Reaction: The Pitt, "2:00 PM" | Season 1, Episode 8
The average episode of The Pitt gets pulled from Story A to Story B every 3-5 minutes
A drama set in a hospital ensures a steady stream of storylines depicting physical and emotional pain, and The Pitt repeatedly ticks these boxes. However, events in “2:00 PM” crank up both factors, delivering a tear-inducing wallop that sees the teenage fentanyl overdose come to its conclusion, and another child enters the ER in a grave condition. The two patients don’t cross paths, but it is impossible not to consider how both accidents fit the overall narrative, which ends with two sets of bereaved parents. It is the heaviest episode of the series so far.
While the final moments with the Bradleys cut deep, the arrival of six-year-old Amber (Hadley Smith) 15 minutes into the episode adds a degree of fresh horror that an average day looking after your grandkids can turn instantly through no fault of anyone. Nick Bradley’s storyline has spanned all eight episodes, and the honor guard as the braindead 18-year-old leaves the hospital for the organ donation center is more impactful as a result of this multi-episode arc. Having it juxtapose the death of a child who only just came in further highlights differing storyline approaches within the single-shift format. Both are emotional gut punches.
What follows are the observations I took from this seventh episode.
It bears repeating that Samantha Sloyan and Brandon Keener have been terrific in their guest-starring roles as Lily and John Bradley, working through the various stages of immediate grief. Connecting to the audience with limited screen time is a challenge they have more than risen to.1
At first, I thought Mel (Taylor Dearden) was too overwhelmed talking about the drowning accident to Amber’s sister, Bella (Olivia Fokova). When Mel returns with the teddy bear and is left alone with Bella, capturing Mel’s empathy and the subtlety of Dearden’s performance, her scrunched-up facial expressions tell how tough this is for Mel without letting her emotions spill over.
Whitaker (Gerran Howell) is back on chest compression duty, highlighting how much stamina is required to work in the ER (especially when the LUCAS chest compression machine is not an option). Not to be overly glib but it is quite the arm workout. Different life-saving methods are attempted, and the audience takes the position of the family member, questioning why Amber isn’t being shocked and needing an explanation about her potassium level as the defining marker that she is dead. The dialogue does suitable handholding where it makes sense, and medical jargon isn’t simplified just for the sake of it. Finding out that technical consultant Joe Sachs wrote the episode after I made this observation in my notes emphasizes the strength of the material (Sachs is also mentioned in this recent NYT piece about how realistic the show is). From a shooting perspective, I have some questions about how much of this is using a realistic mannequin as opposed to pads on a child actor. I am all ears if anyone has any insights into this BTS process.
Speaking of process, I am eager to talk to the special makeup effects team about myriad prosthetics I find equally fascinating and nauseating. This week’s example is the guy who lost his fingertip after an air conditioning unit fell on it. Seeing the bone poking out and the procedure required when a severed tip is unavailable is gnarly and educational. It also highlights that not everyone comes into the ER after a traumatic injury, screaming the place down. Not only does the patient semi-shoot his shot with Dr. Collins (Tracy Ifeachor), who politely rebuffs him, but he can also sense that she isn’t having a great day. Considering he is a psychology postgrad student, it puts him in good stead for his chosen career.
Dr. Collins does her best to mask her pain after the end of last week’s episode saw her lose her baby. One notable moment is when Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) walks in on Collins doing an ultrasound on herself, and despite his best efforts, he doesn’t get a chance to talk to her due to the onslaught of cases.
One interaction effectively addresses the ease at which doctors forget to return to a previous patient. “The average emergency doctor gets pulled from task A to task B every three to five minutes,” says Langdon (Patrick Ball). The writers continue to juggle the patients we have just met with the cases that span multiple hours.
Speaking of which, Louie (Ernest Harden Jr.), discharged in Episode 1, has returned to the ER. It is all pretty innocuous enough, but it leads Santos to raise her suspicions against Langdon regarding drug discrepancies—the stuck cap vial is part of her hypothesis. First, she gets a tutorial from Dana (Katherine LaNasa) about how to use the drug dispensing machine (some solid exposition work). Then, when Santos mentions her concern to Garcia (Alexandra Metz), the surgeon immediately shuts down this line of thought. Santos’ ongoing crusade against Langdon is somewhat grating but fits her pattern of behavior. I also appreciate the timeline reminder from Garcia when she points out that Santos only met Langdon seven hours ago.
There is a much-needed win in an episode full of heartbreak: Rita (Kayla Blake) returns to collect her mother, Ginger (Shu Lan Tuan). Rita’s two-hour-plus absence isn’t elder abuse or even a purposeful break, as Rita fell asleep in her car when she went to move it. Social worker Kiara (Krystel V. McNeil) is an integral part of each episode, and she is one of many unsung heroes in this department. Rita’s grateful response to the resource lifeline described by Kiara and Mel was the first moment I teared up during this hour—and certainly not the last!
The Pitt is an emotional roller coaster, and another heartening moment comes from former Freedom House medic Willie (Harold Sylvester).2 A disconnected pacemaker brings the 81-year-old dementia patient to the ER, and it becomes clear he has medical knowledge. Willie even knows Dr. Adamson, and the smile on Robby’s face when Willie’s son explains that his father was with the Freedom House is a balm to the mournful “just one of those days” comment from Robby. What follows is a brief history of how EMTs came to be, the influential work of Dr. Safar (who is considered the father of CPR), and how the city of Pittsburgh took over the program and replaced all the Black medics with white ones. The Pitt is a love letter to those working in emergency medicine, and considering the Pittsburgh setting, it makes sense that they would honor the work of Freedom House via a patient. It is a lovely moment, and I want to see a period medical drama dedicated to the Freedom House. What did everyone else make of this history lesson? Were you aware of Freedom House before this episode? And do you think “2:00 PM” did enough to balance the heavy material with other cases?
Myles here—I will say it’s been a little weird to watch this story and then binge through Midnight Mass in the middle.
Myles again—despite it not being on his IMDB page, shoutout to my boyfriend who was like “Is that the guy from Married… with Children?” based solely on his voice.
To answer your question, no I had never heard of Freedom House. This isn't the first time the show used a patient to tell a story about Pittsburgh's history (Mr. Roger's painter), and I hope they keep doing it.
This was a phenomenal episode of television. The scenes involving Amber's sister were devastating, with each line of dialog adding another little gut punch. With Taylor Dearden's pure empathy making her the MVP of the episode.
Follow that up with the honor walk? Great watch. This show is becoming something special early on.
I’m curious if, when the series ends, anyone will attempt a realtime 15-hour watch from 7am to 10pm. Including MAX’s trailers, recaps, and credits, each episode runs about 50 minutes. So it looks like you can snatch 10-15 minutes between episodes for a snack/exercise/potty break. Anyone want to guess the emotional state of a newbie attempting such a marathon at 10:01pm?