Another hour in the ER begins in The Pitt season 2 episode 3. Naturally, that means more emergencies coming in, and one of those is a motorcyclist without a helmet.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS from The Pitt season 2 episode 3.
The Pitt takes a deep and dark turn on episode 3, bringing us the main threat for the rest of the shift, while also offering a storyline that could allow Robby to ponder his faith a little more. We also get a few answers about some of the patients, and it gives us a look at how illnesses can go amiss, because there are no signs until it gets too late.
Getting to the bottom of the little girl’s bruises on The Pitt season 2 episode 3
From the first episode, we’ve had one ongoing storyline, the little girl who came in after falling up the stairs. She’s covered in bruises, and abuse is the first thought for everyone. It leads to a social worker being called in, who had initially ruled out the girlfriend. This episode sees the father finally turn up, which means a discussion about abuse.
There are signs that there could be an abuse situation going on at first, as the dad is extremely irate that his new girlfriend was playing on the stairs with his daughter. It sounds like he’s worried about her mom finding out, which could cause problems for the dad and the girlfriend. However, sometimes, you have to take a step away from what you initially see.
Dana stops the shouting between parents with news that Kylie’s labs have come through. She has a medical issue that is causing the bruising. While the good news is that it can be treated, the bad news is that all these adults completely ignored all the bruising that happened.
McKay gets to the bottom of her patient’s health issue
Meanwhile, McKay gets to the bottom of her patient’s situation on The Pitt season 2 episode 3. Sadly, it turns out that he has a tumor, and while it may be benign, he gets stuck on the fact that he has a brain tumor. This is likely what caused him to fall, but he starts to wonder if it affected other parts of his life.
McKay ends up calling his emergency contact, who turns out to be this man’s ex-wife. And not just from a few weeks or months ago. It’s been years, and this woman has moved on and remarried. The two haven’t even spoken to each other much since their divorce, so the ex-wife is naturally confused as to why she’s the emergency contact.
However, it brings a moment of peace and connection. This is something The Pitt does so well, and it shows that medicine is more than just treating symptoms. Sometimes, you need to treat the heart.
In fact, it’s not the only arc in the episode that shows this. We get a married couple who came in after getting into an accident with a motorcyclist (who wasn’t wearing a helmet and died pretty much right away) who were arguing at the time. However, as both of them face life crises, with one potentially being paralyzed and the other suffering internal bleeding, they realize that everything they think is important in life really isn’t. It’s all about each other, the people in our lives.
A moment of faith and trauma on The Pitt
Robby gets a patient who brings up the topic of faith for him. Yana is a fictional character added into the story of the very real, senseless act of antisemitism, the attack on Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue. Yana gives a voice to the survivors of the attack, with that fear that comes after the trauma. She jumps at the sound of firecrackers and fireworks, and it’s no wonder, considering the attack.
We get a moment of respect between faiths with this storyline. Of course, Robby is Jewish, and Yana quickly recognizes that with his surname, but Alawi is also there to offer support. There is no animosity and no comparison of the sort of hate that both of their religions get, and this is what support should look like.
It also speaks to the real moment of Muslims rallying with the Jewish community to help them rebuild after the Tree of Life shooting, something else that Yana brings up. She doesn’t forget, because nobody really forgets.
However, this is sure to offer a bigger storyline for Robby, who told Yana that he doesn’t visit the Synagogue as much as he should. We see him pray in moments of horror and devastation, and he honors the dead, but there does seem to be a disconnect with his faith.
Something that I do feel this episode is telling us is that the big incident of the season is going to be something to do with Robby’s sabbatical. There has been a lot of focus on that in small ways, and The Pitt doesn’t do something unintentionally.
The Pitt airs on Thursdays on HBO and HBO Max.