James Ogilvie (Lucas Iverson) and Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) in 'The Pitt'Image via HBO Max
By
Shawn Van Horn
Published Feb 26, 2026, 9:00 PM EST
Shawn Van Horn is a Senior Author for Collider. He's watched way too many slasher movies over the decades, which makes him an aficionado on all things Halloween and Friday the 13th. Don't ask him to choose between Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees because he can't do it. He grew up in the 90s, when Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, and TGIF were his life, and still watches them religiously to this day. Larry David is his spirit animal. His love for entertainment spreads to the written word as well. He has written two novels and is neck deep in the querying trenches. He is also a short story maker upper and poet with a dozen publishing credits to his name. He lives in small town Ohio, where he likes to watch professional wrestling and movies.
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Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:
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Editor's note: The below recap contains spoilers for The Pitt Season 2 Episode 8.
About halfway through Season 2 of The Pitt, a lot has already happened, with Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) struggling to get through his last shift before a three-month sabbatical. Meanwhile, Dr. Frank Langdon (Patrick Ball) is back, despite Robby's concerns, and a new attending, Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), is getting ready to assume Robby's place. However, as Episode 7 shows, Robby's not the only doctor struggling, as Al-Hashimi is inwardly panicking and trying to reach her therapist. There's no time for the staff to get too distracted, because a cyberattack has just forced the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center to shut down its entire network. What else can happen in Episode 8, "2:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M."?
Joy Saves the Board in 'The Pitt' Season 2 Episode 8
Robby isn't happy that Al-Hashimi didn't warn him about the hospital's cyberattack response after meeting with PTMD's CEO. She insists she was on her way to inform him, but Robby's not hearing it. Maybe the department chair should break the news, so together, Robby and Al-Hashimi inform the doctors and nurses about what's going on. Everything from the digital patient board needs to be copied onto a dry-erase version. Too bad Dr. Dennis Whitaker (Gerran Howell) was only able to snap an unfocused cellphone photo before it all went down. Then, Joy Kwon (Irene Choi) impresses everyone by reciting the contents of what was on the original board, courtesy of her photographic memory.
With that taken care of, Dr. Trinity Santos (Isa Briones) goes back to Deaf patient Harlow Graham (Jessica Flores) and talks to her through an interpreter. Harlow works from home and looks down at a screen all day, so neck pain appears to be the source of her headache. Meanwhile, Robby and Dr. Jack Abbott (Shawn Hatosy) show off the old school chart rack that the staff will be using. Everything's done on paper, just as it was way back when. They even break out a fax machine!
Robby moves on to an incoming patient, Howard Knox (Craig Ricci Shaynak), who's presenting with abdominal pain. Dr. Cassie McKay (Fiona Dourif) and med student James Ogilvie (Lucas Iverson) jump in to assist. They decide on a CT scan, which will be a struggle because he's obese and can't lie down properly for the machine, and it's then that Ogilvie makes inappropriate comments about Howard's weight in front of the patient. At the same time, Victoria Javadi (Shabana Azeez) takes Roxie Hamler's (Brittany Allen) parents to her room. They decide to take their grandsons out for ice cream as Roxie gives her father a long, grateful look.
Al-Hashimi shows up to assist with Howard's care, and the doctors numb his throat in preparation for a tube insertion. As that's happening, Al-Hashimi leaves to help Dr. Samira Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) and Dr. Melissa King (Taylor Dearden) treat Brook Maccord (Staci Lynn Fletcher), a woman with sudden-onset blindness in one eye. As that's happening, Nurse Princess Dela Cruz (Kristin Villanueva) is trying to keep up, doing Dana's (Katherine LaNasa) job because she can't stop in the middle of Ilana Miller's (Tina Ivlev) sexual assault exam. While it initially looks like Ilana may have left, Dana waits just in case she comes back, and Ilana returns with Emma Nolan (Laëtitia Hollard), ready to keep going. After the exam, Ilana tells Dana that she's glad she was here today. It's a feel-good moment that's soon shattered by a frustrating reality. When Dana drops off the evidence kit, she discovers another one still sitting there from two weeks earlier, so she calls the police and gives them hell.
A Kind Patient Shows the Best of the Doctors and Nurses on 'The Pitt' Season 2 Episode 8
Caleb Jefferson (Christopher Thornton) introduces Javadi to Nicole Steadman (Adargiza De Los Santos), who runs a parent support group, and suggests that Jackson Davis' (Zack Morris) parents speak with her. Meanwhile, as Cassie and Ogilvie return to Howard, she lets the new guy know that he needs to treat patients with respect. The group huddles to talk about what's next. If he needs surgery, Howard's looking at a 50% chance of death. Before the tube goes down his throat, taking away his ability to speak, Howard takes a beat to thank everyone in the room.
Al-Hashimi returns to Brook and tells her about a clot-busting medication that might help her blindness, but there are risks. Some get worse, and there's a one percent chance of death. After talking about it with her wife, Wendy (Victoria Mack), Brook decides to go for it. Out in the hall, Santos and Kwon are wheeling in Jackie Liddell (Briana Burnside), who's bitten through her tongue, accompanied by her friend Jaquie Warren (Esther Omegba). Santos numbs up Jackie's tongue before she gets stitches, and Langdon tries to instruct her, but Santos gets easily annoyed with him. She hasn't forgotten their past. Catching up on paperwork, Cassie asks Langdon how he's doing. She's on nine years and counting of being clean and knows the first year is the hardest, so he can call her if he needs anything. Langdon looks at her with surprised gratitude. Finally, someone else is showing him some sympathy.
Due to confusion over the dry-erase board, Javadi and Ogilvie accidentally end up with the same patient, a man (Ryan Brody) with a horrible rash all over his body. He hasn't left the house, so he doesn't know where it came from. Both med students are stumped. Meanwhile, Mel is with Brook when she's called away by another doctor who has just finished giving her deposition in the same case Mel is worried about, but Mel's peer assures her that the malpractice suit won't hold up, since her spinal tap on the patient was perfectly by-the-book.
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Posts By Kelcie MattsonWith the tube down his throat, Howard weighs in at 474 pounds, but the max weight for CT is 450, so he'll be taken to a different hospital with a machine that can fit him. He's a kind man and the doctors and nurses look at him with care. It's not the same energy for Jackie's case, where Santos is still displaying her annoyance with Langdon. Jackie's so drunk, though, that she doesn't even remember why she's there anymore. Joy wonders if they should recommend rehab to the patient, which leads to an uncomfortable look with Santos and Langdon.
Dana and Robby Are Very Concerned About 'The Pitt' in Season 2 Episode 8
Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi) and Dr. Samira Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) on 'The Pitt'Image via HBO Max
Al-Hashimi and Mohan are being updated on Baby Jane Doe. She has rhinovirus but is otherwise healthy and doesn't need to be admitted. The plan is to keep her overnight, then send her to emergency foster care. That's not an acceptable choice for the doctors. In the break room, Mohan tells Al-Hashimi that she's thinking of applying for a fellowship, but she doesn't know which one to choose. Al-Hashimi has seen Mohan's skills with the elderly and tells her to consider geriatrics.
Meanwhile, when unhoused man Troy Digby (Charles Baker) finally reappears, he admits he was spending the last hour with Louie Cloverfield's (Ernest Harden Jr.) body. He was his friend and had a lot to say to him. This makes Dana smile. Robby's standing next to her when Javadi and Ogilvie run up, highly concerned about their patient. However, they're interrupted by Joy, who figured it all out by simply talking to the guy. It's a case of dermatitis, caused by squeezing a bunch of lemons outside in the sun.
After Robby checks in on Javadi and Ogilvie's patient, he talks with Cassie about Roxie. She's in a lot of pain, so he tells Cassie to up Roxie's pain meds. Cassie and Javadi wonder if it'll be too much, but Robby's convinced that, right now, treating her pain is the most important thing, even if it leads to death, which "could be the best outcome." Back at the desk, it's chaos everywhere with the network down. Robby and Dana look out on it all, wondering how they'll get through the next few hours.
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The Pitt
A technology shutdown forces the pitt to go back to the stone age of the 90s.
Like Follow Followed TV-MA Drama Release Date January 9, 2025 Network Max Showrunner R. Scott Gemmill Directors Amanda Marsalis Writers Joe Sachs, Cynthia Adarkwa
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Noah Wyle
Dr. Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch
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Tracy Ifeachor
Dr. Heather Collins
- James Ogilvie continues to be the perfect character to hate.
- The Howard Knox storyline shows how great the staff is when they work together.
- Shutting down the computers is a hilarious way to show how newer doctors and nurses struggle without modern technology.
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The Pitt
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