If there were ever any doubts that this esteemed staff of individuals couldn’t rise to all occasions, we get our first glimpse of just how far that extends during The Pitt Season 1 Episode 12.
Somehow, it felt like time stopped and then went into overdrive as they braced for the mass casualties that would come in from the shooting, and there was an odd stillness as everyone wrapped their heads around all hell breaking loose.
The longest shift in mankind’s history got infinitely worse, and before you could blink your eyes, the hospital exploded in chaos.
What’s exciting about this particular hour of The Pitt is how foes become allies on the turn of a dime when there’s a bigger cause at play.
Someone who irritates your entire soul at the beginning of the shift is suddenly your comrade in battle by the end of it.
When there’s something much bigger than the petty moments and differences in the heat of the moment, everyone can come together as a united force.
We saw that most with Robby and the hospital executive, with whom he typically spent much of the early part of the season clashing over funding, how they went things, and something as absurd in hindsight as approval ratings.
When it came down to a mass event in this capacity, we saw her willingness to step down and defer to Robby, trusting and knowing that, at that moment, he’d be the fearless, unflappable commander who could get everyone through this event.
Except Robby isn’t unflappable in the least. The man barely catches a breath and spends much of the hour with Jake in the back of his mind as he flits from one room to the next, outside and inside, jumping into the fray at every conceivable turn to help and treat patients.
He tasks Dana with tracking down Jake, Jake’s mother, and even Collins, and all but one is futile. All Robby knows is that Jake was at that damn festival, and now he can’t get in touch with him.
But when gunfire erupts at an event like that, and pandemonium spreads, it’s not always easy to get to a phone or send things out to loved ones. It’s survivor mode through and through.
Ironically, that same thing seemed to apply to everyone at the hospital.
Their bodies weren’t coursing with adrenaline because they were in the shooting themselves, but they were on the frontlines of dealing with the after effects, and the entire staff was in some form of survivor mode, too.
A mass shooting is a great way of encapsulating the full breadth of first responders and what they endure because of the ripple effects of how such tragedies touch everyone involved, even tertiary people.
It’s also a far too common state for first responders to face when gun violence is so pervasive in the States. There are so many mass shootings they barely even register anymore.
Most of them don’t even make the news.
The prevalence of mass shootings is so bad that we’ve become desensitized to them, as they become this abstract thing that happens to other people until they somehow affect you directly.
We had the privilege of speaking to one of The Pitt stars about it, and we’re excited to share that interview later, so stay tuned!
For Santos, Mel, and Whitaker, it’s tragically poetic that their first day on the job could include something this massive and this caliber. Talk about getting tossed into the deep end!
But Robby, even when he’s struggling himself, is always this port in a storm, and it was fascinating to see him inform everyone of what was coming ahead, direct them through all that they’d anticipate, and remind them to take care of themselves, too.
It’s the most poignant message of that preparation because, in the eye of the storm, most people forget to look after themselves. Patients demand your all because you’re simply a guest star in their life story.
But first responders aren’t machines; if they fall, everything collapses around them.
The fear on Mel and Whitaker’s faces, in particular, was palpable. And then we were off.
It’s jarring to see their methodological approach to handling all of this, and we get a decent breakdown of how hospitals triage during an event like this.
They had to move all the other patients out, set up places and stations, and resort to the slap band color-coded process to arrange whose conditions were most pressing.
We got some gnarly cases, too. The cop with a through-and-through GSW in the face was particularly gruesome. The endearing elder hippie bleeding profusely from his head was worrisome.
And I’m still anxious about deaf Omar being separated from his mother and potentially being unable to communicate properly with anyone.
The chaos never lets up; everything is relentless, and because The Pitt is so immersive, it’s easy to feel anxious while watching this unfold.
There isn’t a moment to breathe, and the stress is at an all-time high for everyone, especially the youngest of the bunch who are experiencing this for the first time.
But the hour calls for them to rise to the occasion, and they actually do. Javadi doesn’t shy away from her intellect and fully embraces how she thinks differently in a few exciting moments.
Her mother tries to do that micromanaging bit that she does, and instead of Javadi swallowing that and shrinking like a violet, she snaps off and puts her mother in place. McKay seemed proud of her, which may reflect the latter rubbing off on the former.
But it’s Javadi figuring out how to MacGyver their way through a particularly stellar intubation. Her mother was doing everything but channeling Nene Leake’s “The Ghetto” moment in real time as she upturned her nose at the prospect of using other things to improvise techniques.
However, Mateo was impressed by it. Javadi earned that moment; it was nice to see her step into herself with pride.
Mel also thrived in the chaos. She went from her sweet moment of leaving a message for her sister and her exuberance at seeing her mentor return to being a total badass, saving people.
We see the confidence she’s built. Her drive to jump into action and ability to think on the spot made her invaluable throughout the process.
The only thing more badass than her donating her blood and then immediately using it on a patient was freaking Abbott donating blood while working on one.
Abbott is such a freaking badass, and the only complaint I can ever have about this series is not getting to spend more time with him. Robby’s pure relief when he saw Abbott coming in as if the cavalry was here spoke so much about their specific bond in the trenches.
Plus, a girl will never tire of Shawn Hatosy Surpremacy.
However, the return that threw Robby for a loop was Langdon. Unfortunately, given that he hadn’t reported anything yet, it made sense for Langdon to come in when it was all hands on deck.
While Langdon has a problem, he also functions quite well despite it and proves himself capable and essential a few times during the hour.
My heart still broke when Mel gleefully remarked about his return. She’s going to be crushed when she learns the truth about him.
But remarkable, despite Dana’s cool reaction to him or Santos shutting down a bit, they could remain professional in a moment that called for it.
Despite the pure chaos of this hour, it was more understated than I expected, given the high adrenaline of The Pitt. Clearly, they’re easing us into it, and this is only the beginning of how things will take off from here.
We still need Collins to clock in whenever someone reaches her. S.W.A.T has arrived in case the shooter shows up at the hospital, and Theresa still doesn’t know if her son is the cause of all of this.
And we still don’t know if Jake will be one of the people wheeled in on a gurney and what state he’ll be in at any point. THE STRESS!
Over to you, The Pitt Fanatics.
Please let me know if you’re locked in for these final episodes of The Pitt with us.
Tell us all your thoughts!
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