REVIEW: The Pitt Episode 7— “1:00 P.M.”

The Pitt Episode 7 showcases more of Dr. Santos (Isa Briones) and Dr. King (Taylor Dearden) as they each use their experiences to connect with their patients. This focus allows two characters who haven’t had the limelight yet to shine in different yet intriguing ways.

Dr. King’s experience taking care of her autistic sister lets her connect with an autistic patient who has sprained his ankle. Dr. Langdon (Patrick Ball) can’t get through to him. Whether he really doesn’t care that much or he’s moving too fast to listen to his patient properly, Dr. Langdon is quickly humbled by Dr. King’s kinder approach. It’s a true “the student becomes the master” moment.

This could easily have turned into a jealousy arc. A different show would have had Dr. Langdon upset at being humbled by a medical student. But The Pitt Episode 7 centers on the learning aspect of the show, even when it’s the more seasoned doctors learning a thing or two about working in the ER.

Dearden is really great as Dr. King. Over the past few episodes, she’s been working on her relationships with patients that she relates to a lot without letting her experiences cloud her ability to do her job. Getting validation from Dr. Langdon was really nice to see.

On the other hand, Dr. Santos takes matters into her own hands regarding a sensitive issue concerning the minor daughter of her patient. Dr. Santos has been eager to prove herself, oftentimes jumping the gun on issues out of pure cockiness. She’s been dressed twice about her attitude so far, but she seems to have not learned her lesson yet.

Taylor Dearden shines further in The Pitt Episode 7.

When she learns that her patient that came in during the previous episode allegedly raped his teenage daughter, she decides to seek her own justice. Robby (Noah Wyle) and Kiara’s hands are tied when they don’t have any evidence beyond the mother’s say. And considering she just drugged her husband enough to land him in the hospital as a way to stop him from touching her daughter, she’s got criminal charges coming her way that are of no help to this situation. So Dr. Santos decides first to confront the daughter herself by trying to get her to admit she’s a victim of her father’s. When that doesn’t work, she threatens the father while he’s incapacitated.

While Dr. Santos is probably easily described as the least likable doctor in the ER so far, she definitely brings a lot of layers to work with. In this instance, her motivations and general attitude about many things are revealed in her confrontation with the father. She hints at a past where she might also have been the victim of the same abuse, making her anger and desire to deal with justice incredibly understandable.

This episode’s choice of paralleling Dr. Santos and Dr. King’s stories was great. They both struggle with how to use their own experiences to help their patients. As Dr. Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) told Dr. Santos in The Pitt Episode 4, doctors bring their education to the job, not their baggage.

Dr. Santos and Dr. King perfectly embody that sentiment in opposite ways. Dr. King’s real-world experience taking care of her sister came in handy when dealing with Dr. Langdon’s autistic patient. While Dr. King has her own baggage regarding being the sole caretaker of her sister, she’s able to use that experience to the benefit of her patient.

Meanwhile, Dr. Santos wheels her baggage right into the ER. While her past can certainly help her empathize with her patient’s family, she lets it go a step too far, the outcome of which remains to be seen. But this was a nice foil to watch for two characters that haven’t been getting quite the focus.

The Pitt Episode 7 continues the show’s trajectory of peeling back the layers of its doctors.

The Pitt Episode 7 also provided a little more insight into Robby’s past trauma while working in the ER during COVID. A quick flashback reveals that one particular patient was on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) for multiple days when he was forced to call it because a 12-year-old needed an organ transplant.

This was all triggered by two present events: a patient needed an ECMO, a life-support machine for life-threatening heart and lung conditions, and Nick’s parent’s continued struggle in accepting their son’s death as well as his status as an organ donor. It seems more of the other doctors are catching on to Robby’s struggle at work. What this is leading to isn’t quite clear yet, however.

The Pitt Episode 7 contains some really beautiful moments. One of the more touching moments was the reunion between Minu (Arun Storrs), the Nepali woman who was attacked on the train, and the good Samaritan who had just woken up since he was brought in during The Pitt Episode 1.

The Pitt Episode 7 ends with a scary revelation for Dr. Collins (Tracy Ifeachor), who was able to peacefully negotiate a truce between Kristy and her mother just moments before. As Kristy swallows the pills that will allow the abortion to proceed and walks away with her contrite mother, Dr. Collins makes a quick exit to the bathroom. There, she discovers she’s had a miscarriage. Her cries as the episode ends are haunting, proving once again The Pitt knows how to end episodes during emotionally gut-wrenching moments to carry us over to the next episode.

The Pitt continues to excel in ending on moments that simultaneously feel like an ending and like action’s still happening when the screen goes dark. This fits with the show’s “real-time ” nature and how those endings can land emotionally. Dr. Collins continues that practice, but this time, in The Pitt Episode 7, the ending lands on a more emotionally wrought moment that will be hard to forget.

The Pitt airs new episodes every Thursday on Max, formally HBO Max.

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