After she steps up to defend her trainee, Dana clashes with Robby about her methods - and his upcoming sabbatical.
Dana saves Emma. She happened to be right outside the room when Curtis put the nurse in a headlock. The brutality of that moment closed out the previous episode. It was an agonizing cliffhanger. The aftermath isn't depicted. Robby questions what Dana did. It's assumed she punched the patient and drugged him. Those were understandable impulses. She has been incredibly protective of Emma throughout the shift. She knows all too well the horror of being assaulted by a patient. That trauma comes to the surface frequently. It has made her more punchy. Robby noted that early in the shift. Now, he realizes she has potentially been walking around the department with these drugs for this kind of situation. She found a way to make herself feel safe. Now, it potentially gets her into trouble. This environment requires the staff to think creatively. They follow rules but break them when needed. It's all in the name of saving lives. Dana did what she had to do to protect Emma. She doesn't apologize for that. Emma underplays it. It was similar to roughhousing with her older brothers. The show reinforces Curtis as an aggressive guy though. He was hospitalized for mixing alcohol and cocaine. He should receive no sympathy. The situation is abundantly clear. That doesn't leave Robby and Dana in a good place. They've both been weird all day. In the last hour of their shift, they unload on one another.
Langdon committed a crime. Robby allowed him to come back. He has internalized that mistake. He feels responsible. That's not on Robby. Langdon is to blame. He's responsible for making things right. Robby doesn't know if he can ever trust his favorite kid ever again. Dana knows him so well. These two authority figures call each other out on their issues. It's not entirely productive when they do so. It needed to be said nevertheless. Robby remains conflicted about Langdon. He can't even assess how he's doing at work. Al-Hashimi's approach to Langdon changes as soon as she learns he stole from the hospital. That's much more serious than what she was led to believe. She doesn't think this department can function with just one attending overseeing it all. It's too much of a burden for any individual. Robby doesn't have to be responsible for everything that happens. That's how he was trained to function. He wants Duke to receive a CT scan as soon as possible. He also accepts that more dire patients need it more. He nearly drowns in the chaos. It's almost too unbearable. Everyone is concerned for his well-being. It's not just Dana. McKay also sees him pushing life to its limit. Consequences will be dire. Everyone still emerges as a hero because of the services they provide in the hospital.
So much power comes from being heard. Robby understands that fact when it comes to caring for patients. Mohan and Mel treat an elderly couple who are adamant about staying in their home despite their increasing immobility issues. They don't want to discuss moving or accepting care. Their daughter should be the solution. Yet she wants to discuss other possibilities because she can't do all of that on her own either. It's a complex situation. It almost doesn't matter who was responsible for the accident that led to their emergency visit. He's experiencing side effects from a combination of medications. She has a hairline fracture in her hip. They will require more assistance. Mohan comes up with a game plan for how to move forward. She listens and adapts accordingly. It once again showcases her strengths in geriatric care. Robby brings up that speciality. It doesn't have the same impact as Al-Hashimi's comments. It's Robby once again dismissing Mohan as right for the pace of his ER. He offers medical advice. When it comes to personal insight, Mohan can't trust what he has to say. He's good as a doctor. He's failing as a person. Duke sees that too. He knows Robby needs to leave now. Otherwise, he may never escape. He will always get dragged back in.
Robby promised to stay as long as Duke needed care. That hasn't changed. Duke doesn't need a babysitter. Robby spends the hour worried his friend will leave. The anxiety is heightened. Clarity may never come. Some delay will always pop up. Al-Hashimi reveals the other hospitals in the area have paid the ransom to the hackers. As the shift closes, the department is expected to be up and running as normal again. That means the day staff must stay to digitize the forms they've been using to treat their patients. It was already going to be grueling to chart the day's events. Santos believes she will never leave. She also fears going home. She's all alone. Garcia is only interested in the sex. Whitaker is leaving to housesit for Robby. That wasn't what Santos wanted when she mentioned the amount of time Whitaker spends with Amy. She doesn't know how to work with Langdon. He treated her poorly. He made her feel like she was in the wrong. He still acts that way. It doesn't matter if he has addressed his addiction issues. He was allowed to return. Santos may harm herself as a result. Her scars were seen previously. Fortunately, Whitaker steps up as a friend. Sure, he takes the moment to force Santos to admit she likes having him as a friend and roommate. She can't even say it. It's understood though.
Just as the night shift staff starts coming in, the ER pulls the day shift into more action. Langdon sees Joy as being a bad member of the team for leaving as soon as her shift ends. She's not being paid. This is part of the curriculum to graduate from medical school. She doesn't want a career in emergency medicine. She has learned a lot throughout the shift. She's been even more impressive in what she knows about the rest of the staff. She recognized Javadi through social media. She knew Whitaker was living in the hospital for months. Her mistakes aren't as serious as Ogilvie's either. It's more of a problem that she says oops in front of the patient. That freaks them out. Yet she course corrects immediately. She has proven herself. She also refuses to have the job cross her boundaries. That's healthy. Others would like to leave. They simply can't. When Orlando Diaz comes rolling back into the ER, Mohan is there to witness it. She feared something could happen if he didn't stay. He needed to get back to work to pay for his family and his medical care. He wasn't ready to be discharged. And now, he suffers an even more extensive injury.
Some more thoughts:
- Robby allows every mistake made by others enhance his own bad attitude. Those are the examples he uses for why he can't leave. The system would fall apart without him. It wouldn't. Dana makes that perfectly clear by mentioning Adamson. That harsh reminder may not get Robby to change his perspective though.
- Ogilvie's mistake nevertheless got him to scrub in on a surgery upstairs. He's suddenly rewarded with a patient he should have done more to help when he was in the ER. His absence is noted. It even produces an amusing moment where Whitaker bad mouths medical students while Joy is listening.
- Roxie's family left behind her blanket. Instead of moving on to treat a patient with a severe sunburn, McKay is completely stopped in her tracks. This death hit her hard. Yet she has found it impossible to cry. She likes having Langdon to share this with. She doesn't need a hug to feel better.
- Princess ends her shift early. She has plans Dana knew about. It largely feels like a logistical excuse given Kristin Villanueva's real-life pregnancy that has otherwise been hidden onscreen. Dana is already down a nurse following Jesse's arrest. She's fine with this largely because the night shift starts soon.
- In the ambulance bay, Javadi uploads her video of the ICE agents to her social media page. Meanwhile, Monica degrades the younger generations addicted to their phones even though her most consistent characteristic is the need to smoke. Her attitude makes it much easier to understand why she was chatting up the ICE agent previously.
- Mateo is the first member of the night shift to arrive. It's easier for Javadi to talk with him now. He even notes that she has plenty of time to decide which residency programs to apply for. Her parents give her a lot of stress over this decision. It's not something she needs to do immediately.
- A second fireworks-related injury comes in. This time it wasn't reckless kids. Instead, it's professionals. That again proves just how dangerous handling these materials can be. It was enough to send a man flying across the room. The cut on his head was gnarly but blood pooling around his heart requires surgery.
- Whitaker plans on practicing rural medicine. Javadi hopes there will still be rural hospitals for him to work in once he finishes his residency. A teen had to drive an hour after his father missed one dialysis appointment. Nothing else was available. Whitaker jumped in to save the day but remains slightly awkward in accepting the appreciation.
- Shen has no clue what he's walking into. Abbot and Ellis got to pop in during the day shift to see the chaos as it was developing. Now the question becomes how much the focus shifts to the night shift characters. Will they be more prominent? Or will the fact so many from the day shift have catching up to do pull them into the drama that closes out the season?
