In light of Mohan leaving, the fact that we’ve gotten pretty much no Santos and Mohan interaction this season and will not get more next season is so disappointing to me.
There’s so much potential for them to bond and for the show to explore the ways in which they parallel one another, but no, the writers would rather we spend more screen time on the motorcycle and than relationships between women in the workplace.
Both Mohan and Santos have been publicly berated, humiliated, and harassed by their superiors in the workplace. There is so much that could have been explored in what could have had the potential to be a solid and engaging narrative.
Santos jumped at the chance to take blame and protect Mohan when she made the wrong call with the seizure patient in s1, having her be completely unaware of Robby's rant post panic attack is such a missed opportunity.
Robby blows up at Mohan over her panic attack in a way that mirrors Langdon’s blow up at Santos? Robby riding Mohan for 2 seasons straight (it's implied it's a reoccurring issue so in reality who knows how long he's actually been at it) when he yells at Langdon for riding Santos so closely and not backing the fuck off on their first shift together? Robby does not practice what he preaches, he actively engages in the exact behavior he told Langdon off for. And yet there’s nothing to explore there? Its just supposed to be seen as an act of tough love from Robby when it so closely mirrors the verbal lashing Santos received from Langdon about the seizure patient? Are you serious?
It would have been so nice to see someone in Mohan's corner, someone who has also been made to question her place in the ED and her skills by a man in a position of power over her. It would have been to nice to see someone who is going through the same self doubt and shaken confidence talk to her and support her. She needs someone to be there to reassure her and flat out tell her that Robby's just being a little bitch and projecting his mommy issues, and I think Santos would be the perfect person for the job.
Even if not during season 2, having Santos and Mohan get closer during the time skip or over the course of season 3 would have been so good. Mohan is so outwardly empathetic and caring and Santos who feels like she really has to be jaded and keep walls up. They have so much they could learn from one another and I would have liked to see these two very different people coming together over a shared experience and helping each other grow from it.
It would also be great to see how it would impact Santos's perception of Robby and struggle with complex feelings that come from watching someone you trust so deeply engage in the same harmful behavior that hurt you in the past. Santos feels like Robby is the only person who gets things, he's the only person in that ED who she thinks is sane. Having Mohan and Santos bond would be a really great way to could jumpstart Santos' realization that Robby isn't actually infallible and that he's actually really fucked her over with his handling of the diversion (and that's its possible some of her anger is misplaced)
I just know the reason Santos and Mohan are kept as far apart as possible this season (esp. after the "mommy issues" bullshit scene) is because it would have painted Robby's treatment of Mohan in too harsh of a light if parallels were drawn between Langdon berating Santos, an action written to be viewed as objectively wrong, and Robby's belittling of Mohan, an act positioned to be viewed as tough love.