Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. At least this was a very minor ‘oops’ instead of anything that resulted in massive blood loss?
Empathy continues to be a major theme. Last episode, Dr. Al asked Robby what it would take for him to show some of it again, and in this one, we get to see what empathy looks like in practice.
Well, at least from some of the characters.
McKay is very often the point person for any kind of empathy, especially towards those that most people wouldn’t extend such a thing to, like addicts and the homeless population. It might completely drain her dry and with the inability to have any kind of emotional release, but she still chooses to practice empathy each time.
It’s an active choice, too. Yes, it is part of her job to offer addiction services and support to her patients, but she still very nearly left the room without doing so after being insulted by the man who attacked Emma. She still made the choice to turn around and try. It was thrown back into her face, sure, but the effort was made. I don’t think a lot of people would have blamed her for just wanting to do the bare minimum with him after he attacked Emma.
The good news is that Emma is fine. Understandably shaken and with visible bruises on her neck, but fine and willing to finish up her shift. And both Dana and Robby are pushing her to make a statement to the police with the potential of pressing charges (something that feels particularly notable considering that Dana did not do that with Doug Driscoll).
The bad news is that Dana is very clearly still traumatized from what happened with Doug and is illegally carrying around injectable sedatives just in case. She’s been angry and “punchy” all season, but this is a step up from that. And the anger and the fear is absolutely palpable, and it’s something that spreads to Robby, too.
It’s very rare for them to not be aligned on things. Even if they disagree, Dana and Robby are always a team. They’re fundamentally on the same side. But this felt different. This felt more like a fight, a fracture in their relationship. Dana walked away from him twice before they finally had a real conversation about it outside.
Well, less of a conversation and more of an argument. Robby wasn’t upset with what Dana did, though. He was angry that she had kept him in the dark. He can’t protect her or cover for her if he doesn’t know that she’s taking risks.
Would he have felt guilty if he had signed off on her having the sedative, though? Sure, it seems like she managed to get through without any significant effects on the patient, but she could have really hurt him. I don’t know.
If we follow the pattern with how he feels about Langdon, then yeah, probably. There’s obviously some kind of regret or guilt with how he handled it. It’s mixed up with the betrayal of it all, sure, but Robby was right: Langdon could very well have killed people and they will never know about it.
Dana was also right: Langdon has saved a lot of people too. Do they cancel out? Does it matter when Langdon is already making strides and putting in the work to be sober? Would he have been given this chance if he wasn’t a brilliant doctor? Where does empathy end and who deserves that empathy?
Alright, let’s talk about the fallout from Langdon and Santos’ argument. I strongly dislike the path that they took this arc down with the confirmation that the full extent of Langdon’s actions were covered up. Dr. Al’s reaction to Langdon still working at the Pitt specifically was too shocked for it to be anywhere near normal procedure.
Not only does it make the hospital administration seem incompetent (seriously, did they not make the very small logical leap that an ER doctor may have gotten his drugs from his workplace? Robby told Dana to do an audit!), but it shifts the entire focus away from recovery towards the lie. A lie that Dr. Al will now have to either go along with, which feels out of character compared to what we’ve seen so far, or expose the truth, which really should result in both Robby and Langdon getting kicked out at the very minimum.
It’s just so unnecessary. There was plenty of drama and narrative tension already without adding this. They’ve been mining it all season!
But fine. There’s a coverup. The only real reaction from Dr. Al so far is to treat Langdon far colder than how she had been previously. Up to this point, she was warm and supportive. And yes, Langdon did jump in and answer a question that had been specifically asked to Javadi, so he wasn’t entirely blameless, but it still felt like a very sharp correction. Langdon knew it too. He could tell that something had shifted, even if he doesn’t know why yet.
Something else that came out of that conversation was Dr. Al suggesting that there be two attendings on shift at a time. She’s absolutely right. There really should be. It seems like the night shift has two attendings (Shen and Abbott, right?) and there’s no reason why Robby has to shoulder the burden alone. I actually wonder if they did previously have two attendings, with the second one being Dr. Adamson, and they just never filled the role after he died.
It was no surprise that Robby seemed to take the suggestion as a personal attack, though. So much of his self-worth is tied up in the Pitt and his ability to run it. No, that’s not quite right. It’s tied up in what he views as his unique ability to run it. Adding a second person threatens that and implies that Robby is failing at his life’s purpose.
Which… he is. Robby is fundamentally failing this season. He’s rude, cruel, avoiding the parts of his job that he does not wish to engage in, and it’s affecting everyone around him. It’s making their lives worse.
Mohan is the best example of this. She was on fire this episode. Not only did she treat her two patients with dignity and kindness, but she looked deeper into the symptoms that were presented to her and found a solution that kept two people in their home. Geriatrics suit her.
Robby took that moment and added a backhanded comment about her pace that completely cut her down.
She might be the best example, but Santos is the one that is really suffering under Robby’s toxicity, not that she would acknowledge it as such. Robby’s inability to engage with anything that has to do with Langdon has put her in a really precarious position, and yet she still views him as the only person there who understands.
Santos also gave us more insight into her thoughts and emotions in what was the highlight of the episode for me. Her dynamic with Whitaker is one of my favorites. She’s honest with him in a way that she isn’t with other people. He makes her feel safe. That’s important when everything else about her workplace is falling apart.
Between her issues charting, Langdon coming back, the uneasiness around Dr. Al, Robby leaving for his sabbatical, and the potential of Whitaker moving out, it’s not a surprise that she stole a scalpel.
Whitaker gives her space to express her emotions a little, though, and what she chooses to say is interesting. Last episode, she told Langdon that she didn’t care that he was an asshole to her. This time, she said the exact opposite. Which is a little frustrating. I understand why she wouldn’t admit that to Langdon, but so much of her focus has been on the fact that Langdon should be in prison and that he’s an addict that for all of it to be suddenly brushed aside gave me a bit of whiplash.
Their conversation where Whitaker teases her about actually liking him as a roommate was incredibly cute, though. Javadi’s reaction to it mirrored mine perfectly. It was so joyful and light.
We also officially hit the start of the night shift, which means that we have characters starting to cycle in and out. That’s another change compared to season one. Instead of an influx in response to the mass shooting, it’s just a normal shift change. I am very excited to see Mateo again. He was a lot of fun, and his exchange with Javadi felt more than a little flirtatious. Shen also made a reappearance at the very end, complete with his Dunkin.
On the other hand, we said goodbye to Joy. For someone that I disliked at the beginning, she grew on me a lot and I was sad to see her go. It felt very in character for her to put such strong boundaries on her time, even as I cringed because I couldn’t imagine doing something like that myself. Not when things were still so clearly a mess.
It seems like the worst is over, though, considering that the computers are going to come back online soon. I’m not sure how well the forced switch to analogy worked as the Big Event. While it obviously complicated things and made people stressed, it didn’t really build to anything. Maybe that’s on me and mismatched expectations, but I’m still craving something more. Orlando arriving after what looks like a serious fall might just provide that.
Random Thoughts
Ogilvie spent the episode upstairs with surgery. I assume we’ll see him only briefly next episode, but maybe he’ll stick around. I can see him having worse work/life balance than Joy.
Whitaker being famous as the Phantom of the Pitt is hilarious to me.
Langdon being a secret history nerd is cute.
Oh, that girl was like a lobster!
Amor fati means “love of fate.” Memento mori, of course, means “remember death.”
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An Honest Fangirl loves video games, horror movies, and superheroes, and occasionally manages to put words together in a coherent and pleasing manner.
Apologies for the massive delay in this review. Ideally, the rest of the season will be posted much quicker! : )
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