Dr. Robby Is Losing Patience and Empathy on 'The Pitt'

It’s ironic that, in the first season of The Pitt, Dr. Robby suffered a warranted mental breakdown of his own — yet here he is in season two, treating Dr. Mohan with almost no empathy after her panic attack. “A panic attack because of your mommy issues,” he says, upbraiding her at an already low moment. Being dressed down by the most revered doctor in the hospital has to sting, but if Robby’s attitude keeps sliding, that reverence is going to erode fast. Thankfully, Dr. Al-Hashimi seems to have a way with him and convinces him to apologize to Mohan. Too bad she can’t yet convince him to forgive Dr. Langdon, and you know it’s bad when Robby would prefer to work with Ogilvie than Langdon.

Robby isn’t alone in his feelings about Langdon. After a water park injury sends a kid into the E.R., Langdon and Santos are forced to work together for an extended stretch for the first time since Robby’s return. Santos is a real pill about it until Dr. Garcia finally loses patience with her. Out in the hall, when Santos pushes back, Garcia curtly explains that she’s her girl for “sex and eating ramen in bed” — but for her other issues, Santos should find a therapist. At least Al-Hashimi pushes back againt Garcia when she criticizes Al-Hashimi’s slash-trach. “Or maybe they’ll thank us for not letting him die!”

The water slide sent two other major injuries through the doors as well. Ogilvie provides the comic relief, juggling a woman’s amputated leg until Lou Ferrigno, Jr. — playing a surgeon who goes by Dr. Shark — shows up to belittle poor Dr. Whitaker. Shark’s an asshole, but he’s an asshole who can surgically reattach a severed limb. Meanwhile, the team works on a man whose wedding ring degloved his finger while he was trying to save his son (Nurse Emma, fortunately, tracked the son down).

Family dysfunction was the episode’s animating theme. Mohan’s panic attack was triggered by a barrage of calls from her mother; Javadi’s mom tore into her over last week’s screw-up. It’s the tenth hour of the shift, and everyone is fraying at the edges — except Becca, who cheerfully confesses to a bewildered Dr. Mel that she got a UTI from “lots of sex” with her boyfriend, Adam. Mel is shaken and scandalized. The upside, at least, is that Mel seems to have completely forgotten about her apparently disastrous deposition.

The other family story belongs to Roxie, who said goodbye to at least one of her children before being administered a dose of morphine likely to ease her pain for good. Her husband is by her side — right where he needs to be. It remains the season’s heartbreaker.

The real concern, though, continues to be Robby’s state of mind. His motorcycle mechanic, Duke, comes in at Robby’s insistence for what may turn out to be lung cancer. It’s not clear that even that will be enough to stop Robby from embarking on his solo motorcycle trip immediately after a 12-hour shift. Not good. Worse was his parting line to Al-Hashimi when she asked what it would take to get his empathy back. “The thought this place won’t turn to s*** when I’m gone,” he tells her. He keeps saying things this season that suggest Dr. Robby may never come back.

I don’t like it one bit, nor the kid left in a hot car coming in the next episode, which will also finally deliver the ICE storyline.