I hear things

some people are purposely witholding empathy for his character and being so critical of his actions specifically because he's a man, and that shit is really weird. and can i say it? he's not a misogynist. i'm not gonna talk too much about that even though i could write a whole thinkpiece if sufficiently prompted. just know arguing with a woman and being a little mean to them does not at all translate to misogynoir. that's just him being off-kilter and in a shitty mood (you know, because he's actively suicidal? but yeah let's just all ignore that part). in fact, if i can participate in the woke olympics for a second i think people who are labeling robby as as misognyist fit that bill much more themselves. so many people i see making this argument boil down characters like al-hashimi and mohan to the fact that they are just women instead of grown ass adults who are strong and capable of bumping heads with robby (and this is coming from someone who strongly disliked his treatment of mohan in s2).

robby is not the big bad wolf. you give him too much credit. these women are not weak-willed flowers who will crumble at the slightest bit of conflict. funnily enough, that trend of thought is super contrarian because it makes gender their sole defining trait in the discussion of their character. it also paints them as weak victims. did we watch the same show? because i saw 2 adults. who had an argument. there's no need to cry hatecrime. and i say this as someone who is so avidly feminist. we gotta stop throwing that term around. the way you guys talk about him makes him sound so cartoonishly evil you'd think he was running around the ER shaking kids down for candy or something. it'd be funny if it wasn't so disapointing.

you don't have to like him personally to watch the show (though i do think it's a bit odd not to, given he's the main character) but refusing to acknowledge the percieved complexities of his character in the "everybody is complex" show is weird. my opinion? robby is not a bad person. hell, he's not even morally complex. i see someone who has made mistakes, just like everyone else on planet earth. he's a good, genuine guy who has been ravaged by mental illness. he is just very, very lost. that's the point. that is what mental illness can do to you. he is not a perfect person, in fact, at many points during my viewing of s2 i sort of hated him. but i will always defend him, because he is not this malicious figure the narrative online is painting him as. the pitt fandom only has this attitude for him and quite literally nobody else.

❦. disabled dr. jack abbot (the pitt) icons!

happy disability pride month!

dr. michael "robby" robinavitch + fuck!

thank you for the post and these tags, @forbiddengrimer, you’re so right

he’s not biologically related to jake, but he maintains a close bond with him after splitting up with his mother. the first season takes place in 2025, jake is 17. heather implies she was with robby at least towards the end of the height of the COVID pandemic, meaning jake was at the most 14/15 when robby and his mother broke up, most likely much younger if there was a gap between janey and heather.

it’s hard to maintain relationships with kids after break ups like that when you have no parental rights, especially during a pandemic when pods were small and robby was probably isolating himself because of possible exposure. he wouldn’t have had any custody schedule or guaranteed visitation. it would’ve been robby, jake, and janey all opting into that continued relationship at every step.

it’s not atypical for relationships like that to fade, but everyone at the ER knew jake, even frank, who would’ve started in the ER probably after janey and robby broke up (and when the ED didn’t allow casual visits). so jake has been stopping by the pitt at a decent frequency in the past year or two.

it would’ve been easier to not see jake frequently, let it fade because of the pandemic. robby’s obviously struggled to maintain connections while he was in the worst of his grief, and yet he kept up with jake. why? because robby doesn’t want to be his mother. robby doesn’t want to abandon a kid he promised to care for.

so he’ll plan basketball games even though he has a bad back, he’ll get pittfest tickets and let the kid take his girlfriend because that’s much more fun than hanging out with your not quite step dad, he’ll reach for his wallet to try to offer money, and jake will feel comfortable enough to say he’s already gotten condoms (prompting robby to freak out in that parental way on whether or not jake is having sex already).

so robby tries his hardest not to repeat the trauma his mother inflicted on him. he tries his hardest to be there. and then it turns around and jake’s the one to push robby away, further confirming robby’s worst fear. that he’s just unlovable and somehow not worthy of family, that he will always be the one being abandoned

How much longer ’til the morning?

For #SummerInThePitt over on Instagram || Day 8: Fav Ship