The Pitt goes analog as the season moves in an old-school direction

The importance of normalcy also comes to the forefront with a new patient named Howard, who is brought in with abdominal pain and fever and whose case is complicated by the fact that he weighs 474 pounds. As this season’s resident asshole doctor, Ogilvie demonstrates the missteps a lot of doctors make with their overweight patients—delivering snarky asides, random advice about weight loss, and very little empathy. But the rest of our hero doctors model how Howard should actually be treated: with dignity, attentive care, and accommodations where he needs them. 

It’s a lovely continuation of the anti-fatphobia theme the show introduced last season. And though I think the storyline would be a little stronger if we got to know Howard more as a person (I’m sad he’s being transferred to another hospital instead of sticking around), the intention is welcome. Howard’s emotional thank you at being treated like just another patient is a pointed reminder of the kind of care that everyone deserves but not everyone gets.

That theme carries over into the ongoing storyline about troubled college student Jackson too, which finally starts to feel like it’s getting somewhere this week. After half a season of repetitive stalling, psych finally deduces that Jackson is most likely suffering from either bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. It’s a scary revelation for Jackson’s parents—especially because there’s not a simple test to differentiate between the two conditions. But the addition of a parent support advocate from psych gives the storyline a tangible emotional core in a way it was missing before. When Nicole Steadman speaks personally about her experience having a daughter diagnosed with schizophrenia at 20, you can see Jackson’s parents find something to hold on to in the midst of their panic. Instead of a world where their son is a pariah because of his mental health, there’s hope for a new normal. 

Fighting for that kind of new normal isn’t always easy, of course. Dana’s work as a SANE prevents her from helping with the immediate crisis of the cyber shutdown. But when Alana tearfully tells her “I’m glad you were here today,” it’s clear just how important Dana’s work truly is. (I cried.) Unfortunately, that beautiful moment comes with a tough but realistic kicker: Though police are supposed to pick up the hospital’s rape kits within 72 hours, the one Dana did two weeks ago is still sitting in the locked box. At least The Pitt gets to balance out last week’s SWAT copaganda with a scene of Dana absolutely chewing out an officer over the phone. 

On a more fully positive note, the episode’s last through-line about making patients feel normal actually comes with an honest-to-god story for Samira for once. With her mom caught up in her new boyfriend-obsessed cruise era, Samira has no reason to take a job in New Jersey anymore. Instead, she could apply for a fellowship at PTMC. And while she throws out ultrasound, toxicology, or sports medicine as possibilities, Al-Hashimi suggests geriatrics as an option. 

While I’d have to go back to see if these past two seasons have made a particular point of pairing Samira with older patients, this episode really effectively makes the case in her sweet relationship with her former blood-clot patient. It’s clear that what he’s actually suffering from is medical anxiety, but instead of making him feel bad for wasting her time, Samira meets him on his level and finds ways to reassure him. She makes him feel normal while guiding him toward what he needs, which is ultimately probably what we’re all looking for from our doctors. 

The fact that PTMC’s staff are able to do all that in the midst of a tech shutdown is even more impressive. The simmering chaos at the end of this episode suggests the careful balance of their new normal might not hold for long, especially since it could be 24 hours before their cyber systems are back online. But, for now at least, they’ve got one more hour of this shift under their belts. 

Stray observations 

• • While Langdon and Santos’ first meeting since his return is about as tense and awkward as you would expect (more from her than from him), at least McKay gets a sweet moment to connect with him over their shared sobriety. 
• • This week’s comic relief comes from a drunk party girl who bit her tongue and needs a pretty gruesome set of shots/stitches. The prosthetic work throughout the whole thing is crazy. Ditto the patient with a blistering “Margarita burn.”  
• • We also get a new ongoing storyline for the season: A patient with an “eye stroke” sudden onset blindness condition agrees to take medication that gives her a 37 -percent chance of getting better and a one-percent chance of death. Al-Hashimi assigns Mel to watch her like a hawk in case something happens.
• • Elsewhere, Ellis bends the rules to give Mel a heads up about the deposition, which it turns out centers on the measles kid who got a spinal tap last season. The mom blames the spinal tap for her kid’s intellectual decline, even though Ellis knows it was actually his low oxygen that caused the issue. 
• • So Abbot’s plan is to join a SWAT mission, patch up his bullet graze wound, work half a day shift, and still work his night shift? That kind of seems like a lot.  
• • I teared up at the reveal that Digby left his bed because he wanted to say his final goodbyes to Louie—including dinging a bell and giving him his wings. 
• • Gnarliest moment of the week: Howard’s awake nasal trachea really sits at the direct midpoint between cool and disturbing. 

Caroline Siede is a contributor to The A.V. Club.