Battle of the essays, lolā I love it. Just wanted to clarify somethings before getting to the bullet points.
I understand the frustration of people calling a character out of their name and then being surprised when the defences go up, I do. But this wasn't a hate brigadeā it was critique of her character. Hate is often dehumanizing and dismissive for no reason, I did neither of those things. I said I was tired of her 'shit', meaning her behavior and explained why. I even explained why I don't think she's an awful or a terrible person because she does have some redeeming qualities, but that doesn't negate the fact I still don't like some of the choices she continues make despite them.
(I'll get to her trauma later in a different bullet point, btw because that is important.) But as far as the hate comments on Isa's social media pages, that's just unacceptable. Some people don't know the line between fiction and fact; or how to express dislike for something without getting disrespectful. And honestly, it's harder than it looks.... Now, onto the breakdown.
1. Javadi, Ogilvie and Santos: I understand that they're all completely different from each other (personalities, background etc) HOWEVER, I lumped them together because when we first see them they all come in with this air of something to prove/and or an eagerness to show off what they've been studying years for only to get a bit of a rude awakening. Javadi's 'posturing' was her flex with knowledge (as was Ogilvie, but we'll get there). She grew up with her mother who basically placed the bar in the clouds and expected her daughter to reach for nothing less. Javadi was an overachiever and a people pleaser, plain and simple. How do I know? Because I'm both. She came in wanted to prove herself but also set the pace if you will. She jumped in head first and realized very quickly (which is a plus for her) that it wasn't what the textbooks said it would be. Her real 'redemption arch' if you will was standing up to her mother. She broke out of that people pleasing mindset with the person she wanted to please the most. This was her come to Jesus moment. And as far as Ogilvie, yeah when we first see him he's different kind of annoying tbh. He's waaau to eager to learn to the point he's a know-it-all and honestly seemed like the type of person who wasn't used to not being the smartest in the room. His redemption arch for me came when he was with Whitaker in the ambulance bay. Ogilvie also realizes it's no longer chalkboards and practice drills, but it's the real deal. He comtemplates whether the Pitt is the place for him and I respect someone who can understand they might be reaching their limit. Santos on the other hand, when she comes in she's eager to learnā yes, but in the same breath she's overly confident/overly cocky. When with the other newbies in season 1, she's overly confident to the point of behind rudeā which is unnecessary. You can show off without putting others down, but when she gets called out on it she plays it off like a joke. Now I don't believe her jokes are intentionally malicious (not really), I just think that's the her humor in Season 1. And granted, she does show improvement by season 2 there (so we can add that as a point toward her growth if you want), but she still hasn't cleaned up her beside manner with people she doesn't like.
2. I think that's my biggest point when it comes to her growth. She doesn't know how to keep anger/passive aggression out of earshot of the patients. Sure, you can dislike someone all you want, but there's a time and a place when you can express that and she still hasn't learned how to do that in season 2. And sure, season 1 and 2 has a time gap of 10 months and we don't know what has happened in the time that she's been off screen in regards to her bedside mannerā though we can even go so far as to infer it's gotten better with her colleagues like Whitaker, Javadi etc, but when it comes to Langdon, it's still relatively the same. (And sure, she was kind to Whitaker with bandaging his finger and even giving him a place to stayā but that just goes to show she does know how to clean up her act in front of patience with people she's come to like, but with people she doesn't it doesn't matter all bets are off.
3. True. It genuinely seems like she was shocked and confused that she needed to get superior approval, HOWEVER, instead of taking that in stride and learning from it, she internalized it. Sure, in the moment she nodded and made a mental note for later to go by the book, but she interpreted that as yet ANOTHER thing Langdon's kicked her down for instead of another thing she has to learn. She internalized it as another tally on how he made her first day hell, not another teaching moment that was one step closer to making her a better doctor. (And yes, again, I understand his delivery was NOT the best, but not everyone is going to be polite with their teachingā especially if things like bedside manner and medical chain of command are things you're having to learn AFTER of med school.)
4 & 6. Now this is where I lump points 4 and 6 together because they go hand in hand for this. Firstly, I completly agree with that he snapped after realizing his drug addiction was coming to light. Santos had the misfortunate of being the one to stumble upon it and getting a little too curious to her spidey senses tingled. Langdon was 1000% wrong when he yelled at her in front of people and it was an effort to gaslight herā but I'm not entirely sure it was conscious. (Just how Santos's trauma responses arent a conscious choice, but they're still choices.) I do believe that Langdon felt cornered and lashed out (and trust me, he gets heat from me in a few community chats on here too for it..lol), but if I'm gonna hold his feet to the fire for that in those chats, I'm gonna hold her feet too. Now if we want to break it down a little further, to me his asshole moments are stemming from his addiction while her moments are from her trauma in regards to her responses to him AND her abrasiveness comments/jokes in season 1. (We can throw in Langdon's dislike to Santos in that category as well, but to me those were responses to her coming out the gate so strong.)
5. The nicknames: I completely agree that Santos's use of nicknames is an extension of her humor, which could possibly have been a tool that she's used to make friends in the pastā I do. HOWEVER, my problem is that she makes no effort to adjust when it's not received in the way she intended. Javadi's deminor clearly goes flat, she doesn't like the nickname and feels like she's being picked out. She even asks her to stop, to which she ignores it and still calls her it (even if jokingly) in season 2. Now Whitaker is a special case. Initially it's not that he didn't like the nickname, but it's clear that he didn't understand it. And based on her comments about his home life (farm boy, rural etc), in the beginning it was clearly meant to be a nickname used to poke fun. Now over time, he's come to appreciate the name and even Robby's joined in on the fun which is great; but for me, just because it eventually worked out in this case doesn't negate the fact she chose to ignore making someone else uncomfortable by doing something that made her comfortable.
7 & 8. Trauma Accountability/Justice: CSA is nothing to take lightlyā neither is any trauma for that matter, so I COMPLETLY understand her responses and reactions to Langdon in Season 2 are rooted trauma; but I've realized part of being an adult with trauma is learning how to walk through like with that effects of it and understanding your triggers. Santos hasn't learned how to do that. And no, I'm not bashing her for having trauma responsesā let me make that clear. I'm stating that her trauma isn't an excuse, it's THE REASON. The reason why she's lshing out and Langdon behaving the way she is, is because she feels like time is repeating itself. While Langdon didn't necessarily face the justice SHE FEELS is deserved, he did face punishment. There are quite a few of medical professionals (Tumblr, Reddit, IG etc.) who have stated a first time doctor offending in regards to stealing from the hospital/using drugs aren't often jailed or lose their licence. In reality, they're often put in programs to help them get treatment (ie rehab) and eventually welcomed back under a microscope. That's exactly what's happening with Langdon. He's been gone for 10 months and now he's back abiding by the rules, trying to get back on his feetā Santos doesn't have to like it, and she's justified in wanting more. Hell, in my opinion, I wish it was written that during those 10 months there was a very heavily debated topic of his license being taken away by the board but ultimately they decided to keep him on. To me that would have gave it a little bit more of a logical feel to it, but apparently not as realistic as we'd think... Now, to me THE EXCUSE that Santos is making for her behaivor became clear when she talked to Garcia in the stairwell. When she asked Garcia who's side she was on, it clicked. She feels like a pariah because of the Langdon situationā and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if that were true with a couple of staff members, however I feel like once the truth is revealed, there isn't going to be this immediate switch like she thinks. I genuinely believe people are still going to be standoffish with her regardless of whether they learn Langdon was skimming drugs or not. This is mainly because Santos is the reason people don't like her, NOT Langdon. And honestly Garcia said it best, Santos doesn't play well with othersā that's on her, and only her... I generally hope she does get the help she needs in regards to her trauma and learning how to manage, because you can tell this has been affecting her the past 10 months even without Langdon actually being there. Garcia made that apparent with her "...if you want it talk about this Langdon shit AGAIN" line. It's clear this is bothering her and she needs to take a page out of his book and get help. (And before we get up in arms, I understand that Langdon was forced into help and didn't choose itā not initially, but it is an active choice he's continuing to make by staying sober. I actually hope Santos gets the help she needs with her trauma and Robby gets help with his depression/chop suey thoughts, seeing as how help seemed like to be a running theme of this season.)
So all I all, I'm not 'Anti-Santos' (which is why it's not going under the anti tag. Plus those illogical fucks will just want to jump on the bandwagon and reblog with hateful speech, which isn't what this post was aboutā it's a think piece, simple). I don't hate her, nor do I think she's awfulā I'm just over her lack of accountability in how HER choices are affecting her personal/work life.
P.S: I said I'm a Langdon Lover, but in reality I just appreciate his character more this season seeing as how you can tell he's put in the work. He's gone to therapy (you can tell by the way he speaks, if you've ever been) and he's taking accountabilityā which is always anyone can ask.