The Pitt Season 2 review
Cast: Noah Wyle, Gerran Howell, Patrick Ball, Katherine LaNasa, Supriya Ganesh, Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif, Isa Briones, Shabana Azeez
Creator: R Scott Gemmill
Where to watch: JioHotstar
Star rating: ★★★.5
The Pitt Season 2 took the structure of the Emmy-winning Season 1 ahead, with each episode covering a single hour inside the Pittsburgh emergency department. A lot can happen in an hour. It cannot all be resolved, which is perhaps what this season is aiming at, capping off with a finale that leaves room for many questions. Who gets to stay without a choice after Dr Robby (Noah Wyle) decides to leave? There’s all the staff members who are deciding things for themselves (or not) and seeing what can happen when the ER and this work can become their identity. Outside the ER, they have lives- but only as a concept.
The premise
Before Robby leaves, he owes his staff a proper explanation, and in lack of a better word, a sense of closure. The finale does leave room for some of that consolation, even as the show comes close to sympathising with him a tad too much after a point. Robby confronts almost everyone, except for Whitaker (a scene-stealing turn from Gerran Howell). The actor is no longer the sad-eyed medical student now, as Robby sees so much growth and patience in him as he takes charge and remains in control. He is now a doctor.
Meanwhile, the introduction of Dr Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), brought in to be the interim replacement of Robby, does not quite sit right from the first frame. However, the finale escalates after a crucial secret is revealed, but The Pitt does not give clarity whether she would, for certain, stay. The Pitt does, however, grant some fascinating insight into the way she functions in her profession to stay afloat, even suggesting the use of AI for benefit of finishing charting.
It is Dr Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) who becomes the sort of vessel for Robbie to lean on to, but this arc is not handled with care. Even when he asks her if she’s decided on an elective, the question is laced with two more lines on his own dilemma and how sad his life is. So is Dr Mohan not important enough to be accomodated for a life of her own? Dr Mohan is played wonderfully by Ganesh, but I cannot shake off the manner in which her character exists thoroughly in the sidelines, bereft of any growth or surprise.
The messier ground prevails with how Robby deals with Langdon (Patrick Ball), who has returned to work after his stint in rehab. They have a rocky start and from then on, it is a series of confrontations and awkward exhanges that do not lead to anything remotely revelatory in the finale. The anxiety that Robby feels at this point is not an excuse for causing more stress. I wonder why the show chooses to circle around Robby’s anxiety at the cost of the other members of the staff and what they can foil in terms of workplace emotions. The Pitt feels too self-centred, too safe and too polite at times this time around. It spends too much time worrying about Dr Robby, and as good as Noah Wyle is here, the dynamic is not easing things out for him, or the viewer. McKay, Samira, and Mel’s storylines feel too isolated to register.
The Pitt remains compelling and revolutionary
These restrictions, however, do not really mean that The Pitt detaches itself completely from what is at stake for the doctors attending the shift. It remains acutely powerful, particularly in Episode 7 when Dana (Katharine LaNasa) assists a patient named Ilana (Tina Ivlev), a sexual assault victim. The portrayal of a sexual assault forensic exam is nothing less than revolutionary, and will go down as one of the most important hours of Television this year.
What keeps The Pitt so compelling even in its second season is the attention to detail and its strategic technical brilliance, following one scene to another with such precision and control. The chaos, rage and confusion persist. There is no time and things can go south at any moment if these doctors do not remain alert. The writing from R. Scott Gemmill takes time to address its issues but all it demands is a little bit of patience. Or a sharp nudge. Led by a group of masterful performances, The Pitt caps off its second season to reaffirm that the first one was no fluke. It is one of the best shows of the year.