5 burning questions The Pitt Season 2 needs to answer

Season 1 wasn’t exactly an explosion as much as a subtle unfolding of revelations. However, The Pitt Season 2 still has a few things to answer for.  

It probably goes without saying that Dr. Robby is the one constant in this chaotic ER. Sure, the higher-ups want the whole place closed down and he’s got a lot going on mentally, but absolutely nobody else could lead the charge straight into Season 2 (and beyond, fingers crossed). 

So where does the Season 1 finale leave everybody else? Our patients have been patched up as best as they can, meaning any Season 2 injuries will be brand-new. What happens to our team of growing medics, however, remains to be seen.

There are still a few storylines in the binge-worthy TV show that haven’t completely been tied up, alongside a few sneaky new questions that bubbled up last minute. For us, there’s five burning questions The Pitt Season 2 desperately needs to answer. 

Dana’s quiet exit

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Dr. Robby isn’t the person truly at the heart of this sinking ER ship, it’s Dana. She’s the charge nurse on the day shift, knowing exactly where everyone is at all times. On top of understandably finding the fallout of the mass shooting hard, she was sucker-punched in the face by a disgruntled patient annoyed with the ER wait times.

The result is depression and disillusionment with her work that even a whole pack of cigarettes won’t fix. During the Season 1 finale, Dana makes multiple comments to various on-call medics (like Robby and Langdon) that she doesn’t want to come back after the day they’ve had. Others have made the same threat on shift that amounted to nothing, but there’s something different here.

After a tiring hour massaging the egos of both Robby and Langdon, Dana and Robby clock off together. Robby tells Dana he’ll see her Monday, but instead of replying, Dana shoots him a longing look and leaves in silence. If she’s serious about what she said, there’s a chance we won’t see Dana return for Season 2 at all. 

Not only will the ER be a lot worse off without her, but The Pitt itself will suffer too. She’s been a quietly integral part of multiple storylines, including Collins’ miscarriage and Whitaker’s confidence crisis. We’ve also yet to see her have a full storyline of her own – we can’t exactly count getting punched as a turn in the spotlight. 

McKay’s custody battle

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McKay’s ongoing legal issues involving the custody of her son have been touched on in various Season 1 episodes, but we’ve still not got the full picture. In Episode 2, it was revealed McKay wears an ankle monitor, incorrectly going off when it was assumed she breached the location restrictions. Later on, her son and ex-partner Chad come into the ER after a skateboarding accident, but it still gives little away about what’s going on behind the scenes.

It’s not until Episode 14 that this comes up again, with police arriving on site to arrest McKay. Why? She’s tampered with her monitor to stop it going off while trying to perform emergency surgery on the mass shooting victims. It’s left as a huge cliffhanger, but quickly gets resolved in the finale. After junior police officers won’t let up, Robby has to get the Chief of Police in to explain how many lives McKay has helped save – including another officer. 

McKay clocks off her shift while on the phone to her son, talking about trivial things as if a life-altering day hasn’t just happened. As she’s been told to go to court to get her monitor sorted out with the judge before returning to work, it’s clear McKay’s history is with The Pitt fans for the long haul. Why is there a custody battle in the first place, and is McKay really who we think she is? 

Abbott’s military injury

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The finale scene of The Pitt Season 1 finale was perhaps the most shocking. As Robby and Abbott clock off and join some of the others in the park for a beer, Abbott is seen taking off a prosthetic leg. His right leg has seemingly been amputated from the knee down, with Abbott giving no explanation while he whips it out in front of everyone.

Judging by the looks other medical staff are giving each other, Abbott’s prosthetic isn’t a well-known fact. Previous episodes have touched on the fact he’s a military veteran – being the only person to know how to do a packing procedure in the season finale thanks to his time on the front line – but again, this information only comes up in passing.

Now it’s all out in the open, The Pitt openly hints at Abbott’s past being explored in Season 2. On top of this, we also learn he prefers working nights, making him an ideal candidate for the second season night shift theory. 

Langdon’s addiction ultimatum 

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In Episode 10, Robby finds stolen doses of Librium in Langdon’s locker and he’s immediately sent home. He returns later in the shift, with the mass shooting making it difficult for Robby to refuse an extra pair of hands. Tensions rise until the pair blow up at each other in the finale. Robby lays into Langdon convinced he’s a drug addict, with Langdon claiming he was trying to manage his own withdrawal symptoms.

Because Langdon didn’t do this under the guidance of a physician, he could lose his medical license, leading Robby to reluctantly offer a compromise. It’s a hefty one, though – a five-year program involving 50-60 spot tests per year, three years of external guidance, and needing to attend more typical recovery support. 

Unsurprisingly, Langdon scoffs at this, retaliating against Robby by revealing rumors of his Episode 13 breakdown. He was allegedly spotted by a night shift nurse on the floor (which we know he was), implying he’s happy to use the information against Robby. If Langdon’s career wasn’t already on a tightrope, it definitely is now, with Robby walking off in a fit of rage.

Collins’ recovery 

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Collins, meanwhile, hasn’t been seen since Episode 11. There’s good reason for this – she started the shift pregnant, refusing to tell anyone but Dana when she suffers waves of morning sickness in Episode 1. While we learn more about her past relationship with Robby, she suffers a miscarriage in the ER bathrooms during Episode 7.

When she eventually comes clean to Robby, he sends her home with immediate effect. Luckily, this means she’s missed the mass shooting fallout completely, but it does leave her character as a totally loose thread. In fact, it’s not surprising if fans have forgotten about her altogether.

Season 2 being set during the Fourth of July weekend gives her plenty of time to recuperate, the traumatic ordeal might change Collins’ outlook for good. She’s incredibly committed to her work and an exceptional doctor… but hey, life can rattle the best of us.

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