Robbie’s “8 a.m.” instinct

the pit

8am

season 2 episode 2

Editor’s rating 4 stars ****

A smoldering power struggle between Robbie and Al Hashimi continues as the staff deals with some tragic cases. Photo: Warwick Page/HBO Max

Welcome to “8 a.m.,” if you can believe it. Rabinavich vs. Al Hashimi swaps soldiers, creating even more tension between the two attendees. That makes sense. Dr. Al Hashimi became increasingly comfortable throughout the first hour. So far, even though Robbie’s instructions to the doctors have been correct, she’s not only floating through the air, but calling the trauma room directly hurting Robbie. And when multiple residents visit Robbie with Robbie-approved “gut feelings,” can Dr. Al roll his eyes any further? For Dr. Al, intuition is drooling and algorithms and protocols rule, you know what I mean? I’m not saying Dr. Al is malicious or incompetent, in fact, the opposite, but if you come in on opening night and tell someone who’s been running the show for years that you have an idea for how to improve it, how do you think he would take it? I’m not saying Robbie is infallible, but I’m saying no matter what, I’m Team Robbie and I’d die for this guy.

There are two main moments in “8:00 AM” where their specialized treatments come into conflict. One is when he wants baby Jane Doe to pee, and Al Hashimi wants to put in a catheter, but Robbie thinks that’s an extreme first step. He put some cold water on a cotton swab and actually peeed in the cup. (The baby is infected with rhinovirus, but is otherwise okay except for not being given a bed upstairs.) The second face-to-face encounter is even tougher. After Barry eats breakfast, he comes in with an upper airway obstruction. The routine Heimlich test was ineffective, so all the doctors involved knew they had to look inside Barry’s esophagus. Dr. Al wants to sedate Barry with ketamine and rocuronium in case he has food stuck in his throat and needs to be intubated soon. Robbie thinks they should just give him ketamine. This is because ketamine is most likely a food. As it turns out, the man had eaten before he was lost. Robbie goes ahead with his plan and defeats Dr. Al in front of everyone. She backed away, but as she left he said sarcastically, “I’ll leave it in your capable hands,” and warned him that it was better not to get sued. Robbie is right. It was a piece of broccoli, and McKay had no problem removing it. Al Hashimi’s plan was for Barry to be intubated for no apparent reason and put on a ventilator for an hour. We have to believe that one day the tide will turn and Al Hashimi’s decision will be the right one, but for now the two sides remain at odds.

However, Robbie and Al Hashimi are not the only ones at odds with this shift. Our kind-hearted medical student, Javadi, realizes that Ogilvie, a not-so-sweet-brained medical student, could be a real contender for a spot in PTMC’s ED residency program. Well, I guess she wasn’t “aware” enough that Santos was so willing to point out this truth to her. What’s interesting is that in the last episode, Javadi hadn’t yet decided what kind of training he wanted as far as his mother was concerned. Still, she’s ready to fight for her spot the moment Santos mentions that she could lose her emergency medicine residency. She seems to have made up her mind to me, but what do I know?

When Orlando Diaz shows signs of diabetic ketoacidosis and is rushed to the hospital in an unconscious state, Djawadi and Ogilvie get into a real mess. As the two try to show off their knowledge of Mr. Diaz’s treatments to the resident and Robbie, none of the other doctors are impressed–Mohan’s face is all we see–Robbie has to remind them emphatically that medical students are not only judged on how much they know, but also on how well they work as team players. I’m rooting for Javadi in this race. Because she’s an OG and not a thug. Can you imagine how Ogilvie would have dealt with Sister Gonorrhea? That said, admittedly, in this race to be the biggest nerd, I ended up liking Joy Kwon more. Joy Kwon was another third-year medical student who didn’t care about anything. Such an attitude goes against the spirit of Robbie, but at least it’s fun. (For me, the viewer, perhaps not for her patients.)

Speaking of Robbie’s spirit, all three medical school students are sure to look to the quiet King Whitaker for advice on how to not only impress their bosses, but also be good doctors. Of all the rookies last season, Whittaker seems to have really learned from Roby’s example, especially when it comes to bedside manner. He’s also a very capable doctor, especially compared to how nervous he was just 10 months ago, and it’s touching to see his empathy in action, and even more touching to see Robbie see that empathy put into action. Whittaker held a moment of silence with two medical students last week after Bostic’s death (which, understandably, they didn’t like). From 8 a.m., Whittaker is tasked with caring for Bostic’s wife, who suffers from dementia. He has to tell her over and over again that her husband has died. He takes her to see his body, but she still doesn’t understand it – he sits with her anyway. May this person never have to change scrubs during a shift again!

If Whittaker captures Robbie’s empathetic, youthful side, Santos perhaps best captures his brave side as he treats his patients. Naturally, she is one of the doctors Al Hashimi asks Robbie to trust his intuition. And Santos, as we’ve seen both last season and this season, relies primarily on his instincts. Sometimes it’s great and her instincts are right (see last season’s REBOA), but sometimes she goes too far. Robbie has decades of experience to help you make decisions. Santos relies mainly on confidence. That’s certainly the point Pitt makes with her 9-year-old chin rack patient, Kylie. Although she is following the steps, it is clear that she believes Kylie’s father is abusing her. Multiple people, including Robbie and this season’s social worker Dylan (Chiara isn’t working today!), caution Santos not to jump to conclusions. She promises that it won’t happen, but she also threatens to track him down if his father doesn’t show up soon, which isn’t very persuasive. Last season, Santos got serious when he learned that one of his patients had sexually abused his daughter. In addition to her own past, that’s what she’s made aware of here – maybe her intuition is right, or maybe her intuition is leading her to an absolutely terrible show. Who says?

It must be uncomfortable for Langdon, the discarded apprentice, to see the doctors clearly growing thanks to Robbie’s guidance. Langdon is still on “Exile Island” in triage and ignored by Robbie (and understandably Santos), but that doesn’t stop him from continuing to make amends where needed. And let’s not forget that even if his mentor abandoned him, Langdon found his own mentor in Mel King in just one shift.

These two have a really nice scene in this episode. The guy who was flirting with King in the previous episode continues to flirt (still unnoticed by her), but when he sees two cops walking inside the ED, he books it and shoves King out of her seat, causing her to hit the floor with her head, almost breaking the fall. (The man had robbed a liquor store the night before and was hiding in the ED.) Langdon, who sees Perla icing King’s head, takes her into the room for a real examination to make sure everything is in order. He also takes advantage of their one-on-one time to tell her about where he’s been. King clearly knows what’s going on, but tries not to pry. Langdon wants to be honest with her. He had entered a rehabilitation facility for benzo addiction. He has never let it affect his work and is adamant that he is innocent, but he knows he has let many people down. “You never let me down,” she said to him so seriously it almost broke my heart. But yes, he answered, he should be an example, not a lesson. When the cops come to ask about Ms. King’s escaped patient and tell her she might have to testify as a key witness, we see her flood with anxiety. (As if she needed to think about another courtroom today!) Langdon sensed it right away, ushered in the officers, told Dr. King to rest for a few minutes, turned off the lights on her way out, closed the door to block out the noise, and recalled how she cared for an anxious autistic patient last season. It’s still impossible to dislike Frank Langdon.

• Oh, I’m so glad Pit is back and feeling bad again! This episode features several patients who may be protecting their eyes. When Mohan cuts into the cast of the uncontained man Digby’s arm, he finds a mass of maggots underneath. We observed a complete repositioning of the man’s open arm dislocation, with King having to insert four fingers into the man’s arm under the protruding bone. And yes, King and Santos have to help Mr. Randall get rid of his eight-hour erection. There’s a lot of blood flowing into that penis.

• The episode begins with Dr. Al Hashimi still petrified over baby Jane Doe, but when Mohan asks, “What’s wrong?”, a visibly teary-eyed Dr. Al pretends nothing happened. No progress has been made in this regard yet.

Most of Santos’ jokes don’t hit home with me, but the one where he calls a Javadi nun with conjunctivitis caused by gonorrhea “immaculate” really tickles me. Sister Grace will be fine. And lest people think she’s living a double life by rubbing her face in filth on weekends, she handles sheets and laundry without gloves in an empty shelter, but Mohan provides her with gloves.

• Did you all hear that little line where Robbie asks Santos if he went to a trauma counselor this week? Does everyone who worked during a mass casualty incident still have to see a counselor? Psychiatrist Caleb also seems to know Robbie well. I like that The Pit doesn’t remain in the aftermath of Pitfest, but has clearly left its mark on this place.

-Pitt can’t help but dangle the fact that Mel King has an alter ego, a 17th century French woman who was shown at a Renaissance fair, without giving further details. We’ve been through a lot. We deserve more.

• McKay is still working on a patient, Williams, who may have suffered a head injury. This time, when she went to check on him, he couldn’t have been nicer to her. What happened to this guy? McKay calls families to see if they have any mental health problems that they don’t know about.

• Big news, everyone: Dr. Robbie is going to have sex! Looks like he’ll be a regular on the show! With a sexy nurse! Nurse Noel Hastings currently serves as a case manager at PTMC. She is not well-liked because she notifies doctors when a particular patient needs to be transported, but she and Robbie secretly do it. I’m cautious about this coupling because Dana isn’t thrilled, but if anyone had to get a coupling after last season it was our greats.

• Robbie doesn’t casually drop a line from Henry IV Part 1. He includes many people.

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