REVIEW: ‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Episode 1 — “7:00 A.M.”

Welcome back to another season of The Pitt. It’s 7 a.m. on the fourth of July, and the night shift is about to take off, but not before setting the tone of The Pitt Season 2 Episode 1. Strangely, things aren’t as chaotic as they could be, but that just means this premiere episode has time to stretch its wings and get everyone reacquainted with Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center.

It’s been ten months since The Pitt Season 1. Ten months have passed since the doctors and nurses at PTMC saved many lives in the aftermath of the PittFest shooting. Ten months since Robby (Noah Wyle) survived the longest shift of his life, on the anniversary of his mentor’s death. In the opening moments, Robby walks past both the memory of his mentor and the memorial of the shooting, a reminder of the past he carries heading into his last shift before a three-month sabbatical.

Compared to the first season premiere, things really are as calm as they can be. This first episode does a great job of catching us up with everyone while also introducing new characters. Dr. Shen, still armed with an iced coffee, walks us through the handoff between night shift and day shift, which also sets the stage for what kinds of patients we’re dealing with right off the bat.

Dr. Al-Hashimi promises to shake things up in The Pitt Season 2.

The Pitt Season 2 Episode 1 reconvenes with the medical students during a training exercise put on by the new attending, Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), who will be taking over for Robby during his three-month sabbatical. There’s an immediate tension between Al-Hashimi and Robby that will surely be a recurring theme throughout the season. Al-Hashimi has big ideas for the department and comes across as a rule follower, as evidenced by her eyebrow raise at a risky move Robby makes with a patient during surgery.

Al-Hashimi has already introduced a new procedure with patient passports, a way to keep track that PTMC is hitting its patient satisfaction scores. Shen also mentions that she’s introducing something with AI, but that hasn’t been totally disclosed yet.

Considering Robby is still around for one last shift, he’s uncomfortable with the amount of changes, especially from someone who will likely only be around for three months. But the other doctors already like Al-Hashimi, like Mohan, who’s worked with her previously, and Mel, who worked with Al-Hashimi at the VA.

Oglevy and Joy add some comedy to the proceedings.

New medical students appear in the form of Oglevy (Lucas Iverson) and Joy (Irene Choi). Unlike the first season, the new students aren’t the focus. But their presence does offer a look into how Whitaker (Gerran Howell) has grown in the ten months since his first shift. Whitaker, now an official doctor (although his name tag hasn’t been updated yet), guides Oglevy and Joy through the arrival of patients from the nursing home.

When one of those patients dies, Whitaker tells Oglevy and Joy the importance of taking a moment of silence, a perfect example of how he’s grown, with Robby looking on in the background.

There’s not a whole lot to Oglevy and Joy yet, but the two make an interesting dynamic. Oglevy seems very sure of himself, quick with an answer, while Joy almost comes across as nonchalant, her uninterest in what’s happening around her at odds with her position as a student doctor. She does provide some good comedic moments, though.

Langdon returns from rehab in The Pitt Season 2 Episode 1.

Also new in The Pitt Season 2 Episode 1 is Emma (Laëtitia Hollard), a recently graduated RN who will be shadowing Dana (Katherine LaNasa) for the entire shift. A nice continuity bit sees Dana quizzing Emma on how they, as nurses, can protect themselves and their nurses, a callback to the attack Dana suffered in the first season. Having Emma shadow Dana provides a better look into life on shift as a charge nurse.

One of the biggest tensions from the last season carries over into The Pitt Season 2 Episode 1 when Langdon (Patrick Ball) arrives for his first day back after attending rehab. Robby and Langdon crossing paths on both their first and last days feels like kismet, an opportunity for accountability and forgiveness, respectively, if only Robby would give Langdon the time of day. 

Robby puts Langdon on triage, a way to keep him out of the way and out of Robby’s sight. It’s a thinly veiled punishment, probably not fair at all, but it does put Langdon in a different position than in the first season. He teams up with Donnie (Brandon Mendez Homer), who just passed his nurse practitioner certification, which means he can now prescribe medications and order diagnostic tests. 

Tension between Santos and Javadi continues to simmer.

Langdon’s trepidation about returning to work becomes clear when he encounters Louie (Ernest Harden, Jr.), his first patient of the day. Louie’s in for a toothache this time, though he’s also having some trouble breathing. After Langdon’s initial assessment, he takes a moment to confess and apologize to Louie for stealing the drugs he prescribed to Louie in Season 1.

When the initial shock wears off, Louie forgives Langdon, citing his dislike for the drugs anyway, but Langdon says that’s not really the point when he’s trying to take accountability. The way Langdon immediately jumps to confession means he’s not just returning to work, but he’s also likely following a 12-step program. 

Santos (Isa Briones) has also grown a lot in the ten months since we last saw her. Like Whitaker, she instructs the new medical students with confidence. There still seems to be some tension between her and Javadi (Shabana Azeez), whom she still calls Crash. But, they’ve made some progress, even if Javadi is still put off by Santos’ desire to work with her mom. It’s also revealed that Javadi is turning 21 in a few days, which gives Santos and Princess (Kristin Villanueva) something to tease her about. 

Santos is much better at connecting with patients and coworkers.

Dr. Shamsi is still trying to get Javadi to realize her true calling, even going to Robby to try and get him to convince Javadi she’s wasting her talents in the ER. Robby disagrees, or at least advocates for Javadi making her own decisions. It’s a great tension builder between the doctors, though. 

The biggest difference in Santos is her ability to connect with patients and her coworkers. When she notices Mel (Taylor Dearden) is kind of out of it, she inquires about her sister. And when she and Perlah (Amielynn Abellera)  get a case with a little girl who shows possible signs of abuse, she deploys a gentle and caring bedside manner, something she struggled with and got called out on in Season 1. 

This particular case might spell trouble, though. We’ve seen how far Santos will go when it comes to getting justice for abuse victims, and she appears to already be jumping to conclusions, though both Robby and Al-Hashimi agree with her next steps plan. 

Mel is going through it, as she often spaces out during cases and during night-shift hand-offs with Ellis and Shen. She tells Santos that she has a deposition later today for a malpractice lawsuit

The Pitt Season 2 Episode 1 is a well-paced first hour.

Quick check-ins with McKay (Fiona Dourif) and Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) reveal some potential overarching stories. Mohan’s phone won’t stop going off, later revealing that she’s arguing with her mother about moving back to New Jersey. Mohan’s apparently taking a position in New Jersey so she could be closer to her mom, but her mom has decided to jet-set off around the world.

McKay’s feeling incredibly single, and with her son being with dad all weekend, she’s potentially looking to get laid, though the topic of conversation is too much for the early hour of the day, so she goes back to her main patient for the premiere, a Mr. Williams, who’s annoyed that he’s in the hospital. This particular patient has the most interesting case so far, and provides a great build-up over the course of the hour as McKay works out what might be causing his apparent memory issues. 

As far as overarching patients go, a deaf patient sits in the waiting room, the sound cutting out, putting us in her shoes as she waits to be seen in a crowded ER. An abandoned baby is discovered in the bathroom, and initial physical examination concludes the baby is perfectly healthy, but Al-Hashimi discovers something that might be concerning, but that’s the next hour’s concern.

The Pitt Season 2 Episode 1 is a well-paced first hour of the season that introduces new characters and puts us right back into the thick of things, with plenty of exciting open threads remaining headed into hour two.

The Pitt Season 2 airs new episodes at 8 p.m. Central every Thursday on HBO Max