Listen, 7pm is a good time to be at home, in your pj’s, with a pizza and a good show after work (unless you work in an industry where it’s go time). Right now though, we’re in a situation where everyone’s been working since...well, forever ago, and are now entering the second hour of a holiday nightshift. No one’s having fun. Not the patients who did a few bumps and assaulted a nurse, not the guy who blew himself into a garage, not really anyone. And not the doctors of The

5 pm. Quittin' time. End of watch. Ohhh noooooo. I'm not ready. Are you ready? I'm just... not ready. But hey, that's what recaps of recaps are for, right? Let's go!

It's 4. Everyone's out internet. Waterslide collapse. Baby Jane Doe. Robby's a jerk. Let's go.

How did we get to episode 9 already? It’s 3pm. The day is still young, but the season is mostly over and I’m a little sad. I get that production on this has to be an UNDERTAKING and that’s likely a huge understatement but man. I feel the approach of the end, and there’s so much more I want to see.

Alright. It’s 2pm, we’re coming off of lunch and ok, let’s be honest, in the real world 2pm is generally when that post-lunch sleepiness is setting in, but in this case, I’m hyped. There’s a LOT going on in The Pitt right now, and though I admit to some apprehension as well, I just want to know what’s about to go down.

Welcome back to a crazy Fourth of July shift at The Pitt. It’s like Robby said - I shouldn’t have come in today.

Can we talk about how Dana basically holds the entire place together? Not only does she route things back to front, regulate dysregulated docs, and look after patients, she also battles dueling egos and handles every major crisis given with the proper amount of smarts and sass.

Dr. Al and Robby meet up in a side room and have a rather normal consult. Ok. Well, there’s hope for everyone. Robby then heads to Dana’s desk to check in on the baby and she’s of course checking to see if he’s made up with Langdon. Back at the betting, we’ve added “sinkhole.” That’s a long shot. Langdon gets asked but can’t play,and they’re really cool about it after he tells them it’s due to rehab bills. Sinkhole was a double down, so what does our favorite dad nurse kn

Then we’re back to the crushing reality of the US healthcare system instantly. She, despite working hard and her husband working hard - has no insurance and can’t afford the care her husband needs in the ER. Dr. Mohan sets her up with social work and man, do I hope someone can help her.

Enter Dana with the lab results. ITP 9000. Do I know what that means? Of course not, but I think it means everyone shuts up and waits to find out.

he Pitt is great because it’s great TV, and it’s great because it’s spectacularly put together. It’s a clockwork of vignettes each with perfect timing and just enough intrigue, a whole deck of face cards with obvious chops acting their faces off, and the ability to say something intelligent and somewhat novel about it all.