Does Dr. Robby have a girlfriend? Inside The Pitt Season 2 Episode 2 cast & character

Ever since Noah Wyle teased Dr. Robby’s romantic connection in The Pitt Season 2, there’s been speculation about who it could be. But Episode 2, which details 8-9am of the day shift, may just have answered that question.

The hit HBO Max medical drama made its triumphant return last week, with the second chapter taking place over the Fourth of July – and the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center is busy as ever. 

It’s Dr. Robby’s last shift before he takes a three-month sabbatical to motorcycle through the Badlands. Some say it’s a mid-life crisis, but The Pitt fans will know that he’s yet to deal with the trauma he’s faced, both in the pandemic, the shooting from Season 1, and, well, his day-to-day. 

For every staff member, personal relationships often take a backseat, which is perhaps why Dr. Robby has struggled to hold one down. However, it looks like sparks are flying between him and nurse Noelle Hastings (Meta Golding).

Does Dr. Robby have a girlfriend in The Pitt Season 2?

At the very least, Dr. Robby is dating the hospital’s case manager Noelle Hastings. However, there’s no confirmation that it’s official, and as Wyle previously told Deadline, “It’s a very ‘no strings attached’ kind of affair.”

This means that Dr. Robby’s will-they-won’t-they situation with Dr. Heather Collins (Tracy Ifeachor) is over – but more on this shortly. 

Noelle makes her debut in The Pitt Season 2 Episode 2, when Robby’s discussing patients with Dr. McKay (Fiona Dourif). He tells her that ortho can take Mr. Billings up to surgery, but Noelle appears on the scene and says, “Belay that order, sailor.”

As they discuss the patient, there’s definitely a vibe between Dr. Robby and Noelle – so much so that Dr. McKay think she’s missing something.

Technically, she’s right – she just doesn’t know it’s that the pair are dating. Dr. McKay says, “Yeah, okay,” in a suspicious tone and walks off, leading Noelle to ask Robby, “What was that about?”

“Dr. McKay has a very heightened sense of empathy, meaning she’s good at picking up on stuff,” says Robby, to which Noelle replies, “You didn’t say anything, did you?”

“Nope. I subscribe to the Falstaff advice,” Robby quips. For the uninitiated, Falstaff advice references a line from Shakespeare’s Henry IV plays, in which Sir John Falstaff says, “The better part of valor is discretion.” 

In other words, it means knowing when to keep quiet rather than say something that could cause trouble, which is a wise move when you’re dating someone at work. 

When it comes to The Pitt, even though they don’t say it explicitly, this is confirmation enough that Noelle and Robby are hooking up. This is further established when she asks him if he’s “still planning on leaving tonight.”

After he confirms, she says, “I don’t understand why you can’t leave in the morning,” but Robby dodges the question and leaves to deal with a patient. However, he does say, “I’ll find you when I leave.”

Under her breath, Noelle says to herself, “You’ve got to stop this.” Even though they were speaking in hushed tones, Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) can’t help but overhear.

As Noelle goes to leave, Dana says, “Hope you know what you’re doing.” She gives her a look, but Noelle insists, “I’m a big girl.”

In other words, it appears Noelle is catching feelings, but as we’ve learned throughout the course of The Pitt, Robby is too burned from his past experiences to let anyone get too close.

Who is Meta Golding?

Meta Golding is best known for playing Enobaria in The Hunger Games franchise, appearing in Catching Fire and Mockingjay – Part 2. But it’s far from her only acting gig. 

Outside of The Hunger Games, Golding has built a steady television career, including a recurring role as Teri in Empire. Other credits include Ransom Canyon, Colony, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

The star was announced to be joining The Pitt Season 2 cast in December last year. As well as Robby’s love interest, Noelle is the ED’s nurse case manager, which means she oversees patient logistics such as insurance coverage, transfers, and discharge planning.

What happened to Heather?

Dr. Heather Collins isn’t in The Pitt Season 2 because the character’s residency at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center ended, and in real life, actor Tracy Ifeachor departed the show. 

Heather was a major part of Season 1 of the show, serving as a senior resident in emergency medicine at the ED. Although she was pregnant, she experienced a miscarriage while at work. 

Later, she told Dr. Robby that she’d been going through IVF on her own. Through this conversation, we learned that she and Robby used to date, and that she had gotten pregnant with him but had an abortion. 

Viewers believed that they could have worked things out, but it was not meant to be. 

Questions about Ifeachor’s departure from the hit series rose last year after sources told Variety that she was “not leaving The Pitt of her own accord.” 

Rumors soon circulated, with allegations that Ifeachor was affiliated with Jesus House, a conservative London church that’s been accused of performing “gay exorcisms.” She was also accused of being against the abortion storyline. 

However, representatives for Ifeachor quickly set the record straight, telling The Mirror, “These claims are entirely false. First, Tracy was not fired. Dr. Heather Collins was simply not written in as a part of Season 2, which is a creative decision that has been confirmed by HBO.

“Furthermore, any rumors about Tracy participating in any discrimination through her religion are completely incorrect, defamatory, and hurtful.”

The following month, executive producer John Wells told The Hollywood Reporter that Heather was written out of the show due to the reality of working at a teaching hospital. 

“Look, the show is set at a teaching hospital. And if you’re a fourth-year resident in a teaching hospital, your time there is done at the end of that year. Not to scare any of the other cast members, but people don’t stay at these hospitals forever,” he said. 

“They’re going to roll off, and that will be part of the evolution of the show. We’re not committed to doing a year every season as we go on, but we can’t say that we’re going to be true to the medicine and teaching hospitals and maintain the same cast for the entire time.”