There is no better time for me to return to doing these articles than with the return of The Pitt. Just in case you have been hiding in a cabin in the woods – and I wouldn’t blame you – let's do a quick summary.

The Pitt is a very realistic medical drama on HBO Now, starring the always talented and charming Noah Wylie, the effervescent and gorgeous Katherine LaNasa, a whole host of new faces, as well as drop in appearances from other well-knowns. Working out of the fictional Pittsburgh Trama Medical Center’s Emergence Department – affectionally called The Pitt – we get an inside look at just what these doctors and nurses experience in a 15-hour shift.

Season 2 picks up 10 months after the events of Season one. Bringing back its successful season 1 formula, the show drops a new 1-hour episode every week. That episode covers 1 hour of the 15-hour shift. So episode 1 is ‘7:00am’, episode 2 is ‘8:00am’, episode 3 is 9:00am, and so forth ending with episode 15 being ‘9:00pm’ as well as the season finale. And we already know the show is coming back for a third season so no stressing on that.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s dive in and see where our old and new favorites stand, as of episode 9.

Speaking of the Senior Emergency Attending, Dr. Robi (Noah Wylie) roars his way onto the screen riding his motorcycle into the ‘office.’ Normally, this would not be a big deal. However, our fearless leader is speeding through the streets of Pittsburgh, passes an active ambulance on the bridge, and does it all without a helmet. We know, from the events of season one, that Robi has been through a lot. He wasn’t dealing with any of it in the first season, and it seems that he is still not.

Through these first nine episodes, however, Robi’s professionalism and his dedication to his team and patients never waivers. Even with a 3-month sabbatical waiting for him after his shift, he keeps most of his focus on the job. The only thing that rattles him is the return of Dr. Langdon – but more on that in a few.

In the nine hours we have already seen, Robi has had his hand in almost every case. We have seen him comfort and coo at an abandoned baby girl. We have seen him watch Whitaker, whom he has taken under his wing during the 10-month time jump, with pride. We have seen him match wits with, and even defeat, the new attending Dr. Al-Hashimi. We have seen him encourage Mel as she prepares to face something that is really freaking her out. We have seen him reside over a brief memorial after the death of Louie, a regular visitor of the ED. We have seen him take a patient's phone and threaten her boss with a lawsuit if he didn’t lay off the patient. And we have seen him take charge and lead the team into switching the ED from electronic to analog when the hospital makes the pre-emptive decision to cut off all electronics due to cyber-attacks at neighboring hospitals.

Charge Nurse Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa), on the other hand, is returning from time off. At the end of season one, Dana had reached her breaking point – no doubt helped along by getting punched in the face by a temperamental patient. We ended that season not knowing if Dana would return, as she told Robi she was done. So, I was absolutely ecstatic to see her come striding into The Pitt!

Dana is funny, sarcastic, tough, supportive, sweet, and she takes no crap from anyone. And she doesn’t flinch, no matter the situation. It’s no wonder I love this woman so much! Not only is she Robi’s second in command in the ED, she also keeps him focused and gives him a hard time when he needs a kick in the ass.

This season finds Dana taking new nurse, Emma (Laetitia Hollard), under her wing and showing her the ropes. And Emma, you could not ask for a better mentor!

In these nine hours, we find Dana being the first one to welcome Langdon back and mean it. It’s Dana that cleans the body of the much-beloved Louie and prepares him for the memorial. Dana is the one that holds everything together when the ED goes analog and keeps everyone calm and working. But the biggest part of Dana’s story finds her examining and helping a young woman who is a SA victim. Dana shows the girl patience and understanding. She doesn’t rush the girl or push her to do anything before she is ready. Dana is supportive and even has Emma take the girl outside for air when she starts to bulk at continuing with the exam. Honestly, there is no one else in that ED that could have handled this as well as Dana did.

In one of the episodes, Donnie asks Dana what they would have done if she had not been there. Dana’s response is that they would have all been curled in the fetal position. And she’s not wrong.

Senior Resident Doctor Frank Langdon (Patrick Ball) is also back. Season 1 saw Langdon stealing pills from patients and the hospital to satisfy his addiction to benzo’s. As a condition of him keeping his position at the hospital, Robi insisted Langdon get help. He did, spending the last 10 months in rehab and recovery. Episode one of this season is Langdon’s first day back at work and it is not an easy day for him.

One of the steps of recovery is making it right with the people that you hurt during your addiction. Langdon manages to do this with Dana, Mel, Louie, and others. All of whom are forgiving and happy to see him back and getting himself together. However, he is finding it difficult to achieve this with the two people he owes it to the most – Robi and Santos.

He does try with Robi a few times, but Robi keeps putting him off. Until they are both sent up to the roof to meet the helicopter. There, under the lashing of the wind that the helicopter stirs, Langdon manages to get out his apology. Robi tells him that he is glad that Langdon got help but he is not sure he wants Langdon working there. And, as much as I hate that, it’s fair. Langdon was Robi’s right hand man in season one. He was the guy Robi trusted the most and treated like a friend. That has all been broken. And, if there is one thing we have learned about Robi, he’s not good at forgiveness.

As of episode nine, Langdon has not tried to make it right with Santos. Though they have worked on a patient together. There’s a lot of emotions going on there, for both of them, and only time will tell if they can get past it all and have an honest conversation.

Speaking of Trinity Santos (Isa Briones), she has returned for her second-year residency. Santos is outspoken, sarcastic, good at her job, and knows it. Santos does not seem to express her feelings well, giving fellow residents, Whitaker and Javadi the nicknames Huckleberry and Crash, respectively, to show her affection for them. She also let Whitaker move in with her and become her roommate at the end of season one. Season two finds that they are still roommates. It also appears that she is in a casual dalliance with Doctor Garcia, though episode 9 leaves us with the impression that Santos would like it to be more.

Santos is great with her patience but has a tendency to jump straight to child abuse anytime a young patient comes in. It has been hinted at that this stems from Santos’ own trauma, but nothing has been confirmed, yet. Season one Santos got on my nerves, but I am really loving season two Santos. She has really come into her own and that biting sarcasm. Also, I think I understand her better this season.

Santos’ roommate, Dennis Whitaker (Gerran Howell) is another resident that has come a long way since the first season. In the beginning, Whitaker was cautious to the point of being afraid to act, sometimes. He also had a tendency to get covered in every fluid you can imagine. Season two brings us a confident Whitaker who has graduated to Doctor, who is sure in the decisions that he makes, has won the respect and admiration of Robi, and has learned that you can’t take the job personally.

Not to say that Whitaker is suddenly perfect. It seems he may be engaged in some kind of a relationship with the widow of a former patient which has caused concern in both Santos and Robi. So much so that Robi talks to Whitaker about it. Then he offers to let Whitaker live at his house and house-sit while he is on his trip. Conditions include no smoking, no parties, and no widow. Whitaker agrees, so perhaps the relationship was just what he said it was, helping her with her farm.

Mel King (Taylor Dearden) is a second-year resident, one of the best doctors in the ED, and one of the sweetest people to ever exist. When Mel is not working, she is taking care of her autistic sister, Becca (Tal Anderson). When she is at work, she spends a lot of time talking about Becca.

Season two finds our sweet and sensitive Mel facing a deposition as she has been named in a lawsuit. Mel spends these first 9 hours stressing about it, but – other than the occasional spacing out – it does not impact her work with her patients. She is also the one person that is completely, genuinely, happy to see Langdon back. They developed a good friendship in the first season and Mel is the kind of person who does not abandon friends and is quick to forgive.

Doctor Cassie McKay (Fiona Dourif) is a second-year resident, and we haven’t gotten much of an update on her life, yet this season. Season one saw her with an ankle monitor due to a fight with her ex’s girlfriend and her struggling to rebuild a relationship with her son, Harrison. This season, the ankle monitor is gone and – by the few mentions of Harrison – it seems all is well on that front. We do see her get hit on by a patient who she agrees to meet up with for a casual hang-out, later.

Cassie's two big moments come in episodes 8 and 9. In eight, she empathizes with Langdon by telling him that she is nine years clean and offering to be there for him if he needs anything. This is a huge step and clearly means a lot to Langdon. In episode 9, we see her teaching Whitaker to make sure to take the time to observe a patient in order to make sure the right diagnosis is made.

There is also the incredible nursing staff. We all know that the nurses are the true heroes of every department. And that is front and center on The Pitt. Working under Dana, we have Donnie Donahue (Brandon Mendez Homer), Perlah Alawi (Amielynn Abellera), and Princess (Kristin Villanueva). These three are everywhere and helping with every patient. They are efficient, caring, and so much fun.

Donnie with his laid-back outlook, who seems to be befriending Langdon, this season. Which I like because Langdon needs friends. He’s also a new dad and likes to ask the staff for advice.

Perlah is attentive and no-nonsense who keeps a ‘shit-list’ of hospital staff who she thinks behaves unprofessionally towards patients.

Princess is quiet but very good at what she does. She also acts as Charge Nurse when Dana is not available. And she and Perlah are well known for gossiping about their coworkers in Tagalog in front of whoever they are talking about. It’s quite funny.

We have three new staff members. Med student Joy Kwon (Irene Choi) whom I am enjoying very much. Med student James Oglivie (Lucas Iverson) who I wasn’t sure about, at first, but is growing on me. And Senior Attending Doctor Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), whom I am still reserving judgement on.

Then there are the three night shift employees that always answer the call when day shift needs help. Doctor Parker Ellis, whom I would follow into the depths of hell itself. Doctor John Shen (Ken Kirby) who has the best deadpan delivery ever. And Doctor Jack Abbot (Shawn Hatosy) who still remains an intriguing mystery. I really hope we see much more of them in the final 6 episodes.

Finally, let me touch on the one character that did not return that I am missing – Nurse Mateo Diaz (Jalen Thomas Brooks). In season one, Mateo is a quiet but intelligent nurse, who takes the new recruits in hand and shows them the ropes. He is great with patients and co-workers alike. And when it is revealed that Javadi (Shabana Azeez) has a crush on him, he lets her down with grace and gentleness. And I am bringing him up here because 1. I miss him. I have been a fan of Jalen since he was on Walker as Colton Davidson. 2. There are rumors that he may return in the last few episodes so maybe me writing about him will help manifest that.

There are so many other great characters that I did not touch on because doing so would make this article way too long.

And I did not intend for this article to be a character analysis yet here we are. Because The Pitt is not an episodic show. It is a show about people and their journeys through their chosen profession. It’s a show about humanity and how to maintain that in the face of impossible odds. It’s a show about people.

And if you’re not watching it, yet, you should be. New episodes drop every Thursday on HBO Max at 9pm.

I guess you’re going to have to watch to find out.

In the meantime, go check out the amazing interviews that Elias has done with the cast of the show. And then check out all the rest of his amazing content.