Interviews From ✨the Pitt✨

I think he feels humiliated by his own actions. I think the weight of the day is catching up to him and he felt like he was talking such a big game all day. He was aware of his losses and then for it to end like this, where he loses somebody and blames himself, I think he can’t face anyone in this moment. He’s so filled with embarrassment and shame that he has to sneak outside. That, and I do think he experiences some degree of grief of Mr. Green, you know? English teacher to English teacher, giving him the James Baldwin and everything. It’s the only attachment he’s made in through the course of this hellish day and to lose that person is very difficult for him.

Interviewer: How much did Whitaker help him by telling him about his first day and by pointing out what he likes about working in the ER? Because he’s telling Ogilvie the good and the bad and that’s what this job is. It’s both.

I think it’s medicine for Ogilvie’s soul, you know, because I think what Whitaker’s talking about is sort of something that would be antithetical to Ogilvie’s perfectionist mindset, which is, I believe, the quality of grace and self-forgiveness. I think Ogilvie is learning that no matter what effort you put into the day, sometimes shit goes south. And Whitaker’s able to approach this in this lovely echo from season 1 with him and Robby, right? Where it’s about finding the balance. Ogilvie doesn’t have balance as a concept in his life. He sort of throws himself into everything, his ambition is so massive, and then for it to come crashing down-he lives in these absolutes, you know? Which is why I think this loss is so devastating for him. To hear that balance is possible, I think is hope in a moment when he desperately needs it. 

Interviewer: How much did it mean to Ogilvie that Whitaker made it so he didn’t have to go back inside?

Oh God, everything. Everything. I don’t know what happens tomorrow for Ogilvie but I think everything’s a little more possible because of Whitaker’s kindness.

Interviewer: Why did it have to be Whitaker? Like do you think there are any other doctors who could have helped Ogilvie like he needed in that moment?

The beauty of it is that I think Ogilvie doesn’t really get a redemption arc as much as a destruction arc. And that the person that began the day who ostensibly should succeed in an environment like the Pitt on paper, ends up being completely obliterated by it. I think the person he was at the start of the day is shattered and he is left in his husk of his former ambition. How much of his identity was tied into his success in this profession. And then for one day to render him so helpless that he thinks, “I have to quit.” For Ogilvie to be like, “I’d be great with children, let me go into peds.” Like what? From, “I was born to do this” even after a couple of setbacks to, “I think I have to quit.” What a detrimental day. 

Interviewer: you’ve said you don’t know what tomorrow holds for Ogilvie, but how serious do you think he is about not being able to do another day? What’s the percentage of him coming back tomorrow? 

As an audience member, I, hot take, think Ogilvie could be a great doctor. I think Whitaker’s really right in his assessment in that scene, which is like, “You’ve got a really good head, you’re sharp, there are some things you need to learn, please don’t quit.” 

My hope for Ogilvie is that he gives it another shot and it’s not a day like any episode of The Pitt is where it’s just, you know, one comment that I hear from medical professionals now that it’s coming out is like, “Damn, that’s a crazy day. Like yeah we see all of that, but maybe not all in the same day.”

Mel is so Team Langdon. She has no idea about the Langdon-Santos thing at all because she’s just an innocent little butterfly (laughing) but I think something that Mel sees in Langdon, that I’m not sure if any other character sees, is he actually is a very caring person and his kind of asshole cockiness is such an act. I mean he was was the only one that tried to get to know this new person in the first season  and choosing to learn her as opposed to dismiss her and I think Mel sees exactly what he’s capable of. Something like what Langdon’s been through and I think she’s immediately like, “Well, you did the work.” Knowing it’s possible to slip up, obviously you know, she’s a doctor, but it’s still like, “No, I believe you want this and I believe you did this.” And I think she just sees him a little clearer. 

I think he lets down his wall with Mel and I don’t think he lets that down as well with anyone else. And so I feel like it was just such a nice moment for us to have a few of these opposite scenes of when Mel was a patient and he turns off the lights vs season one and I think she sees what he’s capable of and to be able to be that person for Langdon means also the world to Mel. To have someone who actually listens to her and cares about her even though met one day. You know, not many people take the time to get to know her, or at least try, and so it means the world and I think she’s doing what comes naturally to her of just supporting and being a loving person. 

Interviewer: Is it because she also sees that side of him that she opens up about the deposition because until then she’s kind of brushing people off about it? Or does she also kind of see that he maybe needs to hear that?

No way. The only reason he’s there is because he promised Robby he would be there. It’s-he does not want to know about his health. He knows that he’s abused himself for a long time and he’s sure that it’s a mess in there and just let it play itself out. 

Interviewer: So it’s really just about knowing that there’s bad news coming? It’s not that he doesn’t want to deal with doctors he just knows that there has to be something?

Yeah, well, he doesn’t like to deal with-yeah, I mean-Duke is an ex biker who has put himself in harms way for most of his life and now I think he’s probably in some form of recovery or sobriety, you know? And he’s willing to take care of himself but within reason. You don’t want to get doctors involved, that would admit that you’re old, a, and b, just no. 

Interviewer: So if it wasn’t for Robby then no one would have been able to get him there?

And even that he waits until the very last minute to come in and on the 4th of July for God’s sake!

Interviewer: Duke has a completely different perspective of Robby since he doesn’t normally see him at work, how does that affect Duke’s opinion and perspective of what’s going on with Robby?

It’s a blast, it’s wild. He’s having fun. I think he’s a little bit of a night owl too, so I think him being nonchalant and just really calm and relaxed and chill is kind of a counteractive measure to the chaos of what goes on at the night shift so I think he finds an even-keeled balance in being there. 

Interviewer: What is he doing during the day?

In my personal opinion, I think Mateo’s at the gym or, like a lot of healthcare workers he’s just sleeping when he’s off shift and relaxing and decompressing. I think he’s kind of, like he said in the first season, he just goes home, gets some takeout, watches some tv, and then shows back up the next day. 

Interviewer: Does he miss the day shift?

I don’t know, I would say, I mean, to allude to later episodes maybe he misses something about one of the characters, I’d say. Don’t want to give too much away. 

Interviewer: How do you think Javadi and Mateo’s relationship has changed in the last ten months?

“100 percent. Focus on what’s in front of you-I mean who wants to go home and sit in silence? She does not want to sit in the quiet. it’s too difficult in the quiet. Rather work, just focus on what’s ahead of you even though she’s probably-she hasn’t even slept. She came home, got in the shower. and got a call and was like, “I’m out.” But I think she just also not just sitting in the quiet but being surrounded by the chaos it’s easier. 

It’s sort of like a muscle reflex, you learn to just move forward.

Interviewer: How much does she need Dana in that moment to tell her, “no, go home”?

"Well then, okay, two brains here right? So there’s what I know and then there’s what Ogilvie knows. So I talked to all of the doctors on set and I was like is this common? Would a fourth year med student ever be expected to catch something like this? And the answer universally was like, “no, there’s no shot.”. Even Samira, a fourth year resident, might not be expected to know this. You know, it’s rare and most doctors would-it’s the zebra effect that Santos talks about right? You hear hooves, this time its the zebra too-and the tragedy of course is that they uncover that it could have been-if the power was there-Ogilvie would have seen it in the notes and knowing his brain I think he would have been able to put two and two together and this one patient that he allows himself to care for could have turned into a heroic moment of saving somebody with a really niche catch. 

But instead, we get the tragic side of it right? Where he ends up blaming himself so hard for not catching this because he’s a perfectionist. Anything that goes wrong in the scope of his day, he holds himself so accountable for, you know? He’s always-you’ve got to give him the little shred of credit that he’s due for the first half of the day-which is that he owns up to his stuff. He says, “I said that, yes, and maybe I don’t see why it was wrong, but I said it.” or, “I did this mistake. I pulled out the glass. I’m really sorry, it won’t happen again.” And I think that same degree of accountability is sort of destruction in this moment. To take responsibility for the death of somebody and not just somebody but somebody you allowed yourself to have an attachment to. 

“With Kiki, I think it’s more of the same right? So the pattern of the day for Ogilvie is-well I think he’s representative of an ideology that I think we see in the world, I think some doctors maybe hold, which is that people are responsible for the state of their own lives. It’s something he holds fairly with himself and his patients. So with Louie, you're an alcoholic, you’re doing this to yourself. With Howard, you're are bariatric, you're obese, and why haven't you done any corrective measures with that? With Kiki, in that conversation that he and McKay have on the sidewalk where he’s like, “I just don’t understand addiction.” it’s the same thing. “Why haven't you taken accountability for your life in the way that I’m trying to do?” Which is why he’s so forceful in the world, to try and make the world something that he wants to live in. And each time there’s this increasing awareness that these people have been trying their best every day of their lives. 

“I think it’s like somewhat of-it’s partially who he is, sort of crass over-intellectualizing, doesn’t let his heart enter conversation a lot, and I think that last aspect of it is sort of a protective measure in addition to his personality. Which is to say this is a strenuous, difficult environment, and it takes a toll-as he sees-with everybody here, and some degree of distance-I think-is helpful for him in a situation where maybe he’s not fully comfortable or doesn't quite understand why he should care as much as he may want to. It’s partially who he is, partially this protective side of him, and I think those two aspects are sort of in conflict today, right?

“I think she starts to feel that way cause the panic attack was just such a vulnerable moment for her and she feels really embarrassed by it. But I also think that she’s saying that because she wants Robby to validate that she does belong here and he doesn’t. And I kind of-I remember filming that scene and just watching Dr. McKay show up and just sort of feeling so mortified by both of them looking at me after I say something so vulnerable I was like, “Okay i’m just gonna go cry in a corner over there.” I think it’s something she’s maybe saying because she wants her mentor to say, “No, you do belong here. You just messed up.””

Interviewer: Let’s be honest, Robby isn’t the best example when it comes to who to follow. Like yes he’s one of the best doctors, there’s not arguing that, but it’s also obvious that he’s not maintaining his composure like he should be or thinks he is. So where is Mohan’s head really when it comes to listening to him because of that?

“Yeah, I think-He doesn’t know how to break the news about, you know, moving in with Robby potentially because for him I think it would be a really good setup, something hard to turn down, but now he’s kind of, you know, he knows that Santos kind of in a really weird way needs someone there, even though she’ll never admit that. I think he knows deep down that she will take it quite personally. So yeah, he’s really wrestling with how to tell her and I think he knows that Santos will go “Cool. Whatever, great. Go.” but deep down knows that she kind of-she needs Whitaker. Unfortuntely.”

Interviewer: Do you think he’s going to miss being her roommate?