‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Episode 13 Recap and Review: “7:00 pm” - Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud
So much of this season has been about what hasn’t been said, and occasionally, certain things should remain unspoken.
This review of The Pitt contains spoilers.
As much as it took this writer 75% of the season to really understand what the writers and the showrunners of ‘The Pitt’ were aiming for, it is now as if the sky has opened up after a storm and the realizations have beamed down. While last season was drastically different, perhaps to the sophomore season’s detriment, this season has finally come into its own. Last season was akin to two fully charged paddles to the heart - a strong shock to every sense and atom of the audience’s being, but this season has been a thousand small pin pricks, almost as if the show is checking for allergies, or even weaknesses.
“7:00 pm” is predominantly an episode where writer Joe Sachs, no stranger to the show's more scalpel-like precision, subtly introduces an entire new cast of characters. Granted, we have met some of these characters before, including nap-Daddy Jack Abbott (Shawn Hatosy) who has been blissfully sleeping through most of the analogue chaos of this season, the caffeinated-king Dr. Shen (Ken Kirby) who popped into his shift last episode, and our Queen of calm, Dr. Parker Ellis (Ayesha Harris) as the senior leadership team for the night shift. We also get our first glance at a young intern, Dr. Tamirian (Sofia Hasmik) and senior resident Dr. Cruz Henderson (Luke Tennie) who appear to be built up characters almost immediately, as if they are going to be major players. Tennie is no stranger to streaming giants such as The Pitt, as he has co-starred in the amazing AppleTV comedy ‘Shrinking’ for the past three seasons. Some might hypothesize that this could be the show’s way to introduce a cast of characters that might be the major players next season, meaning we could see not only a change of the guard, but a new perspective on The Pitt watching the nightshift for a time, instead of our daywalking usual family.
Henderson already seems like a very confident and savvy character, somewhat like the charm that Langdon (Patrick Ball) exuded early in season 1. Since ‘Shrinking’ has a very short shooting schedule, like so many streaming platform shows, it will be very interesting to see if Tennie pulls double duty on two of the giants of this television age. He’s certainly proven to be a very capable performer over at Apple, and has shown tremendous dramatic range. To see him grow on another show, especially one as stellar as The Pitt would be an absolute treat.
The ‘Night Shift’ theory might have been slightly confirmed with today’s news that Harris has been promoted to series regular starting next season. Granted, that might be because Supriya Ganesh has been reportedly written out of the show, and the day shift might need a new senior doctor to take her place, but considering they could have easily brought in a brand new character rather than give us more of Harris’ strong performance as Ellis, it does seem like perhaps a shift is in the air. Pun intended.
This has been a very trying day for Mohan (Ganesh) and the stress has certainly been getting to her. While Ganesh has done admirably with the role this season, and will certainly be missed next season, it is this writer’s hope that both the character and the performer get a chance in the last two episodes to find their happy place. “7:00” was arguably Mohan’s darkest hour since the time we saw her crying in the bathroom after the adrenaline of the mass casualty event wore off last season. With the stress of her mother, her not knowing what the future might hold for her career, and with Robby (Noah Wyle) using her as a punching bag stuffed to the brim with lack-of-self-awareness, Mohan has taken all she can handle, and then some. Like so many of the characters we’ve become invested in, they are worthy of peace of soul and peace of mind, and here’s hoping she can find that no matter where she lands.
This writer will admit that he was taken slightly aback by the strange timing of this episode, not because of introducing new characters (it is literally the end of the shift) but because of how close they are boiling some of the proverbial character pots this close to the end of the season. Mohan is only one character that only has two episodes left (literally only two apparently) but it can become worrisome for some others. Langdon also had a major moment of self doubt, and considering how much second guessing both Robby and Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi) have been guilty of with Langdon, it’s no wonder it took him this long to break. His conversation with Dr. Mel King (Taylor Deardon) was endearing as always, and their sibling-like relationship has always been a major sweet spot of the show. Langdon was there for Mel and her sister Becca (Tal Anderson) earlier in the season, and it was nice for Mel to return the favor, even slightly by reassuring Langdon that he is in the right place, and that as much as he may not feel wanted, she certainly doesn’t want to be at work without him. It mirrored the story between Whitaker (Gerran Howell) and Santos (Isa Briones) quite well, and here’s hoping that those two admit to one another that their friendship is important, as Santos needs Whitaker as someone to talk to, and Huckleberry needs the bitch-queen to watch his back and prevent him from getting hurt.
Another story to watch with anticipation is what is the situation with Al-Hashimi? Her lapse in concentration and her ‘pauses’ have been occurring ever since it seemingly set up a cliffhanger in the premier episode this season. Could she be epileptic? Could she be having more frequent small seizures? It would explain a lot. It may also introduce a much more human element to the character, who coincidentally can often come off as robotic as the A.I. she’s constantly pushing in the healthcare system.
But what of the turbulent Robby? ‘Boiling’ does not quite cover how close to the precipice this man sits. His pot runneth over. After receiving some much awaited, but bad news none-the-less about his friend Duke (Jeff Kober), Robby almost put a thermal mug through a desk. Dana, as always, was there to call him on his toxic reaction, which once again allowed the two characters (and two stalwart actors) to hash it out. In their conversation it was revealed that Robby’s mother left them when he was apparently young, and by the sounds of it, it was by choice. Robby angrily blurted out this revealing character tidbit which revealed perhaps why he’s been so concerned with leaving the Pitt in the same shape he inherited it. He does not want to leave his family, or his surrogate children like Whitaker or Langdon to fend for themselves. It might also be that when his mom left, it could have been death by suicide, which would explain his propensity towards dark thoughts, but retaining just enough guilt as to not want to leave the world just yet.
A saddening thought for sure, but it would also fit with the thematic threads the writers have been leaving throughout the season. Robby was having a rather uninhibited conversation about Mohan’s patient, Orlando (William Guirola), as when he returned to the E.D., it was theorized that perhaps he was attempting suicide to ensure his family was no longer in debt. Alongside Santos’ thoughts of self harm, and the show has spoken volumes about suicidal thoughts barely by uttering an actual whisper.