This Pitt Season 2 Storyline Brings One Character's Journey Full Circle

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Spoilers ahead for "The Pitt" season 2, episode 10, "4:00 P.M."

It's a massive understatement to say things don't go well for Patrick Ball's resident Dr. Frank Langdon on season 1 of "The Pitt." I'll circle back and go over all that, but before I get there, here's some good news for Langdon: Season 2 of the Emmy-winning medical drama not only lets Langdon return to work and attempt to atone for his sins, but it brings one part of his journey as a physician full circle in a genuinely lovely way.

Throughout the debut season of "The Pitt," it seems, for a while, like Langdon is basically the golden child of this fictional Pittsburgh emergency department ... especially because he counts Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch (star and executive producer Noah Wyle, who picked up an Emmy of his own for his performance) as a mentor and close friend. That all comes crumbling down when Langdon is caught stealing drugs from the hospital — fracturing his relationship with Robby — and has to confess that he grapples with addiction, but before that, we also definitely get the sense that Langdon thinks highly of himself and his level of experience. That's what makes it particularly awesome when Dr. Mel King (neurodivergent actor Taylor Dearden, who made her life experiences a part of her character so that she wouldn't become a caricature) teaches Langdon how to treat a neurodivergent patient.

That's what comes full circle for Langdon in season 2. Not only does he treat Mel after she's unexpectedly injured during her ER shift, but he also treats Mel's sister Becca (Tal Anderson), who is autistic and lives in a care facility. With both patients, Langdon is careful, kind, and caring ... and it's clear that he learned a lot from Mel.

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In the second episode of season 2 of "The Pitt," titled "8:00 A.M.," Mel is enjoying a downright flirty conversation with a random patient about how much they both like attending local Renaissance Faires ... up until the guy sees a set of cops walk by and immediately flees, knocking Mel down in the process. Apparently, he's a suspect in a recent liquor store robbery, but that doesn't make Mel feel all that much better, considering that she ends up both falling backwards and knocking her head on the ground.

As everyone makes sure Mel is okay, it's Langdon who ends up treating her. Not only does Langdon make sure that he turns out the lights in her ER room so that she doesn't feel overstimulated, but he also opens up to her as a friend and reveals precisely why he was absent for nearly a year (specifically, he attended mandated rehab for his drug addiction). It's clear that the friendship between Mel and Langdon is very much intact in this scene, but more pressingly, he understands precisely how to treat her while taking her neurodivergence into consideration.

Langdon also shows how much Mel has taught him when her sister Becca comes to the emergency room with a stomachache. Because Mel is tied up with a deposition over a medical malpractice case, Langdon treats Becca, and he does so with consummate kindness and understanding, also turning out the lights and giving her four different juice options to take some pills. (When Becca says she doesn't like pills, Langdon obligingly crushes them up into orange juice.) But why does Becca even need treatment?

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Becca, as it turns out, has a urinary tract infection ... and as she frets about telling Mel these specifics, Langdon remains compassionate and follows the rules set by his profession, assuring Becca that it would violate doctor-patient confidentiality if he revealed anything to Mel. Once Mel's (apparently horrendous) deposition is over, she tracks Becca and Langdon down, only to learn that Becca has a boyfriend at her care facility and got the UTI during an intimate moment between them.

What's remarkable about this isn't just that it gives Becca, an autistic character, some phenomenal representation as far as agency is concerned (autistic characters aren't afforded nearly enough sexual agency in pop culture), but it also shows that Mel still has a lot to learn when it comes to being a caretaker for her sister. Mel actually seems upset at the idea that Becca has a boyfriend, whereas the "new and improved" Langdon takes the entire thing in stride and makes sure that Becca gets the best possible care. 

There's a larger discussion here about portrayals of autism and neurodivergent people on-screen, of which I can only personally scratch the surface ... but I don't think it's an accident that Langdon effectively and reassuringly treats both King sisters and shows how much he's learned as a doctor in the process. Best of all, showing this growth in Langdon's character doesn't diminish Mel or Becca; far from it. Instead, Becca gets to reveal something surprising and exciting, Mel must come to terms with that, and a big part of Langdon's story comes full circle.

"The Pitt" airs new episodes on Thursdays on HBO Max at 9 P.M. EST.