3 Quiet Hours in a Row Is Starting To Get Repetitive

Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for The Pitt Season 2 Episode 3.

After a wild ending to the first season of The Pitt, with the aftermath of a mass shooting, nurses being attacked, and doctor infighting, Season 2 has gotten off to a purposefully slow start. The calm before the storm has still seen a lot of drama, with the return of Dr. Frank Langdon (Patrick Ball), who previously left to seek treatment for drug addiction, and as well as a new attending, Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi). At the center of it all is Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Noah Wyle), who is just hours from a much-deserved sabbatical. It’s going to be a tough road getting there, though. As the second episode ends, Al-Hashimi is trying to sell the other doctors on a new AI approach to healthcare. What will her efforts lead to in Episode 3, “9:00 A.M.”?

Dr. Robby and Dr. Al-Hashimi Find a Moment of Peace in ‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Episode 3

Hour three starts with the combative patient from the ambulance being wheeled in by Robby and Al-Hashimi. Victoria Javadi (Shabana Azeez) and Mel King (Taylor Dearden) join in as the man is restrained, and the two attendings disagree on how best to sedate him. At the same time, other patients are being dismissed from the ER, while more are coming in. Charge nurse Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) and new nurse Emma Nolan (Laëtitia Hollard) continue to tend to the unhoused man, Troy Digby (Charles Baker), with the former training the latter on what to do. Digby mentions that he doesn’t like doctors, but Dana wants him to get long-term care, and her kindness finally gets him to agree to be seen.

A campus security guard with a busted open head comes in for treatment, revealing that his wound was caused by the college kid brought in by ambulance, who he assumes is on meth. Dana tries her best to be nice to the guy until he demands to watch over the patient, so she walks away. With the student now unconscious, Javadi and Mel start pulling taser prongs out of his back. As this is being taken care of, Robby and Al-Hashimi move to a man who was in a car crash. Right behind is the busted-up motorcycle driver who ran into his car. Both are unconscious, but it might be worse for the motorcycle driver who has part of his brain exposed. He wasn’t wearing a helmet, leading to a lie from Robby that he always wears his. Later, even as the driver of the car comes to, there is a worry that his lack of physical response could be from a spinal cord injury.

It’s an easier time for Dr. Cassie McKay (Fiona Dourif), who is being flirted with by a good-looking patient. That moment quickly passes when she gets the results back for the male patient with the injured wrist who has been acting strangely. As it turns out, he has a mass in his brain. She’s comforting in her description of the biopsy he’ll need, which keeps him from freaking out. Dr. Dennis Whitaker (Gerran Howell) and James Ogilvie (Lucas Iverson) are checking on ER regular Louie (Ernest Harden Jr.), whose abdomen is still being drained, while Langdon tends to the head of a car racing family who took medication not prescribed for him that’s giving him low blood pressure. With a moment to breathe, Dr. Al-Hashimi tells Dr. Robby that she’ll leave him to check on other patients, which surprises him. “You’re free to see other people,” she says. “I’m looking for cooperation, not commitment.” For the first time, Robby smiles, rather than looking at her with annoyance

Dr. Robby Meets a Mass Shooting Victim in ‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Episode 3

Emma is sitting with an older Jewish woman who has a burn on her arm. She’s in a bad mood until Dr. Robby walks in and the patient realizes, based on his full last name, that he’s also Jewish; now, she’s more interested in talking about religion than her gnarly burn. She mentions that she previously attended the Tree of Life synagogue, which leads to a moment of quiet solemnity, because this is where a real-life mass shooting once occurred. She was there when it happened, and today, on the 4th of July, when she heard fireworks, it took her back ot the day, causing her to drop a glass and hurt herself.

The father of Dr. Trinity Santos’ (Isa Briones) young patient finally shows up and is taken to his daughter, but begins fighting with his girlfriend over the accident, blaming her for it. He’s doubly concerned when the ER’s social worker, Dylan (Becca Blackwell), shows up. Santos goes over the girl’s previous injuries, which only makes her father madder. As it turns out, the girl’s bruises were caused by Immune Thrombocytopenia, or ITP, an attack by her own immune system rather than physical abuse.

Meanwhile, the man who was in the car accident with a motorcyclist has a clean CT scan. Instead of a spinal injury, it’s a low potassium level that is paralyzing him. In a few hours, he’ll be okay. Dr. Robby and Dr. Al-Hashimi witness how relieved his crying wife is and are touched by her love for him. Meanwhile, Langdon moves on to a little boy with beads stuck up his nose. Now, one won’t come out. Langdon distracts the kid with a video game while he and nurse practitioner Donnie Donahue (Brandon Mendez Homer) pull out the obstruction. The cops come into the ER to talk to the college security guard, who is excited and immediately starts acting like he’s one of them. Things get serious real fast, however, when it’s revealed that the student who attacked him had no drugs in his system; it was actually being tased by the guard that led to his erratic behavior.

Noah Wyle as Dr. Robby looking sad in The Pitt.

It Looks Like ‘The Pitt’ Just Said Goodbye To This Hospital Romance for Good

New sparks are flying in the ER.

Santos talks to the little girl’s father, with the mom on speakerphone, about her weakened immune system, which can be treated. It’s a good outcome for everyone except the girlfriend, who the dad previously screamed at and is now standing off to the side, looking upset. Mel also discovers what her race-car patient took, and it’s nothing too serious. The car driver from the accident is getting better as well. Although he can’t move yet, he’s conscious, talking, and worried about his wife, who passed out earlier due to an overlooked injury on her side. Guilt consumes him because they’d been fighting just before the accident.

The Pitt Is About To Be Even Busier After Season 2 Episode 3

Noah Wyle in The Pitt Season 2 Episode 3

Meanwhile, the man with the mass on his brain is visited by his ex-wife, who comes in because she’s still listed as his emergency contact. She quickly goes from looking bothered to worried when she hears how serious things are. They talk, and the man apologizes that she had to come in. There are still some powerful feelings between them as he mentions her new husband and how he’s glad she’s happy. Yet again, Javadi and Ogilvie try to one-up each other with knowledge while helping Dr. Samira Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) treat her diabetic patient before Ogilvie joins Whitaker with Louie, who is begging for a drink or something to be done about his bad tooth. Meanwhile, nurse Perlah Alawi (Amielynn Abellera) treats the burned Jewish woman, who asks if she’s Muslim. This isn’t the prelude to something bad, but the beginning of a thank-you. Robby comes back and mentions his sabbatical, and the patient thinks he’s stupid for going on a three-month motorcycle trip before laughing about his age.

Santo watches her patient’s father talking to his girlfriend. He’s trying to be nice, but she’s not happy after being mistakenly labeled as a child abuser. They yell at each other before she tells him they’re done. Meanwhile, the recovering driver asks Dana to hold up his phone so he can record a video message to his wife. He tells her that he just saw a couple arguing and yelling before admitting he was wrong and apologizing. Speaking of anger issues, the ex-wife of the man with the brain mass realizes that his condition could have led to their marriage ending and asks to remain his emergency contact. As the episode ends, the slow day so far takes a turn when Dana gets a call in the ER. “Is this a joke?” she says into the phone while Robby and Al-Hashimi look on. Something is happening at another hospital, so now all of their patients will be coming to the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. “I should have left last night,” Robby mutters under his breath.