The Pitt Season 1 Episode 8 Review: ‘2:00 P.M.’

The Pitt Season 1 Episode 8 ‘2:00 P.M.’ is, at least so far, the series’ most gutting hour. The episode features an honor walk, a little girl who drowned trying to save her younger sister, confirmation of Dr. Collins’ devastating loss at the end of Episode 7, and even an opportunity for Dr. Robby to hear from a patient who knew his old mentor way back when. And that’s…not remotely everything that happens. We also have an obvious trafficking victim who kinda breaks Dr. McKay’s heart (and ours) a little. Dr. Santos ruins an otherwise much better encounter with Dr. Garcia than her previous one by continuing to investigate a coworker. And there’s even a chance for Javadi to prove herself in front of her overbearing mom.

But maybe, in the midst of all the angst, and all the medical…stuff, what’s most important about this episode isn’t how it makes us feel but what it teaches us. What it reminds us, even at a time when there are so many efforts to erase the past, to destroy representation, to paint diversity efforts as discriminatory when they are anything but. Before we get even deeper into the episode, let’s make one thing perfectly clear: There is no United States History without Black History. And yes, we do need a whole month dedicated solely to Black Americans’ contributions to, and abuse by, this country. Furthermore, yes, the arts, and TV is among those arts, are a vital resource.

Case in point: The Pitt Season 1 Episode 8 masterfully blends a Black History lesson — an American History lesson — in with its fictional world, teaching us things that many probably didn’t learn in school and many young folks almost certainly won’t now.

MORE: We can’t believe how far we’ve come in only eight hours. Here’s how it all began in The Pitt Season 1 Episode 1 and The Pitt Season 1 Episode 2.

The Pitt Season 1 Episode 8 teaches, or maybe reminds, us about Freedom House

Growing up in a middle of nowhere town in Maryland, I had a surprisingly good education. This was before the era of laws saying not to trigger white people with the truth. (Although, they still whitewashed plenty. Christopher Columbus, for one…yikes.) Even with as much as I learned, I’m always fascinated by how much history gets ignored. That brings us to The Pitt Season 1 Episode 8 and the quiet time it takes away from…eh, everything…for a teaching opportunity.

Something about those scenes with Willie Alexander felt way too genuine, even for a show that’s as well made as this one. So, I did some searching. And, hm. Yup! Dr. Safar was real. The Freedom House history, right down to the city replacing Black pioneers with white folks, is real. For everything Harold Sylvester does well here — and he most certainly shines throughout, as he should — that “all white” line is a killer. He’s just…very real here. Not sure else how else to put it.

Probably the biggest compliment we can give to a work of fiction is to say it inspired us to dig deeper, to learn something. That Willie’s story did exactly that, while airing at the perfect time — I mean, hello, Black History Month — and also airing at the literal worst time (hello, a bunch of unqualified white people in the white supremacist cabinet, hollering about let’s get rid of DEI because it’s “discriminatory”), makes it even more meaningful than it otherwise could have been. But make no mistake: It’s meaningful no matter what.

Even the way Willie gets to tell his story is a delight. We start off with a patient who knows an awful lot about medicine, interjecting with little nuggets of wisdom throughout his own treatment. Dr. Robby realizes something’s up and starts asking questions. But he doesn’t actually get an answer that makes sense out of his patient. No, Willie’s son Eli fills in the details when he arrives. And oh, let’s pause to marvel at how Noah Wyle’s face lights up as Dr. Robby hears the news, says, “that’s incredible,” and then tells Dana he’s “a legend.” Because he is.

The way we take time out to simply…listen to Willie’s story, even with everything else happening on this particularly bad day in the ER, gives the character the respect people like him have long been denied. That it happens at a time when he’s at a memory care facility, unable — as his own son flippantly points out — to remember what he had for breakfast, reminds us of something else we often forget. We should respect our elders’ knowledge. And we shouldn’t assume that because they are growing older, or even because they are starting to lose parts of themselves, that they no longer have anything to offer. As Willie tells Eli, “that’s alright. I remember what’s important.”

As we discussed in this review’s intro, the very real story about “the heroes of Hill District. A bunch of young Black dudes, saving lives every day” also circles right back into our fictional world, with a mention of Dr. Robby’s mentor in his younger days. It’s great storytelling and another opportunity for Wyle to hit us with even more emotion, another reminder of what his character has lost and how much those reminders plague him on this very agonizing day.

But, first and foremost, we like to think of it like this: You never know who, or what, wouldn’t be here without the forgotten heroes of history. Without the Freedom House, there’s no modern-day EMS, and without the fictional Dr. Adamson’s brilliant teaching — a not-insignificant part of which he might have learned how to do from his own mentors way back when — Robby and his proteges might not be here to save more lives. Now, whatever you do, don’t think about how much of the next generation we’re losing moment by moment, as the United States’ entire research apparatus is slowly being dismantled. Not to mention, as every effort to include the very people we’ve taken advantage of and give them the honor we deserved is being wiped out.

MORE: If we weren’t convinced by the first two episodes, The Pitt Season 1 Episode 3 would have sold us on this gem of a series.

“Time to shine, Crash”

Dr. Santos may just be throwing rude nicknames around and trying to push Javadi’s buttons when she tells her it’s “time to shine,” but The Pitt Season 1 Episode 8 actually does give this character a great opportunity to do exactly that. Now, to be clear: No, it’s not at all cool of Santos do just announce to a P.I.T.A. of a patient that Javadi is Dr. Shamsi’s daughter. That’s something she’s obviously not been trying to broadcast to the whole world. (Really, who would want to do that? Not anyone most of us would trust to treat us, that’s for sure.) Victoria Javadi has her own medical skills and is working hard to prove herself as her own doctor, not her mom’s nepo baby. She wants to earn her spot — and respect — here.

Instead, not only does Dr. Santos take away her choice to keep things private, but she also manages to infantilize Javadi (yet again) while setting her up to babysit someone that she and Dr. Garcia just want to get away from. Shabana Azeez has done a great job all season of, for lack of a better way of putting it, mastering the art of the side eye. The Pitt Season 1 Episode 8 is no different. The way she cuts those eyes the second Victoria realizes why she’s been brought to deal with this patient really is art.

While we’re at it, can her mom not? Javadi just drew a clear boundary a couple of hours ago. She is not Mommy’s little Victoria here — she’s a medical student, just like any other. Again, though, it’s almost unavoidable. A parent, even one who’s a very respected surgeon like this and is otherwise super professional, is probably always just going to see their kid.

Regardless, Javadi gets a big win here. Then again, it’s a shame she seems to miss that tiny look of approval from Dr. Shamsi after she presents her black widow findings. But isn’t that how these things happen? We always see the ways we fall short when we’re trying to live up to massive expectations, never the way we meet the moment.

MORE: In case you forgot like Dr. Shamsi did, Javadi wasn’t a fan of being quizzed in front of a patient in The Pitt Season 1 Episode 6. Speaking of that hour, check out our Isa Briones interview for more insight into why Dr. Santos punches down on people like Javadi.

“I think her name will be Bear”

The Pitt Season 1 Episode 8 brings us one of the most tragic patient cases yet — a 6-year-old girl named Amber who, despite the team’s best efforts, doesn’t survive the hour. It’s heartbreaking to watch the scenes where the doctors try to save her but realize, in measures, how hopeless of a prospect that is. We also face a special kind of agony when the grandmother comes to sit by her bedside, is then rushed out to be with her little sister so her mom can be there instead. And the way that woman wails when her daughter is officially pronounced dead might just haunt us for a while. It’s just all senseless, horrible loss.

Adding an extra layer of angst to an already difficult to watch situation, we spend some time with Amber’s sister Bella. Through Mel’s eyes, we see the little girl’s innocence and optimism, as she carefully makes an already-lost Amber a get well card full of rainbows and sunshine. In those same moments, we learn that Amber only wound up in the pool because she saved her sister. But then, when Amber couldn’t get out, there was no one to save her. It’s godawful. A life for a life, two sisters forever separated.

And Mel. Mel.

This is someone who’s very close to her own sister, and now she’s watching this. She jumps up, jaw slightly working as if she’s trying to hold back her own pain — and rushes out. We figure it’s to have a meltdown, seeing as how it’s what we’d do. But whether or not that happens, she comes back a hero, as she brings something to comfort this little girl. “Bear” the teddy bear is meant to comfort Bella — though the way Mel squeezes him, we’re thinking he helps her a bit, too. Despite struggling to gently let Bella know she can’t see Amber right now, but “Bear” can sit on her pillow and deliver messages, and despite the very clear struggle to hold back her own emotions, she helps that little girl. In the moment, she is nothing but comfort and empathy.

Taylor Dearden gives another one of those amazing performances here, full of all the little details that have made this character a favorite from the start. Sometimes, we can point to one specific moment, or one aspect of a performance and say “there. That’s what makes this good.” But really, with what Dearden’s done with Mel all season — and especially here — it’s…you just have to let what she’s doing here speak for itself. And it speaks volumes.

It’s so very beautiful. However, again, we must point out: It’s extremely difficult to watch. That this all unfolds in the same hour that Mel has finally found Rita — or, rather, Rita just came back from her unplanned nap in the parking garage — and found a way to help her and Ginger get some relief adds yet another level of ice cold reality. There’s no time to celebrate the wins. Because the losses just keep piling up.

MORE: Mel isn’t just great with kids! In The Pitt Season 1 Episode 7, she really impressed Dr. Langdon with how she was able to make his autistic patient comfortable. Here’s what happened when she met Ginger in The Pitt Season 1 Episode 5. And speaking of all the emotional losses, remember Mr. Spencer? Here’s what we had to say about his final moments in The Pitt Season 1 Episode 4.

More on The Pitt Season 1 Episode 8

• Tracy Ifeachor is phenomenal in the opening moments of The Pitt Season 1 Episode 8. She’s been great all season, but Dr. Collins’ all-too-brief moment alone to cope with losing her baby is an absolute stunner. I was really hoping the miscarriage would turn out to be a false alarm, especially given the timing might inadvertently send some inappropriate message about “punishment” for doing the right thing and helping Kristi Wheeler get her abortion medication. But…well. They kinda warned us at the beginning of the series that this had happened before. Awful.
• And for Robby to walk in on her doing the ultrasound, then spend the rest of the episode giving her these little glances and trying to figure out what was up (but being brushed off, of course) was just another little way to hit us where it hurt.
• “Sounds like a winner! The rest will receive our lovely consolation prize package. Tell them what they’ve won, Dana!” (Dana tells him to stop it. He does not stop. I am grateful.) “It’s another 24 hours of bright lights, screaming trauma patients, hard gurneys, and sleep deprivation. All while you wait for a bed upstairs.” Not exaggerating when I say I am in love with this scene. And the way Dana grins at Robby. So much fun!
• I see Dr. Santos is not letting up on the medication issue…
• “I’m just really glad you’re back.” Same! My notes are just “RITA CAME BACK” and “NO JUDGEMENT. OMG I LOVE MEL.”
• “Looks like they found you guys a new rig.” “Nah, we Ubered.”
• “It’s 20-something,” Close enough, to be honest. We’re living in one endless, demonic loop of 20-something since 2020 anyway.
• Dr. Collins saying “sleep” when she’s asked what she does when she’s not working is so real.
• “Whoa! Y’all trying to electrocute me? Get rid of this sh—!” Amazing.
• “Ginger, have you ever been to a senior center?” “I went once! Nothing but old people.” Points have been made, Ginger.
• Like, the way Dearden plays Mel passing the tissues to Rita??? Such a smart acting choice.
• “Are you a doctor, Willie?” That laugh and the “yeah, right.”
• “Every hero needs a sidekick.” I see Dr. Garcia really has moved past the scalpel incident. Quick turnaround there…back to flirting!
• “Is today a bad day?” Oh, Rocco. You have no idea.
• “Remind me again why we picked this specialty?” “Because we all have ADHD and anything else would be boring as h—…” I giggled.
• This isn’t necessarily the biggest Whitaker episode of all time, but the way he reacts to seeing Amber for the first time still manages to stand out. A lot.
• Seriously, what a senseless way to lose a child. Nobody at fault, yet both the loved ones with her likely to blame themselves forever.
• “I don’t know. Are any of us normal?” Obsessed with the way Dr. Mohan leans in and says this.
• Collins just out here, barely breathing through telling Whitaker to hold compressions. She literally just learned lost her own kid. And now, she’s watching this.
• The way Garcia immediately goes full contempt when Santos brings up her suspicions about Langdon…Like, leave it alone. Or don’t! But just know where she stands.
• I would have absolutely lost my mind if we lost Myrna. What a delight, as always.
• What even can we say about the Piper situation? McKay tries so incredibly hard to let her know help is available, and she only seems to want to go back to that life. Out of fear, probably. But still. Awful.
• “You must be good at math.” “Not really.” And she immediately looks caught.
• “Hi, Amber. It’s me, Bella. Thank you for saving me. When you come home, I promise I won’t touch your toys without asking. And I’ll try not to fight. Because you’re my best friend in whole entire world. I love you.” Sobbing. What a simple, yet touching, handful of lines.
• “How do you do it?” “I like taking care of everyone, especially the ones who fall through the cracks. They got nowhere else to go.” “Well, you deserve a medal.” “Yeah, I’d settle for a raise.” She deserves both. Everything, really.
• That honor walk. Ouch. After everything else in this episode, even. OUCH. The Steelers blanket, for some reason — probably my own late uncle’s blanket that I still have? — really got me in the feels.

What did you think of The Pitt Season 1 Episode 8? Leave us a comment!

New episodes of The Pitt stream Thursdays at 9/8c on Max.