Noah Wyle is killing his own character.
I am not shitting on any of the writers as an individual. There are female writers who are very talented and do deserve their position on the team, and hopefully get even more opportunities in the future.
There are pictures of the writing team floating around on Instagram. You can access them on IMDb. Majority of the lead writers on the episodes are women. Specifically women of color. That's absolutely great. Even the executive story editor is a woman of color, Valerie Chu.
She leads story arcs, breaks down episode outlines. She is the heart of the show. A woman of color, specifically an Asian woman is the heart of the show. It's her work where we see how everything flows so smoothly. Valerie has won awards as a writer.
Yet where is season two failing that the writers cannot seem to bring back? With most of the writers either having deep industry experience (as writers/editors) or direct experience (as physicians, see Joe Sachs), where is it failing? Because they clearly have something more to say. Especially when the actors in their interviews mention their cut scenes, in which viewers respond with backlash against the production team.
It is because they are not producers.
Producers, more commonly in the executive level always has the final say. Let's not even consider the financial logistics on this. This is an HBO show. They determine script cuts, scene cuts, how the storyline will go.
From a Videomaker article (a site dedicated to new entertainment writers):
"Executive producers often have significant influence over key creative decisions and can shape the project’s overall vision. Some executive producers can even change the narrative direction if they have the authority. Some collaborate with their project’s writers and director to refine the script." - Kyle Alsberry (from the article 'What is an executive producer and what do they do?')
Joe Sachs, one of the main writers and executive producers of the show has written some of the best episodes in season 1, 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Having done a fantastic job on working with the characters and what to do in mass casualty settings. Likely, because he led the writing and is a producer.
Ironically, most episodes for season two are led by the creator of the show, R. Scott Gemmill. Leading the more emotional episodes of the second half. Wrote the finale too. He has the experience to make a story, knows how to write dramatic stakes with skill. He is good at that. I cannot deny that.
Maybe it isn't the writers. Yes, we can critique the writing, not everyone is perfect. Maybe it's the producers. Five out of the seven executive producers are white men. The remaining two are women, the other white and the other brown. With more men having a heavier voice, there is already a disadvantage when it comes to the final production of things.
It is notable among the fandom that Noah Wyle is one of the executive producers, writers, and actor on the team. Let's settle this immediately. He doesn't have producing nor writing experience. If you look at his credits (on Wikipedia and IMDb), there's nothing. All he did was act. The only notable roles/work he had was E.R. Unlike anyone on the team, he seems to be on it because he has the connections with the showrunner (R. Scott Gemmill) and the former E.R writer (Joe Sachs), he is on the team.
There are actors who produced their own shows and even written for them. Such as Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag and Donald Glover's Atlanta. There is one major difference between those two and Noah Wyle.
They were both writers before they were actors.
They know how to tell a story through their built experience.
Writers, especially if they need to focus on a whole cast, are taught early on to know how and when to prioritize characters in a story. Whether it is in a book, TV, or movie. Know their impact to the story. If it has already been told effectively once through description or another form of storytelling, there is no need to repeat it over and over. You risk being seen as not trusting your audience.
Now that is where the second half of season two fails. Robby, as a character gets more focus in his writing compared to others. Some viewers will say, "He's the main character! Of course he will have more focus!" Except this is a medical show. Grey's Anatomy (I'm not saying it's accurate) does have Meredith as a main character, but not everything revolves around her. If Shonda Rhimes or the other members of the team does that, people will be so bored. Because they have other characters to love and focus on. It's why beloved characters who have departed are still remembered today.
Medical shows benefit as an ensemble show. We see everyone interacting, their dynamics growing. Robby barely has any of that going on for him as a character. Most of his dynamics in season two feel hostile. He's harsh with Mohan (a dark-skinned South Indian woman), Langdon (a recovering addict), and Al-Hashimi (a chronically ill Middle Eastern woman).
His overwhelming focus with a lack of positive character traits makes him not as complex as people would think. It's why many viewers lack sympathy for him to begin with.
And this is a character played by Noah Wyle. This is his character.
He is a torture porn character in the sense that Robby has mental health issues but nothing good comes out of it. Dealt with PTSD since the COVID-19 pandemic and the PittFest shooting. Why of course, he will be so mentally unstable from it. Yet, he lacks any positive traits. He's only aggressive, snarky, misogynistic (many female viewers across social media has noted this), and tends to talk behind people's back for his gain.
He doesn't have that underlying kindness or empathy, because his whole identity is tied to the hospital. If his whole identity is tied to the hospital, Robby would've been written as someone who tries so hard to keep his empathy. Maybe he could've been written as someone who willingly acts kind but he knows feel fake. He feels intense guilt over that as it's not genuine from him.
The writers likely don't intend this but it getting to a point. Like they don't trust us, the viewers to get it. He is mentally unstable, he is traumatized, but you don't have to constantly tell us that. Because every single conversation with Robby is either him yelling at a woman, one of the characters telling him they see he's suffering, or something similar.
They keep hurting him so we can see it. Like we don't understand it.
They sacrificed him to become a caricature of mental health. Even if they didn't intend to. He acts misogynistic for no reason, all for the writers (non-female) to say, "It's tough love and a rough teaching style."
Mental health is complicated. It's messy. I know what that feels like. I acted bad to many people I loved at some point. Yet with mental health, I don't want people to see me at my worst. So I act kind, I act nice. Robby doesn't feel like that.
