'The Pitt's Most Talked-About Scene: Dana's Forgiveness of Langdon

In Season 2 of The Pitt, Dr. Langdon (Patrick Ball) returns and Robby (Noah Wyle) isn’t happy about it. July 4th marks Langdon’s first day back on the job after rehab and while Robby attempts to keep him at a distance by assigning him to triage, the two cross paths in Episode 5 and their dynamic further confirms that Robby is nowhere near ready to accept an apology from Langdon. But what about Katherine LaNasa's Dana?

Episode 6, “12:00 PM,” finally offers up a quiet one-on-one between the two, with Langdon continuing his apology tour. He lays things out one by one — he’s having a rough first day back, no one from the ER reached out while he was gone, his wife could have taken the kids and left. Dana says exactly what one might assume Langdon would want to hear in those moments. He lost one patient and had another with a “septic bounce back?” Dana tells him neither were his fault. No one from the ER called him while he was away? She gives him a soft “sorry.” He’s shocked his wife stuck with him? Dana says it’s because he deserved a second chance. Even when Langdon launches into his 12-step apology to make amends, she cuts him off and assures him, “You can check me off your list, kid. We’re good.”

But are they really? If you simply took Dana at her word, the scene might demand a revisit because it’s actually loaded with subtext.

This Was the Most-Discussed Scene of ‘The Pitt’ Before Filming

“He said something to me that I had a hard time understanding, and I really had to let it simmer.”

While on Collider Ladies Night to revisit her journey to The Pitt and to discuss what Dana’s experienced through Season 2, Episode 6, LaNasa zeroed in on what made this scene one-of-a-kind. “It was probably one of the most talked-about-beforehand scenes that I've ever done on The Pitt.” She recalled:

“Noah was directing, and he and Patrick had talked about it, and I think he had come to me and said, ‘You're gonna kind of patch him up and get him on his way.’ Then he came and he said, ‘You know, I’m thinking this now. I want you to be mad and to take down this donut sign.’ He said something to me that I had a hard time understanding, and I really had to let it simmer to really understand it. But at the end of the day, kind of what he was saying was, ‘You don't have time for this today.’ It was a little bit the theme of the one before, but he wanted him to feel uncomfortable. He wanted me to not entirely be able to take care of him. So, maybe behind, ‘You didn't call me,’ when I'm like, ‘Sorry.’ I got to a place where it's unspoken.”

Does Dana Really Forgive Langdon?

This is a mess Langdon created for himself. “I didn't choose my punch in my face."

LaNasa insists she actually does forgive Langdon. “I do forgive him because I, myself, have a child the same age as Patrick.” She gets who he is and where he’s coming from. However, she also knows her own truth, and there’s a big difference between what she went through during their last shift together and the position he found himself in.

“Underneath, it was like, ‘I know you can't think about this because you're a young man and you only think about yourself, but I got punched in the face.’ You know what I mean? I got punched in the face. It caused me to have an existential crisis of my own. I'm still fucking upset about it. Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't call you after you stole drugs and were sent to rehab, and now have to repeat your year in a mess that you chose for yourself. I didn't choose my punch in my face. I think he actually wanted me to bring my own weight and to be not really willing to take care of him.”

The lasting impact of the punch isn’t the only thing on Dana’s mind at that moment. She’s also working to keep the ED up and running during yet another hectic shift. “I think some of the, ‘Look, you don't have to apologize to me,’ was in part because I need Langdon to just get out there, just put his nose down, and get his job done.”

Another piece of this puzzle Dana wants him to be mindful of? Get his job done and “look good for Robby.”

“That's basically what I'm saying. ‘Why don't you just leave him alone today? Just come back. Do a good job. Things will sort out in time.’ Like that older wisdom. Whereas a kid’s like, ‘I want to make an apology. I want to make it alright right away,’ and just her not really having the time for that today.”

Looking for even more from LaNasa on what’s gone down in The Pitt Season 2 thus far, like the meaning of Dana's bell pin, the importance of serving as a mentor to (Laetitia Hollard), and then some? Be sure to watch her full Collider Ladies Night interview in the video near the top of this article.