The Pitt Season 1 Episode 14 Review: ‘8:00 P.M.’

The Pitt Season 1 Episode 14 is a somewhat surprising hour. With only one episode left this season, and with the hospital in the middle of a mass casualty event, one would probably expect the steady stream of life-threatening injuries to end somewhere in that last hour. Instead, just as suddenly and randomly as the crisis began in Episode 12, the action starts to wind down. It’s not that everyone gets to go home, or that there aren’t anymore patients left to treat — quite the contrary. There are still plenty of people waiting for care and in need of monitoring, and a lack of resources still creates a need for our doctors to get creative.

But, at least, it feels like we’ve turned the dial back down to a semi-normal level of “too many patients” by the end of this hour. And that’s a good thing, too, because at most two hours after doctors literally donated their own blood and an hour after having blood flown in, the hospital is yet again out of resources. With a return to normalcy comes the need to handle the aftermath. First, even before things slow down, there’s the aftermath of Dr. Robby’s inability to save Leah. Then, families need to be put back together. Most reunions are bittersweet, with some family members lost to the tragedy while others fight for their lives. But one family, not even directly linked to the shooting — though everyone, including the audience, assumed otherwise — gets torn apart.

Oh, and the ER needs to be opened back up to its regular patient flow. Of note, one of the first new patients, unrelated to the shooting, is at death’s door because of measles. Which means The Pitt Season 1 Episode 14 gets to be reallllly timely. No, like. Really, reallllllllly timely. Right down to the parents seeing their kid suffering and being like “but don’t do actual medicine! It ‘wasn’t that bad‘ for our other kid, so that means it’s fine!” or whatever. This isn’t The Simpsons-level of constantly predicting the future, though — it’s just paying attention to where we’ve been headed for way too long.

This penultimate episode works perfectly well as a conclusion to a disaster, a building block to get us through to a much-anticipated (and even more dreaded — does it really have to end?) season finale, and even just another hour of the nightmare shift. Featuring more stunning performances from the ensemble cast, more touching human moments, and an ending that has us like “what? Wait. No!” The Pitt Season 1 Episode 14 gives us even more proof that this series has got to be the best thing we’re all watching right now.

MORE: Read our Shabana Azeez interview to learn how she hopes viewers will respond to The Pitt‘s mass shooting arc.

“Give me your hand.”

When student doctor Whitaker finds Dr. Robby in the peds room in The Pitt Season 1 Episode 14, some part of us is like “thank God Whitaker lost that rock, paper, scissors battle with Dr. Santos.” Because, as we’ve seen again and again, Santos doesn’t always know how to relate to other humans. Whitaker, on the other hand, gets it. Just like when Mr. Krakozhia opened up to him, there’s something undefinable about how this character’s quiet, unassuming personality masks a huge heart that just…sees, and validates, and seeks to alleviate others’ suffering. Additionally, there’s something achingly beautiful about these human connections he makes, as well as about the guy everyone might want to overlook — or, at best, laugh at his…messy mishaps — being the perfect guy for the job.

Much like every other “pause” this series has given us, what happens from the moment Whitaker freezes in that doorway, right through to his “see you out there, Captain” represents the best TV has to offer. It’s emotional, simultaneously devastating and somehow healing to watch; and the images we witness are all stunning, telling a story that enhances the actors’ incredible work. We begin with Whitaker’s stunned expression, bearing witness to what viewers know to expect but he clearly doesn’t — Robby, still in that crumpled position we left him in at the conclusion of Episode 13. And then, Whitaker just…joins Robby down there. Because sometimes, that’s what you need more than anything. Not words of encouragement, not to be smothered with hugs — someone to sit by you so you know you’re not alone.

What do we hear, in that awful room with its far-too-cherry walls? Nothing and everything at the same time. It’s Robby, whimpering his way through the Shema. Those noises Noah Wyle makes, that tiny voice he uses, makes it difficult to hear the words. But, as a Jew, it’s both an “OMG! Is he…OMG! The Shema on TV!!” moment and a shock to the system to hear it in that awful, broken context. Even so, when Whitaker asks about it later in The Pitt Season 1 Episode 14 and offers up words from Isaiah in response, it’s just another reminder of how much more we have in common than all the worst of us would ever want us to believe.

TL;DR Representation matters. Score one for us Jews here. And the “Israel” in the prayer means the people Israel — the Jews™ — not the modern-day state, which the prayer majorly pre-dates. So, let’s nip that reaction in the bud.

But back to that first encounter. Eventually, Dr. Robby comes back to his surroundings enough to tell Whitaker to leave because “they need you out there.” However, as Whitaker rightly points out, “no. They need you out there.” Because they do. Robby is the leader, the glue, the expert. Whitaker’s “just” a student. It takes some nudging, an offer of a hand up that seems impossible to grasp (another fantastic use of the camera), but eventually, Robby does take his student’s hand. Does he immediately return to work? No. He still has to collect himself. But Whitaker really saves the day here, with something so simple as that silent support and, when the time is right, just offering to reach out. And, further proving he is a good guy, Whitaker gives nothing away when he gets back out there.

MORE: In our Gerran Howell interview, he hinted at “a human element outside of all the trauma and the craziness.” Do you think he was talking about Whitaker’s interactions with Robby?

“You think this is that easy? Think again.”

If The Pitt Season 1 Episode 14 doesn’t surprise you by putting a stop to the number of new shooting-related patients, the reveal of who the shooter was — or, perhaps, more accurately wasn’t — definitely still should. All season long, right from the very beginning, we’ve set David up to be the right sort of angry, violent, white male to do something like this. Before even having a clue that the shift would include such an unflinching display of what it’s like for doctors to treat victims of gun violence, we were like “that kid would totally shoot up a school, huh.” So, naturally, the Pitt Fest shooting felt like our “aha” moment.

…but we were wrong. Dr. McKay, who fought so hard for those girls on David’s alleged hit list? Also wrong. And we really have to hand it to Jackson Kelly, who has played right into those stereotypes. He doesn’t even stop delivering a performance that screams “violent, angry white boy” in The Pitt Season 1 Episode 14. Instead, he leans into it. There is a darkness, something just plain angry, about him even when all we see is an isolated kid, in the background, in what can only be described as containment. Then, of course, when Dr. McKay and Dr. Robby try to explain to him that he’s here on a 72-hour hold for his own good, the way he lashes out at them, screams for his mom, and pounds on the inside of that glass still pretty much puts a giant red flag right over the kid’s head.

But, even as we’ve believed him to be a danger to himself and others for 13-plus hours, ‘8:00 P.M.’ shows us a different side of David. Or maybe it’s the same “side” that’s been there all along — he’s just a hurting kid who wants to go home with his mom. Those tears…it’s like Kelly gives us both the rage-fueled monster we always assumed the character to be and a depressed, lost child all at once. All at once and alternating back and forth between one dynamic and the other, even.

So, what does this say? Is The Pitt trying to explain to us that there is a truly fine line here? Does David get to be the warning of what happens when we don’t intervene, to demand folks pay attention and make difficult choices no matter how terrible the fallout? Or. Are we back to some sort of “won’t anyone think of the poor, lonely boys” messaging? Most likely, a less-talented group of people would absolutely send us a toxic, over-simplified message — one that infantilizes that “he was a good boy” type of mass shooter we see whitewashed in the media far too often, making him seem like a poor, misunderstood angel.

With this series, though, the creative team trusts its audience to be intelligent. The series, instead, wants us to ask the difficult questions and come to more nuanced conclusions. For one thing, we never even learn the actual shooter’s name, never see his face. (Which is exactly how it should be. Stop making them famous!) David, though…David we know. Or we thought we knew him. Perhaps instead of a harmful “not all angry, depressed loner white dudes” or “but he was a good boy!!!!” takeaway, what we need is the more realistic one. Namely, the truly good boys can be saved — no reason to feel bad about the misogynistic, homophobic, antisemitic, violent, white supremacist monsters who usually take it upon themselves to kill as many people as possible.

But yes, when you see warning signs, you act on them. Even if you get it wrong — which we’re not even fully wrong that David needs help with his mental health after what his family has been through — you act before it’s too late.

MORE: It was still right for Dr. McKay to tell Dr. Robby he didn’t think about those girls on David’s list enough in The Pitt Season 1 Episode 10. But he was more right about “sad, confused boy” than we thought. And yes, as we predicted, David leaving the hospital in Episode 1…did end badly — just not how we thought!

More on The Pitt Season 1 Episode 14

“Let’s keep the rumor mill in check. And the cops will alert us when they know something.” Santos is 100% right here. Hypocritical since she instantly believed her patient was abusing his daughter in Episode 7? In some ways, maybe…mostly, no. Are we still very much “don’t try this at home, but Santos, go off” about it? Yep.
…but why is she so…like that about the peds room being the morgue now?
Not the clown calling it a “f—ing circus.” So glad to see some humor back in The Pitt Season 1 Episode 14. (But where’s Myrna???????)
Another thing this series nailed: In a crisis, disabled and chronically ill people are more likely than anyone to be left behind to die. (As if the response to COVID-19 didn’t already prove that.) The crying lady turned out to be Trish Gregory, who at least gets to reunite with her daughter here…but her husband, who had MS and was in a wheelchair, is dead. “I did my best to protect him. The bullet went through my arm and through his head.” He couldn’t run, she wouldn’t leave him, and here we are.
Also: guest star/supporting/whatever category they pick Emmy for Jennifer Christopher for what she did as Trish. Now.
No, but if this whole cast doesn’t get the SAG Award for Ensemble in a Drama Series, what’s the point of anything?
“How do you deal with all this death and carnage?” “I…I don’t know.” Obsessed with how Taylor Dearden played this moment.
And obsessed with Mel, as always. PROTECT HER.
“This has to end soon…right?” Me every minute of every day as I read the news.
He has his hand over his eyes to recite Shema. The detail!!!!!!!!
“I can’t.” “You have to…because if you don’t, we’re f—ked.”
“You sure? I know it’s tough in there with all the…bodies.” Not Santos letting on that she cares.
“Thank you, Esme. Your team’s doing a great job of staying on top of all of this.” First off: Esme totally saw Robby. Second: Robby totally sees even the janitorial staff, which most higher-ups never do. A prince among men.
“I don’t…um. My blood, needles…” Same.
“JESUUUUUUUS!!! Gloria. The police are still looking! Why don’t you go back to your micro-managerial ivory tower and let us get the f—k back to work!” The man. snapped. And there’s everyone’s blank stares…
Dana and Langdon!
Ok but even I know you’re never supposed to talk about it being “quiet” like that. Did Dr. Shen never watch ER?
“I mean, relatively speaking, I’m fan-F—ing-tastic.”
The tension in the room whenever Dr. Langdon and Dr. Santos are there together. Of course Dr. Ellis picks up on it. You’d have to have no sense of your surroundings not to. Patrick Ball and Isa Briones really nail it.
“What’s the beef with Langdon” indeed.
Speaking of tension! “Chadwick Harrison Ashcroft III.” “Please don’t call me that.” “D—chebag name for a d—chebag guy.” We have decided to stan McKay’s dad.
I will never not be in love with seeing McKay with her kid.
Small world. That girl looking for her mom was crying lady’s daughter. Navy guy who helped like 20-30 people is the brother of the woman who just found out her husband died in the last episode. Oof.
“I tried, man. I tried.” Survivor’s guilt kills.
“Robby…did everything he could to save your girlfriend. If he couldn’t save her, nobody could.” And of course Robby hears. Again, him being so close with Langdon is 100% why he reacted so badly to learning about the resident’s drug problem and having to send him home. It wasn’t just a professional betrayal — it was personal, too.
“Self-inflicted gunshot to the head.” Sure, sure. Murder and maim a bunch of people, ruin families, and then take the coward’s way out.
“Do we know why he did it?” “Does it matter.” THAT PART.
“What you’ve done down here…all the lives you’ve saved. There aren’t adequate words. Thank you.” But will anything change about her micro managing or the hospital’s resources? Of course not.
Robby putting his hoodie back on and taking off the gown and gloves — back to normal, armor gone.
Once again: PROTECT MEL.
“I already brushed my teeth.” What a precious little baby.
Imagine if these people just vaccinated their f—king kids like everyone else. Too many people haven’t seen what measles does and have taken the miracles of science for granted. Pointed that the two younger doctors haven’t even seen it before.
Another way to know The Pitt Season 1 Episode 14 is getting back to this hospital’s abnormal version of normal? Dr. Mohan has that slight bit of hesitation when Dr. Abbot has her take a big risk with their embolism patient. In the thick of it, “Slow Mo” was just jumping from patient to patient, thinking on her feet, drilling holes (still not over that)…but here, she’s surprised when Abbot says she’s doing the procedure. And when he argues with Dr. Walsh about the approach, she clearly has doubts. Just an hour ago, she would’ve just done the thing and moved on.
“I didn’t shoot anybody. I wouldn’t do that.” Robby is just so…gentle on the “I know.”
Love all those looks between Noah Wyle and Fiona Dourif. She is clearly looking to him for help with talking to David, and he’s clearly like “nope. Told you so. Your mess. Clean it up.”
“You’re not helping your case.” “Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu— you!”
“Tired?” “Yeah.” “Feet hurt? Brain feeling like mush?” “Absolutely.” “That patient doesn’t give a sh—. He needs you. Methemoglobinemia. Let’s go.” I would absolutely die for Dr. Ellis. Jot that down.
“You two definitely got beef.” Indeed.
“What happened here today is not normal. But you…you were a rockstar, Victoria.” He knows her name! And she still liiiiikes him.
“Not if you kill him first with this banana-pants procedure.” “We don’t have time to wait for your fancy-pants machine.” Surprising variety of pants in this ER tonight.
“We all have scary thoughts. It does not make you a bad person.”
“Seeing all those people come in here today — all those hurt people. And the death, and the blood! I was so afraid of you being that sad and angry. I can not bear to lose you.” Joanna Going, once again.
“Take the win, Dr. Mohan.” Yes, please do! She’s been such a star throughout this entire crisis, as well as earlier in the season with simply caring for her patients. Get you a doctor who can do both!
“…besides it was a little too risky for me to do myself.” …and then, her face…falls. Super, subtle work from Supriya Ganesh in this entire episode. Just great stuff, transitioning back from the supercharged Dr. Mohan to the version of the character we’ve had for most of Season 1, and showcasing all that hesitation during the argument between Walsh and Abbot, and the reaction to learning Abbot wasn’t even necessarily letting her do the procedure because of his faith in her…very well done.
“Never apologize for feeling something for your patients. Today was chaos. You were awesome. I’m really glad you’re with us, Dr. King.” OMG SAME.
If loving “snapping on this negligent anti-science mom” Dr. Robby is wrong, I refuse to ever be right.
…love seeing the younger doctors’ reactions to him cracking like that, too.
“YOUR SON IS CRITICALLY ILL. THE LONGER THAT WE WAIT, THE HIGHER THE RISK OF PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE. WHAT IS NOT CLEAR HERE?”
RFK Jr.’s trash a** would be so proud of this woman getting her kid this sick and then not wanting to help him. There is not enough suffering in this world for grifters like him who’ve gotten us to this place.
It’s the way Robby throws his hands up, all “wooowwww ok” for me.
“Fuuuuuuu—ing Dr. Google bullsh—. They want medical treatment, but they don’t want medical advice? What the actual F— are we doing?” No, really. I am Robby. Robby is me.
“I don’t know if I actually believe in God. Especially on days like today.” This is literally the most Jewish thing. Hold onto the rituals, still have doubts.
“A wise man once told me that you learn to live with it, learn to accept it, and find balance if you can. I hope we all do.” If you aren’t crying from Whitaker remembering Robby’s speech, are you human?
Ahhh, I see Dr. Abbot is just as fond of Dana as we all are. Good.
ACAB.
Leave Dr. McKay ALONE!!!
…but there’s an irony here, huh? She’s kinda a big reason why David’s been locked up for the past couple hours-ish, and she wanted the cops involved with his case sooo badly. And yet. She, of all people, should know cops suck.
That righteous indignation from Dourif right there at the end…that just…angst. She was supposed to go home and have some pasta with her kid!