Loading summary
Transcript332 lines
- [00:00]
A
I am your host, Stassi Schroeder. Welcome to Tell Me Lies, the official podcast. What's the most unhinged thing of season three?
- [00:09]
B
Steven. Because he's so evil, I do think he is misunderstood.
- [00:12]
A
You see everyone face consequences. It's intoxicating. The writers just know how to trick ya. There's always a twist in this show. It's nothing you would expect. Tell Me Lies, the official podcast, January 6th. And stream the new season of Tell Me Lies January 13th on Hulu and Hulu on Disney. Hello. Welcome back to the Prestige TV podcast feed. I'm Joyna Robinson.
- [00:52]
B
I'm Rob Mahoney.
- [00:53]
A
It is 2026, and we're here to talk about the Pit. Rob, we're back.
- [01:00]
B
Thank God. Which is to say thank Robbie. Thank everyone involved in making the Pit for making TV on an actual TV schedule. We are so blessed.
- [01:08]
A
We're gonna start, kind of unusually for us, with just a sort of big picture. Hey, the Pit's back. Rob, did you like this episode of Television? How did you feel about it?
- [01:18]
B
Guess what? I did. Oh, I'm glad to be back. I will say it's perfect timing. I'm ready to be stressed out again by the horrors of living in an ER in basically real time. And I think it's. You know, Joey, it was so comforting strolling into last season and just like this well run TV machine that was so surehanded from the start, and I feel like we're getting it now, but also with the comforts of knowing these characters so well. It's really a brilliant place to be.
- [01:46]
A
I believe the accurate Mahoneyism was well made furniture.
- [01:50]
B
It was well made furniture.
- [01:52]
A
Well made furniture.
- [01:53]
B
I believe you tried to compare it to particle board.
- [01:55]
A
Oh, and you know what? Listen, here we are. The television academy does not agree with me. No. I mean, I obviously came to really, really appreciate and love the Pit. I think I. To your point, I think the beginning of season one, I felt a little lost at sea because I didn't feel like I had a grip on all the characters. And there was just, you know, it's the point of the Pit is that it's just go, go, go, go. And I felt like I was sort of sinking a little bit. And then I learned to swim and everything was great. And on the rewatch, you know, I just rewatched the first season over the last couple weeks, and that was like a really great experience because to your point, coming into season two, when you rewatch season one, knowing everyone and especially knowing where things are going. There's a lot of, like, aha moments at the beginning of the season that feel like they pay off later, and a lot of just like it's much more comfortable to be familiar with the characters, familiar with their foibles, with their strengths, all that sort of stuff. So we are coming into this season with a couple major Emmy awards on the shelf for the Pit. It won drama series at the Emmys. Kathryn Lanasa won both the Emmy and very recently the Critics Choice Award. So she's just living it up. And Noah Wylie, also like Emmy award winner Noah Wiley. You love to see it. Great stuff.
- [03:16]
B
Sounds pretty good. I gotta say, when you put it that way. We do love to hear it.
- [03:19]
A
It sounds right. We're gonna. We're gonna do two quick sort of catching up on the where and the who of the Pit before we get into sort of our more regular breakdown of this episode. So we're not gonna do this every week, but we are gonna do it here as we dive back into 2026 timeline. When are we. So it's the 4th of July, 2026, and according to the Reddit detectives, and you can disagree with me if you want to, but according to the Reddit detectives, season one was mid September 2025, and it was, like, cited and they had, like, sources in various episodes of, like, that it was a September that it was like, I think a Friday, that it was a this, that and the other thing, so mid September. So it has been, if my math is correct, and it's probably not 10 months.
- [04:06]
B
I believe we get a mention around Langdon in some capacity that it's been about 10 months since they saw him last.
- [04:11]
A
So that tracks. Yeah, 10 months since we saw. Since Langdon, you know, got kicked out, came back kicked out again of the ed. 4th of July. I got really excited when they said it was 4th of July even before Dr. Shen said, so far, nobody has blown off any fingers like Fourth of July. The possibilities are endless for what could land us in the emergency department. How do you feel about this as, like, a timeline setting for this season?
- [04:41]
B
It's perfect. I mean, it is our national holiday of bad decisions. And so right now we're in the stage where, as they alluded to in the episode, it's, you know, old folks rolling in after they've been awoken from their beds with various issues at senior living facilities. The later we get in the dajo, the crazier this stuff gets. And so I feel like it naturally will feed the momentum of this kind of season.
- [05:02]
A
Have you Ever set off your own personal fireworks?
- [05:06]
B
You're from Texas, I'm a Texan. What do you think the answer to that is?
- [05:10]
A
All right, of course.
- [05:11]
B
Have you. Have you?
- [05:13]
A
I've. I've observed it from nearby, like people in a neighborhood. But I've never personally lit a firework off. And it's like they're hard to purchase here in California.
- [05:25]
B
So let me tell you, in Texas they are not.
- [05:27]
A
That's not the problem.
- [05:28]
B
They are giving them away. It's a, it's a classic. Like buy one get 15 free at every stand on the side of like a farm to market road. But every city is so different in terms of how you can set them off. And so one particularly vivid memory, I have to say, outside of Dallas, where most of the areas around Dallas, you cannot set them off yourself. But there was this one contained like parcel of land and just like hundreds of people setting up their fireworks there. It was like an active war zone. It was incredible and horrifying.
- [05:56]
A
Something that happens like around Dolores park in San Francisco is that the ambulances just park nearby on 4th of July. Like this is true. And like, you know, just waiting to pick up people with blown off fingers, et cetera. Okay. Robbie is riding around helmetless on his motorcycle. Yeah. So he's totally fine. This is a fine behavior from the head of an emergency department, you know.
- [06:17]
B
Double yellow line, who cares? I'm a doctor on a motorcycle about.
- [06:21]
A
To go on a three month sabbatical. So one last job, one last shift in the ED before he goes off on a three month sabbatical. And one last thing I want to say before we get to sort of like our cast of characters here is I just want to acknowledge our listener Brenna, who came back a year later with a kind of told you email to prestigetvpot. Last season when we spent a lot of time wondering who was playing Pit Fest, several of the fine folks from Pittsburgh mentioned this band, the Clarks.
- [06:50]
B
Yes.
- [06:51]
A
And the Clarks track better off without you is what kicks off this episode. And Brenna emailed us to be like, excuse me, I told you the Clarks. And this is what she wrote in her email to us a year ago. Quote, I'm 95% sure Robbie would be a fan of them based on his whole vibe. So yes, Robbie is listening to the Clarks on his motorcycle with no helmet on. And that brings us to our first sort of exercise here today. Rob Mahoney. We're going to attempt to do a pit org chart. We kind of tried to do this last season, I have a much better grip on what it means to be an attending versus a resident versus an intern versus a med student.
- [07:29]
B
You're basically a doctor yourself.
- [07:31]
A
I mean, so. So based on scrub color, we've got a lot of context clues of what's going on here. So this is what I want to do, sort of from the top down. Like, who's the highest ranking down the list? With this one caveat, I think most people who work in hospitals and probably a lot of the characters on the pit would tell you that nurses don't necessarily rank under doctors when it comes to knowing what the fuck is going on.
- [07:56]
B
Sure.
- [07:56]
A
But for our purposes today, I am going to put the nurses below the sort of doctors of med students. But I just want you nurses, you can stop typing. I know that you know what's actually going on in all.
- [08:08]
B
It's kind of a semi separate org chart in its own way that spirals off in a. In an adjacent direction. But you're right, ultimately, somebody does have to make these calls. And I would think when it comes to Dana listening to something, Robbie would advise, for example, that there is a hierarchy there.
- [08:23]
A
Yeah. I'm putting Dana. So here's what I have so far. Just at the top. I'm just giving you my very top, which is like Gloria, who we have not seen in this first episode, but Gloria in her stylish blazers with her concerns about patient scores as fashion stores, stuff like that, and turning over beds. Gloria's at the top then. For our purposes today, I'm putting robby.
- [08:43]
B
Yes.
- [08:44]
A
And Dr. Al Hashimi, who is sort of his sabbatical replacement, who's here with a full bagel spread.
- [08:51]
B
Smart move.
- [08:53]
A
Side by side at the top of. And that's going to be some source of conflict, I imagine, over the next, you know, several episodes.
- [09:00]
B
They are both loath to be side by side in every possible capacity.
- [09:04]
A
Exactly. Dana, I'm putting next on the list, our charge. Charge nurse Dana. Even though the rest of the nursing department is lower, Dana and Robbie are really like mom and dad of this department. Clearly. Dr. Jack Abbott, who's not here, but he's the night shift, like, you know, chief attending. So I'm. I'm putting him there. And then I'm devastated. We get Dr. John Shen and Dr. Parker Ellis, who are on the night shift. We get them briefly here, but I hope we have a reason for them to come back because they were such a delight at the end of season one and I was, like, both excited to see them and Sad to see them here handing things off to the day shift.
- [09:42]
B
So I'm not trying to root for mass casualty events, but it's nice when we get the whole gang together. And I don't know what else would bring them back to the hospital. Honestly, if.
- [09:51]
A
If beloved Pittsburgh band the Clarks blow them up themselves up via firework, maybe Dr. Shedd and Dr. Ellis can come back in. Dr. Garcia. Yolanda Garcia, who's. Who's a resident surgeon but seems to have like a lot of authority. So I would put her pretty high.
- [10:08]
B
On the deference expertise. And again, like her, her bonafides are preached in this episode for good reason.
- [10:14]
A
Yeah. Dr. Langdon. This is complicated.
- [10:18]
B
Big old question mark.
- [10:19]
A
Yeah, this is complicated. He's got a new locker. It's down below. There's rotting food in it. He's on. He's on triage. Yeah, but he is a senior resident, so.
- [10:28]
B
He was a senior resident.
- [10:29]
A
He was a senior resident.
- [10:30]
B
Is he still a senior resident? Is that a status you can lose? Even if it's like informally maybe he's technically still a senior resident, but clearly he's the kind of senior resident you can put on triage and he just has to sort of eat it.
- [10:42]
A
Okay, so. So Langdon with a question mark, Langdon with a massive asterisk next to him. Dr. Mohan is the fourth year resident, so she's next on the list, like no question. And then below her, but on equal footing is Dr. McKay and Dr. Mel King. They are both third year residents, so that is where we're going next. Dr. Santos, as she mentions twice in this episode, is now a second year residential gunning to double board in surgery and emergency medicine. But no matter what, she is a second year resident now. So she is. That is where she is, just below McKay and Mel. And then our guy Whitaker, no longer a med student. How do you feel? He's a first year resident, or they call them intern, first year resident, same diff. How do you feel about this Whitaker development? He's got med students trailing him around himself.
- [11:34]
B
He's wearing it well. I mean our guy looks more confident than ever. Seems more confident than ever. I mean, I love Whitaker as sort of the conscience of the show in a lot of ways. He's, I would think, the clearest Robbie disciple of all of these potential residents and students. Like the closest in terms of mirroring the, especially the sentimentality and the care and compassion that Robbie can bring to those elements of his job.
- [11:58]
A
It's interesting cause I actually have that as a point to talk about. So I will. I want to circle back to that, but I think that's really interesting. Javati and Sam. So Victoria Giovanni, who we met in season one, still rocking a pastel hoodie, like this is her look. And then Ogilvy, who's a new med student, but they are both fourth year med students, so they are both on the same level. Joy, who is also a new med student. Whitaker's other sort of duckling that's trailing him around is a third year med student, so she's like just below them, I would say they've got a really.
- [12:28]
B
Nice Ogilvy and Joy like a. I was trying to figure out what the comp was. It's kind of a pinky in the brain situation, but definitely like a go getter. Plus glib like there. There's a nice balance between them so far.
- [12:41]
A
Joy's energy is delighting me, like right off the bat. She has a lot to learn and I'm really excited and like a lot of cynicism and I really enjoy her. Donnie, who was a nurse in season one and is a newly minted NP nurse practitioner. He's out of the gray scrubs into the blue scrubs. So that puts him slightly above just in the way that these hierarchies work. Slightly above the nurse rank. How do you feel about that? Donnie, new father.
- [13:11]
B
Yes.
- [13:11]
A
Now a nurse practitioner and now kind.
- [13:14]
B
Of tasked with just taking care of a random baby that has been deposited in the bathroom almost by default. But look, he knows his stuff. He knows what he's doing at this point.
- [13:23]
A
Then we've got our cadre of nurses. There's more than these, but our core four. I'm gonna say four, and I'll get to that in a second. Perla and Princess and Jesse are all here, right? Jesse, my guy Jesse, like king of calling out stats in a crisis situation. I love him. We see him right at the start taking a cigarette break outside as Robbie's coming in. Right. So Perla, princesses and Jesse are here. And then Mateo, not in this episode, but. And Jalen Thomas Brooks, who plays Mateo, has been cast in a Get Ready Rob, a spicy hockey romance filming in Canada called off campus. But I did email HBO and I was like, is Mateo in this season? And they said, you'll see him later. So he will be here, but maybe not as much as we got him in season one, so.
- [14:13]
B
And also I'm in favor of the spicy hockey romances, but can we not diversify our sports? Could it, could it not be a spicy lacrosse romance?
- [14:21]
A
Rob, I don't know how to explain to you the grip that hockey has on the romance novel genre. I don't. I don't understand. But it is. They. They. They have their gloves, like, in a chokehold around the romance novel community. But listen, I would watch a spicy lacrosse romance. Why not?
- [14:40]
B
I just think, look, mix up the settings, mix up the locales. They don't all have to be Midwesterners and Canadians, you know? Like, I think we can diversify a little bit.
- [14:48]
A
Okay. All right. What about, like, a surfer? A spicy surfer romance?
- [14:53]
B
We already have that. It's called Point Break, Joe.
- [14:55]
A
It's.
- [14:55]
B
It's been done.
- [14:56]
A
You're the best. Okay, last but not least, at the bottom of the list, I'm putting Emma, who is our new nursing school grad, who shows up day one. We've got, like, there's a few other characters, like Lena, who's the night shift charge nurse, who we get in this episode, et cetera, et cetera. But that's, like, the main orc chart. Am I missing anyone? Is that hierarchy?
- [15:15]
B
I think you're hitting everyone. But we should acknowledge noticeably absent Dr. Collins. Dr. Collins will no longer be appearing on the show, as we've been led to believe through creative decisions or differences. Very, very murky in terms of what actually happened. But she's not going to be in season two, which means all of that plot thread about her and her pregnancy and, like, her wants and desires, I guess, are just dangling in the wind. We're never going to get any resolution.
- [15:41]
A
On any of that, I have to say. And, you know, the. The Michael Crichton estate will be first to be delighted for me to make this call. But this is, you know, this is kind of like a classic postseason one. You know, Mandyville. There's, like, a character that people don't feel is working on er. There was, you know, a season one doctor who was, like, very prominent and then just, like, not in the show until they brought her back, like, because ER ran for 900 seasons. And what are you gonna do if not bring characters back who you got rid of in season one? So, yeah, I. I'm gonna miss Dr. Collins. I'm gonna miss the sort of, like, history with Robbie, the way that she could call Robbie out on certain things. I think she And Dana and Dr. Abbott, who. We don't know what circumstances could bring Dr. Abbott. You know, it was a mass casualty last time. What could bring Dr. Abbott into the ED this time? I don't know. But those are the people who could really Call Robbie out on his bullshit. And so I think I'll miss her for that and many other reasons.
- [16:40]
B
Yes. And functionally, we've kind of merged Dr. Collins and Gloria in a way into Dr. Alashimi, who's like, again, like boots on the ground, working side by side with Robbie in a certain respect, but also has been handpicked by Gloria to implement some new systems is naturally, because of their differing philosophies, just poised for all sorts of friction with Robbie all season. And so I get what they're doing, and I get why they're repositioning things that way. I wonder, though. I mean, the Mandyville thing was front and center for me. Joe, in watching this episode. Like, this is a tough sell for this character with Dr. Elashemi being, like, put opposite someone we love and a character we love and have spent time with and have kind of trauma bonded with.
- [17:24]
A
Yeah.
- [17:24]
B
And is basically having to call out and directly oppose him across all fronts. It's a very tricky thing, getting an audience to not just, like, reject a character like that out of hand. And I can't wait to see over the next couple episodes in particular, how they kind of roll her into something a little bit more complete.
- [17:40]
A
Yeah, I do want to come back to that a bit. But I will say one thing they did that I thought was really interesting. We haven't seen her interact with Mel, a character we love, but they worked together before. And we did hear. We did see Samira, Dr. Mohan greet her and was, like, thrilled to see her. And so that says something to me. Right. This isn't like, she's not going to be an asshole, you know, stickler, all these other things. If Samira likes her, I'm inclined to Samira, who has spent more time with her than Robbie, who comes in with a chip on his shoulder before he even meets her. I'm more inclined to take that perspective than Robbie's perspective in this circumstance, but completely. But you're right that narratively, it puts her on the back foot a little.
- [18:22]
B
Bit, but that is one of the ways you can endear a character like this. Right. It's like, have them support someone else we care about or have them do something selfless or heroic. Like, there's lots of ways in. I just kind of can't wait to see what they do.
- [18:32]
A
Yeah, it's a great point. We're gonna get to some beats. As is always the case at the pit. There's a lot going on here in the first hour of the shift. But before we do that, we're gonna, it's a time honored Prestige TV tradition. We wanna come through with a bespoke email address for our coverage of the Pit. We should say we're gonna be covering the Pit and industry side by side in these first couple months, week to week, every episode. And so we will have a different special, probably Coke related email address for our industry coverage. But for the Pit, obviously you can always email us prestigetvpotify.com but we like to come up with something fun as well. So, Rob, do you want to hit me with or do you want me to go first? What do you, what do you want to do?
- [19:18]
B
I would love to go first, Joe. Okay.
- [19:20]
A
Please do.
- [19:21]
B
This is a pleasure. Because our coverage last season of the Pit was kind of sporadic, jumping in and out. We didn't, we didn't make one of these emails. So now with the benefit of hindsight, with the benefit of these new batches of episodes, I have a couple of suggestions. But I have to say they're all very season two oriented. So I'm eager to see if you. Okay, let me start with this. Melpracticegmail.com I had that on my list. I think you got to. It's a little tricky in terms of getting people to spell it correctly and we'll have to really nail the Mel if we go in that direction. How do you feel about quiveringbagofwormsmail.com also on my list. Full alignment so far. We love to see it. See, we are not Robbie and Dr. Al. You know, we know how to bob and weave. We know how to do this thing.
- [20:03]
A
It's true. If you brought in a full bagel spread, I would just say, Rob, what a guy. I wouldn't feel threatened by it.
- [20:11]
B
It's a nice thing to do for your coworkers, especially on your first day.
- [20:14]
A
Yeah.
- [20:15]
B
How do you feel about giant ballsofdisrespectmail.com.
- [20:18]
A
Also on my list. Very good, very good.
- [20:20]
B
Three for three. My last one, Joe. Hula hoopisthesafewordmail.com yeah, I had Hula Hoop.
- [20:26]
A
Safeword, but yeah, close enough. Here's what I have in addition. Captaincrunchflyingsquirrelsocksmail.com Quite lengthy. A tough sell, perhaps Quivering heart, which is just a plus on quivering bag of wormsmail.com none with goopy eyemail.com that's just, I just, that's very case specific and maybe not exactly what I want to go for, but here's one that is just like this is a shout out to you, Ramoni. And a shout out to our first Pitt season two bonding moment. What do you feel about DrSydbangsmail.com youm.
- [21:10]
B
Already know I'm conflicted about it.
- [21:11]
A
Okay, so to those of you who did not hear our Pitt season one coverage, Rob came up with some Santos esque nicknames for some of our Doctors. And for Dr. McKay, he called her Dr. Banks, which is all I call her now in my head.
- [21:26]
B
That's just who she is.
- [21:27]
A
And when they did the first sort of like Entertainment Weekly spread to promote Pit Season 2, I texted Rob. I was like, Dr. Side Bangs. She has changed her bangs to side bangs. Rob, we are both side bang having people like you and I.
- [21:44]
B
This is why it's complicated.
- [21:45]
A
Side bang people. So Dr. Sidebangs might just be like. I mean, here's what I suggest. Okay, we've got our pal Kai Grady is producing this episode. Should we have Kai pick the email address out of the options that he's heard here today?
- [22:01]
B
I would love nothing more. I would love for Kai to hand pick one of these.
- [22:04]
A
Kai Grady.
- [22:05]
B
What's going on, y'?
- [22:06]
A
All?
- [22:07]
B
Kai, so good to be here.
- [22:09]
A
What an honor.
- [22:10]
B
Can you please help us?
- [22:11]
A
Yeah.
- [22:12]
B
We are desperate for, I guess a tie break or really just for you to make an executive decision.
- [22:16]
C
These are a great batch of names. I think I'm leaning malpractice because it's just like, it's clever.
- [22:25]
B
It's. I mean, I think if we have.
- [22:27]
C
It in the description, you guys give the listeners a little bit of a heads up each time. Like it's malpractice, not malpractice. It could hit. And then I'm between that and, and, and side banks. I mean, both of you have them. So it, it aligns with it lines with the pod. I think maybe then we'll go side banks.
- [22:44]
A
How about that, Kai, if you had side bangs yourself, would it be a no brainer? Would you be like, I can just get performative.
- [22:50]
C
Side Banks, just, just so we can all be together in this.
- [22:54]
A
In.
- [22:54]
B
In the absence of side Banks, could you at least grow out a Whitaker esque mullet?
- [22:58]
A
Oh, yeah. A little fashion mullet.
- [23:00]
B
Yeah.
- [23:00]
C
I did kind of like that from Whitaker.
- [23:02]
B
He's got a new pull it off.
- [23:03]
A
Do you think that was Santos's idea? She's like, you know what, you know, there's really.
- [23:08]
B
I think she, I think she cut it herself.
- [23:09]
A
Yeah, that's what I think. I think so too.
- [23:11]
C
I need, I need just like a look into their living, you know, I.
- [23:15]
B
Need, I need to peek into that.
- [23:17]
A
All right, so Dr. Side Bangs it is. Kai, thank you so much. Any.
- [23:20]
B
Any.
- [23:21]
A
Any additional bang thoughts from you?
- [23:23]
C
So just a quick, quick aside. I didn't watch the bit as it came out.
- [23:28]
B
Started.
- [23:28]
C
Started binging a few weeks ago. Got through the whole thing and caught up on Yalls coverage of it.
- [23:34]
B
Right.
- [23:34]
C
And so I produced the first episode. I think maybe I produced another one, but Donnie the Great Donnie Beachum produced most of that running. When we first did that episode, I hadn't seen the Pit, and I hadn't seen anything about it. And when Rob was like Dr. Bangs, that just internalized.
- [23:50]
B
So I was like, this is the character's name. That's just her name.
- [23:53]
C
I was just like, it's Dr. Bangs. And then I was like, who's Dr. Banks in the show? And then I put two and two together very quickly, but it's just great.
- [24:00]
B
I'm sorry to throw you for a loop. Rob's also not sorry.
- [24:03]
A
He's such an influencer. This is his gift. Well, Kai, welcome to the Pit. Welcome to having watched the Pit. We're so glad to have you on this run. Happy to be here for the next 15 weeks. What a joy. What a thrill. All right, so you can reach us with your thoughts about, I don't know, firework safety.
- [24:22]
B
Conjunctivitis.
- [24:23]
A
Conjunctivitis. Local Pittsburgh bangs. Quivering worms at Dr. Sidebangs. That's D O C T O R sidebangsmail.com. all right, I want to start with this Rob Mahoney, which I'm calling favorite piece of efficient storytelling. There's a lot to get through in this episode.
- [24:46]
B
There really is.
- [24:47]
A
And some of it is done, I would say, a little clunkily, and some of it is done really smoothly. And so I want to hit the smooth before we get to some of the. A little bit of the clunk. So I will just say maybe this is just like the doctor's daughter and me or something like that, but Robbie riding in without his helmet on is, to me, a sign of I just having the motorcycle, which is. Which is a death machine in the first place.
- [25:12]
B
It's. All it does is.
- [25:13]
A
Is a sign that all is not right with. With our guy Robbie. It's not the anniversary of Adamson's death, but he is going through something in. In this current moment. I would say the Yolanda Garcia sent us relationship confirmation given her knowledge of the Whitaker Santos toothbrush gate. I thought was pretty. Is that your interpretation that Garcia and Santos are spending time together at Home. If she knows about Whitaker and the.
- [25:44]
B
Toothbrush, I think it's very possible. But it also could just be kind of like office gossip. You know, it could be a thing he was getting hounded for at work and spread around. But I think. I think your theory is more likely.
- [25:56]
A
Garcia is calling him White Chocolate. She's given him like a Santos nickname here and then.
- [26:01]
B
Well, and the fact that she knows what he listens to would also suggest that at least she has some insider info.
- [26:08]
A
Here's another piece of information that's dropped here. Robbie says about Yolanda Garcia, she has trouble expressing her feelings, and Whitaker says not all of them. There's couple possible interpretations here, right?
- [26:23]
B
Yeah. Can you walk us through them explicitly?
- [26:25]
A
I would like to hold your hand and walk you through these possibilities. A clear, easy one is when she feels disdain or something like that, she is free with the insults. We've seen it all through season one. We see it again in this episode. Another possibility, though, is if Whittaker is living in the home with Santos, it is possible that Garcia is just free and vocal with her. Her effusive joy at spending one on one time with Dr. Santos. Any. Any. Are you. Are you leaning one way or another when it comes to interpreting that particular exchange, Ramoni?
- [27:06]
B
I mean, I'm leaning toward the delicious double meaning because it's right there for the taking. And as you know, Joe, my gaydar is 100% accurate.
- [27:13]
A
So, like, how.
- [27:13]
B
How could we possibly be at fault here other than to assume these two are intertwined in some way?
- [27:18]
A
They're best, best friends. Okay, we already mentioned this, but the fact that Langdon has a new locker slash code and has been demoted to the bottom row with rotting food in it, but just like him looking at this piece of paper, like all of that, you know, we got this sort of like, welcome back from Lupe, who is, you know, sort of welcome into the hospital. He wasn't walking. Strolling into work. He was coming in through chairs, waiting to be sort of welcomed back. But he does have a badge that he can scan in, and he's got a piece of paper that tells him what his new locker code is. I just thought that was really great moment of storytelling. And I'm really excited that Langdon's back. And I'm really. I thought Patrick Ball was really good in this. Like, really, really good in this episode. Emma's over eagerness based on Dana stripping all the extra gear off of her when she shows up at the front desk. What did you think of that?
- [28:09]
B
The knowing Smirk from Dana as she kind of up downs and sees the entire first aid kit toolbox that is nestled in her pocket. Yeah, incredible stuff as always from D. But I do think it's a great character moment. I love that we have this character too, because the beauty of having a teaching hospital is that it is a natural exposition machine and you get all these reasons and excuses to explain why things are happening. And having a neophyte nurse is something totally new for us. This isn't Princess and Perla, who are miles ahead of basically anyone else working there a lot of the time. This is somebody who has no idea what they're doing and is a little bit naive and has to be kind of like shown the nature of this particular world and the particular beast in the pit in particular. That's a lot of particulars.
- [28:54]
A
You know what? But you're a particular person, so I enjoyed it on the Princess beat. I just want to shout out. She's rocking like an incredible braid crown this season and I just like want to shout out her hair game. It's really, really good. The last on my list here of efficient storytelling. And it's last on my list because I'm actually not sure and I'm curious what you think of. It is the revelation of the patient in Chairs who is hearing impaired and the sound cuts out and we get her sort of like if you've seen the film Coda or whatever, her sort of POV of the world. I thought the sound had cut out on my screener for a second. And then the person I was watching with was like, no, that person's deaf. And I was like, okay, so is that great storytelling or did it feel like how did you feel about it?
- [29:40]
B
I thought it was a nice setup. I think this is something that Pitt does really, really well. Is by my count, there were like 13 active cases happening in this episode. This is the first episode, 13 cases happening. And then there's also the ones kind of being seated in the waiting room. And this is a great example of that. Of we don't even know what she's there for yet or what she needs or what she wants or what kind of healthcare she like, what kind of treatment she's in line for. We just know that she's sitting there and waiting like everyone else and getting that point of view which we don't often get from any of the patients on this show. Very exciting stuff. I don't know where they're going to go with it or why they have kind of singled her out as like, this is the point of view, character we want to get into. Other than the obvious, which is a deaf person. A deaf person's experience going through the healthcare system is probably worth digging into on its own.
- [30:24]
A
I was wondering if. And it may or may not be, because, you know, I know that they started shooting season two, like, in pretty close proximity to season one, so I'm not sure how much of it was reactive to season one, But I do know that, you know, when you have that. When we had the mass casualty event in season one, there was a mother who had a son who was deaf, and she was, like, trying to make sure that they understood that. That they had to, like, write that on the cards that they were putting on these people so that when he woke up from surgery, like, they would know this about him. And I. I saw some. You know, I was. I was sort of looking around to see how people felt about that storyline, and. And I. I saw some people react. Like, I don't think they fully communicated the. The gravity of how confusing and disorienting and all these sort of things could be. So I wonder if this is a sort of, like, hey, we're gonna dig a little deeper into this thing that we kind of graze the surface of in. In season one.
- [31:16]
B
So I love that idea.
- [31:17]
A
I'm. I'm interested to see where that goes.
- [31:19]
B
Before we jump ahead. I wanted to throw one more into consideration here, which Langdon's conversation with Louis in particular and his, like, making amends as far as, like, having this opportunity. He's totally 12 stepping it.
- [31:31]
A
Yeah.
- [31:32]
B
He gets the opportunity to apologize to the man whose pills he stole and to come clean about the whole deal. We know how important this is in that process. I think it's a great moment for Langdon. It's clearly something that he needs to do. Love that part of this episode. It also is so smart in the way it sort of seeds the next phases of this, which is he has to have the same. Basically the same conversation with Robbie in a different way. Robbie is not ready to have that conversation.
- [31:56]
A
Robbie actively ducking him as much as he can.
- [31:59]
B
Yeah, completely. But the one I'm really looking forward to, that conversation with Santos, who absolutely deserves the apology. I think that one may be the hardest for Langdon to kind of eat shit and swallow his pride and apologize to the person he basically tried to throw under the bus. And I can't wait to see how they execute it, because that moment has to be coming.
- [32:18]
A
I had a. And there's still plenty to get to in that section. But I had a section later that I wanted to say, like, the relationship dynamic you're most interested in for season two. And for me, it's Santos and Langdon. Already. We got some delicious, like, glances. And. And that was such a. Just, like, on the edge of my seat. Part of the end of season one is when Langdon comes back for the mash cow mass casualty, and Santos has to, like, see that he's back, and they would just, like, occasionally lock eyes and, you know, and then. And then the case at the very end of season one, when he calls her Bright Spark and all this other stuff like that, like, it's just. It's. I'm really. You know, Langdon is coming back humbled. Right. And he's coming back to a degree, but. Yeah. But his personality is not that. So I'm just curious to see how the day goes. And that's. That's what we'll be watching.
- [33:12]
B
A calmer, Softer langdon at 7am where is he gonna be by noon?
- [33:15]
A
Right? Exactly. All right. On the less subtle storytelling front, here are some options. Dr. Sidebangs wanting to get banged. Uh, it's been a while. She's solo this weekend. She needs to get laid is what she says. She just says it. Um, do you think this is related to Nurse Mateo's absence from the show? I was of the mind, I believe, last season that they were not actually hooking up. That, like, he just liked hanging out with her and hanging out with her kid. But.
- [33:44]
B
Yes.
- [33:45]
A
Is Mateo's absence connected to Dr. Sidebangs and her and her quest?
- [33:51]
B
I would love that for her.
- [33:52]
A
Okay.
- [33:53]
B
You know, but also would create some office drama in a different way. Right. Because I think a lot of people are interested in Mateo across the board.
- [34:00]
A
Victoria is definitely interested in Mateo.
- [34:03]
B
There's no doubt. And my ears perked up when Victoria's talking with her mom about an opportunity to get all of us together to make plans. And it's like she's talking about her mom and her dad, but, I don't know, all of us together suggest maybe boyfriend, maybe somebody.
- [34:18]
A
Oh, it could be siblings, but, yeah, Sean.
- [34:19]
B
Oh, it could be siblings, but she hasn't even really talked about siblings that much. Look, I'm. I'm just on the lookout for the. Was best for Victoria, obviously. What's best for Dr. Sidebangs. You know, maybe there's a lot of Mateo to go around. I don't want to rule anything out for that guy.
- [34:33]
A
He seems like a great guy. Okay. Samira talking about her mother wanting to set her up and potentially transferring to New Jersey, and her phone continuing to go off. Once again, like, a couple of these characters are just saying, yes, what's going on with them? So it's not bad, but it's just, like, a little clunkier than some of these other things. Right. How did you feel about this Samira development?
- [34:53]
B
I bumped on it, too. I think Samira, in general, is burdened with a lot of either saying things very directly or having to dig into the exposition in a way that other characters aren't forced to. It doesn't do her any favors. And yet I still love that character, despite how direct she can be at times, just because the script demands it. So I think this is one of the necessary realities if you're gonna have this many cases, if you're gonna have this many characters, which maybe there's an argument that you should trim down here or there, but I think they do a pretty good job of juggling overall.
- [35:23]
A
Yeah, absolutely. Samira is so interesting because, you know, season one ended with her going through the mass casualty event and then getting this sort of, like, adrenaline high where she's like, what's next? What's next? Let's go. And then crashing hard. And she had this devastating moment in the bathroom where she's just, like, crying, washing her hands, and there's just blood everywhere. So I was really interested in picking up with her here. It's interesting to think about her so high up the org chart. Like, I don't think I really considered, you know, with heather gone, with Dr. Collins gone, and with Langdon in the doghouse, like, Samira's at top of the list, and that's a fascinating place to find her. Especially Dr. Robbie had such harsh critique of her in season one, so that, you know. And who will be advocating for her? Perhaps someone she worked with before.
- [36:17]
B
To me, that was a lot of the subtext of her arc in season one. It's like, this is someone who clearly knows what they're doing, who's very good at their job, but you can't be spending all this time on every patient. If you ever aspire to be an attending, if you want to be on a track for, like, a more senior position, you have to be able to balance your time a little bit more effectively.
- [36:34]
A
But there were moments, there were cases where her taking that extra time, like, paid off. And that's what's great about the Pit. And we certainly talked about this in season one. Everyone is sometimes right and sometimes wrong.
- [36:45]
B
Yes.
- [36:45]
A
And that's so important. Right. Like, Robbie can't always be correct. He has to be wrong sometimes. And they all need that inside of their.
- [36:53]
B
I mean, you know, that's the beauty of an er, Joe. It's like it's such a volume game that you have to spread around the winds and you have to make it like a very. Like an inescapable reality.
- [37:03]
A
Yeah.
- [37:04]
B
That these people are going to have to swallow down the fact that they screwed up on something really critical. An hour ago, two hours ago, yesterday, whatever it may be. Like that processing is the point.
- [37:13]
A
You already mentioned Giovanni's birthday. Victoria's birthday is coming up soon. Nearly 21. Mel's malpractice suit is. The deposition is today. So before the day is over, Mel will have a deposition to attend. What do you think about that?
- [37:31]
B
She's slightly distracted, it seems. I love the moment of her just kind of like anxiously playing with her stethoscope, staring off into space. But not the most Mel heavy episode. I anticipate we're going to get a lot of Mel down the line. She's such a fan favorite character. She was one of the clear standouts of season one. Are we going to get her on the stand? Are we going to get a deposition in person from Mel or does she have to leave to do all that?
- [37:54]
A
Yeah, I mean, that's a good question because we start, you know, I was curious if it would feel like a bigger budget, a bigger show in season two, given that, like, you know, HBO was invested in the pit in season one, but now they're like, this is our Emmy winning, you know, anchor show. Yeah. And so starting with Robbie, you know, motoring through Pittsburgh, we're already sort of. We at least start slightly expanded outside of the hospital. I presume we are going to stay in the hospital, but are we going to go into, like, is there a different floor that, you know, that Mel has to go to in order to give her deposition or something? Like how. How far outside of the department. We already went to the outdoor shower. You know what I mean? Like, how much are we breaking out of this floor or not? So.
- [38:43]
B
And we've been. I think it was upstairs in season one as Whitaker was kind of like squirreling himself away to sleep. So we've. We've had the occasional little field trip, but you're right, not really outside the building much, except right out the front door.
- [38:55]
A
I do have a question. So when Robbie comes in, we see that there's metal detectors as you go into chairs. Right. I continue to have questions about the fact that, like, A number of patients just wander in through the ambulance bay, and there seems to be, like, no. Even though there's, like, security in the hospital and stuff like that, there's, like, no procedure. Like, you know, people just wander in those doors, which gives you, like, it's good for drama. But here's. Here's my first question for the medical community, who I know love the Pit and think the Pit is one of the most accurate medical shows. Do people just wander in from the ambulance bay? Is that a thing that happens?
- [39:33]
B
What are you gonna do, stop them? You're gonna throw your body in front of them? I think they might.
- [39:37]
A
Depends how profusely they're bleeding and from where. Okay. And then Dana's announcement of her return. Like, this was a big moment at the end of season one. We were all, like, devastated to think that Dana might not be coming back. You know, and then the character was such a smash hit, and the actress won an Emmy, and then there was, like, really no question whether she was coming back, but they just sort of like, yada, yada, yada, what are you gonna do without me? Sort of moment. So, like, what did you. What did you. What did you think of that? How that was handled?
- [40:09]
B
I am impressionable. And you put Dana in some aviators, strolling in side, eyeing the motorcycle on the way. Like, I'm just cool with it. And I'm so happy that she's here. And she, frankly, steals this episode. Like, she's just throwing zingers left and right as she, you know, leads this basically tour of the entire er. I fucking love that she's here, and I would be so bummed if she wasn't. So who am I to argue?
- [40:32]
A
I agree. I really agree. Okay. On the relationship dynamic front. So we mentioned Santos and Langdon, you know, subcategory, how excited Mel is for the return of Dr. Langdon and how she, like, almost goes to hug him, but that doesn't. But, like, the melon Langdon, she goes.
- [40:49]
B
With a bicep grab instead of, like.
- [40:51]
A
It was a very endearing part of season one, and I'm excited to see how that continues to develop. So. And then you already mentioned this, but Dr. Alhashimi. So, like, her dynamic with Robbie, I'm very, very curious about. So she's got this. She's. She's burdened with this sort of, like, interest in AI, which is a red flag for me. The patient passport thing, which might be efficient. I don't know. Like, you know, people like, you were.
- [41:20]
B
Asking for it based on your notes on the ambulance bay and the intake procedures overall. Maybe your pro patient passport.
- [41:26]
A
Um, I. I might be. Honestly. Um, Samira really likes her. As we mentioned, um, she brought in a full bagel spread, which I think is a green flag. She wants to rename the Pit. What color flag is that, Rob? Is that a red flag or a green flag?
- [41:41]
B
Well, what does she want to rename it? We didn't really get that far. I think there's only one acceptable alternative, and it's da Pit.
- [41:47]
A
Oh, okay. That's right.
- [41:48]
B
So if she wants to go with da Pit, I'm cool with it. Otherwise, I got bad news for this lady. The show is called the Pit. It's not getting renamed.
- [41:56]
A
It's not Interview with a Vampire, which is getting a new name for season three. What are we doing here? Okay. She asks to be called Baran, which is her first name. She asked Robbie to call her that, and he does not call her that, which I thought was interesting. And she has this very weird moment to close out the episode with the baby. Anything you want to say about that?
- [42:16]
B
I mean, incredibly ominous. Anytime. The music builds and swells to the to be continued ending as we're all wondering what is going on with this baby that is getting every panel known to. To figure out why it was abandoned in a hospital. I'm terrified. I'm terrified about this whole baby situation in your.
- [42:33]
A
You have now seen every episode of Lost.
- [42:35]
B
I have.
- [42:36]
A
Like, do you agree with me that the ending of an episode of the Pit bears a striking resemblance to the ending of an episode of Lost where they're like, it's just a cliffhanger. Every single episode, they want to leave you in the end of your seat. And it's not a binge show. So, like, you know, unless you're rewatching it or something like that, you can't hit next. Do you just have to sit there and wait to find out why this new doctor has a weird moment with a baby?
- [43:00]
B
You know, they know exactly what button they're pressing. And I will say this in favor of both shows. I think they do a pretty good job of paying off the vast majority of those cliffhangers. There are the occasional like, oh, no, everything's okay. We're just gonna keep it moving. Everything is fine. Which I don't appreciate.
- [43:15]
A
Right.
- [43:16]
B
But also, it can't be a disaster at the end of every single episode. So maybe, again, you gotta pick. You gotta pick your battles a little bit. I. I love the format, though, and I love the way it kind of. If you Are catching up via binge. Yes. Would be propulsive, but for people like us, we just get to stew in it for a week and talk about it and theorize and come here and podcast about it. Like, that is the kind of show you want to talk about.
- [43:36]
A
Do you? You know, I guess it's not really a theory show, but, like, why not? Let's theorize about it. Like, do you feel like this is a. There's something I figured out about this particular baby or is it a. I have a past that is related to an infant and having a personal sort of the way that Robbie would spiral about Adamson in season one?
- [43:59]
B
Well, it could be both. Right? Like, I think we saw that with Santosum in season one, where it's like, your past traumas inform the way you diagnose and treat patients and think about, like, what is walking in the door. So it could definitely be both. My read in the moment was just that she had experience with some, like, fringe case that would lead her to believe this baby is in, like, real peril based on some experience she's had. And I think. I think we're seated for that idea based on, for example, her, like, test dummy experiment, you know, with. With the other doctors at the beginning, where it's like, if only you would take into account that this is an atypical situation in which you need to not just treat, like, according to the book, most likely outcomes, but you have to actually investigate the least likely alternatives, then you would have known this is exactly what you need to do. Like, she is that kind of person. In a way.
- [44:44]
A
It does feel like a classic. We're seeding something here. The pit moment. A learning. A pre learning moment for. For everyone involved. Okay. Speaking of learning, the new kids, Joy and Ogilvy. Right. This is our. To your point, like, Emma is. This is Emma's first day. It doesn't seem like it's. It doesn't seem like it's Joy and Ogilvy's first day. It is, because they're not sure what they don't know about the sort of, like, every morning the patients from the elderly home, like, come in, you know, which is something that happened in season one. You can set your clock by it. But it kind of felt like they had been there for a minute. They knew people's names. They weren't getting introduced necessarily, so they.
- [45:25]
B
Didn'T have the fresh off the bus from Michigan vibe that Emma does in this episode for sure.
- [45:30]
A
Right, Right. Okay. And then I do want to talk. I want to talk about this idea of Robbie passing the torch to Whitaker. I was talking to someone who has seen more. I've only seen the first episode. It's seen more of the season than I have. And was asking me sort of like without telling me what was happening, like, what I thought of the Dr. Al Hashimi character and what I thought the show thought about her versus what Robbie thinks of her, et cetera, et cetera. And I was like, well, you know what's interesting is that Robbie does, and we talked about this in season one, have a weird thing with women. And I don't think it's that he, like, does not respect women. He obviously respects Dana. Like, it's not. Like, it's not as clear cut as that. And it never is in the pit. And that's what's great about the pit.
- [46:16]
B
Yeah.
- [46:16]
A
But when I brought that up, this person was like, isn't it interesting that that Langdon's in the doghouse and so his new pet is Whittaker and not Mohan or McKay or Mellow, that he's gone all the way down the org chart to sort of like Whitaker as his new disciple? And I was like, that is interesting. And it reminded me of this quote when Colin Trevorrow, what a fun name to think about, when Colin Trevorrow was handed the Jurassic park franchise basically straight out of Sundance, straight out of a small Sundance film. Brad Bird, who was supposed to direct that film, sort of suggested him to Kathy Kennedy, Steven Spielberg or whatever. And he said, quote, there's this guy who reminds me of me. And it became this, like, really sticky quote when talking about opportunities for people in Hollywood. Because it's not that I think Brad Bird is a sexist or Steven Spielberg is sexist or anything like that, but there is that, hey, I was a young guy, white guy, with a baseball cap, and here's a young white guy with a baseball cap. And he reminds me of me. And so I am inclined to sort of, like, reach out my hand to him and give him some guidance. And it is a possibility that, like, someone like Garcia who not only, like, wants to sleep with Santos, but maybe there's something in Santos that reminds her that the brashness, the like, you know, that sort of stuff. So it's not like Robbie's the only person who does this, but I do remember in season one, the way that Robbie came down on Mohan, the way that he would, like, sort of roll his eyes at a lot of, like, the female family members of patients versus the male family member, you know, like, it was just A thing that came up a couple Times and with Dr.
- [48:06]
B
McKay too, like, of kind of shouting her down sometimes about, like, the real threats that were being presented.
- [48:12]
A
Right. And when there was the kid who had the list of, like, girls that he wanted to like, you know, and Robbie's like, we don't want to ruin this kid's life, you know, so it's just sort of like. There's just this, like, aspect of Robbie that I don't think is accidental. And I think it is just, like, part of this, like, incredibly interesting, complex character that Noah Wylie and the writers and the creators of the show have put together. And so I just think watching his reaction to this woman is interesting, and I like it. I think it's fascinating to me. So, yeah, for sure.
- [48:44]
B
I mean, let's take this in parts. As far as the Whitaker element of this in particular, how aware are you of Huckle Robbie?
- [48:54]
A
Rob, this is the best thing about you, which is that, like, you and I are both extremely online, but we're kind of extremely online in different avenues, as we've discovered. You had to tell me about da pit in the first place, so I am 0% aware of Huckle Robbie, Though.
- [49:09]
B
Of course it's exactly what you think it is.
- [49:10]
A
Yeah, of course they did. I mean, yeah, to be fair, to be clear, of course they had very important moments in season one with Whitaker finding Robbie, freaking out in pe, sort of helping Whitaker through some of his first crises and stuff like that. So, like, there is that connection that they formed there in the first place in season one. So this doesn't come out of nowhere, but anything else you want to share about Hulk or Robbie that might be landing in this particular scenario, I don't.
- [49:37]
B
Even want to dig it too deep other than to say, like, there are many different reads on the kind of intimacy that they have in working together and understanding each other. And I think it's. I think, think exactly what you're talking about, which is that germ of an idea of, like, I recognize something of myself in this other person can lead to a connection and a closeness. And in this case, I think, like, a pretty clear mentorship in terms of one following the other and. And channeling the other in terms of how they go about their work is a meaningful and powerful thing. You're also right about the way it sort of silos us into looking for versions of ourselves, whether we're aware of it or not. I think often it's subconscious. To be fair to these people and a lot of real life people, you Just sort of latch onto the people with similar experiences to you or who are kind of like you in some way. I think Samira is an interesting counterpoint, though, because Robbie is very hard on her in the first season. It always read to me as like, I'm hard on you because I expect a lot of you and, like, thinking very highly of her and that becoming a critical point that he's sort of needling her with. And so temperamentally, I think you're exactly right. But it is coming from a place of wanting her to be better as he coddles Whitaker, basically. So it's like all of these things.
- [50:49]
A
And laying down at once maybe, but in the moment where he was most coming down hard on Samira in season one, it was Dr. Collins who came in and said, no, you do you. And then in that particular case, Samira was right to take her time with that person. And it might be that, that, you know, Dr. Collins saw something of herself in Samir, you know, so it's like, it's across the board. But Robbie, in this position of power at the top of the org chart, like, has. Has the ability to sort of shape, of course, what the department looks like. And to that end, and this is like sort of the last thing I want to say about this, I really loved the moment where Dr. Shamsi, Victoria's mom, comes down, tries to talk about her schedule and her birthday, stuff like that. And she turns to Robbie and she's like, you know, we have schedules, you have chaos or whatever it is, she says. And then she says her daughter's quite impressionable. And he says, and she said, you could be Vera. And he says, presionable. A great moment. A great Robbie moment. Like, really good.
- [51:52]
B
I know it's early in terms of submitting reels for me consideration.
- [51:56]
A
Yeah.
- [51:56]
B
I would like to submit this moment for the nuclear amount of sass coming off of Robbie on the presionable line delivery. Round glasses, like, head wobble as he's doing it. Look, no, Wiley knows how to do this shit. There's no doubt.
- [52:12]
A
The face was like zipped all the way up. Like it was a really, really good moment. And like, I think. And then when he was like, let's do this same day, same time tomorrow, when he knows he's not gonna be there. It was like extremely good stuff.
- [52:22]
B
I do wanna circle back to the stuff with Dr. Alashimi, though, because I. I think that is the other side of this. You're right that based on how Robbie responds to a lot of people who suggest they know more than him in any capacity, especially if they're women. Doesn't always take it the best. And she's walking such an interesting line, too, in terms of his sort of like, gunslinging. But empathetic doctoring does have its appeal, does have its place, clearly is improvisational in a way that Dr. Alashemi might not always be. But it's like the data does matter, and not just in, like, a patient satisfaction score kind of way, but like, there is, in theory, something she could bring to the table as, like, a very valid counterpoint perspective and a check and balance in terms of what Robbie is doing. Will she be written that way and drawn that way, and will we, as an audience receive her that way? I think is gonna come down to how human she feels as she's doing that stuff. And some of the lines so far, and I can't tell if this is, like, episode one stuff where she just has to establish herself in the world, but even when she's catching up with Samira, the person she knows most in this entire orbit, she's like, oh, we used to work together several years ago at the va. You were a fourth year then. It's like, how that. Are you saying this because you're dropping the information we need to know, or are you saying it this way because you're, like, more of a quant who doesn't interface with people in the most, like, soft fashion?
- [53:43]
A
I think the AI question is really interesting because, you know, my. I have sort of like this. This revulsion to AI personally.
- [53:51]
B
Likewise.
- [53:53]
A
But when. When AI defenders talk about the good uses for AI, they often talk about it in the medical field, right? That this is where AI could, you know, give. Give leaps and bounds, advancements and stuff like that.
- [54:08]
B
And so, like, diagnosis and specificity in particular could theoretically be really valuable.
- [54:13]
A
Right? And so is, you know, when we talked about Pluribus as an analogy for AI, or when we hear Gimmel Del Toro talk about AI like, you know, these are. These are artists who have a hard line against AI, but are the medically minded writers at the PIT thinking about it the same way? Or are they thinking about AI as actually a potentially good opportunity for this particular field? And is Robbie's resistance to that. You know, is Robbie's potential resistance to that a sign that he needs to get with the times? Or is. Is Dr. Al Hajimi, like, like you said, too much of a quant, like, you know, too much in her. Her facts and figures and numbers to understand the heart side of doctoring? Or. And My preference would be this. Are they both right and they're both wrong at the same time, which is what the Pit does really well. So.
- [55:06]
B
And that. That's where I feel confident about where it's gonna end up. I'm not saying every character in the show is gonna be a home run all the time, but season one taught us in particular that they're going to get us on the side of these characters at different speeds. And there were moments early in season where we're like, I'm just so tired of Santos became kind of a grading character in moments. Just with her absolute confidence in what she was doing and insistence she was right all the time. It turns out she was right about some really important things, some season altering things, some ER altering things. And slowly getting you into the mindset and perspective of understanding that character is what this show does well over the course of 15 episodes. So I don't know where we're gonna go with Dr. Elashimi. Frankly, I don't know how they're going to get people like you and I, Joe, to be like, yeah, that AI driven app sounds like a great idea for this hospital. I'm going to be a little hesitant to jump fully on board with something like that. But, like, Robby does seem like the kind of Luddite who has, like, his Hotmail email address and keeps getting locked out of it and asked the younger doctors to, like, help him get back in. He does seem like that kind of person.
- [56:07]
A
Right.
- [56:08]
B
And so a counterpoint perspective. I welcome it. I like that they're kind of rolling their eyes at each other in equal measure. It's not just Robbie and kind of us by proxy rolling our eyes at Dr. Al here. I think there could be a really good balance to this relationship that, if executed well, could carry, you know, the entire season. Really?
- [56:27]
A
I'm excited. You mentioned you. You said you counted 13 cases inside of this episode. Okay, I'm just gonna hit you with rapid fire a few. And I'm just curious, like, which ones you're most excited about? The irritable Mr. Williams that Dr. McKay is treating. This is a Law and order casting spoiler one for me because Derek Cecil, who's playing Mr. Williams, was a huge part of House of Cards. I know that guy. So that's an actor I recognize. So I don't think he's gonna be like a one and a half episode and done kind of guy. So that's definitely on my radar.
- [57:06]
B
Well, he seems like he's about to freak out and punch somebody, so I would think there's gonna be repercussions for this.
- [57:11]
A
Yeah, it was very, very unsettling when he flinched and she flinched. Like, that was very, very unsettling.
- [57:16]
B
You know, this was another classic example of great shows kind of teaching you how to watch them. And the pit was great about this from the start. But giving us the stamp introduction through Dana earlier in this episode. And you can almost see it, like, item by item over that course with Dr. McKay as far as, like, all of a sudden he's kind of staring off into the void. All of a sudden his tone is shifting. Like the anxiety is building in that room. And it, like, having that, like, fulfill so quickly, where it's like, we're not waiting four or five episodes for that to come to pass. And there will be versions of that, like, somebody's gonna yell hula hoop in episode five.
- [57:50]
A
They got. They have to, you know, and I'm.
- [57:52]
B
Gonna be fucking fist bumping when it happens. But in the short term, they're kind of telling you always, like, this is what to look for with patience, whether it's in this case or all cases. And, like, that's why that one is already, like, kind of riding on an edge of really interesting drama.
- [58:06]
A
All right, we've got Louis. You already mentioned, you know, his paracentesis. Langton handed him off to Whitaker sort of thing. So that's.
- [58:15]
B
That distended stomach does not look good.
- [58:16]
A
It's so interesting because when that actor, when. When that character showed up in Chairs, I was like, wow, that guy just looks a lot different this season. And they. There wasn't much time between the seasons. And then I realized that that's what they were doing with his distended abdomen. Digby and his cast removal. Digby, who gets the outdoor shower. Digby, played by Charles Baker, who is Skinny Pete on Breaking Bad. Love to see him here. How is this on your radar?
- [58:46]
B
I mean, sometimes you just need a proper hose down for the hard to reach places. You know, he could spend all day.
- [58:52]
A
In the outdoor shower.
- [58:53]
B
He was having a great time. Honestly, a worthy and fun subplot.
- [58:59]
A
Here's the one I'm really nervous about. Young Kylie, with her various injuries that Santos is tracking here and Perla, you.
- [59:07]
B
Know, the part that really bothered me was how not bothered Kylie was by her urine sample being blood red. It's like, oh, this is what color this is supposed to be. This is totally, totally normal thing that did not even occur to her to be freaked out about.
- [59:22]
A
She's like, I didn't even need any problem? Yeah, yeah, yeah. No.
- [59:25]
B
No beats involved. Is there a plausible explanation on the board for her? Like, obviously, they're kind of fainting at abuse. Like, there's somebody in her life who must be harming her in some way. Is there a head fake in any other possible direction other than that?
- [59:38]
A
I think so. I think there are various ailments, and I don't know what they are that you, like, bruise really easily. You know what I mean? So if she's someone who just get injured at the drop of a hat, there can be medical reasons for that. That has nothing to do with. With her father, who is a. Not an architect. Yes. None with a goopy eye.
- [60:00]
B
Yep.
- [60:02]
A
It was just quite goopy and incredibly goopy.
- [60:04]
B
One of the gnarliest things in this episode. And there were some gnarly things.
- [60:08]
A
It was. Was this episode not way goopier than the Pit. Even wasn't. I mean, I know that gloving hit us, like, right off the bat in season one of the Pit, but I feel like the. The quivering heart, like, abdomen, like blood pouring on the ground. All of that stuff just felt like a lot more in my face than season one. So maybe that's within season two. We're ramping it up sort of thing.
- [60:33]
B
That's where the budget's going. I mean, within 10 minutes, we're spreading ribs. Yeah. And, like. And really getting in there. And I was just starting to get very concerned because at one point I'm like, there are five different hands in this guy.
- [60:45]
A
They're like crowds. Like, Whitaker can't even get in there.
- [60:47]
B
Like, on that note, the practical effects of that moment and the quivering heart, especially for a TV show, we should say. I don't remember a single time, even in season one, where I was thinking that goop looks too goopy or that organ looks like a prop. Like, they do a really great job of making this feel reactive and real.
- [61:04]
A
The GOOP budget is out of control on this. It's really, really good. Weed cookie Grandma.
- [61:11]
B
Yeah, she's had a few too many. She's gone a little bit crazy. Her brain is turned to mush. It's a disaster situation. But maybe that's a lot. That's a lot.
- [61:22]
A
Maybe that's how we should all go out. You know what I mean?
- [61:25]
B
Just, like, intractably vomiting.
- [61:27]
A
You're. Well, listen, you raise a good point. But you're not in Texas anywhere. You're in California, Rob. So perhaps you should consider, you know, a new lifestyle.
- [61:37]
B
I think a couple cookies could have been Good for her. A couple hundred cookies seem to have taken their toll.
- [61:42]
A
All right. Bike accident, guy hitting on Mel, asking her about Boba. Here's a. Here's a quick question for you, Rob Mahoney.
- [61:48]
B
Yes.
- [61:49]
A
Would you. Were you, like any normal person, wanting to hit on. On Dr. Mel King? Would you open with multiple iterations of. You remind me of my mother. Is that. Is that how that would go, Rob?
- [62:05]
B
I don't think it's the greatest entry point. But not once. Mel seemed unfazed.
- [62:09]
A
Well, she wasn't even paying attention to him. But no, not once, but twice. He's like, your hair and your glasses remind me of Mom. Want to get some boba with me? Was a lot. Are you. Are you rooting for him?
- [62:21]
B
If you're out there, consider. I mean, I am. Look, I'm kind of rooting for him. Ultimately. He spoke Mel's language. He identified Boba very quickly. He wants that Boba date. 100% sugar. There's no doubt about it, Joe. I could kind of see them working. They seem like they have not chemistry yet because they've barely had any kind of conversation. But if Mel's interested, I'm happy for it.
- [62:41]
A
I don't know that she's interested. She seems interested potentially in Boba, but I don't think she even has clocked his existence in her peripheral vision.
- [62:48]
B
But she's facing litigation right now. You know, she's got a lot on her mind.
- [62:52]
A
Last but not least, he came in on the ambulance right at the end. Dude with bone popping out around the shoulder joint area.
- [63:00]
B
Don't like it.
- [63:01]
A
Okay.
- [63:02]
B
I mean, don't like it in the way that the show wants me to not like it. But definitely a. Definitely a cringy moment as far as the goop and the gore go.
- [63:09]
A
Yeah. I can't wait for the goop budget for episode two. Okay, and then I. You already mentioned the hula hoop. Safe word. The stamp. Like, we got through all of that. Here's the last thing. And I'm really excited to share this with you, Rob. We get one more. Like, sort of. This is definitely happening. Before the day is out, Robbie makes a phone call.
- [63:26]
B
Yes.
- [63:26]
A
Some guy named Duke. Gotta come in before 3pm Gotta do it. We might have to run some tests. We had a deal, brother. Can I tell you who's playing Duke?
- [63:40]
B
Oh, my God.
- [63:41]
A
On this season.
- [63:42]
B
I don't wanna know. I don't wanna know who plays.
- [63:43]
A
No, I wanna tell you though.
- [63:47]
B
You know what? For content, you can tell me, but we should say if you don't want to know. Skip ahead 30 seconds a minute.
- [63:53]
A
It's not like it's freaking Leonardo DiCaprio. Like, it's. It's really only.
- [63:56]
B
What if it is Leonardo DiCaprio?
- [63:57]
A
It's really only for you that I'm excited. What if it's.
- [64:00]
B
You know, what if the whole cast of One Battle After Another is coming through the pit? Chase Infinity got degloved. This is not going to matter. Anything could happen.
- [64:09]
A
This is not going to matter to, like, 89% of the people listening, but for you 11% sickos who love Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
- [64:15]
B
Okay, yeah. Now you have to tell me.
- [64:17]
A
Jeff Kober, who played two characters on Buffy, he played the vampire Crawlock in season three, and then, unfortunately, Willow's drug dealer Rack in a later season. But I love that guy.
- [64:29]
B
I hope he's also a drug dealer here. I hope he's also a dark magic drug dealer. That guy is in the world of the Pit.
- [64:35]
A
That guy is showing up as Duke. What is his relationship to Robbie? I don't know. But I was just. I just googled Duke the Pit, and there was a deadline announcement that Jeff Cobra was playing him. And I got really excited about it. So that's for the Buffy heads out.
- [64:50]
B
Good journalism. Great find. I gotta say, I'm now thrilled to know my anticipation has built.
- [64:55]
A
I don't think he would have walked in and you would have had, like. Your jaw wouldn't have been on the floor. You would have been like, they got Cobra. They got Cobra for this.
- [65:03]
B
Maybe it would have.
- [65:04]
A
You know, and I'm sorry that I robbed you of that, Rob, but certain.
- [65:08]
B
Buffy alum, when they roll in, you're like, oh, they really did it.
- [65:12]
A
Yeah. Anything else you want to talk about this episode of the Pit?
- [65:14]
B
Just to close the loop on Mel. There is no doubt in my mind that the malpractice suit is measles Mom. Like, it has to be her, right?
- [65:23]
A
Oh, my God. Measle Mom.
- [65:26]
B
I. I feel. I feel so sure of it. I feel like they have to bring that actress back.
- [65:32]
A
That's interesting.
- [65:33]
B
She was so resistant to the sp. The whole Spinal Tap situation.
- [65:37]
A
I can't remember who was. There was. Oh, it was. It was Dr. Ellis. Dr. Ellis was with her. So do you feel like it's a malpractice to. And that's a way we can get Dr. Ellis back in the hospital on the day shift?
- [65:51]
B
See, this is. All we needed was just a smidge of malpractice. At least the accusation of it. The Implication of it, if only.
- [65:58]
A
Well, Dr. Shen, I think, was also involved in that case a little bit. Was he not?
- [66:03]
B
Now it's really coming together. Now we've got a team. Now we've got a reason.
- [66:06]
A
You have a vision. I love it. All right, Bring Ellis and Shen into the show, and you will have no complaints from me. Dr. Shen runs on Duncan, and that'll keep him up all day and all night. So let's do it. Let's do it. Okay, great.
- [66:21]
B
Can you do your best doctoring that way? I don't know, but he seems to be doing all right. He's moving up the ranks.
- [66:26]
A
This is so exciting. You just gave me so much hope that we're going to get Dr. Shen and Dr. Ellis on this show. Thank you.
- [66:32]
B
Now I only hope the show. I hope the pig can come through and bring measle mom back for just. Just one episode at least. But the other thing I just want to hit before we go. I thought this was just a great Santos episode. And again, a character who has a wild journey in season one is not as easy to latch onto as some of our warmer and fuzzier doctors in Residents. And I think it was such a smart decision to have her come into the season. And she is just sharp and considerate and on top of it, but not in a way that invalidates who she is in any way. She still gets to strut and flaunt and be crazy overconfident, but also do all these things really, really well. And I thought the balance of that, in addition to just having, like, many of my favorite lines in this episode, just really, really great stuff from Santos.
- [67:16]
A
What were some of your favorite Santos lines?
- [67:18]
B
I mean, you're moping around like somebody gunned down your favorite K pop band is pretty good. It's pretty good.
- [67:24]
A
Mel being like, I don't really have a favorite K pop band.
- [67:29]
B
Even putting the Mel in malpractice. I mean, we considered Mel practice for our email. Like, we have to salute the work that Santos is doing in the space.
- [67:35]
A
Strong branding. Very good. Very good.
- [67:38]
B
Who's the next of kin, Bar? Very good.
- [67:41]
A
All right, listen. This is a great episode of television. And we're back. It's The Pit Season 2. We're thrilled to be here. DrZeitBangsmail.com we loved so much hearing from the medical community in season one, the local Pittsburgh folks in season one. If you have feelings about Dr. Langton wearing a penguin's ball cap inside of this episode or anything else, anything you want to tell us about what it's like to celebrate fourth of July in Pittsburgh. Specifically, like, let us know what. What's. What are the firework policies in. In Pittsburgh? I don't know. I could Google it. Or you guys could email us drsaibangsmail.com or prestigetvpotify.com I in particular, Joe, would.
- [68:20]
B
Love to know the Penguin subtext. I have always loved the Penguins elite mascot, Pittsburgh overall. I love the idea of a city with a universal color scheme. Everyone should do it. But it has to be saying something about him, right? The fact that it's not Steelers must say something.
- [68:34]
A
If he were a Steelers fan, what would that tell you about Dr. Langdon?
- [68:40]
B
I don't know.
- [68:41]
A
Okay. I think you just don't want to get in trouble with the Steelers fans.
- [68:44]
B
No, I'm out of Joe. I'm out of my depth outside of the NBA. I know nothing about any of these other active major sports.
- [68:50]
A
Do you think Dr. Langdon, who loves the Pittsburgh Penguins, is a heated rivalry fan? That's my question.
- [68:58]
B
Why wouldn't he be?
- [68:59]
A
Why wouldn't he be? And who wouldn't be? All right, send us your Dr. Langdon heated rivalry fanfics. Your Huckle Robbie was.
- [69:09]
B
Was.
- [69:09]
A
Yeah, fanfics.
- [69:11]
B
And I'm now getting served Huckle Robbie fan art. I don't know what algorithmic wavelength.
- [69:16]
A
I. Haven't you sent this to me yet? You're letting me know what?
- [69:20]
B
Look, I guess if you have interesting Hulk Robbie fan art, hit us up with that, too.
- [69:23]
A
Okay. Oh, no. You just cursed me in my.
- [69:28]
B
Let's see if I could. See if I could sneak that past you.
- [69:30]
A
All right. Absolute request from Rob Mahoney. Thank you to Kai Grady for helping us pick an email and for being with us this season. We'll be in studio for the next couple weeks for the day, so. That's really exciting and thrilling stuff, Joe. That's all I have to say. We'll be back with Industry Season 4, Episode 1, and we'll see you soon. Bye, Sam.