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‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Episode 13 may have quietly revealed Robby's replacement and it’s not who you think

Dr. Robby had previously offered his best protege the chance to house-sit for him while he was away on his sabbatical.

It is not easy being an attending doctor in the emergency room at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center (PTMC). The chaos often seeps through the physician's skin, and sometimes, rendering them unfit to administer the medical service they are trained to provide. Perhaps that's what's been eating Dr. Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) in the ongoing sophomore season of HBO Max's hit medical drama series 'The Pitt'. It is no exaggeration that Robby is a shadow of his former self and is far from being even halfway as caring or empathetic as he was in the show's debut season. Given the high-stress environment of his workplace, it is not a surprise that Robby is nearing emotional and physical exhaustion.

Throughout the previous episodes of 'The Pitt' season two, the R. Scott Gemmill show has repeatedly made it clear that Robby's mind is seemingly elsewhere. The Fourth of July shift, which is depicted in the second season, happens to be Robby's last before he leaves for his sabbatical on his Bonneville motorcycle. Understandably, Robby has been worried about the future of the ER, which he has so dexterously led all this time, believing that in his absence, other residents like Dr. Cassie McKay (Fiona Dourif) and Dr. Samira Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) would burn out. Although the show presented Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi) as Robby's replacement attending doctor, the latter hasn't been too impressed with her skills and seriously doubts that she'll be able to handle the daily chaos that comes with the job. 

Although Robby isn’t explicitly dying, his character does seem to be going through a rough patch. Amidst all the difficulties, it is good to note that the character of Dr. Dennis Whitaker (Gerran Howell) presents, maybe, the only silver lining. Whitaker is one of Robby’s brightest proteges and has imbibed the best of his master’s teachings in his approach to his patients. The recently aired episode 13 of the show depicted a heartfelt moment between the intern James Ogilvie (Lucas Iverson) and Whitaker, after the former lost his patient. Mr. Green had a triple A, which went unnoticed by Ogilvie on the ultrasound, and he died during surgery. Ogilvie was visibly shaken by this and asked Whitaker if doctors could ever get truly used to their patients dying.

In a manner that truly echoed Robby's earlier disposition, Whitaker gave Ogilvie a pep talk. He even used Robby's own words from the debut season, when he consoled Whitaker after he lost his first patient, Mr. Milton, by saying, "You learn to live with it, you learn to accept it as much with your own mortality, and find balance if you can." Moreover, the scene took place with Whitaker and Ogilvie sitting at the back of an ambulance, as a nod to the debut season's scene, which similarly involved Robby and Dr. Heather Collins (Tracy Ifeachor). Regardless of what Robby might think, the future of the PTMC is in capable hands. 'The Pitt' season two airs new episodes every Thursday on HBO Max.