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The Pitt. HBO Max Well, it’s high noon. Let’s do our recap recap. Back with our deaf friend first. They’ve sure spent a lot of time on combative college kid without us actually knowing why yet, and he’s the second to reappear on our screen. Then we get a glimpse of our malnourished prisoner and our leg disabled hospice patient before we’re with Louie. Oh, Louie.  Other than the recap there’s no time lost between last time and this, and we’re doing compressions on Louie. Langdon and Robby are both seeming frantic but not getting in each others way. Oh wait, I spoke too soon. Louie’s got lungs full of blood. Dammit. The Pitt. HBO Max Our baby nurse is handling lunchers - ones waiting for rooms and ones not admitted, but just as she’s passing by she gets manhandled by someone wanting food. Dana has NONE of it and immediately shoves the assault PSA doc in his face, telling him he’d better comply. She takes baby nurse by Louie’s room, and it’s just in time for everyone to decide there’s nothing that can be done. This hits everyone really hard, and Langdon asks for a debrief, but a motorcycle accident is incoming, and they’re gonna take a minute to clean Louie up before a little gathering to say goodbye. Alawi wants to do the cleanup but she seems very distressed, so Dana tells her to take ten and takes over. We’ve finally got a conscious combative kid, and the psych can actually figure out what’s up. Jackson’s saying that there’s people telling him they don’t want him to pass the bar. Jada’s already in hard denial that this may be a mental health issue so they boot her from the room so the psych has room to work. News of Louie’s spreading, with Alawi letting Nurse Princess know what happened, and Alawi’s going to clean up again. Princess offers to go with her but they’re interrupted, and Alawi heads off alone. A scream comes from another room and it’s hospice seizer. Every time she moves her leg it’s pure agony. This time it’s only herself and Nurse Princess. She makes mention of her husband’s devotion and she’s not as effusive as she was before. 20 years of marriage, and I’m still kind of suspecting there’s something amiss. She mentions that the light left his eyes, and asks Princess how she handles caring for people day in and day out, as she’s emptying her bedpan. Princess just says she goes home and leaves it behind for Love Island. McKay comes in and gives her some ketamine to help with the pain. Our patient asks after her husband, who’s not back yet, and seems relieved to hear he’s not, saying it’s good to have space sometimes. Curious and curiouser. The Pitt. HBO Max Out on the floor Princess is scolding Donnie for his caffeine intake…and spreading the news. It’s taking down the whole staff, as he was such a frequent flier. Debrief in the viewing room is planned for later. Princess tries to fix it with news of a birthday party for Javadi, put on by her and Perlah.  Hashimi’s on task, discussing the prisoner’s condition with King and Mohan. They talk about reasons for the presenting malnutrition up to and including just getting out to medical. The differential for malnutrition is interesting with causes ranging from cancer to adhd meds and more.  Robby checks in on what’s where, and we find out there’s 10 Westbridge patients they’ve taken on so far, with more potentially in the waiting room. He wants to kick the prisoner out after two hours if nothing more happens but Hashimi wants a CT result first.  This could be major fireworks since Robby’s in A MOOD, shall we say, but Dana. The Pitt. HBO Max 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. The entire ER would fall apart without her. She delicately gets our prisoner his time in a different room, though it’s closer to the front and has no privacy. Hashimi balks at treating him like a monkey in a cage, but Dana’s got a little more history with it and they err on the side of safety - in sight. Ogilvie gets the news about Louie and it takes him two seconds to shrug it off as just another alcoholic, and it’s just about then that Whitaker comes back…to check on Louie. “He croaked” quips Ogilvie, and I’dve punched him could I have reached him. Whitaker takes off running to the room, and Alawi curses him under her breath. Whitaker’s broken by this, but Langdon’s in the room to help him through it. They find a picture of his wife, and Langdon, being an absolute angel, offers Whitaker the job to call the wife - which I think is actually really nice, but Whitaker declines.  He calls the number he has but it leads to Dana’s desk, sadly. They were his family. Alawi’s still about to go in and get his body ready, but Dana’s back to taking her off the job, offering up our baby nurse instead to learn. The Pitt. HBO Max The interpreter’s at the desk too, saying it’s too busy and she’s gonna need a hand. Apparently there’s a girl who’s been here 5 hours who never heard her name being called because deaf. We find out here that Princess knows six languages, one of which is rusty ASL, but she’s not sure she can help. After a little back and forth in a few languages to brag to each other, we’re off to work. Dana’s super mad when she sees a bunch of donuts coming in, despite everyone else’s excitement. At one point she even calls them blood donuts, so when Donnie comes at her with one in his teeth she’s quick to quip “et tu, Donnie?” I mean, I get her point. They’re not paying more, they’re not protecting more, but they will send donuts. It’s the pizza party problem we all know too well in our day job desk lives. With Dana at full crank, we get a stunt biker in costume who fell off a pyramid, and Dana’s recruiting Robby to join his circus since there’s an opening. My god I love this woman. He was wearing a helmet and seems bothered to be fussed over, but that’s usually when they start bleeding and dying rapidly, so let’s just wait and see. Robby asks for Whitaker to pull him out of Louie’s room for a while and give him a break from the trauma and now we’re seeing a glimpse of the doctor we know instead of the one we wanted to slap in the face last episode. Santos is half asleep trying to hear Whitaker out, but it’s better they both get the boot.  The Pitt. HBO Max Dana and baby nurse are about to get to cleaning Louie up. I can’t say I’m looking forward to this, but again, Dana’s three thousand percent the person you’d want to help you through something like this. Katherine LaNasa pulls off subtle emotion beautifully and you can see the sorrow bleeding through the instructions and steady working hands.  Baby nurse asks the questions no one usually does - does he have family? What happens if no one claims him? When they go to roll him he makes a noise, scaring poor babynurse, but it’s not a miraculous resurrection -just a fact of life. Or a pain in the ass, as Dana characterizes it in this particular instance.  Santos and Whit and Joy and Alawi and …well, most everyone, is busy with motorcycle guy and so far he’s a good teaching case but nothing catastrophic seems evident.  The Pitt. HBO Max Back with the prisoner, the jaw is broken but everything seems straight other than the malnutrition. He won’t be able to eat anything solid for a few weeks and you can see why that’ll be a huge issue. The guard is still in there while they’re quizzing him about nutrition and yet another system falls apart in front of u s. Once we roll motorcycle guy we find a big gash. So he’s off to surgery. This gives Robby the chance to check up on leg lady, and unfortunately, she’s getting an above the knee amputation. That.sucks . Robby also uses this moment to check in with Whitaker on Louie, and Whitaker tells him about some past trauma with people like Louie - an uncle who drank himself to death. This is gonna be rough on him. He offers a listening ear and I’m gonna hope Whit takes him up on it. We find ourselves in a break room, as if anyone takes a break, and Langdon’s there with Dana, who’s avoided blood donuts but is after a drink. Langdon’s depressed as hell, and says he basically got nut punched on his first day back, but Dana says it’s not his fault. He asks if she was gonna quit, and you can see he’s thinking about it. He’s also thinking about amends, and Dana makes it blissfully easy on him, reminding him of his good wife and worth. Dammit. Someone peeling onions. I see a bowl in front of our new patient Rocky so I’m intentionally looking away, because no to that. He’s evidently been in a hot dog eating contest and like, no, I do not want to see this happening. So, you watch that at your own leisure. Al Hashimi’s up with King and Santos and they want to keep the prisoner in a bed for a few days to help with malnutrition. Robby’s uncharacteristically cold towards this. He says with Westbridge, full beds and psych full they can’t take him on, but they compromise with having Robby call the prison doctor to discuss.  The Pitt. HBO Max Princess catches Dr. Al up on our combative college kid and it’s as bad as you’d think. He’s been experiencing auditory hallucinations and paranoid delusions for months, and they’re calling his parents while his sister tries to talk with him and come to terms with what’s happening herself. Back with Mrs. Hamler, who we’ve been calling the hospice seizer, we’re checking on her pain. They’re saying they can let her go back into home care, and she’s resisting, saying the husband needs a break. I really hope that someone’s taking the hint I think she’s giving. She even tries to send him ahead to get the house ready. The death doula receives what she’s relaying and he actually does get out. And we leave this room for Donnie with a hallway patient. They love the in-episode cliffhanger. Princess is all over this episode, and now she’s in with our deaf friend, trying to sign with her. Her name is Harlow, and she has a headache, stomach ache and may have passed out. But we’re not 100 percent because she can’t quite grasp it all.  Back to motorcycle acrobat and Robby’s bonding over bikes. He’s got a collar coming off, and they’re doing further assessments. A nurse walks through casually dropping the knowledge all the other little doctors were gonna have to fight to come up with, and who is that girl. Back with our barfing boy, it just keeps coming. This is not my episode. You guys watch it. Santos escaped the room with our biker, and they’re injecting the open lac on the biker’s nee with fluorosceine, which, COOL! It’s glowing! If stuff glows there’s a leak. Nurse knows all the things is on the case and they debate a little about giving him penicillin as he’s had a reaction to amoxicillin in the past, but they go with the nurse and hang it anyway, with benadryl and epi on standby. Babynurse and Dana are having Louie looking much better, but there’s more work to do, something that surprises babynurse. But dried blood on the face, neck and hands can be triggering and as Dana notes, “if anyone comes, they shouldn’t have to see that.” She mentions that local unhoused sometimes come to pay respects and gives more instruction including to leave out one arm out of the sheets, so loved ones can hold their hand. Again with the onions. Turns out Robby and the death doula are thick as thieves, and the morphine pump is delayed. McKay asks if they should keep her a little longer, but Robby says they can give her a BIG PILL and send her on her way.  The Pitt. HBO Max Surgery’s down on the ER floor and angry. They’ve got an ileus that had an appendectomy no one reported and now they they’re headhunting Santos.  She blames the AI tool for hallucinating a false appendectomy and now Hashimi’s taking the heat, but surgery is PISSED with a capital...well, you can see. Dr. Santos is easy breezy despite it all. Perlah comes by with a 5 hour energy but I don’t think sleepiness i gonna be what gets her in the end. Whitaker is teaching on stitching and procedure, but Donnie has a recommendation, and he gets out of the way to let him shine, since as a triage nurse, he does more stitches a day than probably any of the rest of them. Up close stitching. Another thing I’m trying not to see. Donnie was an early favorite, and it’s really nice to see them tapping him in as an expert for the doctors in training to learn from.  Back with another consummate professional, Dana’s helping babynurse get Louie to his “sorta” final resting place and baby nurse asks the big question: “What’s the hardest part of this job?’ I think, probably, she’s staring it down, but I’m not the literal best person at this job ever, so let’s see what Dana says. She mentions it being thankless, and that’s something we can pay forward as viewers to the real world nurses who feel unthanked, so let’s make that a takeaway. Maybe it wasn’t the hardest question. She asks why she keeps coming back, and Dana can’t answer. Listen, my entire world folds if Dana leaves this show, so…let’s hope she has an answer eventually.  Back on the floor, Robby and Hashimi are having it out over our prisoner. The med staff is saying everything’s great, but she doesn’t want to send him. Hashimi doesn’t keep her cool when Robby says it’s not about social justice, and I honestly am on her side on this. THe prison hasn’t taken care of him and the difference can be made if he stays. She even brings up Digby. I hope this isn’t over, for this prisoner’s sake. Jada’s talking to Princess and Javadi about her brother, and I guess his girlfriend got in touch, and wants to see him. Jada’s parents have a ton of questions and she's melting down. Javadi makes the mistake of saying that something’s wrong with him, and she loses it. Princess takes her somewhere quiet and cradles her while she cries. This is a truly tragic case. The Pitt. HBO Max We’re finally back with abandoned baby, who’s smiling and taking formula. Hashimi almost kills the mood when she says the kiddo’s too young to smile, but then concedes parents report kids as young as 4 weeks smiling socially. It’s a nice give. Meanwhile, Dana meets prisoner, and they’re from the same part of town, and even know the same bars.  Donnie ducks into the room with our motorcycle guy, and Joy and Whitaker get props for a great job finishing out the stitches, and a little advice to add a neoprene sleeve. Love to see the teamwork. He reveals to our guy that they’re first week, and while Ogilvie effusively blurts out that he thinks he was born to do this, Joy literally buzzes out and says she wants to do pathology cuz she likes medical mysteries but isn’t great with people. I mean, we did notice. But now I’m gonna miss her a little.  Motor acrobat wants a smaller splint so he can ride. Don’t they all. Whitaker’s like “no.” He promises not to fall again but Whitaker’s not buying it. Robby’s called in because his pulse ox is down to 85%, and he’s gonna have to stay. Who was there? Not Dana the whole time. Definitely. It’s fine. Don’t dwell. The Pitt. HBO Max Our hospice seizer is about to leave. She can’t leave. She wants to stay. FINALLY. She said the words.  Robby did catch Dana, and he’s really pulling at her to tell him what she did, but again, SHE DID NOTHING. Babynurse and Langdon meet up and he asks how it’s going. She says pretty good, hasn’t killed anyone yet…and then realizes who she’s talking to and what he’s been through today.  Well, we all learn about sticking our foot in our mouth. Luckily Langdon’s easygoing about it, cuz, and I reiterate, I don’t think he’s a bad guy.  She also admits she’s a little afraid of Dana, but Langdon assures her she’s just tough on the outside, and warm and gooey inside. I mean, aren’t we all? But like, literally? The Pitt. HBO Max It’s time for the debrief for Louie, and I’m not emotionally prepared. Dana stays back but most everyone else heads in. Ogilvie’s just hanging outside the door. It's a decent memorial service, with everyone sharing memories of him. We find out Robby knew his wife. Or at least knew of him, and knew a lot more about him to boot. Turns out, he did change his ways for a bit, when his wife got pregnant, and when she and the baby died in an accident, went back down. It’s a horrible story, and one that goes to show you never know what’s going on behind the scenes, or what someone’s struggling with.  With that said, if you’re struggling, you’re not alone. Remember to reach out. Remember that you deserve help, and have worth.  And that’s our show, until next time.

The Pitt. HBO Max Westbridge is code black. Ok.  Back to a feature on “Do we like Dr. Al” and my answer, five episodes in, is now yes. Is she a little tightly wound and a little too forward? Sure, but I think she’s a good foil to Robby, and a good resource for new doctors. I think we’ll keep her. We’re reminded, though, Santos hates her. The Pitt. HBO Max Westbridge is code black. Ok.  Back to a feature on “Do we like Dr. Al” and my answer, five episodes in, is now yes. Is she a little tightly wound and a little too forward? Sure, but I think she’s a good foil to Robby, and a good resource for new doctors. I think we’ll keep her. We’re reminded, though, Santos hates her. Combative college kid is also a main focus of our recap…and oh no, Louie gets a feature.  We bring back up the transfer, and our diabetic dad with the GoFundMe, and then one more look at the infected lady from the end of last episode. Ok, these are the things to watch for, I suppose.  Robby’s in our leg case, and he’s giving shady looks to Langdon even though he didn’t (seemingly) do anything wrong sending this lady away the first time and telling her to keep an eye on it. Dana puts them in Trauma 2 and Langdon actually asserts himself with Robby, saying he’s coming with, and gets slapped with a cold “Suit yourself.”  Ugh. Robby, you let nothing go. Dana asks if Santos wants to go too, but she’s busy charting…until she gets interrupted by Whitaker, who’s of course, worried he did something wrong. Santos is not having this conversation, and so he goes away. But hey, she’s also taking King’s advice and dictating. We find out she’s 20 charts behind. Dana presses her to go in Trauma 2 and she begs her not to so she can finish charting, but with all the moxie of a head nurse who’s great at what she does, she gets sent packing to help, since they’re not just dealing with their patients, but also Westbridge’s. The Pitt. HBO Max Ogilvie strolls by and gets his assignment, and uh oh, still looks like he’s got too much hubris. We’ll see.  Diabetic dad’s angry and trying to go home, despite his family and the doctors and nurses begging him not to. Joy’s looking on, and hmmm…maybe she’ll do something brilliant here.  Back at leg lady, we’ve got Langdon, Robby and Hashimi in one room with an agitated Santos. What could go wrong? She gets a call while they’re talking to her about her diagnosis, and the boss is giving her a hard time. Robby ungloves, takes the phone, and in a very badass moment, says that if the boss fires her, he’ll sue. Can he do that? Doesn’t matter, seems convincing to everyone else in the room. Outside that room, we meet up with Jada, yelling guy’s sister. They ask if she’s eaten, and she hasn’t. She doesn’t want to leave but they convince her to to get some rest, after assuring her that if she feels her brother was mistreated that she should pursue that. Now we’re with Ogilvie and he’s got an old lady with stomach pain. Santos is on it, too, and she picks up that she takes percocet sometimes, where he just picked up that she did occasionally, and she admits she took it a few times last week. She can’t poop, no matter what. Ogilvie gets tasked with the differential and he orders an x-ray. He thinks of a few things it could be but ultimately Santos fills in the blanks. They don’t seem in competition here, which is a nice change. The Pitt. HBO Max On the other hand, Robby and Langdon are a mess in the same room, even for the brief moment we meet them outside the door. Robby’s on another case though, with a woman who hit her head - or didn’t. She’s definitely seizing though, and there’s gonna be more to the story. An assault victim comes in from a Westbridge re-route and we’re starting to see the impact of that code black hard core. He’s also a prisoner and needs to remain cuffed while treated. Hashimi’s presiding here, and King’s got a problem with the cuff. Dude’s gotten stomped, and has a mandible fracture. And some rib fractures.  Langdon and Robby are having it out a little because leg lady’s infection’s still spreading. The nurse in the room says the meds could still be working but Robby’s not having it. Taking a sidebar we find that she’s severely septic, but Langdon’s defensive because at 7 am, that’s not what it looked like,and of course, he’d be in this situation right now. I can’t blame the defensiveness. 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 know? Santos sits down to chart and Dana’s got her headed to a new room. She again protests, and again, gets shut down by “D” as she called her, but at least she respected it.  Her and Ogilvie head off and now we’re with Louie. Langdon’s ordering Librium for pain for him, but Whitaker steps in and says he’ll put in the order. Ouch. To be fair, as he said, he’s the attending for Louie, but that has to hurt. Langdon tries to catch up with Robby for a moment who snubs him, again. And now we find that Santos is still charting and just supervising Ogilvie. The same Ogilvie who screwed up today and doesn’t catch everything. He’s not giving good bedside manner, and the relationship’s officially combative now. Our seizing woman is a hospice at home cancer patient, and her husband seems really, really on top of things. They find a lot of bruising on her legs and there’s definitely a lot of concerned looks being shot between Mohan and McKay.   The Pitt. HBO Max Our social worker is now with our diabetic dad, and the bad news kills me. The best they can do is 60/40 split, and we know that’s not really a thing that’s gonna work for them. He apologizes to his daughter finally, and they go over the reality of the hospital’s “help” - the bill will likely be over 100k and they’ll be on the hook for 60 of it. If that’s feasible for you, good, but for most of us, that’s catastrophic Dad’s definitely a flight risk again. Everyone wants him to stay but…Joy.  She says it’d be cheaper to admit him to med-surg instead of the ICU, and …they’re working on it. This might be clutch, and I might like Joy now. Interesting. Food poisoning’s out, Louie’s out to the liquor store, Robby presumes, and things are moving. I kinda forgot Robbie and our social worker are dating. She asks Dana what his deal is, and she…does not approve of the hot goss she spills trying to figure out why he always needs a distraction. But she does agree he needs some peace. Ogilvie’s back with a lung x-ray and his latest patient has active TB. Which he thought was pneumonia, and which she wasn’t there until later to diagnose, so now he’s gotta sign in as a patient because he’s potentially infected, and we’re calling public health. I really feel like she’s not getting out of this with a smile and a slap on the wrist. Santos, we were rooting for you. We were all rooting for you! Ogilvie is freaked out, but Santos, learning nothing, is right back to charting. We’ve got a new kid. He’s got a dry ice burn? This oughta be a good story. They were trying to brand each other? Ugh. So that’s new,and dumb.  Hashimi and Langdon hash it out (I’m so sorry) in the hall and she welcomes him back after he says that it doesn’t seem like Robby wants him here. I think she’s doing a good job, in this case, because that chip on Robby’s shoulder is enormous, and you’d think there’d be some empathy for a friend.  We like our characters with flaws, but I wish this would wear away. The Pitt. HBO Max Back to our prisoner, other than the mandible he’s seeming ok. I mean, other than the rib fractures. He’s in a lot of pain, but there’s a question as to whether he should be admitted or not. The cuffs are an issue for Whitaker, too, who’s now calling for them to come off so they can administer painkillers. The poor security guy is just following protocol though, and no one seems too happy with him. He talks to Mohan about his decision with Langdon but gets interrupted. Our waitress is not improving, and she’s about to go to surgery. She’s actively getting worse while Robby’s trying to break it to her that it’s no small issue. Her BP is dropping and her O2 sats are getting worse. This is not looking good, and they might need to intubate. He tells the nurse to prep for it but not ask Langdon. But Dana…and OH MY GOD I love Dana, chews him out for it outside, and tells him Langdon did absolutely everything Robby himself would’ve done. Meanwhile, our open dislocation comes back in, hungry, but otherwise not looking crazy.  Robby checks in with Dana to see if she knows what’s up at Westbridge, but so far no one does. The charge nurse there isn’t responding and after quizzing Hashimi, it seems no one at all knows what happened. They discuss active cases, and then Hashimi calls him out for treating her like a resident. So, she turns the tables and asks for his report on his current patients.  The Pitt. HBO Max Back to our hospice seizer, the hospice nurse arrives, and actually, she’s a death doula. You can see the skepticism of the doctors, but they don’t air it. Lena’s in a lot of pain, and it seems like there’s more to come. And now we’re peeling skin off a kid. Oh, man. His older brother is here, and he’s the one who did it to him. Jeeeez. They all watch the video and giggle like idiots, though.  I think we’re back in with our waitress, whos’ fully down for the count. Oh yep, this is it. Surgery is fresh out of med school, two weeks again. Robby sends him away- which is very un Robby like. He asks for a grown-up. Do I have to start actively not liking him? Whitaker and King are working with the assaulted prisoner, and it’s not going well. His skin is super fragile and even with Hashimi’s guidance it’s still difficult. Robby’s lurking, but not useful. Ogilvie’s back with a report on the TB case. Santos is really leaving him hanging here, and I still can’t shake the feeling the consequences for her will be dire. Hopefully not for Ogilvie too, because I feel for him. She’s got stats that this is normal, but she’s got no sympathy for him, and it should’ve been her too. Back to constipated grandma, he’s got this one too. Man, Santos. You’re on the shit list. And you should be, literally. Back with diabetic dad, he’s able to be transferred. We’re at 35K and then with the cost share, 20K. It’s better than nothing. But it’s still not how it should be. Joy gets the thanks she deserves from the social worker and Mohan unwraps a little of the tightly wound Joy, who reveals that she had the idea because she had to help her uninsured grandparent get care. The Pitt. HBO Max Back with our hospice seizer, who’s got morphine on tap, and they’re discussing DME - shower chairs, wheelchairs, etcetera. The husband’s skeptical they can get all that but the death doula’s on it so she can be comfortable. Now we’re back with Santos, who’s sadistically putting Whitaker in the position to unblock her manually. He tries to object, but ultimately goes for it, and now Ogilvie’s got to do the same. Santos recommends Miralax, and you can tell they’re gonna be here for a while. Unless I’m immediately proven wrong, which I am, and gross. Robby’s hounding even regular surgery, and when she asks for a CT, he not only says there’s no time, but throws iodine at it and slices it open to prove his point. He’s kinda unhinged, and I’m not loving it. The Pitt. HBO Max Now Robby’s interrupting Santos and Hashimi discussing charting to rant about how AI is going to mean they work more hours for less pay. Someone super peed in his Cheerios today. Hashimi stands up for herself gracefully. She asks about the septic patient while Robby gets THE glare from surgery, and catches up with Santos. In the hall, someone’s trying to give a patient a few brews, but Dana lurks and confiscates it. Robby takes a beer saying he knows someone who could use a drink, and it’ll be a parting gift. Bro. The Pitt. HBO Max Hashimi’s in with our prisoner, who’s stitched up, and has some weird labs from apparent malnutrition. They’re going to run some more tests to see what’s up.  Our hospice seizer’s gotta pee and wants to walk to the bathroom, but when they try to spin her, the pain is too much.  We’re back in with Louie, and…he pulled off his pulse ox and doesn’t have a pulse. I knew it. Langdon and Robby are side by side doing compressions, and that’s where we fade out. Damn. Not looking forward to this next hour.

The Pitt on HBO Max. Ok, medical drama lovers. It’s 10 am in Season 2 of The Pitt. That means we’re getting in the swing of things. Episode 4 is full to the brim with everything we love, so let’s do a soft recap recap and then just forge forward. We go back a few episodes to our abandoned baby as the lead in that recap - so there’s definitely more to the story, and that hopefully means we’re gonna find out what Al-Hashimi has against (or for) babies.  The Pitt on HBO Max. It’s not always easy to tell what’s in real time and what’s not. Diabetic dad’s kiddo, who’s a gem, is waiting on their mom, who has to take several buses to get to the ER. Quick reminder that Dr. Al’s new, revisiting our eyelash girl looking for a doctor who doesn’t exist, and yelling kid, then the Westbridge code black that we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg for yet.  “I should’ve left last night” says Dr. Robby. Oh, sweetie. We knew you couldn’t leave. Now we’re solidly in the present, because we’re watching the betting start on why the code black happened. I really like that they do this, and not only do it but heavily endorse it, because at least from what I know of the ER and medical profession at large, you need a stress reliever, and you need camaraderie.  Though she DOES “at my old school (the VA) we never” she’s ultimately game, which…props! Robby’s got flooding, 3 hours and 20 patients, and she’s got flooding 4.5 hours, and 30 patients. Oooo. Let’s see what develops. Dana asks if Robby wants to move Langdon out of triage and basically on board for the main event, and Robby refuses. This grudge is gonna take longer to wear away, I guess.  The Pitt on HBO Max. Much like a stubborn eyelash glue that our girl’s got mineral oil on. She’s pissed, cuz she’s been there for 2 hours and nothing’s come of our oily solution.  In the waiting room we find yelling college kid’s sister, who’s eager to get in, and back in the ER proper. We're with our  - are we supposed to assume junkie - who’s deaf, and we’ve got no real idea why she’s there. Langdon’s with someone who’s got a high fever and low 02 and just wants to work, but he tells her to look forward to a long weekend recouping. Back at the desk, Trudy, Santos and Curly are talking shit - to and about each other. Dana breaks it up but Al Hashimi catches Santos to not so politely remind her she’s behind on charting and could repeat this year of residency if she doesn’t catch up. Now outside, the same group tries to go back to some Dr. Al gossip but at least one of them thinks better of it. We’ve got a belly and chest pain rolling in in the ambulance bay. Our belly pain ate bad chilaquiles, perhaps? Is it ever that simple? And also, bad chilaquiles? May we never. The Pitt on HBO Max.   Our chest pain guy seems religious and ready to die, which we hate to see. He also has Santos competing to know the most, this time with Whitaker, and a bonus ambulance featuring a bloody 20 something who fell through a skylight and is unresponsive. He’s got a videographer in tow, who says they were parkouring. Ogilvie’s spouting stats no one cares about, Joy’s on his case about it, and they turn to this as the main trauma. McKay’s also on the case with Robby overseeing. They didn’t notice our videographer was still filming and when they try to get her out she’s belligerent, stating they’ve gotta get it for their 4th of July Tiktok. Kids today. It seems mostly like Ogilvie’s getting in the way and bothering people today, and he bumps straight into McKay as she’s attending to the patient and ordering an intubation before a CT since the patient’s unresponsive. He asks if he can perform the procedure, and Robby tasks her with teaching him. Of course, he already knows what he’s doing, so they sit back and watch. We think. Santos and Whitaker are at the same computer and Santos is over how close he is. When she walks away though, he grabs the paper off the station and orders further testing. Meanwhile, Al Hashimi’s meeting up with yelling college kid’s sister, and she’s freaking out learning he was so belligerent and had to be tased, saying it’s not like him at all. This might get interesting, and I’m looking back to the legal codes he was yelling last week to try to guess what really happened. The Pitt on HBO Max. Now, Whitaker’s with Robby showing him the abnormalities on that chest pain guy he wants to do additional testing on and he signs off on it, so at least we know he’s learned a little better than to just do it without consultation. Dr. Mohan’s meeting up with our diabetic’s wife, and she seems amazing. There’s a very small moment where she mentions how busy they are where you can see the through line between the ER and the crush of retail or foodservice, and I love that. There are front lines everywhere.  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. We’re back with a chest pain guy, who’s sweaty and intent on dying, despite Whitaker’s workings. And then Langdon’s in the weeds with our eyelash girl, who either has to wait 2 weeks for a second eye to open or who has to relent to having half her eyelash trimmed. She’s got a party tonight and of course, can’t be seen like this.  The Pitt on HBO Max. Back with Whitaker’s Samba, he’s been right all along and it’s the worst kind of heart attack. Now everyone’s in the room and that quick thinking and prep Whitaker did may have saved this guy.  King is talking with Santos outside the room about if she’s ever had patients flirt with her, and I mean, weird person to ask. Also, weird to be smiling about it considering he ran you over, girl.  Our virus having overachiever needs a chest x-ray and it seems like Santos is missing something obvious King is trying to get her to look at. Hmmm.  The Pitt on HBO Max. Meanwhile Joy’s picking glass out of our skylight guy and is acerbic as ever. I mean, it’s not a great gig, but like…can we just be anything but sour for a minute, girl? She cuts herself on one of the shards and since that’s blood exposure, she’s not only off the case, but is currently her own case. You can imagine Suzy Sunshine being all excited about that.  There’s new people coming in from Westbridge, and Hashimi asks again if they can pull Langdon in. Robby says no, again, because it’s his first day back (do we believe that’s why?) and they weigh in on the bet again. Dr. Al seems downright flirty with Robby, offering to buy him a drink with her winnings. Also confident she’s right and it’s going to be worse than he says. So, let’s see. Dr. Mohan’s back with Jada, the college guy’s sister, and they’re discussing whether to call her parents. She says they should. He’s got a normal CT and normal blood and urine, so she’s thinking of a spinal tap. That seems extreme. I wonder if we’re going too far here. She’s gonna check with Dr. Al though so we’ll see what happens. The Pitt on HBO Max. McKay’s back with her admirer from last week, who broke his butt. I mean, that’s not the medical term, but it is what happened. He’s still trying to charm her on his way out. He’s worried about his social calendar, and actually distraught that he’s going to be down for the count with the ladies for six weeks. He pushes back, and she says they can do a procedure to push the pieces back in place, but it’ll hurt really badly.  Her other admirer across the way, and he’s pretty much fine, with a sprain. But he’s also pretty much FINE, and working his charms. Just when it looks like they’ll part as patient and doctor and that’ll be it, she turns around and asks him to check out some art galleries together. Why am I already rooting for this, taboo though it may be? It’s Louie! Whitaker and Ogilvie are in with him, and he’s a grumpy Gus because his tooth is kiling him and the whole side of his face is numb. He needs a tooth pulled, so he’s waiting for social at this point. Everyone’s missing Dr. Collins, the former social worker, and honestly, me too. They’ve kept him around so long that I’m scared for him and simultaneously will be sad to see him go. Back with our diabetic and his family - social work is saying they’re just over the poverty line so it’s not as easy as all that, and the best option would be to buy private insurance. The daughter overhears, and this cannot go simply from here. The Pitt on HBO Max. Our new nurse is in Dana’s hands, and she’s doing an IV on Joy. Oh man Dana, you’re really not taking it easy on her. It goes well until she drops the vial of blood. Oh no, poor girl.  Back with Mr. Skylight and his video team, he’s gonna be fine. Or wait, he’s not, since there’s major bleeding suddenly. Things are rarely ever this simple. Bleeding from teh back. Our videographer is majorly concerned.  It’s a little piece of glass. And Ogilvie causes a HUGE problem when he pulls it out. See, this is where hubris gets you kid. Now it’s a full blown bloody emergency. Santos and King are back out in the hall and Santos still isn’t getting what’s going on with their flu person. Her aspiration pneumonia is leading King to believe it’s an ED, but Santos just didn’t have the light turn on for it. The Pitt on HBO Max. Al Hashimi is in with Jada, and psych is also in with him. And not happy about it, because he’s still sedated - so there’s nothing he can do. Weird way to meet a new character, but it shows how eager Mohan is, at least. Back to our now major bleed and they’ve got the glass out and are getting the bleeding under control, but Ogilvie looks really traumatized. Understandable. Perhaps this will tamp down this kid’s hubris. Luckily, the worst seems over for now. Robby gently re-emphasizes why you don’t remove a foreign body and you let surgery do it, and Ogilvie looks like a puppy who just got scolded.  Our psych meets up with Robby and Robby’s not super enthused about it. He brings up the motorcycle crash, and Robby’s on the defensive immediately without Jefferson (our psych) even trying to get anything out of him. He gets congratulated on saying Fuck, and says therapy must be working - he’s gone through two therapists and Jefferson’s trying to get him to get another one before or during his sabbatical. Oh yeah, you can try, but that doesn’t seem super likely. “Motorcycle trip is zoom therapy.” Yeah. Ok. Whitaker wanders over towards security and lays down 40 for power outage. Langdon’s in with our eyelash horror, and trimming hasn’t gotten that eye open. She’s demanding Dr. J again. Um…oh my God. It’s Javadi. On Tiktok. Delightful. McKay’s shoving pieces of butt back where they belong, and our charmer’s got choice words about it, but hey, it worked! One repaired old man butt.  The Pitt on HBO Max. Back to flu lady, King’s trying really hard to be gentle about her suspicions that she’s got an eating disorder. Santos…is trying to be gentle, but she’s always got that hard edge.  She goes to look at her teeth and as King suspected, the worn enamel is present, so we’ve got confirmation that this might actually be what she’s thinking.  Langdon summons “Dr. J” and reveals his knowledge of her “fame” introducing her to her fan/patient, Willow. Ball’s in her court now. She jumps in with the added confidence that this girl believes in her, and…does the same thing he was doing, cutting up even higher on the lash. She seems a little cocky about her fandom, even. Willow’s eye pops open and she asks if she can still wear fake eyelashes. Let’s see what backlash she receives if not. Our diabetic dad admits that he’s only been using partial doses of insulin because he’s not able to afford it without his work insurance, which he also hasn’t been able to afford. Honestly, this is the most traumatic part of this episode so far, because it’s a reality for so many. His daughter pops in and she’s set up a GoFundMe to raise money for him - it’s been successful but her dad shouts it down and sends her out of the room. I really hope he comes around, or social work comes through. Or both. Langdon and Louie get a little bit of alone time since the confession, and they’re like a set of old friends, talking kids, dogs and family. Even lawn care advice. Ok, I’m really getting attached to Louie and I feel like this show’s waiting for me to fall for him so they can kill him off. Robby sees him in with him, and he’s’ not particularly happy about it, but passes up the confrontation.  Al Hashimi stops to tell him that he’s off triage and on the floor.  She also affirms his decision to go with the Physician’s Health Program during his rehab. Dana sees Robby looking on, and tries to reason with him about Langdon. She’s, per usual, right on. Knowing they were close and that it was gonna be hard. She tries to reason with him, and tell him there was a callout,and maybe it’s time to clear the air, but…Robby’s not there. Maybe sometime soon. King and Santos are dealing with our ED patient, who finally admits that she has a problem. She explains how central food is in her family and how hard it is to avoid triggers with them. As someone from a big Polish family where food is never off the table, I can relate, and I think a lot of people can, which is why I’m glad The Pitt is handling this so gracefully. It’s not just a teen problem, a white problem,a  privilege problem, or even just a woman problem. So many people have dysfunctional relationships with food for so many reasons and it’s okay to ask for help.  Dr. King drives that point home and really opens up, admitting she had a problem with it, too, but Santos waves her off to go back to her charting. King never really takes the “go away cues” on time, but ends up helping a little by telling Santos to dictate to go faster. Whitaker pops up and reports back on Samba, mentioning he had the posterior STEMI and caught it. This immediately sets Santos off and she calls him Fuckleberry before peacing out. That’s…honestly kinda mean. Not cool. A nurse tells Langdon one of his patients is back, and she’s …very back, with a raging infection. They suspect MRSA or worse. I can’t recall why she came in in the first place, but…that’s all folks! We’ll have to scrub in again next week. And Louie better be okay!

via. Marvel.com The latest show out of the MCU has been a critical success. But something about it has been knocking around in my head. I know most of the praise is definitely deserved. Wonder Man  is a very character-driven story, buoyed by the genuinely fantastic interactions of Sir Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams. Watching these two bounce off of each other is electric. Their chemistry is so potent that it retroactively makes Trevor Slattery a welcome part of the MCU. There was even a "redemption" of sorts for the whole Mandarin thing. Trevor isn’t just a punchline here; he’s integral to the heart of the series. But again, despite some of the best character work Marvel has produced in Phase 6, something nagging kept knocking inside my skull. No, it’s not that awful Doorman episode with Josh Gad. Which is proof that Disney just can’t stop meddling in potentially nice things. It was so tonally off that it felt like it came from a completely different show. As bad as that was, it worked as a way to juxtapose the "Bad MCU" (forced whimsy) and the "Good MCU" (actual character work). But I digress. via Marvel.com As good as the performances are, the series exposes a frustrating insecurity in modern comic adaptations that I feel Wonder Man  only amplifies: the belief that a character can’t be "grounded" unless you strip away everything that made them a superhero in the first place. I never understood this. If you take Superman, for instance, one of the most compelling parts of that character is his anchor to his humanity despite  being an alien. I know comic accuracy is a sticking point for some people. I understand, because it can be for me, too. If you have a character you love adapted to a new medium, it’s exciting to see that  character—not an amalgamation or a retelling. For a more obscure character like Wonder Man, it’s almost a guarantee that details will be rearranged. I’m not saying the show would be better if it was strictly comic-accurate, but I am saying that you can tell a grounded, human story even with fantastical elements. via Marvel.com I was a kid when Simon Williams had his solo comic run between 1991 and 1994. In those books, Simon wasn't just a guy figuring things out; he was an ionic powerhouse. He was immortal, invulnerable, and capable of juggling tanks—and he was still  a struggling actor. The source material proved decades ago that you don't need to de-power a character to tell a human story. Instead of embracing that dichotomy, Wonder Man  retreats to a trope I hated even as a kid: the hero who spends the entire story unable to use their powers, or just learning how to use them. It feels like we’ve gone full circle to the pre-MCU era of television. The writers seem terrified of the "Wonder" part of Wonder Man . They ground Simon so aggressively that for long stretches, he feels less like a superhero and more like a generic protagonist in a Hollywood satire. His powers do nothing more than raise the stakes, which is good, but the "Doorman Clause" (which, as far as I know, doesn’t exist in the comics) feels like an artificial barrier more so than a real, organic one. I mean, they had to have an entire episode—starring a very loud Josh Gad—just to sell it to us! I want fully powered heroes having full stories. I want to see a god-tier character like Simon Williams navigate a world that is too fragile for him. Surely there could have been drama involved with having to compete with other super-powered actors for the same role? But seeing a world full of superheroes and a person who is unwilling to even learn to control their powers feels unrealistic to me. I think what people liked about Wonder Man  is its authenticity. That is where the MCU lost its way post- Endgame . Despite the fantastical elements, something about the early MCU felt authentic in a character sense. Wonder Man  exudes this. I just wish it wasn't so afraid to be super while doing it.

Screenshot: Scarlet Hollow I just arrived in Scarlet Hollow. I know some of you have been trapped in this town for years, waiting patiently for every drop of content since 2020. I, however, am spoiled. I binged the first four episodes in a couple of days. But that luxury has a cost: hitting the wall of Episode 5’s split release has been excruciating. After absolutely loving the majority of the first four acts, I found myself strangely underwhelmed by the start of Episode 5—until the cards were finally put on the table. Screenshot: Scarlet Hollow Coming into Episode 5, everything felt almost too safe. I knew there was going to be a rug pull at some point—especially since the narrative stakes are finally being clarified—but I didn’t expect the emotional gut punch that followed. I know veteran players might have seen it coming (or listened to Wayne’s ominous warnings), but I was genuinely shocked by the time the first part of Episode 5 concluded. Developer Black Tabby Games promised that the first half of Episode 5 would be roughly as long as the entirety of Episode 4. I’m not sure if that holds up in practice, because my two playthroughs went by lightning fast. Maybe it’s my fault for devouring the story so voraciously, or maybe certain Trait choices speed things up, but the thought of having to wait another week to see what happens next is agonizing. (Again, apologies to those of you who have been in it for the long haul!) Screenshot: Scarlet Hollow If you’re not familiar with Scarlet Hollow, it is the work of the husband-and-wife dev team at Black Tabby Games (Abby Howard and Tony Howard-Arias). While many gamers know them from their massive breakout hit Slay the Princess, Scarlet Hollow is actually their debut project, which they have been releasing episodically since 2020. Unlike in Slay the Princess, where your choices can change the literal reality of the story, the central mystery in Scarlet Hollow is constant. Your choices change what is revealed, when, and by whom. There is an ominous warning at the start that you can’t save everyone—you can’t even save yourself—and that promise is finally paying off with higher stakes in Episode 5. I’m absolutely into Scarlet Hollow, even if the writing does skew a little YA at times—mostly in the banter and relationship dynamics. However, it anchors that lightness with a complicated and deep narrative full of interesting characters that are a treat to interact with. It also uses excellent sound design to really drive home the horror and panic of key scenes. For a visual novel, it feels remarkably dynamic and real. Screenshot: Scarlet Hollow There are light RPG elements, too; the Trait system changes what your character is able to do, sometimes to a significant degree. Traits like Talks to Animals (one of my favorites) and Mystic open up lore and information you can’t get otherwise. Part of the charm is playing through multiple times to see the story from those different angles. Episodes 6 and 7 are being worked on as a single unit. That means once this cliffhanger resolves, I won’t have to wait mid-story again until the finale drops. I just hope I don’t have to wait five years for that to happen.

Screenshot: ANTHEM#9 ANTHEM#9  is a game of "buts." It is the debut title from self-taught solo developer koeda, but it feels surprisingly polished in its presentation. It has some serious style and seriously catchy music, but a gameplay loop that makes me feel like it’s missing that certain something . It features a clever gem-matching combat system that feels great when it works, but the world around it feels empty. It is also, unfortunately, a victim of terrible timing. Releasing a roguelike deckbuilder just days before the juggernaut that is Mewgenics  feels like a death sentence for a small indie, and it’s not entirely fair that koeda’s game has to compete in that shadow. But even without the comparison, ANTHEM#9  struggles to keep its head above water on its own merits. Screenshot: ANTHEM#9 Let’s get the good stuff out of the way first: ANTHEM#9  is stylish as hell. From the moment you boot it up, the game oozes a jagged, spy-thriller anime aesthetic that feels incredibly confident for a first-time developer. The UI pops, the character designs are distinct, and the soundtrack is a banger (I have “dance like you don’t give a damn what the people think” on loop in my head. If you played it, you know). But the soundtrack does a lot of heavy lifting to keep the energy up, especially when the mechanics start to drag. If you were judging this game by the first few minutes you play it, it would be a masterpiece. Even the tutorial took what seemed like a complicated concept and made it seem easy. The core gameplay hook is a "gem-match roguelite" system. Instead of standard mana to cast spells or perform abilities, you deal with a random assortment of Red, Green, and Blue gems each turn. Your skills activate based on specific "recipes"—like Red-Red-Blue or Green-Blue-Green. At first, the gem matching didn’t land for me. But the UI actually helped me figure out that you can chain some abilities along with others, and the whole thing started to click. Once those weird mechanics made sense, I was able to create some crazy combos. The goal is to chain the right sequence of gems to trigger a massive attack that cancels the enemy’s turn entirely. Screenshot: ANTHEM#9 But outside of these moments of tactical brilliance, the experience falls flat. This hollowness extends to the roguelite elements. In a genre defined by risk-reward choices and interesting events, ANTHEM#9  feels static. Events are incredibly rare—maybe one per floor—which turns the game into a linear slog of fight after fight. You can exchange or level up skills, but without interesting decisions to make between battles, the "run" feels less like an adventure and more like a spreadsheet. This is compounded by the fact that your character is never in  a location, or never face-to-face with an enemy. Everything is implied through character portraits. Screenshot: ANTHEM#9 The game features three playable characters: Rubit (the starter), and the unlockable Phannie and Beni. Rubit’s starting arsenal feels basic—poison and daggers—which doesn't help the early game monotony. Unlocking Phannie and Beni brings some much-needed variety to the playstyles, with Phannie offering a high-risk, high-reward gambling mechanic that finally makes the deckbuilding interesting. There are four base "missions" per character, each with a different boss, followed by "Extra" missions that get progressively harder. I’m sure there is an end to it, but I didn’t find it. And honestly, the game didn’t give me enough of a reason to keep looking. Screenshot: ANTHEM#9 ANTHEM#9  is a case of style over substance. As a debut from a solo developer, it is an impressive technical and artistic achievement. But as a game you have to actually play for hours, it falls short. Even with a potentially impressive endgame, some sort of overarching progression would have helped. If you are a die-hard genre enthusiast looking for something to look at while you listen to a podcast, it might be worth a spin. For everyone else, the wait for a deeper experience continues.

The Pitt. HBO Max Another episode, another hour in to a brand new shift at The Pitt. It’s 9 am for Episode 3, and as it would be IRL, we’re already knee deep in gore, drama and story. So, let’s glove up and get examining …everything. This week we lead off with two of the new docs, and the two I least enjoy so far – Joy and Ogilvie. As Whitaker notes, Joy’s pretty peculiar (though I’d say aloof and disinterested) and Ogilvie’s really smart (and way, way too competitive). We’ve got a new patient who hit his head and is unconscious. He’s also diabetic, and we get a little infighting between Smarty Pants Ogilivie and Smarty Pants and Trudy in front of Langdon over what they should do.  McKay still has her altered mental status guy with the scaphoid issue, and, now we’re just back to the recaps. A little bit more recapping of last episode happens, but we’re going to skip that, because we recapped last episode in our last episode recap.  The Pitt. HBO Max Back with our belligerent college guy - this dude’s been tased and he still isn’t settled. He’s shouting things that are setting off some alarm bells for me but I’m not exactly sure what to make of it all yet. 2701, Title 18. Reasonableness, 2709. I have to assume none of that is purely random. When I threw it into Gemini, it ends up making a little bit more sense. In the context of PA law, apparently, that all makes very good sense. Title 18 S 2701 references Simple Assault, 2709 Harassment and Stalking. Maybe that’s not a thing, maybe it is. I’m sure we’ll find out. We’re done with priapism guy for now, and he’s told to calm down the activities and lay off the Viagra, basically. Will he be back? I have a feeling he might, but let’s hope not. Remember that racing family? Our original patient’s better, but they’re all back in the waiting room, and they seem like trouble. The oldest of them, or one of the oldest, got dizzy and fell.  The Pitt. HBO Max Back to Digby. He hates doctors. Fair. Luckily, he also has the best nurse in the whole damn world with Dana, and she’s able to reason with him enough to be able to get him to talk to our new social worker to seek ongoing care. She also gets him a sandwich. The people who help in these practical, essential ways, are angels on earth. Thank a nurse next time you see one. Now we’ve got the campus cop, large and angry, blustering about our screaming college kid. Apparently he got a chair thrown at him by this kid, and he’s out for revenge. He wants to stay in line of sight with him so he can watch him, as any white guy drunk with the power of some sort of badge would. If you couldn’t tell, I really, really don’t trust him, and I think maybe we’ll find he’s one of those who work forces, if you know what I mean. The Pitt. HBO Max Our new social worker is back, and other than the man bun, he’s turning out to be another of the good ones. He’s working with Santos on our potential abuse case. There’s some red flags for him, but not enough to call it abuse, or blame anyone. Santos, natch, is absolutely dogged on this, and convinced that the father, who they’ve called in to interview, won’t show. Back with our college kid, it’s time to pull the taser barbs out. This oughta be a piece of very very angry cake. King’s a pro here and we see her actually confidently teach. Still, it’s tricky,but luckily for us, Dr. Al-Hashimi’s got sage advice on pulling them straight out, and so, despite the rage, the job is done. Seems like Dr. Al’s got some experience here that we might dig into later. Just when you thought we were resolving too many things, a double trauma’s called. I hate to say something like “oo boy!” but “oo boy!” The Pitt. HBO Max This one’s an auto vs. a motorcycle and of course, Robbie’s on it. It’s pretty bad, and so far we know the driver’s not okay. When the motorcyclist comes in, it’s pretty clear that the massive trauma means he’s more or less DOA. Surprisingly, Joy has a pretty strong reaction, while Robby barely blinks before heading to another room. Also surprisingly, Joy’s the one asking about a moment of recognizance, and Robby’s out the door already to see the driver of the car that hit the motorcyclist. His wife is in the room, which never means anything good. And, here’s the first twist - the driver’s quadriplegic? Cut to McKay, who’s got on some sort of pheromones or new perfume, because man, is she getting hit on.  Most immediately by an older gentleman named Mr. Montrose who’s been found wandering around the ER. He was in for a fall, and awaits the therapeutic donut he doesn’t want to admit he needs - I imagine this happens, but does it happen as often as it seems to in The Pitt? A guy in the gurney across from the pair is also shooting his shot - which seems a lot more logical coming from him, but still…right now? Flash back to Louie, who’s nearing the end of his ordeal. They tell him he’ll be out before the fireworks tonight, and for some reason in this context that makes me feel like he’s not going to live to see them. Call me a hardened viewer, but, that, coupled with the Things They Learn From Him suddenly…it just feels like there’s some danger here. The Pitt. HBO Max Back with McKay again, but she’s with her scaphoid/weird affect guy. And he’s got a brain tumor…which, we assume at least, explains all the strangeness we’ve seen from him. He’s not too keen on a brain biopsy, and –who would be? But McKay explains the stereoscopic guided CT assisted biopsy process and he at least seems like he’s gonna do it. Now we’re in with The Hansens, our racing family, and they’re packed in the ER with our patient and arguing right over his gurney. Langdon finally cuts the crap and they discover he’s taken a medicine that wasn’t his and that they don’t know what it was. This seems way TOO feasible in today’s world, what with the ivermectin crowd.  In the next room over, Robby’s back with our driver from car vs. motorcycle, making reference to knowing more as soon as they consult the Donut of Truth, which I’m gonna assume is a CT scan, because, well…it turns out it is. He’s about to be wheeled up when they note his mental status is also very altered. The wife’s hovering nearby and has heard he’s paralyzed, and she’s panicking, fully.  She wants to tag along but there’s radiation in that there donut, so she can’t. Robby has her wait with him til he goes, and he and Hashimi - decide to split up? Here we have our first bit of ..flirting between Robby and Dr. Al. Do we like this? Is it weird? It feels weird. The Pitt. HBO Max Meanwhile, our Eastern European lady turns out to be Jewish. She’s also got Robby’s number, and her classic Jewish mothering to him is really very charming. She’s used a home remedy for a burn that’s really, really gross. Honey. She’s also from Tree of Life, a synagogue that was involved in a shooting. Our new nurse is uncharacteristically a little rude, laughing at the honey remedy. Turns out, it’s only half not a great idea, but could actually work on a lesser burn. Robby’s got her, and promises she too will be home by the fireworks, but she’s begging not to go home until after. Meanwhile, Santos gets surprised by her pet case’s father, who seems remarkably non suspicious. He’s chill, he’s answering questions calmly, and he’s remarkably sweet with his daughter. There’s no real red flags with this guy until he starts interacting with the girlfriend, and blaming her for everything that’s happened, aggressively and standing over his gurney. Enter our social worker, who sweeps in and pulls them out of the room with the girl and girlfriend. He’s asking questions tactfully and Santos is interjecting at just the right time to really provoke him. He goes straight after his girlfriend, and they end up in an altercation where he also chooses to threaten our security guy. Absolutely not!  The Pitt. HBO Max 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. Robby’s now back with Ms. Kovenko, and he’s not only patching her up, he’s listening to her. She was there for the shooting, and fireworks are a huge trigger for her. Honestly, this is an issue more people should talk about at holidays and celebrations because it’s not just pets that can suffer when fireworks are happening - many soldiers and victims of shootings/bombings can feel the same way - unsafe, scared, and incredibly reactive. I hope this ends well for her, and she can get some sleep in the hospital away from the triggers. When Robby heads over to Mr. Yee, our car accident victim, we’ve got Mrs.Yee freaking out because she’d been arguing with her husband prior to the accident and doesn’t want him to pass away on those last words. Good news for this crew, the CT revealed normal results, and after another surprise phone call and labs with critical potassium we find out his paralysis is temporary, and he’ll get better- including use of his limbs. The Pitt. HBO Max Over in another bed, we’ve got a squiggly and adorable kiddo who shoved some beads up his nose. Now I know this one’s common - my brother did this when we were kids. I remember thinking I had no idea why he’d do it, but also no idea why it required an ER visit. It’s a bit of a dad’s club and it’s nice to see dads supporting dads or dads to be.  Back with the Yees, we’re trying to figure out how this weird sudden paralysis from a rare disorder only happened now, but before we can, all the alarm bells ring and we’re doing compressions. Santos and Whitaker discuss the ITP, and smarty pants Ogilvie helps explain what it means…sorta. The cops come in to talk with our campus security guy, and he’s pandering to them, but they seem smart enough to not just give him a pass cuz he’s wearing a badge.  Back with the Yees again, we’ve stabilized our driver, he’ doing ok, but she’s showing no signs of not freaking out. He’s awake, she’s touching him…and she’s down for the count. Turns out, she’s been internally bleeding the whole time because she didn’t get checked out after the accident on the ambulance or at the hospital when they asked. As a recent person who almost didn’t get checked out, let me tell you, on the record, during a recap of a medical show - get checked out. Back with our “abuse” case, dad and daughter are calmly reunited, Santos is managing a good bedside manner, and a good conversation with the kiddo’s mother. The girlfriend lurks around the corner, and I’m sure this isn’t over yet. McKay’s back now, and we’re still just left to wonder what it is about her today that’s attracting all that attention, as she’s being serenaded in French by our elderly guy and persistently chased by gurney guy across the way. No time for that though because scaphoid weird affect man has an ex-wife who’s there – but not happy to be there.  Back with our racers and King, we’ve managed to find out what it is our friendly flag pants man’s taken. Blood pressure pills. Ok, explained away. I thought these guys would be more trouble. Back with Mr. Yee, he finds out his wife’s faceplanted and been taken away, and he also has regrets, and doesn’t want her to die thinking he hates her. Don’t leave stuff unresolved. McKay’s now with Scaphoid guy and his ex, and it’s a weirdly pleasant exchange and catchup for them. She backs off her anger at him, and he’s exceedingly apologetic and sensitive to her. He seems genuinely glad she was able to remarry and wishes her the best, and she’s visibly shook by it. McKay makes a polite exit so they can talk more. Now we’re on to our diabetic and his daughter’s here taking charge until her mom arrives. Ogilvie and Trudy get into a debate on how to treat him in front of her and she brings them back to earth with one single “Huh?” and reminds them that all the knowledge in the world won’t help patients and their families understand what’s happening to them. Now we’re back with Bead Boy, and they’ve set him up with a VR headset to play with which ends up doing a fantastic job of distracting him completely so they can just go right in and get the snot covered beads. This is a simple scene but such a nice one . We’re back with campus cop and his real cop friends, and our nurse’s stand stands up for our screaming college student when he accuses him of being on drugs in a roundabout way by loudly reading his very negative tox screen in front of the cops, who are looking at ol’ Campus Cop in a whole new light, it seems. The Pitt. HBO Max Back with Kolenko, who’s being attended to by a muslim nurse, we think there might be trouble, but instead, the woman thanks her for what the Muslim community did to support the Jewish community after the shooting.  Meanwhile, as she’s about to thank him for the help, the nurse lets slip his motorcycle adventure plans, and boy does he get scolded for riding a motorcycle. It’s actually pretty delightful. Santos’ injured girl’s father and his girlfriend get into it again, this time outside her room, but in earshot of Santos. Even if it’s not abuse, this isn’t real great for any of them, obvi. As Dana’s making her rounds, Mr. Yee asks her to record a message for his wife. Uh oh. IT’s really, really sweet but it’s not giving me good vibes on this case. McKay’s back to check in on our exes, and she’s feeling some type of way because, as it turns out, this affect change is making him profoundly nicer than he was, and she’s wondering if it was the tumor all along. McKay has to acquiesce that it’s possible, as painful as that is, and she asks to stay on as his emergency contact. Aww. This place is killing me today. Meanwhile, one phone call that isn’t a drill later (I mean, if anyone but Dana said it it’d be insanely corny. And the corn factor is still high.) we’ve got one hospital nearby down for the count and a bunch of patients headed in to The Pitt, whether we like it or not. And…well, that’s a wrap on this week’s Pitt.  What are your thoughts on what happens next?  I guess we’ll find out at 10 am.

Screenshot: Ranger’s Path National Park Simulator Did you ever wonder what went into maintaining our national and state parks? Did you ever want to be a park ranger, thinking you’d spend your days sipping coffee in a fire tower somewhere? Ranger’s Path: National Park Simulator actually approximates the day to day activities of a National Park Ranger. That means you’ll be doing all of the mundane tasks like making sure trails are passable, campsites are usable, and the visitors have the proper permits and aren’t getting themselves into trouble. I’ve been spending a lot of time outdoors these last couple of years, and not only have I grown to appreciate the people who make those excursions possible, but I’ve gotten to chatting with a few of them. From volunteer trail maintainers to lifelong park rangers, there are a whole bunch of people out there who are not only passionate about the outdoors, but excited to have people come out and enjoy it, too. Ranger’s Path: National Park Simulator does a surprising amount to actually highlight the often thankless work these people engage in. Screenshot: Ranger’s Path National Park Simulator I got a chance to get into the Steam Nextfest demo for Ranger’s Path , and I’m surprised how coherent a game about being a park ranger can be. Most of my demo time was spent picking up trash, and fixing signs and tables that have fallen into disrepair. Which mirrors a lot of my outdoor volunteer work. Except in  Ranger’s Path  you don’t have to contend with the rigors and discomfort of actually being outside. Most of my tasks were assigned to me over the radio as I looked at the scenery or drove around in my pickup truck. It’s worth noting that Ranger’s Path leans heavily into the 'cozy' side of the simulator spectrum. There’s no high stakes management or punishing realism of a hardcore survival sim–everything in the demo was low pressure. The game seems less interested in penalizing you for a messy campsite and more interested in the zen of the cleanup. It turns the act of replacing a rotted trail marker into a surprisingly meditative loop—click, fix, admire—that scratches the same itch as something like PowerWash Simulator. Screenshot: Ranger’s Path National Park Simulator Beyond the janitorial duties, the demo hinted at the more investigative side of the job. There’s a wildlife research component involving a camera that forces you to slow down and actually observe the environment rather than just driving through it. Spotting a bear or tracking local fauna adds a layer of discovery that breaks up the maintenance loop. It grounds the experience, reminding you that you’re a steward of a living ecosystem, not just a glorified groundskeeper with a pickup truck. I’m not saying that any video game can be a substitute for the outdoors, but Ranger’s Path: National Park Simulator is a unique glimpse into a lifestyle that not a lot of people probably consider. And not only that, it actually manages to capture the mundanity in a fun way. I’m definitely looking forward to checking out the full game when I get my chance. Screenshot: Ranger’s Path National Park Simulator Check out the demo during Steam Next Fest February 23rd - March 2nd

Screenshot: Whirlight: No Time to Trip Point and click adventure games are not really that popular anymore. You really have to understand hardware limitations, and the exciting merger of new multimedia possibilities and gameplay. Point and click adventures were—for their time—cinematic in a way that most other games weren’t. Nowadays the whole “point and click” gameplay seems a little quaint, but I’m glad there are those out there still paying homage to my childhood favorites. And Whirlight – No Time to Trip  does exactly that, by taking inspiration from Day of the Tentacle  and Sam & Max Hit the Road —which happen to be two of my very favorite early point and click games. Screenshot: Whirlight: No Time to Trip Developed by imaginarylab—the studio behind Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town  (itself inspired by the Escape From Monkey Island  series)— Whirlight – No Time to Trip  is being handled by true veterans of the genre. That’s why I was excited to check out its Steam Next Fest demo ahead of the event (which runs from February 23rd to March 2nd). Whirlight – No Time to Trip  is a time-traveling point and click comedy starring an eccentric inventor and a determined artist as they hop between time periods trying to stop a global catastrophe. Hector is a brilliant but unlucky inventor from the 1960s who is accidentally hurled into the 1990s where he meets Margaret. Together they embark on a journey through time and space, solving puzzles and interacting with strange environments and characters. There is some good news for those who like the concept of point and click adventures but hate looking for the right places to click, and then deciding what the right action to use in whatever context menu. There are no more context menus, and each area of the environment that can be interacted with is easily highlighted. I can’t wait to see more of Whirlight – No Time to Trip  when the full game is released. The developers obviously understand the heart and humor that made those old games timeless.

Photo: Julian Ramirez Listen. We're from Chicago. And, in Chicago, tradition is king. Sure, it might now be called the Willis Tower, but you won't catch us saying anything but Sears. It's Comiskey. It's Field's. We go to Jewel. We're a city that works, and a city that loves to be recognized for the things we've done that have left a lasting impact on the country and the world. That's why every single year, we're proud to hit the floor at the Chicago Auto Show. It's a tradition that's been around for a full 118 editions as of this year, with the first show all the way back in 1901. Photo: Marielle Bokor Most of the crew here at Culture Combine have been attending for years, first as kids pulling our parents hands towards the coolest sports cars, trucks and of course, the "rides." But we'll get to that later. While some would say it's not quite the same post-COVID, not sprawling over several halls the way it used to, this show maintains its title as the largest auto show in North America while also being one of the most important, oftentimes being THE place that the newest innovations in automotive technology are revealed. Photo: Julian Ramirez The show has always featured impressive indoor tracks, and as far back as its inception electric, steam and gas powered cars on the same floor. In the 60s, supercars and exotics were introduced, and every single show there's something brand new and amazing to fawn over. While the last years have heavily focused on the many advances in hybrid and electric tech and have seen all the major automobile manufacturers turning classics like the Corolla, Escalade, and Jeep Wrangler fully plug-in, this year saw a lot of retro style coming back in. That's not supposed to be there... Photo: Julian Ramirez This year's Chicago Auto Show put a heavy focus on Chi-Town Alley, which isn't dedicated to the new models, or any manufacturer, but instead focuses on car culture, especially that here in Chicago. This showcase is all about Chicagoland car enthusiasts, and owners auditioned via video to get their ride a spot on the floor. And it's here where we found, at least in our opinion, the stars of the show. Photo: Julian Ramirez Chicago Auto Club Orale! came with their best in show lowriders. And it's not just about the amazing paint jobs - it's every little detail, from golden rims to door inlays, crushed velvet interiors, etching and embroidery. No part of these familiar cars go untouched, and they get amazing hydraulics and killer tires to boot. These cars are truly amazing, and a vibrant reflection of the beautiful Latino culture right here in Chicago. But that's not all they were doing in the alley- they were also dropping huge engines into '95 Civics and proudly displaying those beautiful 90s conversion vans with the curtains and 3 rows of seating that usually had a VCR in back. If you know you know. Photo: Marielle Bokor It's not the only place we caught wood paneling and cushiony consoles though. It seems that's even creeping into today's most cutting edge electric vehicles, and we're here for it. There's nothing quite like the thought of driving a boat of a Buick, getting 500 miles per charge, and also having that limousine experience. Photo: Marielle Bokor Speaking of, one of the other crazy things on the floor was the beetle-like, matte golden CyberTaxi. Following Tesla's already loved/hated PS2 aesthetic with the Cybertruck, I guess they thought, why not do this with a driverless taxi? Photo: Marielle Bokor It's reminiscent but the matte gold, classic curves and suicide doors make it more of a looker than its big brother -- until you get inside, where it's as spartan and frightening as a future where fascist dictators reign supreme. And yet still somehow...compelling? Photo: Marielle Bokor If you're looking for more to do on the floor, you'll be happy to know that Camp Jeep's up and running, though, I will caution you that somehow every single year Jeep manages to catch us by surprise with just how tricky the terrain they build for their test course is. Just when we thought it was safe to strap ourselves into a Wrangler 319 our guide was gunning it for the 75 degree hill with an "Ope!" here and a slightly more concerning "Woah!" going down the stairs. (It doesn't seem that scary to go up and down stairs in a car, but...when the moment comes - it'll hit different. Photo: Julian Ramirez If one ride where you have to constantly think "Should a car be able to do this" wasn't enough, you can also hit up the Bronco track. This one's longer, and the tech involved is more prominent, but it's just as involved. Today's Bronco has cameras everywhere so you can be surefooted in any situation, an on-the-fly sway bar release to help you avoid highpointing, and enough driving modes to make you sweat a little. Photo: Marielle Bokor If you want something a little lower key, head to Subaru's forever foresty display, where you'll find...puppies! Just like last year, Subaru's teamed up with a local rescue to bring adorable pups to McCormick place, and if you sign a waiver, you can head straight into a pen full of adorable animals just waiting to chew your sweater strings, play tug-of-war or give you big slobbery kisses. Being in Chicago affords us a lot of opportunities, and we enjoyed sharing this one with you. If you're not that into specs, admire the design, and if you're local, get your tickets to visit the show before it wraps up on February 16th.

While B-movies have always been a staple of the physical media realm, this month is taking it to a whole new level. Some of the most exciting, weird, gross, and downright crazy movies are getting releases this month and it's awesome! There are some classically good movies coming out, so let;s highlight the good, the bad, and the steelbooks (so many steelbooks). Keeper 4K - February 3 While I may have ragged a little bit on the film in our best of 2025 movies post, I have somewhat come around on it on a second watch. A lot of my critiques of the brooding in the sunlight not working well with the pacing that's tailor made for dark scenes were lifted. Now those scenes feel much more rewarding, especially when juxtaposed with the film's more outwardly horrifying scenes. It's definitely worthy of a watch, especially in 4K to skip out on the artifacting streaming can cause in the dark spots. Nightcrawler Steelbook 4K - February 17 Nightcrawler is such a great, disturbing look in to a reckless and demented guy taking his ambitions way too far. It's a slow and disturbing movie that is getting this action oriented steelbook cover that doesn't really make much sense, but I assure you the film is sick, uncomfortable, and a damn fine film. Tank Girl 4K - February 24 Cult films don't get as iconic as Tank Girl. This gem of the 90s isn't a perfect film; if anything it's watchable and entertaining because of it's raw, completely uneven feel. It completely envelops you in its world and keeps you there for every thrilling second of its runtime. Vinegar Syndrome Ultra line is always chock full of extras and premium packaging, something that may seem unnecessary especially for a "low brow" film, but thats what makes them and physical media in general special. Shoestring Slashers Part II & '90s Nightmares - Q1 2026 Terror Vision is one of my favorite labels simply because of how obscure and weird their releases can be. These box-sets exemplify that perfectly. Low budget, barely there horror and pure 90s shockers are the kind of films that would be lost to time if it weren't for boutiques like Terror Vision. While there have been some delays in their releases due to unforeseen circumstances (these admittedly are scheduled for Q1 2026), that shouldn't stop you from picking these collections up once they're out in the wild! Quick Picks! Last Screening aka Derniere Seancev - another one from Terror Vision, this one being from their new line of releases focusing on Giallo films. Excalibur 4K & Westworld 4K from Arrow Video - Both of these films are a great time and these releases have been getting some early previews and they seem fantastic! The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee Collection 3 - Always fun to see Christopher Lee's weird horror films in a collection like this!

Screenshot: Fellowship I knew it was coming. Preseason 2 is coming up, and that means all progression in Fellowship  will be wiped. This is a bit troubling to me because Fellowship  is the game my group has been playing for the last few weeks. It’s a group consisting entirely of middle-aged men with jobs, kids, and other worldly responsibilities that prevent us from spending hours glued to our computers. Well, I can, because that’s mostly what I do. But they can’t. And a progression wipe sounds like a terrible, unfun thing. I know Fellowship  wasn’t exactly coy about seasonal wipes. Anybody paying attention to the store page would notice it quickly. But if you’re a casual player, you might not even take the time to check. Screenshot: Fellowship I see people saying that even casual players can finish the seasonal progression with only a few hours a week. But we’re lucky if we can get in two solid hours of game time. It’s possible we’re outliers, but Fellowship —at least on the surface—looked like a game that would fit that play schedule perfectly. We can knock out around 4-5 dungeons a night, and that’s on our best nights. Not only that, it discourages players from jumping in mid-season. That’s a bummer for the player base. I know the idea is that everyone starts on equal footing at the start of each season, but the fact is that most players will get through the content and then put down Fellowship  until the next season hits. Screenshot: Fellowship The preseason wipes do have us talking about changing up the group configuration. I’ve been playing tank, but I was traditionally a healer in World of Warcraft . Alternatively, I can play the new tank (or new healer) coming out with Preseason 2. Fellowship  is a great game for those that want a standalone World of Warcraft  Mythic+ experience without all the extra time commitment. If it wasn’t for Fellowship , we couldn’t do this type of content as a group without the massive playtime that the others just don’t have. In fact, I introduced two of the players in our four-person group to WoW -style dungeons through Fellowship . Screenshot: Fellowship As far as I know, Fellowship  is the only game that captures that MMO feel without actually being an MMO. They strip the "Massive" out of the genre and focus on the small group fun. There’s nothing quite like the classic holy trinity mechanic: one player is built to tank aggro, others focus purely on DPS, and one person tries to keep everyone alive. There is no character creation in Fellowship , which might be a downside for some, but it removes another barrier to entry. I know I would take at least 30 minutes to figure out who I’d want to play, and another 10 just to figure out their name. There’s none of that stress and hassle here. Developer Chief Rebel does a great job of capturing that World of Warcraft  feel, all the way down to the art style. Fellowship  is like seeing a really great tribute band at a bar, or seeing a comedian perform a spot-on impression. Some of my amusement comes from the fact that it’s so unabashedly a WoW  clone. Well, a clone of a very specific aspect of WoW . Screenshot: Fellowship Mechanically, Fellowship  is sublime to play. Its starter dungeon difficulty is too easy, but it provided a perfect learning curve for a group that not only never played Mythic+ together, but never even played an MMO-style game together. Learning proper character spell/ability rotations is easy with tooltips that let you know specifically what each skill does. There are even some quality-of-life features that you can’t get in WoW  without messing with add-ons, like the ability to track teammates' interrupt cooldown timers. As you play, your character increases in power by getting items with higher stats. As you level up, you can unlock new abilities and talents through what looks  like a convoluted Path of Exile  skill web, but is actually just a linear progression. Screenshot: Fellowship However, the real progression isn’t in the talent points and gear you acquire, but how far you can travel through the Mythic+ inspired gauntlet of increasing difficulty. These add timers and modifiers that ramp up the challenge and pressure. The seasonal wipes won’t stop us from playing Fellowship  completely. In fact, we’ll probably use it as an excuse to switch up roles. But even then, I don’t know how long that will keep our interest. There is a solution to this, and ironically, Blizzard has had it in place in the Diablo  series for years. Just make a main, non-seasonal "Eternal Realm" progression mode alongside the seasonal characters. I have a feeling Chief Rebel might make this concession in the future, but it might not be before my friends and I are long gone.