Samira pushes back against Robby after treating an influencer with odd symptoms. Santos handles a patient accused of assault.
Robby is having an off day. He doesn't want to be at work. He shouldn't be there if he is incapable of teaching and supervising his staff. Collins calls him out for his behavior. She has had enough of his attitude. She isn't the only person who notices. Dana takes a more gentle approach. She sees the same issues and the troubles they cause. Collins hits a breaking point. She encourages Mohan to trust her instincts. It's important for her to look deeper instead of writing off a patient as suffering from a psychological break. That leads her to the true culprit of heavy metal poisoning. Mohan listened. She took in all the evidence and arrived at a diagnosis. Of course, she still has to run the tests to confirm. She has already ordered more than what Robby initiated asked for. He wants her to manage her time better. It's important for the doctors to rule out a number of possibilities. When the patient came in, it was easy for the doctors to jump to possible schizophrenia. That's what it appeared to be. It should never be seen that easily. So much more could be going on that explains the symptoms. It requires the doctors to see each patient as human. Each case behaves in a different way. Robby wants the Pitt to run more efficiently. He faces those demands from hospital management. He goes around in circles with the same arguments. Nothing fundamentally changes. Yet he breaks because of the significance of this day.
All of this was readily available information from the very beginning. At the start of the season, it was explained that this was the anniversary of Dr. Adamson's death. Robby is trying to push through this day at work for the first time. He's constantly being reminded of what happened to his mentor. Many different cases cause that trauma to reignite. Intubating a patient reminds him of Adamson. The pediatric room reminds him of Adamson. And now, placing someone on ECMO causes those memories to flare up. It comes with the reveal that Robby had to make the choice to end Adamson's life in order to potentially save another. Tough decisions like that had to be made all the time during the pandemic. Frontline healthcare workers had to assess where their limited resources would do the most good. Adamson's condition didn't improve. Robby had to be willing to let go. He continues to struggle with that decision. He's not eating. Instead, he's lashing out. He's still capable of practicing medicine. He faces the brutal realities of this job. He's not managing the different personalities that form this workplace. Instead, a lot of chaos is happening. Sometimes his expertise is respected. Other times, people let their emotions get the better of them.
It culminates in the devastating realization of Collins likely losing her baby. That too was hinted at heavily throughout the season. The action pointed out her wincing in pain while holding her stomach. And then, it was dramatic when she was pushed out of the way while Kristi's mom and aunt were fighting. She doesn't view that as assault. Robby supports his staff and exaggerates slightly to make a point to Gloria. He accepts Collins assessment of the situation. He's also frustrated enough to believe he has to handle it himself. He's the only one who can mend this chaos. That only amounts to him getting Kristi out of the bathroom. He fulfills his duty to maintain safety in the Pitt. Meanwhile, Collins is actually the one who provides resolution for this family. Kristi believes her life is coming to an end because she is pregnant. Her mother refuses to let her terminate the pregnancy. She was a teen mother too. Yet having Kristi was the best decision she ever made. She wants to make that same choice for her as well. The situations are different. Kristi is crying out for help. This isn't something she can handle right now. Her mother has to be willing to listen. Otherwise, she will only force her daughter away. It's a heartbreaking sentiment. It gets across beautifully though. Collins handles all of this excellently. Yet her reward is pure agony in the bathroom. She's deprived of what she actually wants.
Collins even demands Robby to leave his personal drama outside like the rest of the staff does. He needs to be professional. So many people are counting him to behave that way. If he can't, then he should leave. Collins essentially follows that same advice. She continues to work and be supportive to both her colleagues and patients. She's in pain. Yet she advises Mohan on what to do. She helps the good samaritan from the train station reunite with the woman he saved. Sure, it comes with the reveal that Minu was pushed. She was the victim of a hate crime. Her savior is determined to help catch the criminal. That moment of connection is meaningful. The staff made it happen. Even amidst the darkness, the beauty of the human experience can be found in this place. Moreover, the personal lives of the staff outside of work can inform their abilities to do this job. It doesn't have to play out according to those extremes. Mel knows precisely how to communicate with an autistic patient because of her experience with her sister. In the span of an hour, she actually gives Terrence everything he needs. That's remarkable considering the amount of time most characters spend in the Pitt. She gets it all resolved here and impresses Langdon in the process. He's genuine with his compliment. Of course, Mel may take it the wrong way because Santos got in her head earlier.
Santos remains a complicated figure who obviously carries a lot of baggage into this work. She's not unique in that way. She also takes out her emotions on her colleagues. That extends to a patient. A guy fell off a ladder. She got to put in a chest tube. She messed up. She doesn't want to be defined by that mistake. But now, she overcorrects. Robby doesn't exactly inspire much confidence. The patient's wife suspects he has been molesting their daughter. She confesses to Santos. The intern reports it to her supervisor. She doesn't heed his advice. Instead, she takes her own action. The state requires doctors to report any signs of abuse. She believes it's her duty to confront this monstrosity. She does so without the support or consent of anyone involved. It's clear she carries personal trauma from a similar situation. She knows the signs of grooming. Yet she doesn't know how to carefully talk to Alana in a way that gets her to open up. She's outraged that the mother will be arrested for poisoning her husband. Her heart was in the right place. Mistakes were made. People have to be held accountable for their actions. Santos doesn't see that as right. And so, she confronts her patient. He can't speak. She threatens him. It's terrifying. It gets the message across. That's all she can do. She acts out believing this is justice. It's personally satisfying. It still may not result in a happy outcome. She goes rogue. She lashes out in a way that is so revealing about her behavior. These characters are reaching climactic points in their journeys this season. So much time is left for even more to occur too.
