After last week’s swing back into things at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, episode 2 of The Pitt gives us a little more time to mellow out before things inevitably pick up. This second hour allows us to nestle back into the routine of a shift, following these characters on their rounds. It is one of the things The Pitt, as both a medical and workplace drama, does exceedingly well.

We are beginning to see more of the shape of the thing between Robby (Wyle) and Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi). Spoiler: It’s tension, and not the good kind. We can save that for Noelle Hastings (Meta Golding). Al-Hashimi continues shadowing Robby in preparation of his sabbatical, but the two butt heads on ideas more often than not.

Courtesy: Warrick Page/MAX

As is the main topic of conversation pretty much everywhere at the moment, Al-Hashimi wants to implement AI into the current workings of the Pitt (or, as Kwon [Irene Choi] calls it, “Almost Intelligent.”) by using a new transcribing app. You can see the power struggle begin to intensify as Robby tries to hold on to the tried-and-true charting methods.

Things Are… Kinda… Gross

Everybody is going to be talking about the maggots. But don’t worry–none were harmed in the filming of this television show. And, honestly, they were just doing their job! Maggots clean wounds, so Digby should be thankful that he brought along a couple of friends.

Ultimately, this is a hospital. Besides issues like open dislocations, there are also those a little bit more, shall we say, amorous in nature. And yes, this does mean we have gotten our serving of dick jokes for this season courtesy of a man who took not one, but two ED dosages (one on each side!). Happy twentieth wedding anniversary to him. Poor Santos (Isa Briones) and Mel (Taylor Dearden) are the lucky ones tasked with (quite graphically) relieving the man’s issue.

Courtesy: Warrick Page/MAX

Langdon Gets Something Off His Chest

Langdon (Patrick Ball) still has not quite re-found his footing. Robby has him sequestered over in triage, and the others are still giving him a somewhat wide berth. Triage, however, proves fateful when Mel has to be treated after an injured felon knocks her off her stool.

The relationship between Langdon and Mel has been one of the most compelling of the show. They’re both there for each other when no one else is. As he’s treating her, Langdon uses the opportunity to apologize for his actions last season.

“I just needed to get it all out of my system once and for all.,” he said. “Yeah, I didn’t handle things the way I should have. I thought I could treat myself, and I let a lot of people down. I’m sorry, Mel.”

Mel’s response? “You never let me down.” Ugh. I love them both so much.

The Old, The New, And Their Hubris

I have loved seeing Whittaker (Gerran Howell) step up this season as a doctor. Gone is the unsure resident from before: Now, he is consistently getting some of the hospital’s most difficult cases, like dealing with the Alzheimer’s-ridden widow who thinks her husband is still alive.

Whittaker, along with Santos and Javadi (Shabana Azeez), all feel more comfortable this shift. Though they are all much more sure-footed than they were before, that does not mean that there are not certain issues they’re dealing with. Javadi, especially, is still feeling the pressure from her mother.

However, her mother isn’t the only issue Javadi is currently dealing with. Ogilvie (Lucas Iverson) is seemingly determined to one-up everybody in the room, especially Javadi. Their egos continuously clash against each other throughout this episode, and it seems like it is something else that will permeate the entire season.

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