If I had a nickel for every time Noah Wyle played a (depressed) character in the ER who had to deal with a case of addiction I’d have two nickels which is not a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice.
Joking aside I must admit I’m not an expert of ER, I haven’t watch it since a longgg time and I don’t really know how the Pitt was created BUT I really liked some of the parallels between the Pitt and ER you can spot through the whole two seasons.
Especially when it comes to the treatment of dr Langdon’s addiction. When dr Santos discovered it and reported it to dr Robby I was kind of surprised by his reaction, not because it wasn’t logical but because it was Noah Wyle who was playing the part. Those who watched ER know that his character John Carter dealt with the same addiction and with the same fate (for now) as dr Langdon. So, knowing they shared this common point and that Wyle had a say in the production I thought dr Robby would have WAY more empathy for dr Langdon and this problem would be solved with a gentler help from him to counterbalance the events in ER. But that thought was brushed aside by Langdon being sent home and that was for the best.
First because it was surprising for the viewers (partially because of the speed at which the decision was made) but also because it can make you wonder about where your judgement was supposed to go. Let me explain, I think that in a way letting people expect some kind of « happy end » for a character who has commited a crime is genius because when the show adopts a more mature and realistic approach you end up realizing that this situation was messed up and any judgement is difficult to give, whether you choose to trust and forgive or help by sending him into rehab. It allows the show to explore with a lot of firmness the implications of stealing medicaments from an hospital as a dr.
moral of the story: who is cast in a serie can add a lot to it
And don’t get me wrong I am not defending Langdon and I think that irl he should not even be allowed to work in the same hospital…but at the same time one of the things I like in this show is how nuanced it is and how everyone is depicted as a complex human being so here’s how I perceived this moment.
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