i've been really chewing on the initial version of the final kingdon ambulance scene and i'm so invested (read: annoying) about the use of space in the pitt that it's been impossible to purge from my thoughts because i think the version we got is so beautiful and functions so well (and so much better) outside of how the ambulance is used as a set piece in the pitt
because the show is shot and set almost entirely in the confines of the hospital, the pitt is so very particular about how it uses its space. so when characters are in private spaces and away from the floor of the hospital, there's significance to it.
the ambulance bay is one of the most frequently used 'private spaces' we are privy to. it's a space of vulnerability, it's one of the few places that the characters get to leave the pitt behind somewhat (albeit only a few feet behind them); and still there's different levels to the openness we're afforded. almost everyone gets a moment out there, some far more than others. we see it with mel and frank getting farther and farther from the door and get increasingly more personal in their discussions, we see it in more opinion-based, but still technically professional questions happening right by the doors (like santos asking what they think of al-hashimi), we see it in dana and robby's fight about langdon that hopscotches all over that professional-personal line and in robby and frank's confrontation in the end of s1, where all these characters get a little more themselves by being outside for better or for worse.
which is why the ambulance is so interesting, because it's another layer of personal conversation in an already vulnerable space, but those conversation are always conclusions, it's a space that affords a sense of closure. a neat little bow we don't get anywhere else.
with robby and collins, they enter this bubble to talk about and truly conclude their past together. there's light shed on their relationship and they share quiet reflection, and it comes in the wake of a traumatic day. it's heartfelt and tender, but it is the end of them together. we do get both angles into the ambulance and out of it, which if you want to get into the weeds with me, could signify the working relationship and personal relationship. even in the camera angled out at pittsburgh, they're confined to this box, a story that we understand only existed in a window of time that's come and gone, surrounded by their work, in this state of emergency.
then we get whitaker and ogilvie, which is an interesting choice in contrast to the emotional investment of robby and collins. here we only get the working relationship of these two - only insight into the ambulance - which, of course, they met that day, there's no personal relationship to reflect on. but here, we get whitaker comforting ogilvie. he's lost a patient, has seemingly lost motivation to be in this line of work, and is stuck at the end of his day - whitaker's support is more a closure to the day. he's wrapping up this (perhaps reformed and humbled) gunner's first day, more or less saying what he's been regurgitating for two seasons now that 'you learn to live with it'. it's a grace note on what we get to see of ogilvie in the pitt.
but importantly, both of those conversations are in the wake of emergency. their work affects these characters and the reassurance and personal vulnerability we are audience to helps to soothe that ache of the professional seeping into the personal.
there's consistently this connective tissue to emergency and their work. perhaps that's why the back of an ambulance; the place the emergency and chaos was brought to them, which now sits unoccupied and quiet, not quite ready to move on. perhaps the only reflection that can come about has to be caused by or mirrored in their work. but these conversations end. they provide closure to those issues, they end the conversation, they end the relationship we get to see.
which is exactly why mel and frank couldn't and shouldn't have had their conversation in an ambulance. there's no confinement out in the open like they are, and while emergency looms in the distance (literally), it is not the state in which they are embroiled. there wasn't a particularly personal case to push them outside this time, in fact the case prior to this, for frank at least is triumphant and exciting. they are quite literally only there to talk to each other, free from it being strictly about work.
by letting this conversation be in the open, they escape that finite space and that entrapment in their work when it comes to each other, and it only proves how important they are to each other as people. it's an important change, one that gives the pair flexibility and leeway and mutual understanding in a way that the ambulance doesn't allow.
the cameras - when looking 'out' (up at the fireworks we never actually see) - focus on the space afforded to the pair. there's room to grow, there's unknown (and again we get both the professional and personal sides of the relationship). closure isn't expected of them, this isn't an end by any means, and thematically their story and their relationship continue forward. and yes, their personal conversation is a debrief, but not a conclusion. instead, it's an invitation for the future, quite literally 'can you teach me,' allowing this relationship to continue into the future and that is what ultimately prevents them from being able to have this final moment in an ambulance. and what makes the final version we got so much more powerful and affirming of their relationship.
actually while i'm still in s2 script mode. the parallel of the chapter officially closing for robby and collins on the note of what could've been vs a new chapter opening for frank and mel on the note of what could be. SICKENING.
remember remember remember when Robby saw mel and langdon together and then immediately looked at heather. and then apparently ambulancebaygate was going to be mel and langdon sitting in ambulance together. like Robby and heather did. Robby and heather who were confirmed to be romantically involved. hmm. ok. and im the crazy one
i think the wink being cut was a good thing because it’s a vulnerable scene between them where he tells mel where he’s been and about his addiction + shes hurt and uncomfortable with the cops showing up, and the wink switches the tone so it makes it more of a lighthearted joke to end on rather than it being a very sincere moment between them
nothing about the situation is a joke to them! frank doesn’t diminish mel’s feelings about the things that upset her/stress her out, he helps her face them head on (mel getting hurt + the cops showing up, ‘how was your deposition i’m sure it was stressful’, post becca reveal in the ambulance bay), which sets him apart from everyone else who brushes her off, tells her she’ll be fine, makes fun of her, walks away from her, tells her off for throwing a pity party for herself. he approaches her with care and empathy and a willingness to help her through the hard parts, so yeah, not the time for a cheeky wink imo
(season 2 script details from @divorcedfranklangdon !)
A couple more non-Kingdon moments that I saw in the scripts. I really didn't read many of the non-Kingdon scenes, so these are all the ones I remember
When Amy picks up Whitaker in the finale they said "Whitaker and his de facto family"
Ellis is said to be a "medical education fellow". It's not canon unless it's included in the show, but this would have made her a 4th year in s1 and she's now finished her residency and is a fellow
There was a scene where Samira tells Victoriathat Dr. Shamsi sent out an email invite for I think a dinner party for Victoria's birthday the next week (which Victoria didn't know about)
The scene leads into Dana handing Victoria a gift and a card and telling her to get everyone to sign and since Victoria is still frazzled from the conversation with Samira she thinks the gift is for her and opens it but it's actually a motorcycle helmet for Robby
Mel's mom had a masters in accounting
The Hansens invited Mel to their family reunion with "all you can eat meat"
The two brothers who were branding each other with the Penguins logo were at Pittfest
Donnie's legal name is Donald
In the finale Cassie was going to go to the art museum to see the soccer player and Samira was going to with her and be her wingman
it’s genuinely INSANE that frank brings up his back pain to mel in the og scripts, something he seemingly tries to completely hide from everyone else in his life, besides robby who belittled him. just another way to make the scene even more tender, to feel frank relax into the vulnerability of not having to be anyone except himself to be accepted by mel. but it’s whatever
