The Pitt Season 2 Review - Character Tiers, Best Storylines, Patients, More

We're 2 weeks past the conclusion of Season 2 of The Pitt -- one of my favorite new shows out there, and one of the most critically-acclaimed shows on TV. The viewership hit all-time highs during it's 2nd season -- and the fandom on social media has never been louder (both praising and degrading the show -- some horribly stupid "fans" out there).

All in all, I thought it was a successful follow-up season to an almost-perfect 1st season -- even if it didn't hit the same highs. I liked that they didn't try to go bigger and badder than they did in Season 1, and rather used Season 2 as a way to dive deeper into the characters' lives, story arcs, and psyche. Not to mention plenty of new medical cases, procedures, and patient scenarios.

Today, we're diving into Season 2 of The Pitt -- characters, storylines, plots, etc -- and reviewing the season as a whole. Will be plenty of spoilers for Season 2 -- so if you haven't caught up yet, make sure you do before reading.

Character Tier List - Through Season 2

This is a comprehensive ranking of the characters from the start of Season 1 through the finale of Season 2. This is a subjective list -- I think most characters in the show are "good" -- but this is me ranking them by how much I personally like them, root for them, etc. And since there are so many people working in the ER -- this list is just for main cast, not patients.

Tier 1: The GOATs

Dr. Jack Abbott

Dr. Mel King

Dr. Dennis Whitaker

To think after Season 1 that Dr. Robby wouldn't be my clear-cut #1 favorite character was crazy -- but after S2, I've landed on these 3 being my Elite Tier.

Abbott is such a beast -- equal parts funny, badass, passionate, and mysterious. Dr. Mel has always been a personal favorite of Emily and I's -- I think she's the funniest character on the show, by far the most endearing, and even though she was pushed to the side far too much in S2, she'll always be top tier.

And Whitaker made a big jump for me in S2 -- his arc from S1 being the scared but knowledgeable med student just trying to get through a rotation, to finding his passion for Emergency Medicine and becoming Robby's protege was fun to watch.

Tier 2: Season 1 Faves -- Tougher 2nd Seasons

Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch

Dr. Frank Langdon

Nurse Dana Evans

After Season 1, my Tier 1 of The Pitt would've featured these 3 characters. And I think S2 did a good job of adding depth and making Robby and Dana more complex characters -- even if I think it made them slightly less likeable. We knew Robby had demons in S1, but S2 really expands and explores that side of him more -- and while I like them diving deep into his mental health, watching him berate female doctors constantly can be rough.

Dana is the heart and soul of the ED -- and Katherine LaNessa was a revelation in S1. My only complaint is I think they leaned too heavy into the "Mama Bear" aspect -- which feels forced at times.

Langdon was far and away the most interesting character in S1 to me -- an incredible doctor with substance-abuse issues, a temper, and a God-complex. Naturally, he had to be nerfed in S2 following his rehab -- but it felt like they had him toe the line between truly reformed and not. I wish they fully committed to one end of that spectrum.

Tier 3: Need them On-Screen More

Dr. John Shen

Dr. Parker Ellis

Dr. Yolanda Garcia

Dr. Crus Henderson

If you're a hardcore Pitt fan -- you've seen the clamoring online for a spin-off "Night Shift" of the show. And I'll bang that drum if it means we get more Dr. Shen, Dr. Ellis, and Dr. Henderson in Season 3 (spoiler alert for S3 casting -- Dr. Ellis will become a series regular, replacing Dr. Mohan who isn't returning).

Shen and Ellis got some runway in Season 1 during the latter stretch of episodes -- and I'd love to see more. Shen cracks me up while Ellis is just a badass. Crus was new to S2 and I think he's a breath of fresh air. And the abrasive, confrontational Garcia from Surgery adds a necessary tension among the staff in The Pitt.

Tier 4: Nurses we Love + Joy

Princess

Perlah

Emma

Donnie

Jessie

Joy

Short and Sweet here -- all the nurses in this show don't get as much screentime as the others, but I love what they bring to the table, and hope they all stick around for next season. And I just love Joy -- her dipping out of the ED exactly at the end of her shift cracked me up.

Tier 5: Robby's Angels

Dr. Samira Mohan

Dr. Cassie McKay

Victoria Javadi

Despite this being the 2nd to last tier -- I don't dislike any of the 3 characters here. But I do think they fit well together as 3 of the female doctors (med student for Javadi) in the ED that Robby has issues with throughout S2.

Starting with Mohan, I was sad to hear the news that Supriya Ganesh is leaving the cast after S2. Her character goes through the ringer in this season -- and on top of it all, Robby is horrible to her the whole way. McKay is similar -- just never found Robby's good side, but is clearly a great doctor.

Javadi made a big jump for me this season -- I really wasn't a fan in S1, but she continued to grow on me as we went along.

Tier 6: HELL

James Ogilve

Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi

Dr. Trinity Santos

There's only one Tier on this list where I genuinely dislike the characters in it -- and we've arrived there. To reiterate -- I'm not saying if you like any of these characters that you're wrong, but for me personally: I have major issues with all 3 of these -- despite some redemptive aspects to their characters.

Starting with Ogilve -- Med student #2 of the season. He's a gunner -- overly-ambitious, competing to prove he's the smartest person in the room, over-confident. His lack of compassion and his arrogance early on overshadow his redemptive arc toward the end.

Dr. Al-Hashimi was the biggest addition to Season 2 -- the new Attending that will be taking over for Robby during his Sabbatical. She suffers from a neurological disorder, and that likely impacted how the actress played this character. But for me, I couldn't stand both the character or the performance. She speaks like a robot, has zero emotion until the final 2 episodes, no people-skills, and is an absolute bore of a character.

And finally, both Dr. Langdon's and My #1 Opp -- Dr. Santos. If you like Santos, I'm not going to tell you you're wrong. There's a lot going on with her, she can be funny, she's clearly smart. But I cannot stand her cynical approach, rudeness, and general annoyance to everyone else. Thinks she's better than everyone, doesn't listen, rude to patients. My biggest pet peeve -- Langdon was essentially a bully to her in S1, Yes. But she acts like a victim in that while bullying everyone else around her. I don't find the friendship with Whitaker sweet (from Whitaker I do, not from her), and while she does have good moments as a doctor -- I find her insufferable.

Next, we're going to break down the major storylines from the season. Then we'll go through the wildest procedures and patient-specific scenarios, and we'll close with our favorite minor characters of the season.

Biggest Non-Procedure Storylines of S2:

The Cyberattack and Shutdown

ICE Intervention

Robby's Suicidal Thoughts

Al-Hashimi's Medical Condition

Emma Attacked by Patient

Langdon's Return to the ED

Samira's Stress/Issues with Mom

Mel's Deposition

Waterslide Collapse

Dr. Santo's Internal Struggles

Javadi's "What's Next" Decision

For a season I praised for not trying to outdo the Mass Casualty event of Season 1 -- on paper, this season was full of intense plots.

The cyberattack was teased as the "big bad" plot of the season -- and it definitely presented challenges as the ED went analog. I thought it was an effective plot device to present new challenges for the staff -- but it wasn't a massive obstacle.

The ICE plot in Ep. 11 was wild. 2 ICE officers (one who is massive) walking in their detainee with an injured shoulder for treatment, and seeing the amount of patients/staff bolt at the sight. Not to mention them taking Nurse Jessie.

Many of the other big storylines were more personal -- every main character had their own struggles throughout. The most interesting to me was Robby's -- his dark thoughts drove the latter half of the season as Dana, Abbott, Duke tried to talk him off the ledge. We knew something was off with Al-Hashimi, so finding out what it was in the finale was big. And I was always interested to see where the Langdon scenes would go -- him talking to Robby, Dana, Santos -- because there was a lot of unfinished business that played out in different ways.

Notable Patients/Procedures

Favorite Patients:

Duke - Robby's Motorcycle Buddy

Digby - the Homeless Man

Louie - Alcoholic Recurring Patient, Toothache

Howard - Overweight Man w/ Perforated Diverticulitis

These 4 played very different roles in how S2 played out, but all were very impactful to me. Duke was Robby's VIP patient who wound up having a heart issue that needs to be addressed -- but more importantly, him being able to talk Robby down a bit and level with him as an outside party was a vital factor.

Digby showed up to the ED with a maggot-infested cast, covered in dirt with overgrown hair -- and he left cleaned up with a fresh haircut/shave and Whitaker's ID badge. He really lasted from Ep 1 to the finale, and his presence brought out the best in Dana and Emma's storyline of S2.

Louie, our only carryover patient from S1, was a pleasant surprise to see early in S2. But those fond memories quickly faded as his toothache took a turn and he coded -- and eventually died in the ED. Seeing how well the staff had gotten to know Louie -- and how sad they were when he passed -- brought some of the most emotional moments of the season.

And finally Howard -- my favorite patient for both likeability, and the intrigue surrounding his medical case. Howard is a big fella that came in with abdominal pain, and he wound up needing both a gnarly nasotracheal intubation, as well as surgery that would put his survival chances at 50/50. He forced the doctors to get creative, showed the bias that exists toward overweight individuals from doctors, and was genuinely a gem of a human.

Saddest Stories:

Roxie - the Mother Dying of Cancer

Ilana - the Sexual Assault Victim

Orlando - Diabetic Patient w/o Health Insurance

Evelyn/Ethan - Alzheimer's Elderly Patient and her Husband

Baby Jane Doe - Abandoned Baby

Michael - Brain Growth/Memory-Loss

In season 1, the overdose college student case really broke me down. I don't think anything in S2 got me quite like that did -- but they came close.

The Roxie storyline was far and away the hardest to watch -- a mother with cancer slowly dying in front of our eyes as viewers, her husband and two young sons, and the hospital staff. This is clearly the type of story The Pitt is interested in telling -- and they do it respectfully -- but holy shit is it difficult and uncomfortable to watch.

Ilana -- similarly to Digby -- brought out some of the best moments from Dana and Emma. But this was a much more delicate plot, and while both were emotional -- this one was tough to watch. But I appreciated them taking the time to show the process with respect.

You knew something bad could happen when Orlando showed up and was so eager to leave -- knowing they couldn't afford the medical bills that would accrue with his treatment. But seeing him leave AMA and show up later after a fall (and the gnarly ensuing procedure leaving him with long-term disabilities) was gut-wrenching.

Seeing Evelyn with Alzheimer's unable to accept/remember her husband's passing was tough. Michael interacting with his ex-wife after his diagnosis was both happy and sad. And of course, Baby Jane Doe (*Dana-yinzer-dialect*), was a very notable and sad storyline all season.

Most Interesting/Mysterious:

Kylie - Child Patient, Potential Abuse

Jackson - Psych Eval College Student

Liam - Leg Abrasion, On The Run from Police

A few quick hits of more thrilling plots -- starting with the young girl Santos thinks is being abused by her father. This one rubbed me the wrong way a little -- obviously, if she is being abused, Santos is totally right to be so abrasive -- but the fact she just assumes it without being able to back it up is exactly the type of person she is.

Jackson was a super interesting case -- young college kid with new-onset psychosis. It took a few episodes to figure out what was happening -- and how they dealt with his family was intriguing to me.

And Liam -- the asshole who teased our Sweet Mel King before barreling over her to evade the cops. All my homies hate Liam.

Gnarliest Procedures:

Judith - "Wild Pregnancy" Patient w/ Eclampsia/HELLP

Lyman - Spinal Cord Injury, Closed Reduction

Debbie - Foot Rash to Severe Cellulitis/Amputee

"Tracheal Displacement" in Ep. 7

"Clamshell Thoracotomy" in Ep. 1

Airlifted Amputate Leg in Ep. 10

And lastly, let's close things out with the gnarliest procedures of the season. There are so many more than just these 5 -- but these stuck out to me the most.

The freshest on my mind -- and for my money, the craziest of the season -- came in the finale. The "wild pregnancy" had me on the edge of my seat. Insane patient not wanting any medical intervention -- only problem is, she'll fucking die without it. Abbott, Robby, Shen, Ellis, McKay, Crus -- all hands on deck. Laundry list of issues, needs an emergency hysterectomy which was downright GNARLY to watch. Good reminder that Doctors are superheroes.

As mentioned earlier, I loved seeing Dr. Langdon get back to being a badass doctor, pulling off a closed reduction that no one else in that ED would have the balls to do. Pulled it off perfectly, saved a life, risked paralyzing the guy to do so -- that's the Langdon I know and love (fuck you Santos, let the man live).

Started hot for Langdon cause this one's not his best. Debbie came in with a cellulitis rash, but came back with it spreading like wildfire, turning into sepsis. The gnarliest part was Robby slicing into her leg to convince Garcia she needed to go to surgery -- and we find out later she needed an above the knee amputation. Brutal.

The tracheal displacement was the patient who's trachea was literally coming out of his throat, which damn near made me yak. The thoracotomy was in ep 1 where they had to cut across the dude's chest and basically crack his chest open so they could get in there and "twist the lung" to stop a massive hemorrhage. Both of these were nearly impossible for my squeamish ass to watch.

Lastly, anytime someone's getting handed a cleanly cut off leg, it's making my list. This one was most memorable to me for Dr. Park the Shark though -- the orthopedic surgeon who looks like if a shark became a human being. Just mogging Whitaker for 2 straight minutes.

And there you have it -- my long-winded return to blogging after a brief hiatus all about my favorite show on TV.

I hate the misconception surrounding this show from so many of my friends and people online.

"Oh it's a medical drama? Like Grey's Anatomy? Not my style."

You ignorant Baboon, this show is about as similar to Grey's Anatomy as Breaking Bad is to Bluey. If I can watch it, I guarantee you can too.

If you've made it this far and have watched the newest season of The Pitt -- I've been dying to talk about it with someone, so please hit me up. Let me know your favorite characters -- favorite storylines -- most hated characters -- anything!