REVIEW: ‘The Pitt’ Episode 15 — “9:00 P.M.”

The Pitt finally clocks out with The Pitt Episode 15 after a very successful first season. Fifteen grueling hours starting at 7 a.m. that saw minor injuries and devastating losses, on top of the many personal journeys the characters went through, all come down to a finale that honors the trials and tribulations of each character.

After the high stress and tension of the mass shooting episodes and the last episode’s smooth transition to the night shift, The Pitt Episode 15 effortlessly balances the day shift’s closing story with the show’s real-time format. This means the ER is still moving as the day shift’s arcs and shifts end. There are still cases coming through the door in The Pitt Episode 15, but it’s clear that the night shift is in charge now.

One of the biggest highlights of The Pitt Episode 15 is how it showcases the exhaustion of the day shift with the night shift’s more refreshed and laid-back attitudes. Those attitudes were already present in the mass shooting episodes; Dr. Shen (Ken Kirby) and Dr. Ellis (Ayesha Harris) came onto the scene with pep in their step, throwing out quips and nonchalance that seemed very at odds with the day shift and the tragedy around them. But their demeanors make more sense as they settle into more of their roles in this final episode. Night shift is where all the fun happens.

The night shift’s general demeanors contrast with the utter exhaustion of the day shift, who is at least two hours past the end of shift already. It’s evident in their eyes and body language, the slow cadence of their speech, and the trailing off; it was a fantastic performance from everyone in the room.

But what The Pitt Episode 15 does best is reiterate everyone’s purpose for being there, despite everything they’ve witnessed today, despite Dr. Javadi’s (Shabana Azeez) short quip about being turned off from all of medicine, despite Dr. Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) crying in the bathroom while washing blood off her hands, despite Dr. Abbott (Shawn Hatosy) standing on the roof in The Pitt Episode 1, despite Dr. Robby standing in that same spot on the roof in The Pitt Episode 15, despite all the people, from the patients to neglectful parents they have to deal with, at the end of the day, they’ll all come back. As Dr. Abbott explains, it’s in their DNA.

The Pitt Episode 15 reminds us that doctors are people too.

But even doctors still clock out at the end of their shift and return to their personal lives. Yes, it’s in their DNA, but what’s great about this speech from Dr. Abbott is that it exists in between scenes of Dr. King (Taylor Dearden) picking her sister up and making plans for dinner and a movie, even though she’s exhausted, of Dr. McKay (Fiona Dourif) answering her phone and listening to her son talk about the rest of his day as she leaves, of Dr. Santos (Isa Briones) discovering that Dr. Whitaker (Gerran Howell) lives on an abandoned floor of the hospital and offers him a place to stay.

They’re doctors but also people, characters so sharply drawn throughout 15 episodes of pristine television that a finale about them going home and continuing feels just as narratively satisfying as the action-packed episodes.

For Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle), this harrowing anniversary of his mentor’s death adds more deaths he won’t forget. The season saw a slow unraveling of Dr. Robby, culminating in a breakdown in the makeshift morgue in The Pitt Episode 13. In The Pitt Episode 15, Dr. Robby finally voices what he’s been going through to his staff and Dr. Abbott.

While this may seem anticlimactic after the long build-up, it’s realistic for the show’s format, which doesn’t allow for huge steps in character development. But it also still fits with the episode’s main theme — that no matter what happens, they’ll be back. Even still, Dr. Robby’s vulnerability is a step in the right direction for him. Dr. Abbott tells him he can have his therapist’s number, and Dr. Robby doesn’t say no.

The hour officially ends with a wind down in the park across the street from the hospital, where a handful of the doctors and nurses from day shift commiserate the day they just had with some beer. The scene wraps up The Pitt Season 1 nicely, marrying the real-time format with the themes of carrying on. As Mateo (Jalen Thomas Brooks) tells Dr. Javadi, drinking beers in the park after a shift is a tradition. Despite the horror of what they witnessed today, they still keep tradition. It was just another shift; more will follow.

The Pitt Episode 15 closes out the day shift nicely, giving all the characters small moments of reflection alongside moments of reconciliation.

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

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