While Robby struggles with a loss, Abbott coaches Samira through a risky procedure, and Mel treats a teen with a mysterious rash.
It's tragic that hospitals have to be prepared for mass shootings. It's yet another aspect of the gun violence epidemic that has become commonplace. It's better to respond after the fact than try to treat the causes that lead someone to commit this kind of violence. The season hinted at something tragic happening at PittFest. The doctors and nurses spent over two hours treating all of the victims. The environment is able to return to some kind of normalcy. No one really has any time to process all that they've endured. The shift was brutal for the staff before this tragedy occurred. This mass violence has pushed all of them to their breaking points. This isn't a normal day. It was the first day for a number of characters. Javadi questions how everyone was prepared. It's insane for her to imagine. She's young and still gets tongue-tied around a boy she thinks is cute. She offered assistance during this response. Others look after her because of her youth. She already fainted once. No one wants that to happen again. It's genuine kindness. The staff have to care for themselves in order to be of service to others. The day shift is physically exhausted. They have to overcome the pain to treat people who need it. The interns have more to learn. Their education can't suffer because of this chaos. They deserve the best. Right now though, the senior physicians have their doubts about continuing in this environment. They know what to expect. The system will never change from what they endure daily. The agony has been built up over a long time. They rarely get the support they need. Even when the resources are flown in, they lament how much suffering their fellow humans must face.
Rock, paper, scissors determined who would find Robby in the aftermath of his breakdown in the pediatric room. Whitaker was responsible for pulling him out of it. He doesn't offer something profound to motivate him. He simply knows the rest of the system will crash without Robby's guidance. He offers a hand to get him up. Robby does the rest. His trauma isn't suddenly healed. His emotions aren't in check either. He spends the rest of the hour lashing out. Sometimes, he's good at covering it. He needs others to step up. He's grateful for the interns covering their zone. They have a good enough handling on it that Santos looks for cases elsewhere. She's always on the prowl in that regard. Yet her confidence is shaken when Langdon is also working. It's obvious. It stops her in her tracks. She fears repercussions for reporting him. He was able to continue operating in this environment because a tragedy occurred. He was needed. He doesn't go home the moment the burden has been overcome. He still wants to work. Robby doesn't have the ability to confront him. He can't look at Jake either. He can only see all that was lost. He feels it deeply. He carries it within him for years. His entire history comes crashing down on him. He snaps at Gloria and parents who refused to vaccinate their children. He doesn't have patience for anything. He has more expertise than nearly anyone in this workplace. Yet his struggle is more profound than anything he has previously experienced.
Despite being in triage for the entire response, Shen never lost his relaxed attitude to the job. He has the skills to make the initial assessments. Yet he also tempts fate repeatedly when others suggest the surge of victims has reached its end. On two occasions, he notes the quiet only for it to be disrupted. At first, a heroic responder arrives with the latest person he saved only to need treatment himself. And then, an ambulance pulls in with a separate trauma that has nothing to do with the festival. The moment the hospital opens back up to other emergencies, they are hit with more cases. Throughout this response, the staff had to see the patients as numbers. They couldn't do anything more than that. They had to take a more analog approach. They couldn't waste any time updating medical charts. They had to be bold with the decisions they made. In the heat of the moment, every risky maneuver ultimately paid off. So much was informed by research articles the various doctors had seen. That resulted in them clashing with other physicians. Abbott and Mohan treat an air bubble in a man's heart against the orders of the cardio team. Abbott apparently knows better and is more than willing to let Mohan carry the risk. Walsh doubts the procedure the entire time. She's ready to step in and act. Yet it's the latest victory. The emergency doctors don't have to linger over whether their decisions impaired the lives of their patients. They simply seek to keep everyone stable enough to go into surgery. The job offers more than that. That's what the fundamentals ultimately are. The clashes are the same whether in the midst of this chaos or during a normal shift.
Moreover, it's confirmed David wasn't the shooter. He was isolated in the Pitt as if he was. That's what the rumor spreading amongst the nurses was. It was rampant speculation. It was all informed by the list of girls he wanted to eliminate. Robby and McKay are tasked with apologizing to him. He still can't go home. Theresa signed off on a psychiatric hold. David needs to talk to a professional. He's outraged over how anyone could think he would do something so violent. That was the fear for the entire day. He wasn't responding. He stopped engaging with life. He was caught in his own world and refused to acknowledge the humanity in others. He pleads for his mother. She has compassion. She's also trying to do what's best for him. This family is broken. That was true when they first came into the Pitt. They are on the road to recovery. David doesn't see it that way. Plus, Robby blames McKay for letting everyone buy into the fantasy of David's worst impulses. Robby uses the truth as justification for how he handled this family throughout the day. He was previously willing to acknowledge his shortcomings. He had a blindspot in this case. He should have shown more concern for the girls on David's list. That was McKay's initial response. She believed she acted accordingly by calling the police. She trusted them to do what's right. And yet, she's getting arrested for tampering with her ankle monitor. She couldn't afford to be out of commission while the tech turned off the alarm remotely. She will be punished for it despite being a hero throughout the shift.
None of the physicians receive the appreciation they deserve. Instead, they are just suppose to find a way to live with it. That's the advice Robby offered Whitaker when he lost a patient during the first few hours of his shift. Robby didn't profess to having all of the answers. He offered a coping mechanism that works for him on occasion. Now, Robby needs to be on the receiving end of that advice. He must acknowledge the limitations on his own ability to save lives. He sought comfort in the prayer he shared every morning with his grandmother. Whitaker happens to be a theologian minor. He responds with his own insight on the matter. He provides that connection even when Robby fears Whitaker will tell someone what he saw. That's not how Whitaker has operated. It's been a grueling day and not everyone has the patience to recognize that. Instead, they have to keep giving. Robby is the only doctor who identifies the measles infection. His experience is necessary in this environment. Everyone sees that. Yet Dana and Abbott remain worried. They have never seen Robby like this before. They couldn't find him at the top of the hour. They know it's a consequence of Leah's death. That hits him hard. No one should feel bad about connecting with a patient. Despite all of this, Robby still provides that guidance and grace to Mel. She's overjoyed that Trish and Morgan got to reunite despite Trish's husband being killed. It's a moment of true human connection. That happens with abundance in this place. It's emotionally taxing. Mel is uplifted but Robby is depressed and anxious for his staff to finally sign off for the day. The season won't end with the staff still responding to the shooting. With one episode left though, it's unclear what exactly the show still has left to drop on these characters.
