Spoilers for the finale of The Pitt
The last time I stayed up past my bedtime to watch a show as it aired was during the finale of Mare of Easttown in 2021. HBO did not have the capacity to accommodate demand and the livestream cut out for many viewers. Luckily Max (nee HBO) held up this time for the finale of their wildly popular emergency room-based series The Pitt. If you’re not familiar with The Pitt, it’s set in real time in a Pittsburgh emergency room during a particularly harrowing day. Each one-hour episode represents an hour in a 15 hour shift. The doctors, nurses, patients and scenarios are stressful, up close and so real-feeling it raises your adrenaline. If you’re comfortable with realistic-looking gore and you’re a horror fan like me, this is the show for you. If you’re not, you should definitely skip it.
There are a ton of spoilers here and these are just my somewhat random thoughts, organized by character.
Robby and Abbott
In the show’s first episode, Dr. Robby talked Dr. Abbott down from a ledge on the hospital roof, where he was trying to decompress after a particularly hard shift. In finale, Dr. Abbott talked Dr. Robby back from that same ledge after his shift. It was an obvious full circle moment, as was Dr. Robby putting in his earbuds at the end of the day to hear some of the only music we got. When these two were shooting the sh-t in the park after their shift, Dr. Abbott pulled off his prosthesis to rub his amputated leg. It was kind of delightful that Abbott’s prosthesis was just a sidenote. Abbott offering Robby his therapist’s number gave me hope that Robby could heal, as did the touching moment when Dana told Robby to go as easy on himself as he would a colleague. That’s one of my favorite pieces of advice – to treat yourself like you would a dear friend, and it seemed fitting that it came from Dana, who was about to quit her job and finally put herself first.
Dana and Langdon
The scene between Dana and Langdon in the kitchen had so many levels to it. Dana was fed up and just trying to get a cup of coffee and she saw through Langdon’s story quickly. Langdon was pleading to the most influential woman in the ER to help him get his job back while she was hoping to get some distance from hers. He is a manipulative piece of work who isn’t willing to go to rehab or meetings, as Robby so clearly laid out to him as a path to redemption. Langdon’s scene where he threatened Robby by using Robby’s breakdown shows how low Langdon will go and that he should never be trusted. Santos knew this about him, and she was the only person willing to call him out. She’s an astute judge of character and one of my favorite characters.
Mohan and Mel
Mohan gets a burst of energy at the end of the extended shift and then crashes while Mel just gets more cerebral. It’s lovely to see Mel finally get to see her special needs sister, who only wants to get pizza and watch Elf. Both of these young doctors have such compassion and care for their patients. I hope we get to see more of Mohan’s personal life in the second season.
McKay and Javadi
When McKay was almost hauled off to jail for disabling her ankle monitor I clapped. She had few redeeming qualities and I really disliked her, which must mean that Fiona Dourif is a fabulous actress. At first I agreed with Robby that McKay should not have reported that young man with the hit list to the authorities. As NPR points out it was Robby, not McKay, who alerted the cops to his presence at the hospital. Given the situation, both reactions were more than justified. Plus his mom was so worried about him she took ipecac. McKay’s relationship with Javadi’s crush Mateo was barely mentioned, but you know that Mateo isn’t interested in that doe-eyed ingenue, who isn’t old enough to drink the beer she’s offered in the park. Javadi made it clear that medicine is not her choice of a career, and her interactions with her meddling doctor mother only underscore that. McKay is a good doctor, she just needs to stop trying to save every potential victim and catch every predator she comes across.
Santos and Whitaker
Santos is a familiar trope – the abrasive character with the heart of gold, and that came through when she found Whitaker in his makeshift accommodation in an empty wing of the hospital. She knew he didn’t have anywhere else to go and she offered him her spare room. I would watch a whole show with just these two as roommates. You know their dynamic is going to be off the charts next season. Her life experiences helped her recognize a patient who was crashing from low sodium and a young man who had poisoned himself. She also knew she could trust Whitaker in her home and that he needed the help. I hope we get to see Whitaker visit the unhoused man he helped earlier this season when he does his volunteer outreach. This revelation about Whitaker was another moving parallel.
I’m sure I missed so much, but I’ll definitely watch all 15 episodes again. The Pitt is one of my favorite shows of all time. We’re getting a second season set on the Fourth of July. It’s coming in January. If you’re like me and want more Pitt, I highly recommend Berlin ER on AppleTV.
‘THE PITT’ Season 2 will premiere in January 2026.
• Set during Fourth of July weekend
• Max plans to release a new season every year.
— DiscussingFilm (@discussingfilm.bsky.social) April 9, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Photos credit HBO/Max and via social media