One of the things I love the most about The Pitt is how realistically depicted experiences of the women of color are.
Santos: Santos is the ULTIMATE "what if a beloved man was a woman? she would be crucified" character. She was raised not to question authority and not to make trouble. She's told she's too brash, overconfident, and disrespectful. In reality, she is always trying to improve herself and be honest. She goes to great pains to take care of other people in vulnerable positions (Whitaker, the new young patient in S2, etc.) despite people always assuming the worst of her. She literally exposes medical malpractice, adopts Whitaker, and leads advanced medical procedures on the fly in a mass casualty event on her FIRST day! And she doesn't do it to prove anyone wrong-- she does it because that's who she is.
Collins (God I'll miss her): Collins is having one of the worst days of her life in s1 and, unlike Robby or Langdon, knows she CANNOT let it affect the quality of her work. She's put in a compromising position of faking ultrasound measurements when she knows she's more at risk than other doctors. It doesn't matter what she thinks is best for her patient, she doesn't have the luxury of being an "ER cowboy" like Abbot and Robby! Later, when McKay is clearly baffled about the state of her (fat) patient's clearly undiagnosed condition despite the fact that McKay *did not follow standard of care*, Collins takes the responsibility of checking her. The way she talks to McKay is so purposely non-aggressive and nonjudgmental because she knows that's the only way a person will listen to her criticism. Collins is forced to navigate every difficult situation with nothing less than grace and perfection until it becomes second nature.
Javadi: She has been denied any opportunity to grow up a normal girl in favor of her being "excellent." This sheltered upbring only serves to shoot her in the foot as she comes off as naΓ―ve and inexperienced. People won't take her seriously and it robs her of learning opportunities that are available to her peers. In season two, we see her pitted against Ogilvie-- a white boy with less experience. On his first day feels the need to upstage her at every opportunity; he comes in and assumes that any opportunity or position available to Javadi is, in fact, entitled for him to take. Where Javadi sees a collaborative learning experience, Ogilvie creates a zero-sum game. Also, her expression when Ogilvie pulls out his white boy Farsi is SO funny! Literally every woman of color in the office is bilingual and Ogilvie gets extra points literally because he's white. I hope she gets to kill him.
Kwon: I am so excited for Joy this season. She seems wildly unengaged for a medical student. Probably not her first rotation with Ogilvie. She comes across as defeated. She's snarky, proving she has opinions on her coworkers and patient care but she's learned to stop taking opportunities because she's burnt out from trying to beat guys like Ogilvie to the punch. Where Javadi has become "aggressive," Kwon has become "unengaged." I really love these depictions of WOC in education systems. Ogilvie unknowingly having extremely negative and racialized impacts on how his female peers are viewed.
Al-Hashimi: I am hesitant to speak on her arc so far because i know we have SO much to dig into in future episodes. As the viewer, we are introduced to all of her faults at the top. She is abrasive. She does lack the people skills to work harmoniously with Robby and the residents. She is imposing on the the ptmc without regard for how the current staff feels. That said, she has been hired by the hospital to do all of these things! She and Gloria (not featured in this post but also great) are hired by the hospital because they get results where they need to and they will be even better scapegoats when they don't. Al-Hashimi is coming off really harsh because she is not here on equal terms as anyone else. She has been hired solely to prove herself as capable of changing the status quo of The Pitt. I'm really excited to see how she responds to the ramping pressure.
Mohan: Mohan is one of my favorite characters because of how well subtlety her struggles are portrayed. From constantly being assumed to not be a doctor, to the way her extremely influential guidance of other doctors goes unrecognized! Samira. Samira, who's father died due to medical racism, who gave her whole life to trying to save people from his fate. Samira, who puts patients first and has not just good patient satisfaction but digs deeper and saves lives where others wouldn't have. That Samira??? She get's called slo-mo.
While Robby is right about her needing to help people more efficiently, her competency is always underrecognized. She does a far better job guiding the newbies than either of the senior residents do! My girl is always imparting knowledge!!! She is so much like Robby but she is kinder, more empathetic, and more curious. People only make her feel weak for it.
Mohan is the pinnacle Asian-daughter who will never get the recognition she deserves. Constantly seeking the approval of a dead father. Brushed aside in the eyes of her current father figure. Not good enough for her mom to stay. Not able to have her own life because she gave EVERYTHING to this job. It haunts every scene with her in it.
The Pitt has WILDLY nuanced and good WOC. Their struggles don't become the point of the show or their central character arc. They're inherent to the setting and foundational for how that character moves through the world. They all exist in an office dominated by well-meaning but inherently biased white people. The way these characters carry that in their bones is so foundational to the depth in this show.
