happened to Louie just because they dealt with him a little too casually. Heck, even Debbie’s case looked so simple, and now she’s missing a leg?! Based on all that, I just hope that Santos isn’t making a mistake by treating Harlow so lightly. She has ignored her way too many times now, and I am really afraid that this is going to blow up in her face and in her face alone, because she is the only one handling Harlow’s case. Santos is already pretty tense about her residency, and if a patient dies on her watch, yeah, it’s probably over for her.
Abbot Is Back, Finally
Abbot and his crew bring in Officer Hiro, who has suffered a high-velocity gunshot wound to his neck. Abbot has managed to intubate him, but due to a transected trachea, it isn’t exactly helping with the artificial breathing. So, Robby orders a neonatal mask, which understandably surprises Santos because, as the name suggests, that mask is meant for newborn babies, not a full-grown man like Hiro. Meanwhile, Abbot is surprised that that method actually works and helps him stabilize Hiro’s breathing. Baran and Garcia drop by, and while Baran familiarizes herself with Abbot, Garcia spots a massive bruise in Hiro’s left upper quadrant, which has led to a subcapsular hematoma on his spleen. Hence, Garcia orders a CT right after Abbot and Robby are done securing the tube to Hiro’s trachea.
With that out of the way, Garcia assures Abbot that she’ll get him into surgery as soon as some of their Westbridge baggage has been handled. Since Hiro has regained consciousness, Abbot passes on that message to him. It seems like Baran is really interested in Abbot, and it feels like Abbot is interested in reciprocating Baran’s feelings. Robby either wants Abbot all to himself, or he wants to get in on whatever’s going on between Baran and Abbot. Well, unfortunately, Robby has chosen to hit the road at the end of this shift. So, even if something happens between Abbot and Baran, Robby won’t be around to witness it.
Jackson’s Illness Unearths Some Uncomfortable Truths
Victoria informs Baran that Jada and Jackson’s parents, Demi and Charles, have finally arrived. Baran tries to have a conversation with them, but Charles acts very aggressively, and he says that he’s taking his son home, which prompts Baran to take them outside Jackson’s room and continue their chat. Baran tells them, and Jada, that Jackson can’t be allowed to leave the ER because he’s in an involuntary psych hold due to the “voices” that he has been hearing. This doesn’t go down well with Demi and Charles, and they keep insisting that Jackson is just burnt out. Now, while Victoria is telling the Davises that Caleb can give them a better idea of what the next steps are going to be, Baran starts to space out. So, she rushes to the washroom and books an appointment with Dr. Fairgraves, from the Pittsburgh Neuroscience Group, either via call or in person. This means that this situation is serious. What is it, though? Well, during a conversation between Baran and Abbot about war stories, we learned that the former has some experience “in the field,” as she had to go to Kabul for the Medecins Sans Frontieres. Therefore, it’s possible that she suffers from PTSD, and although that trip was a long time ago, it seems like all her scars haven’t yet healed.
Going back to Victoria, she is ambushed by her father, as he wants to introduce her to Dr. Joon, who is the smartest doctor in the hospital, according to Mr. Javadi. Why? To probably get her to avoid going into the surgery department, like Shamsi wants her to, and seek out other options. Victoria doesn’t commit to anything, bids farewell to Joon and Mr. Javadi for the time being, and takes off with Caleb to handle the Davises, who are in the family room. Caleb informs Demi, Charles, and Jada that Jackson’s lab reports are fine, which means that physically, he’s fine. Which is why Caleb asks the Davises if their family has a history of mental illness or not. Charles, to Jada’s surprise, reveals that his brother, Ken, had psychological issues and died by suicide. It upsets Jada so much that she leaves the room, and Victoria goes after her so that her anger doesn’t rob her of the knowledge that Jackson is going to be kept at the PTMC for the next 3 days for observation and therapy. After a long while, Victoria finds Jada and helps her calm down. She underscores the fact that the family’s focus should be on Jackson instead of the complications from their past. Once Jackson is in the clear, they can go back to dealing with all the supposed skeletons in the closet. Jada thankfully agrees with Victoria.
Elliot’s Case Prompts Langdon to Make a Cooling Room
Mel is seen talking to Becca about a belly pain that she is experiencing. I know that The Pitt fans have a habit of taking every minute detail very seriously, and, unfortunately, they are always right while predicting how a certain plot point is going to devolve into something catastrophic. Is it a stretch to say that Becca’s bellyache isn’t just a bellyache but an indication of something serious? Mel is already tense about her deposition, and it’s possible that, in order to dial up her and our anxiety to eleven, the writers are going to make Mel deal with a medical complication involving Becca. I guess we’ll know more about that in the upcoming episodes.
For now, Mel assists Samira in treating a 17-year-old football player named Elliot Green who collapsed during, well, football practice. Samira orders Joy and Ogilvie to join them on this case; meanwhile, Kim, Perlah, and Langdon arrive to assist them too. When Langdon requests a differential, Ogilvie tries to show off again (when is this kid going to learn some humility, man?), but this time Joy performs a brutal verbal takedown, which proves again that Ogilvie’s knowledge has some limitations to it. That probably impresses Elliot, and he tries to woo Joy, but Joy rejects that. With all that out of the way, Langdon orders a cooling room so as to counter the heat exhaustion that Elliot is suffering from.
Orlando Takes Off
Samira spots Orlando trying to escape the ER and immediately rushes over to him to try and stop him from doing so, because his physical status isn’t really good yet. It seems like Orlando’s debt is larger than he has revealed, and he’s extremely sure that, despite all the discounts and concessions, there’s no relief in sight for him. He is afraid that if he pays all his dues, he won’t be able to support Ana’s education bills, which is why it’s preferable for him to die on his job than to figure out a way to keep him alive and functional. Samira wonders where his family is, and Orlando says that he has sent them away because he knows that if he tried to escape, Lorrie and Ana would join hands with Samira and get him to stay.
Well, even on her own, Samira is a handful, and she convinces him to not leave the ER until she has arranged all the stuff that he needs to pursue home medication. Unfortunately, by the time Samira returns to the room where they were keeping Orlando with all the stuff he needed, he is gone. The person occupying that room currently is a half-naked Abbot who is trying to get some of his wounds fixed that he has sustained while working with SWAT. Why? Because he wants to keep the whole affair “off the books.” So, after sharing her worries about what’s going to happen to Orlando and his family, Samira helps Abbot out with his injuries. Even though Abbot wants to keep this thing a secret, hilariously enough, he and Samira are immediately spotted by Robby as well as Santos.
Robby Hasn’t Forgiven Langdon Yet
Mel informs Robby that Langdon has set up a heat exhaustion treatment area in North 5 in anticipation of heat-related incidents that are bound to arrive at the PTMC’s doorstep because, well, it’s July and everyone is out and about partaking in all kinds of nonsense to celebrate Independence Day. The topic then shifts to Mel’s deposition, and Robby assures her, like he has before, that it’ll go fine and she shouldn’t worry about it at all. After that, Robby and Langdon rush to the helipad to welcome a patient who has been injured by a propeller while swimming. While waiting for the helicopter to land and the patient to be wheeled in, Langdon actually apologizes to Robby for betraying his trust, and he promises him that it won’t happen again. It seems like Robby is going to accept that and not antagonize him anymore, but nope. Robby says that although he’s happy that Langdon is working on himself, he isn’t willing to welcome him back into the ER.
This seems like cruelty, but when we see Robby letting Langdon take charge while dealing with this propeller patient, it becomes evident that he is forcing Langdon to ask himself if he’s ready to be in the ER full-time or not. In the last episode, Dana did remark that Langdon isn’t as fast as he used to be, and maybe that’s the real reason why Robby isn’t very confident about him yet. He knows that Langdon isn’t an addict anymore, but the pace is questionable. Mel probably doesn’t sense what’s going on between these two, or maybe she does, and she helps Langdon make certain decisions regarding the patient at hand. That said, by the time everyone involved comes to the conclusion that the patient should be taken to the CT, it seems like Langdon’s speed has improved and Robby is relatively more open to letting him back into the ER than he was a few minutes ago.
Langdon’s Cooling Room Comes In Handy
32-year-old Daniel Scott is brought in after he felt weak and dizzy while washing his car. Princess says that he can be moved into the heat exhaustion room that Langdon has set up, but before Scott can get there, he starts convulsing. That is why he’s moved into one of the trauma rooms, and the Arctic Sun medical device is strapped on him so that his body temperature can be modulated, while ice packs are placed all around him. The cooling room does come in handy when 62-year-old Jason Stills arrives, though. So, yeah, regardless of what Robby thinks about Langdon’s pace, it’s evident that the man has some great foresight. Perlah informs Baran that Scott’s situation isn’t all that serious, because he is just suffering from dehydration. Baran and Santos discuss the next steps on how they should proceed with Scott’s case, and Baran uses this as an opportunity to teach a few things to Santos about dealing with heat exhaustion patients.
Regardless of what Santos thinks about Baran and her AI-mania, it’s evident that she wants to make sure that Santos passes her residency with flying colors. She knows that Santos is a talented doctor; she just needs to cross all her T’s along the way as well. By that I mean her charting. Now, although Santos really wants to focus on her charting, she is distracted by Baby Jane Doe’s incessant crying. Since the nurses aren’t able to get her to stop wailing, Santos takes it upon herself to sing her a lullaby, and that surprisingly works. Many will probably be surprised by Isa Briones’ vocals, but since I was familiar with her theater work, I wasn’t entirely shocked. That said, I appreciate the fact that they found a way to integrate that side of Briones with her character.
Dana Treats Ilana, a Sexual Assault Survivor
Lupe informs Dana that they have a sexual assault victim, Ilana Miller, and in the time that it takes for the advocate to arrive, they have to extract every piece of evidence that they can gather from her body and clothes while also making sure that she is doing alright physically and mentally. Dana, Baran, and Emma take on that duty, while Princess takes care of the hub. On her way to the patient, Dana underscores the fact that every nurse should train in how to deal with sexual assault victims, because it’s not like we are doing anything to prevent crimes against women (and men). Hence, it’s better to have the proper mindset while dealing with such patients who are suffering from so much trauma. Dana gives Ilana the lowdown regarding what’s going to happen, and it’s evident that Ilana is on the edge and doing her best to not break down into tears. Dana, Emma, and Baran clearly know that she wants to get this over with as quickly as possible, but they try their best to calm her down because if they don’t do this as slowly and steadily as possible, they’ll miss something, and that’ll jeopardize Ilana’s case. By the way, while moving Ilana from triage to one of the beds inside, we get a little Ellis cameo; she is doing a double shift, which is why she’s still there during the day. Going back to Ilana, Dana takes great care while assuring her that even though they’ll be treating her, she’s the one in control.
At one point, Dana even tells Ilana that this incident isn’t going to define her life. And I appreciate the fact that the showrunners leave out the details of said incident. This isn’t just the show’s way of giving us a peek into what nurses do while handling sexual assault victims, but also an education on how to tell stories about sexual assault without being insensitive to the survivors who are probably watching this. Anyway, later on, Paulette Sanderson from Pittsburgh Action Against Rape arrives, and after assuring that she’ll help Ilana get through these tough times, she gets to the questions that she has to ask in order to have an in-depth understanding of what Ilana is dealing with. Ilana seems to be doing fine until this point, but when it comes to the Pap smear test, she clams up and even starts blaming herself for the incident. She doesn’t even want to file a report because she knows that this is going to affect her social life. Dana empathizes with everything that Ilana is feeling, and at the same time, she wants to make sure that justice is served. Hence, she advises Ilana to take a breather with Emma and come back to the room when she’s feeling relatively comfortable. As soon as Ilana and Emma leave the scene, Dana breaks down. I don’t think I have to explain why. All I will say is that I was crying too.
The PTMC Goes Dark Preemptively
Princess gives Robby the lowdown on what’s up with all the patients. Meanwhile, Baran gets a call from the C-suite, as they want to meet her immediately. As soon as she leaves, Robby gossips with Santos about Langdon and Whitaker, which is pretty funny, I won’t lie. Going back to the plot, in the ending of The Pitt Season 2 episode 7, PTMC CEO Trent Norris arrives in the ER and asks Robby to gather everyone at the hub for an announcement. He informs everyone that the reason why Westbridge has gone down is because of a cyberattack (Princess and Ahmad’s reactions probably mean that she has won the bet). Apparently, whoever is behind this operation is targeting one hospital after another, and they could take down PTMC anytime. Norris says that some kind of a ransom deal is being cracked, and even then there’s a chance that these terrorists are bluffing and they’ll continue their attacks even after the money has been wired to them.
Now, Norris claims that the PTMC’s cybersecurity system has prevented many such attacks in the past and it has been on overdrive all day. However, the only sure-shot way of securing all the data that’s housed in the PTMC’s computer systems is by shutting it down for the time being. If the system is offline, the terrorists can’t get in and meddle with it. That seems like the logical thing to do, but since the entire hospital and the ER have become so dependent on technology, going dark like that is a recipe for disaster. Yes, back in the day, hospitals used to work without any of this tech, but nowadays, expert and budding doctors’ and nurses’ medical expertise is centered around the technology they are going to use. So, how will they deal with this situation if they don’t have access to all their modern tools? Well, they have to go back to the basics and dig out the most old-school method of logging, charting, and communicating info: a pen and paper. I like this twist. What about you? Let me know in the comments section below.
