‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Finale Just Set Up Robby To Adopt Baby Jane Doe In Season 3 — Spoilers Ahead

The framework for Season 2 of ‘The Pitt’ has been the escalation of Dr. Robby’s suicidal ideation, building to the confession that he’s not sure he wants to be “anywhere, anymore”. The finale revealed his answer has been in front of him the whole time. The entire episode builds a case for Robby to adopt Baby Jane Doe himself as a way for him to climb out of his depression and get a second lease at life.

And like everything on “The Pitt”, there are real world examples from healthcare heroes to back it up.

Let’s start with the in-episode clues first:

“Right on, big guy. Are you ready to get funky?” —Whitaker

With Robby’s house-sitting hand-off to Whitaker complete, Amy pulls up to drive him home for the night, and we see firsthand that he’s in deeper than Santos even suspected.

The way Whitaker greets her son Theo in his car seat, takes her place behind the wheel, and listens as she fills him in on the baby’s fussiness and teething, clearly illustrates just how much he has stepped into the roles of father and husband. He finally turns on what appears to be the “family’s” favorite jam before pulling away into the night.

But it’s Robby’s reaction to it all that is the most telling. He doesn’t look concerned or worried for Whitaker. His eyes, which have been on the brink of tears more than once in the past hour, perk up, light up even, as he looks longingly and enviously at their happiness.

“It’s never too late.” —Mohan

Robby’s been softening up to all of his residents and med students after his short fuse has wreaked its havoc on everyone during this final shift, and Mohan is no exception. In an effort to bridge the gap, he opens up about his personal life, telling her:

I know that life can be challenging, especially when it doesn’t work out the way you expected. I thought I would be married with 2 kids in college by now. Maybe have some property with a pond, we could play hockey on it in the wintertime. And yet look at me now, no wife, no kids, no pond. 

While the anecdote is couched as a way to mentor her over her indecision on where to specialize, it’s timed to give us an explicit explanation for what we just witnessed with Whitaker.

We have some insight into Robby’s dating history, his pseudo-stepdad role with his ex’s son Jake, the insinuation he may have been the ex Heather was referring to in her abortion story, but we’ve never really seen Robby express an explicit desire for marriage and children before.

But like Heather’s miscarriage and struggle with IVF, Robby is given the same emotional complexity to explore ranges of disappointment, loneliness, and hope when Mohan tells him it’s not too late for this dream to become a reality for him. The specific seed for that thought was already planted earlier in the episode.

“You know anyone who might consider kinship adoption? Doctors and nurses qualify.” —Dana

This isn’t just a throwaway line. It’s a reference to a formal legal process by which healthcare workers can claim “fictive kin” status, making them eligible for the same adoptive process as extended family members.

The American Bar Association defines “fictive kin” as “an individual who is not related by birth, adoption, or marriage to a child, but who has an emotionally significant relationship with the child”.

Adoption laws vary from state to state, and can allow for healthcare workers, social workers, or therapists to qualify for kinship adoption of a child with whom they’ve formed a genuine bond, but there are various ethical considerations when it comes to adoption of a former patient.

There are various real world examples of healthcare workers adopting children they meet in a hospital.

Taylor and Drew Deras were both NICU nurses in Omaha when they adopted Ella. She was born at 23 weeks and weighed 1 pound 2 ounces in May 2021. Taylor was one of her nurses, told her husband she wanted to bring the baby home, and the couple became foster parents for almost two years before finalizing the adoption. Ella’s biological mother specifically requested that Ella’s care be entrusted to the couple.

Olivia Peña was a pediatric nurse and longtime foster mother in New Mexico who was asked to care for a premature baby girl. Addison’s biological mother e-mailed her asking to adopt, and after six months in the NICU, she went home to stay with Peña.

Claire Mills was a 25-year-old single nurse in Houston who helped in an emergency C-section her second week at the hospital. She cried when the baby was eventually discharged. The baby’s biological mother called her, and asked her to adopt.

But not every adoption story goes so smoothly. Miriam Simon was an obstetrics nurse in Iowa who adopted a former patient’s baby in 2021, but was sanctioned by the state’s Board of Nursing alleging she violated state regulations that prohibit initiating an emotional, social or business relationship with a patient for personal gain regardless of patient consent. She was also charged with violating patient confidentiality regulations. Even though the mother initiated contact, Simon’s contract was terminated after she discussed the adoption with a co-worker.

What does this mean for Season 3?

‘The Pitt’ has already established various ethical and legal concerns this season, including Langdon’s return to work, Mel’s deposition, Javadi’s TikToks needing to obey HIPAA laws, Robby’s concern over disclosing Al-Hashimi’s medical issues, and data-privacy with the cyber attack. Robby putting up a legal fight to become Baby Jane Doe’s guardian would give the next season the kind of high stakes conflict that Robby’s depression lent Season 2.

Sure, he might have responded to Dana by saying, “don’t look at me”, but he’s said plenty of things he didn’t really mean during the last fifteen hours. The fact that he ends the episode, and the season, with Baby Jane in his arms, speaking to her as much as himself, repeating the phrase “so many people to love ahead of you” is as symbolic as it is literal. There is a child in front of him, a man who has always wanted a family, who needs a home.

After his heart-wrenching confession to Abbott, “I’m not convinced that a part of you doesn’t die every time you see a fellow human pass, and I’ve seen so many people die that I feel like it’s leaching something from my soul”, it makes sense that Robby’s way out can be nothing more than the circle of life, for him to tie his future to this birth, as a way to find meaning amidst all the death.