Yesterday, I had a sitter who arrived quite late. This sitter is a teenager--she isn't amazing. Her lateness interfered with a client appointment I had; nothing annoys me more. Essentially all I ask of a sitter is that she will arrive when she says she will arrive. It's stunning to me how difficult this is for so many people--and now *I* am one of those people because I did not hire a notably professional sitter.
This was a minor event, but it raised some questions: How kind can I be as an employer? What role does a "power differential" play? (It's easy to take out frustration on a teenager.) If I'm openly impatient, am I giving the impression that I myself have never screwed up at work? (This would be a false impression.)
In Season One, the best move of "The Pitt" was to give us Dr. Langdon, a white, handsome, confident man. Langdon was challenged by a new hire, an abrasive, non-white, sometimes foolish woman. Here, "The Pitt" was playing a game--and all viewers were implicated. It was easy to assume that Dr. Langdon was on the side of the angels. (He was white! He was charismatic! He was a man!) ....But, in fact, Langdon was an addict, and he was stealing from his patients. A smart move on the part of the writers.
Season Two feels baggy and preachy--but I'm still interested in Dr. Langdon. He has returned to his job after rehab. He tries to find time to speak with Dr. Robby, who is not visibly sympathetic. (My heart goes out to Dr. Robby. It's hard enough to do a job. To have to listen to someone's moment of soul-bearing, to have to manage penitence--this is not on the list of requisite tasks. I myself am deeply weary of having to pretend to be interested in sitters' excuses for lateness.) When Langdon finally corners Robby, he has to shout his AA script over the roaring of a medevac chopper. Dr. Robby's response seems exactly right: "I'm glad you got help, and I'm not sure I want you in my ER."
At its best, "The Pitt" is grounded in character. We are all flawed. We are all strangers to ourselves. We all make promises we intend to keep--we all screw up with these promises. Dr. Langdon is a repentant thief, but he is also a compassionate listener. When an obese man arrives at the ER, Langdon acts without judgment--he is here to help. (By contrast, a young trainee, free of a "drug use" record and basically still an irritating child, wants to ask barbed questions about Ozempic and work-out routines.)
I was reasonably kind to my children's babysitter. I'm not sure what our future will be.
"The Pitt" needs more of Dr. Langdon--he is the main reliable "engine" for Season Two.
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