The Pitt Season 2 episode 5 brought back Debbie, a patient who had appeared in the first episode, because the simple pain in her foot wasn’t as simple as it looked, and it turned out to be a case of severe sepsis. It not only took Robby and Langdon a lot of time to figure out what Debbie was suffering from, but it also took Garcia a lot of time to come down to the ER to just take a look at the foot, which prompted Robby to get pretty angry. Things were getting heated up amongst the Diazes, because they were struggling to figure out how to pay the hospital bills. Joy’s advice came in handy, which was something that was appreciated by both Hastings and Samira. Jada still didn’t have any answers for what prompted Jackson and the campus security guard to get in a heated altercation. To give us some comedic relief during this rollercoaster ride of emotions, we watched Ogilvie deal with a patient with tuberculosis, and another patient who shot poop at the medical student (quite deserving, I’d say). In addition to that, Langdon and Donnie encountered a pair of brothers who had hilariously experimented with a branding iron and dry ice. Coming back to the sadness zone, McKay and Victoria treated a cancer patient with a leg fracture, and during that process, they began to realize that maybe Roxie didn’t want to live anymore because she felt like such a burden on her husband, Paul. Meanwhile, Baran, Mel, and Whitaker tackled the medical issues that Gus was facing, thereby teaching us about the cruelties of prison life. The episode ended on a cliffhanger as Langdon and Robby found out that Louie had flatlined. What happened next? Let’s talk about The Pitt Season 2 Episode 6 to find out.
Spoiler Alert
Jada Breaks Down
Princess, Victoria, and Jada observe as Caleb assesses Jackson’s psychological status, but as soon as Jackson starts talking about “the voices,” Caleb signals Princess to take Jada out of the room, because it’s best if she gets the news about what Jackson is suffering from after Caleb is done with him. A few minutes later, Caleb informs Baran, Victoria, and Princess that Jackson has been suffering from paranoid delusions and auditory hallucinations for months. Jada is confused about Jackson’s mental state, because she hasn’t checked in on him for quite a while. Caleb says that he is going to resume his session with Jackson after some time to further understand what’s actually troubling him; it’ll be better if his parents arrive by that time. Jada informs Victoria and Princess that she has been talking to Jackson’s girlfriend, and it seems like she has given her some idea about the issues that Jackson was facing, which eventually led to the library incident. That doesn’t exactly pacify Jada, and she wonders if she can just take Jackson home. Victoria says that they want to keep him at the PTMC until they have worked out what exactly is wrong with Jackson, which just sends Jada over the edge, and she breaks down. Princess takes care of Jada while Victoria takes a breather so that she can be mindful about the words she’s using to describe a patient’s status.
Roxie Probably Wants To Die
While helping Roxie with her bedpan, Princess and McKay slowly start to realize that their patient is having second thoughts about fighting cancer and waiting for her leg to heal. My initial impression was that maybe Roxie is hinting that Paul is abusive and doesn’t actually take care of her. But no, that’s not the case at all; she thinks she is a liability, and she doesn’t want to exploit Paul’s love for her anymore. When it is time for her to leave, Roxie actually tells Paul to go ahead and set things up at home while she arrives in the ambulance. Paul is confused, but once Lena assures him that Roxie will be delivered safely, he agrees to leave her side for the time being. McKay and Lena inform Robby about everything that’s going on with Roxie. That’s interrupted by Dr. Michelle Campbell, who is there to complain to Robby about all the errors that have been caused by Santos’ AI-assisted charts. A bit of a blame game ensues between Santos, Baran, and that goddamn generative-AI app, but Campbell puts an end to it by ordering all of them to be mindful about what they are logging on those charts instead of worrying about how quickly they are logging it. Baran keeps insisting that AI can help them save time, but it’s apparent that it’s actually making the doctors waste more time, because they have to constantly check for errors. A functional human brain is always better than a fancy computer program, but we’ll only learn that the hard way. Going back to Roxie, after beating around the bush for a while, she admits to McKay, Lena, and Princess that she is done. I have a feeling that we are going to witness a debate between Roxie, the PTMC’s staff, and Paul on assisted suicide or euthanasia. As far as I know, that’s a practice that’s allowed in the state of Pennsylvania, and I think this subplot is going to underscore the fact that provisions for compassionate aid in dying should be available all over the world, because not everybody wants to “battle” cancer to win.
Dana Does a Solid for Gus
Baran, Samira, and Mel discuss what’s up with Gus, but they’re interrupted by Robby, who wants to get Gus out of there. Yes, the ER is getting crowded because all the patients who should have been going to Westbridge are being rerouted to the PTMC, but Robby targeting Gus first to solve that issue is icky. Jesse, Baran, Mel, and Samira treat him relatively compassionately, though, and they let him know how much time it’s going to take for him to heal, his dietary issues, and what kind of food he can have while his jaw heals. Baran then tries to convince Robby to admit Gus to the hospital, but it seems like he is really unwilling to create some space for the incarcerated patient. Baran, along with Samira and Nurse Kim Tate, catches a little break from all this by checking up on baby Jane Doe, who, by the way, is doing great. Meanwhile, Dana checks in on Gus, and they bond over the fact that they have both grown up in Pittsburgh. I know their conversation is casual, but you kind of see both of them realizing how different their lives have turned out despite them living a few minutes away from each other. That said, while Gus might be helpless, Dana isn’t, and she uses her medical expertise to drop his pulse-ox levels. No, it’s nothing serious, but it’s convincing enough to make Robby give out the order to admit Gus into the hospital. Robby tries to learn what Dana did to fool him so beautifully, but Dana’s lips are sealed.
Brandon Supports Robby’s Motorcycle Dreams
52-year-old Brandon Li enters the ER after falling off a motorcycle pyramid, which means that he was almost 8 feet off the ground. Surprisingly enough, he has only injured his right wrist and his left knee. That said, Dana and Garcia use this as an opportunity to harp on Robby for his decision to go to Alberta on his bike, probably without his helmet, because that’s how he likes to ride. While Brandon is taken for his CT test, we get two updates: firstly, Garcia is probably trying to avoid Santos because she’s done with her, and secondly, Debbie’s foot has to be amputated, which is just so unfortunate. A few minutes later, Brandon returns from CT, and Robby, Joy, Santos, and Whitaker arrive to patch him up. Robby and Brandon establish quite the friendship over their shared love for biking, but, yeah, all this seems like not-so-subtle foreshadowing for the traffic collision that Robby is about to encounter before, during, or after his sabbatical. Anyway, the fluorescein injection process to check for any “leaks” in Brandon’s knee is a pretty interesting and fun procedure that I didn’t know about and got to learn about through The Pitt Season 2. Once the knee is cleared, Donnie arrives to help Whitaker, Joy, and Ogilvie with stitching it up. Brandon protests getting a splint on his right arm, because he wants to ride again, and Whitaker does his best to dissuade him from doing any such thing. Amidst all of this, we learn that Joy actually wants to move to the pathology division, because she doesn’t want to “deal” with people. I think she’s wrong, because she is pretty good at dealing with people; well, at least she’s better than bloody Ogilvie!
Rocky Pukes… A Lot
Langdon catches up with Dana, and she makes sure that Langdon feels welcome because the circumstances and Robby aren’t exactly making him feel that way. Funnily enough, Rocky, the patient he has to deal with right after that conversation comes to an end, adds to his misery by puking his guts out after eating 36 hot dogs at a, you guessed it, hot dog eating contest. After getting some medication into his system, Rocky does start to feel a little better. However, as soon as he drinks a sip of water, he begins puking again. In fact, he pukes so much that the patients around him, as well as Langdon, lose their appetite. Once he has stabilized, Langdon gives Rocky a medicine regimen and bids him goodbye. On his way out, Rocky says that he won’t be eating hot dogs for the rest of the day, but he’ll try to win that hot-dog eating competition next year. Some people just never learn. Anyway, after that hilarious exchange, Langdon does a drive-by critique of Donnie’s eating habits, which have already been critiqued by Princess, and then he goes over to Emma. She is apparently scared of Dana, but Langdon advises her to stick with Dana, especially if she wants to be in this profession. I love how everyone, from Donnie to Langdon, is protecting this sweet individual while encouraging her to come out of her shell.
Harlow Is Still Waiting To Be Treated
Princess uses her rudimentary ASL skills to communicate with Harlow, because their primary interpreter has gotten busy with other patients. Santos also arrives to get a reading on what’s up with Harlow. Unfortunately, since Princess can’t translate everything that Harlow is saying, Santos walks out and tells Princess to inform her once they have a proper interpreter. I like the fact that, instead of getting angry at Santos for her cranky behavior, which has largely been caused by Baran’s order to keep her charting up-to-date, Perlah gets her some kind of energy drink to help her calm her nerves. I am pretty sure Princess told Perlah to do so. I genuinely don’t understand why the internet keeps treating Santos as some kind of villain. As someone who doesn’t handle pressure too well and always seems to be lagging behind in terms of work schedule, I totally empathize with Santos, and I hope that she finishes her residency with flying colors. That said, I will say that she needs to keep an eye on Harlow. She is her assigned doctor, and I have a feeling that Harlow’s case isn’t as simple as it seems. Hopefully it doesn’t balloon into something catastrophic, like Debbie’s did, and cause Santos to spiral out.
Louie Is Dead
Robby, Langdon, Perlah, and several others try their best to revive Louie, but unfortunately he doesn’t make it because of a massive pulmonary hemorrhage caused by his liver woes. Dana gets the news while she’s teaching Emma the ropes and also fending off impatient patients. Whitaker isn’t eased into it, thanks to an idiotic Ogilvie. I think if Perlah didn’t have to take on the responsibility of fixing up Ogilvie, she would have ripped a hole through his chest for being so insensitive about Louie. Langdon tries to pacify Whitaker, but, yeah, he’s too sad. Langdon finds what looks like a family picture in Louie’s belongings, and tries to inform them by ringing up the listed emergency contact. When Langdon and Dana find out that that number is for the Pitt’s telephone, it becomes clear how truly alone Louie was. This depressive subplot is briefly punctuated by Dana going on a rant about the administration sending donuts to the ER for working during the holiday weekend instead of using that money to hire more nurses or better security. After that, she takes Emma to Louie to teach her how to clean up a dead body while also saying her goodbyes to the dearly departed. In the ending of The Pitt Season 2 episode 6, Robby and almost the rest of the ER arrive at the viewing room to spend some time with Louie, share their favorite memories of the guy, and say a prayer or two for him. Yeah, unlike the rest of the episodes, there’s no cliffhanger here. Just a bittersweet message that we can judge alcoholics all we want, but once we learn what they have been through, it all starts to make sense. And in that situation, all we can do is ensure that they are not alone when they inch towards the finish line.
