The Pitt Season 2: What A 50-Year-Old Novel Might Reveal About Dr. Robby's Storyline

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The June 16 announcement that The Pitt was in production on Season 2 was accompanied by a compelling visual aid: A behind-the-scenes video that showed Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch enter the emergency department at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center in a heavy jacket — a jacket you wouldn't typically see a Yinzer wear on Fourth of July weekend, at which point the temperature in Western Pennsylvania hovers around 85 degrees.

Also of note: Robby appears to have a motorcycle helmet strapped to his Tom Bihn travel backpack.

So, has our wounded hero bought himself a hog? And is it possible that he is just returning from a long, potentially healing journey after reaching his breaking point at the end of Season 1?

Series star/executive producer Noah Wyle might have inadvertently answered both of those questions during an appearance on The Checkup With Dr. Mike podcast, on which he disclosed that he recently reread Robert M. Pirsig's seminal 1974 book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values, for "somewhat creative reasons having to do with Season 2 and Robby."

For those who have not read it, don't let its title fool you: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is not about motorcycle maintenance — at least not exclusively. Amazon describes it as "a narration of a summer motorcycle trip undertaken by a father and his son" — a 540-page novel that "becomes a personal and philosophical odyssey into fundamental questions on how to live. The narrator's relationship with his son leads to a powerful self-reckoning," while "the craft of motorcycle maintenance leads to an austerely beautiful process for reconciling science, religion and humanism."

Now, as series creator R. Scott Gemmill previously told me, The Pitt Season 2 will see Robby "getting himself mentally healthy again" — but how, exactly, he intends to do that, remains unknown. Will the ED chief take Dr. Jack Abbot up on his offer and reach out to his therapist? Or will he embark on "a personal and philosophical odyssey" and explore "fundamental questions on how to live"? And will his fractured relationship with Jake lead to "a powerful self-reckoning"?

If Robby's journey mirrors the narrator's in Pirsig's book, perhaps the above-mentioned first look shows our protagonist upon his return from a long, healing journey — either one he took alone, or one he took with Janey's son in an attempt to mend their relationship following Leah's death. Whereas Season 1 flashed back to the day Robby took Dr. Adamson off ECMO, Season 2 could show flashbacks from Robby's trip, in turn offering audiences a peek at our protagonist's life outside the fluorescent-lit confines of PTMC. And though Robby might think he's healed when he clocks in again, perhaps his next 15-hour shift will reveal that he still needs professional help.

"In the first season, Robby has an Adamson on his shoulder," Wyle told Dr. Mike. "But in Season 2, everybody has an Adamson on their shoulder. How does everybody get through a mass casualty event, 10 months on the other side of it, and move on? Answering those questions for every character as thoughtfully as we can has been the thesis of Season 2. It's almost as if the first season was about diagnosing the problem, and Season 2 is about finding a method of treatment."

Robby, he said, has to be "a bit of a leader in advocating for some mental health... but whether he takes it on himself will be an interesting journey."

So, what do you think? Am I onto something with this theory? Or do you anticipate that all of Robby's healing will occur on screen, during his Season 2 shift? Sound off in Comments.