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Gemmill: "The Pitt"

 Several of the storylines on "The Pitt" are not-quite-mundane: a patient lying to get access to abortion medication, a young man who may have a "Columbine" vision, a kid who takes Zoloft-laced-with-fentanyl (and later dies).


In this context, it's interesting that the scripts keep returning to an apparently trivial issue: a white guy, Doug Driscoll, is upset because he is spending too much time in the waiting room.

Though I don't know what it's like to "dance with" fentanyl, I do know how it feels to be aggrieved "in the anteroom." Every time I have a telehealth appointment with my child's neurologist, I struggle with rage--because the minutes tick by and tick by and tick by. It doesn't matter if I schedule the appointment for the very beginning of the work day--there are still mysterious affairs that keep the neurologist from arriving on time.

The Doug Driscoll character is compelling because he inspires strong sensations of ambivalence. He does look silly and petulant, like the guy on "The White Lotus" who can't get over the injustice of having been shut out of "the Pineapple Suite." On the other hand, it's hell to sit in a waiting room. It's hard not to feel that you have to be outspoken--because there is so much chaos. Can you really trust "the system" to remember you, to treat you fairly?

As "relatable" as Doug is, he then shoots himself in the foot. He says something nasty and racist to a professional who is trying to help him. The rage is acknowledged--but there is no apparent solution. We feel we're watching a frog in a pot of water--and the water is getting hotter and hotter.

Just when you decide Doug is repulsive, he begins to act like a human once again. He seems proud to have elbowed his way to a consultation--but the system is just screwing with him. The nurse on call merely wants to check his vitals--there is no magic pill, and the minute of attention is just that. It's a minute. When he understands that he has been toyed with, Doug begins to vibrate with fury (and the matter isn't helped when the more resilient patient in the adjoining seat refuses to empathize).

Terrific writing.
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