REVIEW: ‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Keeps Things Steady

It’s time to clock in for another shift at The Pitt, and things are just as chaotic as the first season. The Pitt Season 2 takes place 10 months after the events of Season 1, and catches up with Robby (Noah Wyle) on his last day before a three-month sabbatical. Across the nine episodes available for review, he must contend with his replacement, who is adamant about making significant changes, Langdon’s (Patrick Ball) return, and the new students he must shepherd.

The Pitt Season 2 takes place on a significant day at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. It’s July 4, for one, but it’s also Robby’s last day before a three-month sabbatical, as well as Langdon’s first day back after rehab. This premise creates strong tension between the two as Robby tries to avoid Langdon at all costs, and Langdon does his best to make amends with everyone.

Langdon spends most of his time in triage, putting him in a different position from Season 1. This time, he connects more with the patients. One in particular is Louie (Ernest Harden, Jr), the patient from Season 1 that Langdon stole drugs from, leading to an emotional reconciliation. With the show’s structure allowing only nuanced changes in its characters, The Pitt Season 2 does a wonderful job of managing the slight shifts apparent 10 months after we first meet them. This is especially obvious with the medical students and interns.

Santos (Isa Briones) and Whitaker (Gerran Howell) are the most changed. They have each grown in their abilities but still retain many of their Season 1 characteristics. Santos still possesses that cock-sure attitude and confidence that exposed Langdon’s drug habit in Season 1, but she’s more mellow and willing to admit to mistakes, even on cases that are really close to her. She’s got a great back-and-forth with Robby, most likely due to her confiding in him about Langdon in Season 1. Briones totally owns this role, giving Santos many layers to play with.

The Pitt Season 2 starts 10 months later, and much has changed, especially for Robby.

Santos’ growth in The Pitt Season 2 is a great example of how the show subtly but sharply draws its characters. The Pitt covers very little time in these characters’ lives, yet still manages to showcase their changes without straying too far from their core. And in the second season, there are ten months of lore to get the audience caught up on, too.

The same can be said of Whitaker. Often seen walking around in Season 1 like a deer caught in the headlights, in The Pitt Season 2, Whitaker is more confident and assured, leading the new medical students with ease and experience. Losing a patient early on in Season 1 defined Whitaker for the rest of the shift, but it prepared him to walk the new students through the tragedies they’ll face.

That relationship between the new students and Santos and Whitaker is one of the highlights of The Pitt Season 2, as they take turns guiding and roasting them. As residents, they still lean on Robby’s guidance, but the ten months they’ve all been working together are felt, a nice nod to time passing.

While Santos and Whitaker are more confident in their work, Javadi (Shabana Azeez) struggles a bit more. Still unsure what her specialty will be and under pressure from her mother to choose something other than the ER, Javadi tries to find her place, especially when another prodigy arrives to challenge her. The flip from Season 1 to Season 2 is a nice change of pace for the character, and Azeez is great at portraying a more stressed Javadi.

Langdon is on a mission to make amends in The Pitt Season 2.

Mel King (Taylor Dearden) spends much of The Pitt Season 2 worried about a deposition in a malpractice lawsuit. Mel’s worry about the deposition makes for a nice throughline throughout the season, a ticking clock that builds tension and provides some great interactions between Mel and other characters she didn’t interact with as much in Season 1. 

While there’s not as much focus on the new students as there was in The Pitt Season 1, their addition adds some fun dynamics to the show. James Oglevy (Lucas Iverson) takes on some of that same cockiness that Santos had in Season 1, sparking a battle of wits with Javadi that’s quite fun. Joy (Irene Choi) has a distinctive aura throughout much of the season and is definitely an underrated character. Choi has great comedic timing, too, making Joy one of the standout new characters.

Also new in The Pitt Season 2 is newly graduated RN Emma (Laëtitia Hollard), who shadows Dana (Katherine LaNasa) during their shift. Their dynamic is great from the start, and leads to some really emotional moments, such as when a sexual assault victim arrives to get documentation of her assault.

Giving Dana a protege is a nice touch, especially after her harrowing shift during The Pitt Season 1. She ends that season on the verge of quitting, but returns to Season 2 knowing this place can’t run without her. Now, she leads with empathy and concern for her fellow nurses, making sure Emma knows that one of their top priorities is protecting themselves and their colleagues. Princess (Kristin Villanueva) and Perlah (Amielynn Abellera) are just as thick as ever, providing some great comedic moments, but they’re also a comforting presence throughout The Pitt Season 2.

New characters are introduced, but some, like Irene Choi’s Joy, make their presence known.

It’s nice to have more focus on the other nurses this season. Donnie (Brandon Mendez Homer) just passed his nurse practitioner certification, giving him more to do. He works mainly with Langdon in triage and is also a new dad, giving them something to connect over.

Some of the personal stories don’t work as well this season, particularly with Santos, McKay (Fiona Dourif), Mohan (Supriya Ganesh), and Whitaker. Since The Pitt takes place in the ER, their personal lives are left to dialogue exchanges. But even then, there’s too much action to really dig into those aspects this time around, or the exchanges are too vague and awkward to really be felt as the emotional punches they’re supposed to be.

For Robby, though, his three-month sabbatical might be an attempt to run away from his problems. If The Pitt Season 1 is an unraveling for Robby, The Pitt Season 2 is a Robby with one foot out of the door. That makes the growth in the student doctors and new RNs even more important. Robby’s guidance in the first season, and presumably in the ten months he’s been their attending, leaves them all in a good spot for when Robby’s away. 

Still, some of his best scenes are with Abbott (Shawn Hatosy), who returns in a manner not conducive to the night shift, and offers a lot for Robby to chew on in terms of whether he’s doing this sabbatical for the right reasons.

But there’s also the new attending, Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), who will act as Robby’s replacement while he’s away. The two butt heads often, especially when Al-Hashimi introduces an AI tool that will help with charting patients’ information, a recurring struggle between the two. Though Al-Hashimi’s AI idea is an unfortunate characteristic, the way she challenges Robby on his empathy and the way he does things, and vice versa, creates some wonderful overarching beats for the season.

The arrival of Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi shakes things up, giving Robby one last obstacle.

Unlike Season 1, The Pitt Season 2 doesn’t have as strong an overarching story to it. Things remain steady despite brief mentions of nearby hospitals having issues, giving Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center a constant stream of extra patients. Once the entire place has to go analog, things pick up speed.

One of the aspects of The Pitt that made the first season work so well was the patients. The Pitt Season 2 features a laundry list of great day players and multiple episode characters who carry much of the emotional weight of the season. The July 4th holiday provides some great opportunities there.

Dr. Collins’ (Tracy Ifeachor) absence this season is definitely felt, especially when Black patients report that their experiences are not taken seriously in medical settings. Given that significant moments in The Pitt Season 1 include Dr. Collins’ understanding and care for Black patients, it’s a glaring omission whenever the subject is brought up. Robby does have a new love interest, but it’s not as deep or as meaningful as the connection he had with Dr. Collins during The Pitt Season 1. 

The Pitt Season 2 delivers on many fronts and expertly navigates the shifting dynamics of its doctors and nurses. There are many new characters to get to know, but the show introduces them seamlessly, and their additions add a lot of good dynamics to the hospital’s atmosphere. Even if not much is going on, and when things don’t land as organically as they did in Season 1, there’s something really comforting about being back at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center and watching the doctors and nurses perform at the top of their game.

The Pitt Season 2 premieres at 8 p.m. Central on January 8 on HBO Max.