When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
Credit: Max
I first attempted to watch The Pitt shortly after the medical drama starring ER alum Noah Wyle landed on the 2025 TV schedule, but due to a bad wifi connection on vacation, it just didn’t work out. My wife and I recently binged the Emmy Award-nominated drama with our HBO Max subscription, and what a ride it was. Emotional, exciting, harrowing, and absolutely disgusting at times, this fast-paced chronicle of a single shift at a trauma center had a lot going for it.
While there are all kinds of unforgettable and astounding moments throughout the show’s first run (don’t worry, a second season is on the way), there are two specific scenes that I, as a parent, won’t ever forget, no matter how hard I try. For those who were wondering, both are from the same episode, “2:00 p.m.”
Credit: HBO Max
I Didn’t Think Anything Could Be Worse Than Amber’s Parents Learning Their 6-Year-Old Had Drowned
Spoiler Warning: There are some major spoilers for The Pitt below. If you haven’t gotten caught up with the series yet, please exercise extreme caution.
There’s a lot of tragedy going on throughout The Pitt, and I could handle a lot of that. However, it was a different story when I started the eighth episode with its story about a 6-year-old girl named Amber drowning in a swimming pool after saving her sister.
Parents aren’t supposed to outlive their children, and this episode shows just how tragic it is to go through something like this. What makes it so much worse is that, at one point, it looks like Amber is going to survive after her body temperature starts to rise and the medical staff attempts CPR to bring her back. But then Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch sits down and lets them know there’s no coming back, and their daughter is dead. Those few seconds as a mom and dad realize their daughter won’t learn to drive, graduate high school, get married, or live a long, fulfilling life just wrecked me like nothing ever before.
Credit: HBO Max
But Then Came The Scene Where Her Sister Makes Her A Card
Just when it looks like things can’t get even more tragic in this episode, other members of the medical staff, led by Taylor Dearden’s Dr. Melissa “Mel” King, meet with Amber’s sister to help prepare her for what’s to come. The moment the camera pans to the young girl, oblivious to everything happening around her, and shows her making her sister a get-well card, broke my heart into even smaller pieces.
Dearden’s portrayal of a young doctor caught between the decision of breaking the news or allowing the girl to hold onto what little bit of normalcy that’s left just resonated so much during the episode and more than a week after the credits rolled. What do you do in this situation? How do you not crash out from the stress (emotional and physical) of it and carry on? These are things I can’t stop thinking about.
HBO Max: Save Up To $41 On Annual Plans
Catch every episode of The Pitt and other great original series by signing up for HBO Max. You can save as much as 16% (or $41 a year) by signing up for one of the platform’s annual plans.View Deal
There were tragic moments after the “2:00 p.m.” episode, including a traumatizing mass-casualty event in the later parts, but nothing hit me like these brief yet powerful scenes. Now I can’t wait for The Pitt to return.