The Pitt Season 2 finale ended with one final treat for the HBO Max show’s fans: a post-credits scene where Dr. Mel King (Taylor Dearden) does join Dr. Trinity Santos (Isa Briones) at karaoke after their emotionally-gruelling Fourth of July shift.
**Spoilers for The Pitt Season 2 finale, now streaming on HBO Max**
Early in The Pitt Season 2 finale, Mel discovers that her usual July 4 plans have changed. Her sister Becca (Tal Anderson) has decided to spend the night watching Elf with her boyfriend Adam. When Santos realizes that both she and Mel have nothing to do after their awful shift, she suggests that they go out for a drink and a bout of karaoke.
“I do love that she is the one to ask Mel if she wants to hang out and that’s really special,” The Pitt star Isa Briones told DECIDER. “I think she knows that she shouldn’t be alone. And if Whitaker is not going to be there, like, who is the safest next option?”
Briones had been discussing the fact that we don’t know whether or not Santos will be inspired to self-harm again that night, but we do know she pocketed a scalpel after a stressful scene.
“Mel isn’t necessarily someone who’s going to trigger something in her. That’s someone who is actually very sweet and caring and is not necessarily going to pry too much either,” Briones said. “She’s going through her own thing, and she can kind of channel that energy into being like, ‘Yeah, you need to go out.’”
In general, Briones said she wants to see Santos have more female friends going forward. “She needs to be more of a girls girl,” Briones said. “She’s surrounded by too many dudes.”
“I think she and Javadi should be friends. Actually, I think we’ve kind of played with them not hating each other [in Season 2],” she said. “Like, obviously she can be mean to her, but I think Javadi also kind of enjoys getting stronger and fighting back a little more. And I think Santos is a little proud of her when she bites back.”
“I also honestly think that at some point, she and Langdon could actually be something close to friends, or just at least work well together if they just drop their bullshit and talk.”
First, though, we have to explore Santos’s burgeoning friendship with Mel, fostered not by talk, but rage-singing Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” at karaoke.
Briones told DECIDER that “You Oughta Know” was “always the song” the characters were going to sing, and that at one point, production sent Dearden and Briones a primer on the ’90s angst anthem.
“I mean, of course, we both know the song. They sent it to us as like, ‘Here, if you want to familiarize yourself,’” Briones said, giggling. “I’m well aware, like I know this song like the back of my hand.”
Briones went on to call the moment “perfect” thanks to how “the show is structured” to reflect the daily struggles of a modern American health care profession.
“You see the worst things ever and then you see a moment of levity and you need that,” Briones said. “Any health care professional I talked to is like, ‘Yeah, you need to laugh or you’ll cry.’ So like, you have to have your moments of humor and lightness.”
“And I think it is a moment of hope that she’s going to be okay because she is capable of having a friend and reaching out and and playing well with others if she lets herself. So I think it’s a moment to be like, ‘She’s going to be okay.’ Like it’s going to be a long road, but she will be okay.”
All episodes of The Pitt Season 2 are now streaming on HBO Max.
