Starting right where the last episode ended, we learn the teenage girl actually brought in her aunt for her abortion as her real mother storms in demanding the abortion, to, well, abort. This storyline is a real turning point with Dr. Heather Collins, played by Tracy Ifeachor. I haven’t mentioned about the character before. As great as she is, it feels like she hasn’t had her real standout episode until now. Dr. Collins is also go through a pregnancy. It’s easy to see where she feels sympathy for the girl who clearly isn’t ready to be a parent. It leads to an interest conclusion that makes me curious as to how this will set the stage for the rest of her character arc.

Aside from this particular storyline, she is also sent to help a college-aged boy. I am not even sure how to explain it without being explicit. It requires her to get very comfortable with the patient, which leads to some interesting and humorous dialogue with the patient’s mother. When the patient’s mother sees Dr. Collins for the first time, there is immediate trust as she sees the doctor as themselves. You can tell where it puts a smile on Dr. Collins face, which is something she needed in this episode.

When I first started watching this show, I would say it closely resembles 24 with its format. At this point, I am starting to see it also resembles Lost with the way it treats its characters. Each episode dives deeper into certain characters to give them proper arcs, and to show that these doctors are just as much people as their patients. This episode in particular how strong and the well-written the female characters are.

The two strong standouts here are with Isa Briones’ Dr. Trinity Santos, and with Taylor Dearden’s Dr. Melissa King. From what I have noticed, many viewers don’t like Santos. This episode will make you like her. You can hate the character, but you have to respect the talent for making you strongly like and dislike them at the right times. Santos screws up badly in this episode, which sets her on a path that begins to put her ego in check.

I have really liked King from the get-go. Her awkwardness is funny, but also relatable. In this episode, she spirals out from feeling like her patient’s daughter, and caregiver, ran away. She goes down a path between not saying anything at all to the patient or just ripping the band aid and being honest with her. It leads to a satisfying conclusion that also broke my heart as more is revealed about her.

We get more of the parents dealing with their comatose son, which leads Dr. Robby towards having to bare some bad news to the parents. It’s quite remarkable how Wyle can flip a switch with this character that makes him sympathetic towards his patients versus being hard on his colleagues. There’s a nice balance of a character who appears to have it all figured out, even though we know this is just his way of coping. On top of all of this, Robby has to deal with even more office politics that may lead to a drastic change for the future of his work.

The episode has more moments that will make you squirm with who comes into the E.R. While I found myself squirming at times, this one also felt a bit more slowed down to help develop more with these characters. We learn more about Robby’s backstory. McKay & Javadi’s core relationship goes through a nice change that may have McKay looking at Javadi differently. Whitaker finally has a break this episode. Langdon has great chemistry with Robby. Mohan is getting it together. Oh, and let’s not forget about the beating heart that is Dana Evans who is consistently checking on everyone. Good for her. She is so good to her team.

Overall, another strong episode that solidifies why it’s one of the best shows going right now. It keeps up the momentum both in pacing and character development. There are some strong standout scenes from the supporting cast that goes to show that this show has amazing female characters. The shorter runtime continues to be conflicting, but when you take the high-stake energy into account, it’s easy to feel like you’re right there with these characters.

Episode 6 of “The Pitt” premiere on Max Thursday night at 9pm EST.

VERDICT: 4.5/5 (Amazing)