Editorial note: Spoilers ahead for season two, episode six of “The Pitt.”
Ever since “frequent flyer” Louie Cloverfield returned to “The Pitt” in season two, it’s felt inevitable that the sweet, jolly character struggling with alcoholism was likely in mortal danger. Last week’s cliffhanger ending, in which Dr. Langdon discovered Louie pulseless in his room, proved all our suspicions to be true. And this week’s episode confirmed it.
In the opening moments of “12:00 P.M.,” Louie succumbs to a liver failure-induced pulmonary hemorrhage — tragically not a surprise for a heavy drinker — despite the best efforts of Dr. Robby, Langdon, Perla and more.
Louie’s is not the first death viewers have witnessed on “The Pitt,” but it is the first major patient death in season two. So when Dr. Robby and the Pitt staff gather in a viewing room to debrief and pay their respects at the end of the episode, the moment is heartrending. What makes it even more poignant, however, is that Dr. Robby recounts to the team Louie’s even more tragic backstory and caps it off in a very Jewish way.
“That’s Rhonda, Louie’s wife. High school sweetheart,” Dr. Robby tells the group when Langdon pulls out a photo he found with Louie’s belongings. Robby explains that five years prior, he was covering a nightshift when Louie came in feeling chatty. He learned that Louie was a born-and-raised Pittsburgher, a lifelong Steelers fan and was a groundskeeper at Three Rivers Stadium (former home to the Steelers and Pirates) until 1998.
Robby goes on, “He never really wanted kids. But Rhonda wore him down and when she finally got pregnant, he changed his tune. He got excited. And then about a month before the baby was due, Rhonda and the baby were killed in a car crash. Louie never really came back from that.”
“May his memory be a blessing,” Dr. Robby then says, offering the Jewish mourning phrase in remembrance of Louie. Other staffers of the Pitt solemnly repeat it as new nurse Emma holds Louie’s hand.
Sob.
This scene is the second time this season where “The Pitt” authentically references Dr. Robby’s Jewishness. The first came just a few episodes ago when he treats a survivor of the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting who accidentally burned herself after experiencing some PTSD-related symptoms. To the patient, Yana Kovalenko, Dr. Robby reveals that his grandparents deeply influenced his Russian Jewish identity, taking him to synagogue and keeping a samovar around the house. He also explains to the insistent Yana that he attends shul at Rodef Shalom on the High Holidays. All of this is also grounded in the crucial season one scene where Dr. Robby, overwhelmed by losing a PittFest victim, recites the Shema, a foundational Hebrew prayer, over and over again during a panic attack.
Once again, Noah Wyle and “The Pitt” prove they are committed to giving Dr. Robby a developed, realistic Jewish identity at the same time that they give Louie the honor and respect he deserves in death. Like Dr. Robby said, may his memory be a blessing.
