Your Average BTS Stan

I'm just gonna say it, I'm tired of Santos's shit. I was tired in Season 1 and I'm real tired after Season 2.

I'll be the first to admit, she's not my fav— probably my least fav if I'm being honest but I have my reasons. We all started watching the Pitt with the same ground level knowledge of who these characters were, so I had no real expectations for anyone; but after having Santos on screen for the first few scenes in Season 1, I knew immediately something didn't sit right with me.

Now granted, it was her first day and she might have felt like she had something to prove, so a little posturing and dick swinging was understandable— hell Javadi did the same in Season 1 and so did Ogilvie in Season 2. They showed off their medical chops, danced around the ring for a bit and in the end got knocked down a peg, you know? Thankfully, Javadi and Ogilvie ate their humble pie and learned from it... But not Santos.

When Santos got knocked down, she came back swinging— and she came back swinging hard. She dug her heels in, stood her ground and in all honesty good for her. She has the bones to be very compelling character, HOWEVER, the reason she's not (in my opinion) a compelling character is because she shows NO GROWTH.

Hear me out.

Narratively speaking, Langdon was her foil. From day one, he had the ability to not only match her intensity, but do it with the same cocky flare... If she came at him with sarcasm, he gave it right back. She tried to jump the gun because she felt like she knew everything (and in some cases she did), however, he cut her off at the pass and showed her who was boss. And yes I can agree, Langdon was an asshole— but only for THE WAY he went about putting her in her place, NOT WHY. So many people harp on how much of a dick he was, (and even in the storyline they do the same) but let's be real she's JUST AS MUCH OF A DICK as he was. Her little nicknames for Javdi and Whitaker were immature, her putting them down in front of patients was BEYOND unprofessional and her lack of respect for authority/chain of command is a quick way of getting herself a one way ticket to the unemployment line.

Now, I'm not saying she's completely awful, because she's isn't. The way she cares for Whitaker without having the words to say it, the way she stuck to her guns and stayed true to herself through a very tough first day, and the way she was able to confidently call out an unfit leader in the workplace is all the makings of a woman who cares. (And yes, I said it, Season 1 Langdon was unfit. 😱 I know, shocker.) But kudos to her! That kind of confidence and assurance in oneself, is what the medical field needs. However, that's about the extent of my positives for Santos, so on to the negatives:

Let's call a spade a spade, Santos was fortunate enough to run into someone just as big and bad as her on their WORST DAY. Up until Santos found out Langdon was skimming drugs, she had no leg to stand on. Pretend Landon wasn't actually addicted and stealing from the hospital, pretend he was just having a bit of a rough day and she met her match. What then? Would her resentment towards Langdon be justified? No. She would just been a cocky resident who got her ego bruised for stepping to the wrong one. She would have had to have gone home, picked herself up by the bootstraps, and came back the next day with a new attitude; but that's the problem, she didn't have to. Because Langdon was caught skimming drugs and she was the one to discover it, in her mind her actions are justified... I mean, she says it herself for crying out loud! He tries to apologize in Season 2 and she explains she's upset because he made her first day horrible— not because he was an addict, or not because he endangered lives, but because he ruined her first day.

I'm sorry, but I'm going to keep it real, everyone has shit days at work babe. Everyone has had a shit boss or a shit co-worker who you feel like is out to get you, but guess what? If that one person was to literally disappear for 10 MONTHS and then suddenly show back up again, I wouldn't give a shit.

Girl, you're an adult. Get a grip, move on, learn how to grow and mature!

And another thing that screams immature, in my opinion: the reason she wants Langdon to tell everyone about WHY he was on leave isn't for his betterment when it comes to atoning, it isn't a benefit his sobriety journey or even to help give staff a better understanding that the man they trusted to save lives had began endanger them— no, it's because she wants everyone know she was right. She wants to feel vindicated. Garcia said it best, all she cares about is having people on her side. She doesn't care that Langdon owned up to his mistakes nor does she care that he's been ACTIVELY trying to show respect while being constructive teacher, she just wants to be right. And since she can't be right, she wants him to suffer.

Truth of the matter is, Santos has NEVER played well with others. She has this 'bite the heads off barbies' kind of attitude. You know, the one where you put others down before they realize your skin isn't actually as tough as you make it out to be...?

Yep.

To be honest, I'd prefer her character a little more if she actually showed growth and maturity. I'm not saying she has to like Langdon— hell, I'm not even saying she has to forgive the man, but knowing how to put your pride aside and be respectful (especially in the presence of colleagues and patients) is a no brainer.

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*tags this with Santos’s tag*

And btw, if you chose to write a 'cokerant' about hating Langdon and used his tag or even a post about why you think so little of BTS Stans and tagged it with their various pseudonyms (since you brought them up)— I'd probably just keep scrolling tbh, especially if the OP titled it with a trigger warning. I understand that not everyone's gonna like my fav so, that's just the way opinions work... Now if I wanted to go out of my way, I'd let the OP know they might wanna add an anti tag just to be helpful but without the petty attention seeking comments. But then again, that's just me. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Also of course I understand not everyone will like my fave, do you know how hard it is to find a post about her on instagram, tiktok, or twitter that doesn’t have at least one person in the comments calling her an evil cunt? As for “petty”, again, the purpose of tagging on Tumblr is to show your post to the people you think will want to see it and to be able to filter what you do or don’t want to see, so I definitely think it’s also petty to main tag a post waxing poetic about how you can’t stand that character 🤷‍♀️

Before I get to the things in your original post that don’t align with her character, I will admit that yes Santos can be cocky, overly confident, and abrasive at times, but it’s absurd to frame her words and actions as coming from a place of malice.

1) She may have felt she had something to prove, but most of all, she was eager to work and to learn. I’m not sure what you mean by Javadi posturing, it didn’t seem to me like she was, but beyond the surface, Ogilvie and Santos are extremely different. The biggest example of this is how they reacted to their peers being injured. When Joy cut her finger after making a quip at him for answering for her, Ogilvie smiled and was happy that she got hurt. When Whitaker smashed his finger in the gurney, Santos did poke fun at him, but she also carefully fixed his injury, patched him up with a superhero bandaid, and turned it into a teaching moment for him.

2) When most people say Santos had “no growth” they tend to be referring to her not consulting superiors before making decisions, which happens twice, the trigger-point injection and the BiPAP patient. After she fucked up with the BiPAP, it’s shown that she has actually learned her lesson (without being screamed at!) and we see her report to Robby or Langdon instead of making decisions herself, like she should have with the injection and BiPAP.

3) When Santos jumped the gun on the trigger-point injection, it wasn’t because she thought she knew better than Langdon, it seemed like she really hadn’t realized that she needed a superior’s approval (which was lowkey wild of her tbh) and she looked genuinely confused when he told her she shouldn’t have done that.

4) Saying that Langdon was an asshole for the “how” and not the “why” he “put her in her place” only makes sense if you remove that scene (I’m assuming you mean the one where he lost his shit and screamed at her) from all the other context surrounding it. He didn’t berate in front of everyone because he wanted to impart a valuable lesson about patient care, he did it because he was afraid she suspected his drug theft/dilution. He yelled at her in front of a room full of people in an attempt to taint others’ opinions of her, making her less likely to be believed, and to shake her confidence in herself, making her less likely to report him.

5) Santos really isn’t just as much of a dick as Langdon is, considering she wasn’t his superior attempting to sabotage his career (which he did in his little speech to Robby about how she didn’t belong in the ED). The nicknames also aren’t the malicious put-downs people act like they are, they’re Santos’s awkward and overly familiar attempts at making friends, which makes sense considering that childhood trauma, especially from CSA, can warp someone’s ability to form relationships normally . The nicknames are kind of rude, but by season 2, Whitaker likes his (his actor has even said that the nickname makes Whitaker feel like he belongs) and even Javadi is friendly and banters with Santos. As for her supposed problem with authority, she course corrects and follows the chain of command after making the BiPAP mistake, and she listens to Collins, Mohan, and Langdon when they correct her behavior or actions.

6) If Langdon hadn’t been an addict afraid of being caught for stealing/tampering with meds he wouldn’t have been “as big and bad” as her. He didn’t exactly like Santos when they first started working together, but he only started snapping and treating her harshly after she wondered why she couldn’t open the medication vial and he got nervous.

7) She’s not just upset in s2 because Langdon “ruined her first day”, she mistrusts him because he gaslit her, tried to completely break down her own and other people’s trust in herself, and tried to intimidate her into keeping quiet (after he yelled at her, he saw her talking to Robby about a case and got nervous, so he told her she to always come to him before an attending). Also Langdon doesn’t just “upset” Santos, he triggers her to the point she feels unsafe around him and their actors have even said that she brings out “the angry man” in him and he brings out “the scared child” in her. There’s also a good chance that the self doubt and insecurity he sowed were at least part of what triggered her self harm relapse after s1 (they digitally edited her scars post-filming to make some look more recent, from within the time between seasons)

8) Santos doesn’t even really want for Langdon to tell everyone, she just wants him away from her (and she’s not wrong to want that, she’s a whistleblower and if Robby had handled everything correctly Langdon wouldn’t be able to be her supervisor after season 1). I do think there is certainly a part of her that wants other people to know, not to have them sing her praises for being right, but to actually be able to talk about the situation with someone, since Robby and Garcia very obviously don’t want to. (Also Garcia very much did not say Santos only cares about having people on her side, she said that there were no sides)

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 brigade— 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 learn— 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 rude— 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 manner— 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 stay— 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 teaching— 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 her— 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 past— 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 lightly— 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 responses— 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 feet— 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 situation— 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 others— 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 it— 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 about— it's a think piece, simple). I don't hate her, nor do I think she's awful— I'm just over her lack of accountability in how HER choices are affecting her personal/work life.