Tonight's episode seems to be all about people switching tactics. Offense to defense, defense to offense, attack to retreat, retreat to attack.
Some are more subtle than others. Dana's usual mode with Robby is to beat him over the head with truth bombs. When she realizes this isn't working with him, she turns to Abbot, begging him to help work on Robby, knowing that something is deeply wrong, but unable to voice the words aloud. And it's rare that Dana is at a loss for words.
Others are pretty obvious. Langdon has been rusty all shift, Ellis wasn't wrong! He's second-guessing himself, tongue-tied when questioned by Robby, beating himself up when he suggests the wrong course of action with the asthma patient. He keeps hanging around the ER, not really involved in cases, but looking in. Then the MVA patient comes in, and he's able to be the one to pull off some cowboy magic and save the patient and his ability to walk. It's enlivening - you can see the confidence flying back into his smile.
McKay has tried intimating to Robby that she fears where he's heading, likening him to some of the addicts that she'd known. When that doesn't yield results, she tries a different tactic, suggesting that he actually listen to Javadi when she's trying to tell him that she wasn't making a TikTok, and that he needs to work on self-care and take some of the advice of his younger staff.
Caleb the social worker has been trying to reach Robby all shift. He's gentle in his approach, but persistent. But after seeing Robby's callous remark to Mohan about her patient, Orlando, he's spurred into action. When Robby tries to blow him off again, we see this mostly gentle man bark at him and manage to grab his attention for a few minutes.
Another change of tactics - Mohan has endured Robby's abuse all shift, along with an emotionally taxing day where she's trying to figure out her future. And yet after a terrible few moments where she thinks she's actually having a heart attack, and then is ridiculed by Robby in front of her peers for having a panic attack - this lady soldiers on. But after Robby's final devastating zinger about Orlando, she chooses retreat. She's choosing self-preservation.
Another less obvious change of tactics, there's Mel. We've seen in several instances that she's realizing she doesn't have a life outside of the hospital or what her sister likes to do. But now we see that her sister has a life outside of her. For the first time, we see her discussing Colonial Williamsburg and history reenactors - she likes the Renaissance Fair, and thinks they might not be too different, and is curious if they meet up outside of the park. She's wondering all of this aloud in front of the others, who look pretty nonplussed, but gets encouragement from McKay, who realizes that she needs some affirmation. But Mel’s taking some initiative in her personal life!
Whitaker is someone who justifiably has a reputation for being easygoing. He'll endure no end of teasing, both rough and kind - he lives with Santos, after all. But when he feels, even slightly, sarcasm or teasing from Langdon (who, I should add, is a little bit on the defensive after catching Whitaker's look when he sees him taking Advil), he goes immediately on the defensive. He demands respect - he's seen Langdon berate Santos, and he knows their history. I believe that informs his reaction, but he's not wrong. And to his credit, Langdon backs off and apologizes, promising not to do it again. Whitaker being Whitaker, he immediately apologizes for his tone, and Langdon tells him not to - he needs to protect his boundaries.
al Hashimi also changes tactics toward the end of the episode. After initially hiding a medical problem that seems to be flaring up that day and trying to get hold of her doctor for help, she gets confronted by Robby. It looks as if he's about to grill al Hashimi about her medical issue in front of the people they manage (big problem, dude, you don't do that), she manages to slide away after their patient codes and they bring her back. But realizing that he knows something is up, she chooses to stop defending, and approaches him, looking for his advice. From the preview for next week, it doesn't look like that may pan out well for our suddenly filterless attending.
And finally - Robby. He's been slowly unraveling all shift, the burnout taking a toll on everything. He keeps looking for someone to give him a reason to stay. But no one he talks to really can give him unbiased advice - they're all in the same relationship with the hospital, where the admin demands that they give everything emotionally, mentally, and physically to their job, and gives them very little in protection or renumeration. Duke provides that outside perspective. He's got nothing to do but wait for test results, so he can see the pace that these people work at and the effect it has on them. He keeps trying to bring this up to Robby, who keeps blowing him off to tend to ambulances. But finally, Duke captures Robby's attention by making him think that Duke's afraid of death. His concern gives Duke the window of opportunity needed to confront him directly about his sabbatical plans.
And it catches Robby off-guard. It lets him finally be honest about what's going on inside his head, possibly even to himself for the first time. About the place that is both keeping him alive and killing him. His filters are gone, as we see in the next scene, when he publicly berates the paramedics for their treatment of a previous patient. (as much as the speech was needed, it is a marked difference from the Robby of Season One who reprimanded Langdon in private) His filters are gone.
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