There isn’t a lot known, plot-wise, about S.S. Rajamouli‘s upcoming epic Varanasi. What we do know is that it’s going to be epic in scale with the filmmaker’s signature slow-motion beats, specific scenes filmed for IMAX, and Rajamouli’s dedication to building on the success of his globally revered period adventure, 2022’s RRR.

Starring Mahesh Babu (Pokiri), Priyanka Chopra-Jonas (Citadel), and Prithviraj Sukumaran (The Goat Life), Varanasi follows a Shiva devotee (Babu), who embarks on a mysterious mission to retrieve an ancient cosmic artifact. To do so, he must travel through history, using clues to aid him on his journey. But along the way, our hero discovers that the one who sent him on this quest is an evil mastermind looking to control the world. According to Rajamouli, “It’s about the experience. It’s the experience that will transport you through unimaginably big, gigantic worlds, not just in terms of scale, but in terms of emotions as well.”

At the end of last year, Collider’s Steve Weintraub had the pleasure of sitting down with the cast (which you can check out here) and the director in India, after the first-ever look at Varanasi. During their conversation, Rajamouli shares his vision for the final picture, what it’s like working with Telugu Cinema, how he selects his impactful slow-motion shots, and choosing which sequences will be filmed for IMAX. The filmmaker also discusses what to expect as far as Varanasi‘s runtime, shares the comments from James Cameron on RRR, and how he’s leveling up after that film’s success.

S.S. Rajamouli Shares James Cameron’s Response to ‘RRR’

“I was pinching myself to believe it.”

Image via Netflix

COLLIDER: I have a lot of questions about the movie, but I like throwing in a few fun questions at the beginning of all my interviews. What is your favorite Indian food, and what is in it?

S.S. RAJAMOULI: It’s called pothichoru. It’s basically a liquid form of lentils and rice. That’s home-cooked food, and I love it.

Is there something that you cook yourself?

RAJAMOULI: I never cook. I hate cooking. I only like eating.

We’re very similar. I’m wearing an Arnold Schwarzenegger T-shirt. I know you’re a movie fan. Do you have a favorite Arnold movie?

RAJAMOULI: Who doesn’t? [Laughs] T2, Terminator 2, and I like True Lies a lot. A completely different kind of film from him. I love True Lies.

What’s funny is that both are James Cameron.

RAJAMOULI: Yeah.

I’m assuming James Cameron must have seen RRR.

RAJAMOULI: Yes.

I’m assuming you spoke to him?

RAJAMOULI: Yes.

I know that you got to meet a lot of Hollywood filmmakers when you were promoting. As such a fan of James Cameron and Spielberg, and all these people, what has it been like to be embraced by Hollywood and have these filmmakers that you look up to talk so highly of you?

RAJAMOULI: It was unreal for me. First of all, meeting him is unreal. Then, him talking about my film is something else. And then him talking about the details of the film, the characters of the film, the movements of the film, and how he and his wife watched the film, and he recommended my movie to his wife, and both of them are watching the film again, he watched it a second time? All that was like, “Is this true?” I was pinching myself to believe it. It was one of the happiest moments in my career.

Pinpointing ‘Varanasi’s “Peak” Emotional Beats

“This will be one of the greatest cinematic moments. We have to do this.”

Image via Telugu Cinema

After RRR, you’ve been able to do what you want to do for the last few movies, but did you feel any additional pressure or indecision about what you wanted to do after RRR, knowing that so many people around the world are very interested in what you’re going to do?

RAJAMOULI: No. The success of RRR definitely has no pressure on me. My pressure is that, at the beginning of the film, we always have two or three ideas, which are interesting. So, if I start focusing on one idea, I feel that I’m missing out on those two. If I go for the other idea, I will feel that I’m missing out on this. That’s the pressure I go through at the beginning of the film. The success of the previous film, whether it’s Baahubali or any other film, has never affected me.

How did you decide on this film being, “Yes, this is what I want to make?”

RAJAMOULI: It is very difficult to pinpoint and say, “Yes, this is the time,” or “This is the moment in story development that I felt like this is the work.” It’s a kind of process that goes back and forth, back and forth. Also, it took a long time because at the same time, I was also in L.A. promoting RRR. So, I was doing that job there, coming back to India, dabbling a little bit with the story discussions, and again, going back. I don’t know exactly at which point I thought, “Yes, this is the film,” but I remember this definitely is one of the moments when we had the emotional sequence leading up to the moment where Rudhra, the character played by Mahesh [Babu], comes on the bull with the dust flying around. We thought, “This will be one of the greatest cinematic moments. We have to do this.”

I know this is very early; you’re in the middle of filming right now. The film’s not out for a long time, and I hate asking the generic question, but what do you want to tell people about the movie and what it’s about?

RAJAMOULI: It’s about the experience. It’s the experience that will transport you through unimaginably big, gigantic worlds, not just in terms of scale, but in terms of emotions as well.

One of the things that I love about your work is the way that you use slow motion in your action set pieces to help tell the story. How do you figure out which shots you want to do in slow motion, and are you figuring it out on set, or are you figuring it out in the editing room after, or is it a combination of both?

RAJAMOULI: Much, much before. Much before the shooting or editing on the writing table itself, I’ll be figuring out which shots are going to be slow motion. Those moments are the peak moments of emotion, so I can’t decide that on the set. It has to be much before.

S.S. Rajamouli Breaks Down His IMAX Strategy

“Why would I want to hide it?”

I love IMAX. It is my favorite format, and you are going to be releasing this in IMAX, and you’re filming it for IMAX. Can you talk about the decision as to why? Because James Cameron and films like Oppenheimer, all in IMAX, the full screen. Are you doing that, or are you doing select scenes in full-screen IMAX?

RAJAMOULI: Select screens. I would like to do the entire film in full IMAX, but our timelines and the way we work, we are not studio-backed. We are production company-based. So, that would be impossible for us to do the entire film in IMAX. That being said, I also love the moments where a normal scene opens into that gigantic world, you know? I really love that feel.

When we were having the conversations with the IMAX technicians and IMAX people in L.A., they were saying it can cut between the platforms and between the aspect ratios, and people will not notice it. You can hide those cuts. They were suggesting different ways to hide the cuts. I said, “Why would I want to hide it?” I want to blatantly tell the people, show the people that you are going to witness something extraordinary as they open the screen to the larger screen. It gives me elation. Why should I hide it? I would rather flaunt it rather than hide it. When we played this teaser for the audience at the event, you must have noticed when I opened Varanasi from the cinemascope to the full IMAX, there was a roar. So, I want to use it, capture it, and not hide it.

Oh yeah, when it does that, I’m like, “It’s on.” With the footage that you showed, can you talk about why you picked the scenes that you showed for the trailer over other scenes?

RAJAMOULI: It was in last October, I guess, when my artist started putting the pencil on the paper and started drawing the images. We know the story, and I told him that I wanted the audience to experience it. “I don’t want words, I want visuals. I want visuals, and people should get a sense of what this film is going to be, what scale, what scope this is going to be. So, there are no words. There are no words. I just want visuals.” And he started doing the job, and we picked some.

The picking of those visuals is mainly based on, “Am I feeling it or not?” I didn’t want words to describe it. “Am I feeling it or not? Yes, I am feeling it here. I am feeling it here. Yes, go through it, go through it, go through that scale.” We made the basic, simple black and white pencil-lined drawing of what this is going to be, and from last October until now, we started developing it, developing, and developing it. Studios worked on it day and night, day and night, until the last moment, where we are releasing. Some of the artists were working 24 hours, like, literally 24 hours, no sleep. They are working until they deliver this.

S.S. Rajamouli Aims for Another Epic Runtime

“It is always whatever is best for the story.”

I’m waiting for this thing to pop up behind us. What can you say about the antagonist of the film and this wheelchair with the Dr. Octopus-type arms?

RAJAMOULI: Definitely not sci-fi. It’s not sci-fi. It feels like it’s a sci-fi film. It’s not. It’s a more fantasy, mythological-based film. And the antagonist, Kumbha, I’m always known for presenting my antagonist better than my protagonist. I love working with antagonists. I just love his character, his intensity, and Prithviraj [Sukumaran], the way he brought that out with his performance, is really incredible. He just had his face, nothing else. No arms, no legs, no body movement. Nothing. His menace, he had to bring to his face, and he did it with great aplomb.

I’m curious about the runtime of the movie. I love long movies, especially when they’re deserving of a long runtime. RRR is a little over three hours, but you’ve made previous films that are 3.5 hours. Are you already thinking that this could be three hours, 3.5 hours?

RAJAMOULI: Usually, I aim my films based on the script that we have. Usually, my stories feel like they will be a two-hour and 40-minute to a three-hour kind of thing. That is how most of my recent movies have been like that. I think Varanasi will be, also, on those lines. I am at this point. I’m assuming it will be a little bit less than three hours.

In America, not a lot of people are as crazy about a three-hour movie. They like a two-hour movie. Personally, again, if the movie warrants it, it could be any length, but do you get the pressure to make it shorter, or do you get the creative freedom to do whatever’s best for the story?

RAJAMOULI: It is always whatever is best for the story. I seriously believe that if the content is not interesting, whether it is, three hours, two hours, 1.5 hours, or even three minutes, people wouldn’t care for it. They just get bored, and they just switch it off, or they walk out of the theater. They’re not interested. If you’re able to pull the audience into the world, into the emotions of the characters, and resonate with the emotions of the characters, I think runtime doesn’t matter.

‘Varanasi’s Songs “Won’t Be Anything Like” ‘RRR’

“We should concentrate on how to make that high higher or bigger.”

Image via Variance Films

One of the things about RRR in America was the music and the songs. It exploded around the world. Can you talk a little bit about the music and the songs of your new film?

RAJAMOULI: Each film is different, Steve. It’s a big trap that many filmmakers tend to fall into, trying to see what are the elements in the previous film or the successful film, and because the audiences will be expecting it, how do we recreate that? Each film is different. Each film has different, unique points, with different emotions, different highs. I feel we should concentrate on how to make that high higher or bigger, rather than trying to recreate from the previous success. Of course, we feel great about RRR and how we performed worldwide.

I look at Varanasi as, “How can I get those kind of high moments,” but I do not try to recreate that music into Varanasi. We will have music, which will be great. Will have songs which are great, but they won’t be anything like RRR.

Which shot or sequence of this film thus far has been the most challenging to pull off, or is it still in front of you?

RAJAMOULI: The sequence that I am shooting now, in the middle of the shoot, I think that is one of the more technically challenging moments. We had to combine many known technologies to achieve what we needed to achieve. And the sequence I know, which will be really difficult, really tough to pull off, is a sequence that we have already shot. It’s the Ramayana episode. So, we completed the shoot, and we know the VFX for that is going to be a really, really tough job for all of us.

Right now, it’s November 2025. When do you actually finish filming? What’s still in front of you?

RAJAMOULI: We have completed about 50% of the shoot, and the 50% is behind us. We are thinking we can finish our shoot by next June. Something like that.

One of the things that I learned from Priyanka was that you will shoot the rehearsals and everyone is in street clothing, whatever they’re wearing, and then you’ll edit that and show it to them with their just normal clothes, and then that’s what you will actually shoot. Can you talk about your process? Because that’s unusual.

RAJAMOULI: Because I work with actors from different industries, and I am working with technologies which are not regularly used in filmmaking, it is very important for the cast and crew to understand, even for me to understand, the process of how we are going through filming it. So, I figured out the best way to do it is do a test shoot. So get the actors, give them the lines, get my DP, get the people who are involved in it, the production designer, whoever is involved in it, with the cameras, and let the actors do their acting. It’s a little bit like an extension of the actors reading the scripts. They invest. They do the reading. So I am taking it a little bit forward. I am doing the test shooting as they are reading the lines, making them act, and asking, “How do you like to do it? Would you like to walk as you are saying that? Would you like to sit? Would you lean onto something? Would you want something in your hand to explore?”

So, that gives us a lot of freedom. And I see them as they are going through their lines and motions. I will be able to see, my DP will be able to see in which pose or which movement, or which still moment, they are more comfortable with delivering their emotions. So, we will be having multiple cameras, and we will be capturing all of that, and we will do the edit on that and see how it is flowing through, and that will be our basis for shooting the actual shoot.

Varanasi is slated for global release on April 7, 2027.

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Release Date

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April 7, 2027

Director

S. S. Rajamouli

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Writers

Vijayendra Prasad, S.S. Rajamouli

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General Hospital comings and goings reveal Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) is going to be exiting Port Charles soon within the next few weeks as Steve Burton has just taped his last episode before he goes on a lengthy hiatus from GH.

The big question is how and why Jason is written out at the ABC soap opera. Let’s talk about Steve Burton’s upcoming exit. And how they may write Jason out.

Jason Morgan in Danger on General Hospital

Now, let’s dive in because the sharks are circling in Port Charles and Stone Cold is at the center of dangerous drama. So, the news broke this week that Steve Burton is taking a break from General Hospital. He said he wanted to spend more time with his family. He married his new wife, Michelle Lundström, nine months ago. And Steve said he wants to spend some quality time with his family. But he does plan to return to the soap.

There is some chatter that he and his new wife Michelle are relocating from California back to Nashville. But he hasn’t personally confirmed that. That remains in the rumor column. And it’s supposedly about his ex-wife relocating back east. And wanting to be around the child he shares with her still.

Steve Burton’s GH Hiatus and Return Timeline

No matter the specifics, Steve Burton is leaving for a while. And he recently taped his last episodes. GH is dark. And they’re not filming for a couple of weeks. But before he left, before everybody went out for the dark weeks, they were filming for late March and early April when he wrapped.

So, Jason’s final episode should be in about six weeks. Also, our inside source tells us that Steve Burton is planning to be back to filming in late May or early June. And that means we would have Jason back on screen by around July, which would honestly be really good timing. Because that would be right when summer sweeps hits.

So, Burton’s going to be off-screen from roughly late March through July, about three months, give or take. And of course, that begs the question, what happens to get Jason off-screen for two to three months while Steve Burton is out on his hiatus.

Jason Morgan’s Mission to Save Anna Devane in France on General Hospital

Jason just found out from Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) that Ross Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) has some twisted tie to Anna Devane (Finola Hughes). And of course Jason’s got Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud) issues as well. So there’s a lot of things that he’s into that could send him out. First of all, I think the likeliest possibility is Jason leaves to go help Anna. Because he’s very worried about her right now.

Jason’s concern just intensified when Josslyn showed him Cesar Faison’s (Anders Hove) book that he dedicated to Anna with the Muse message written into it and the cigarillo she found in Cullum’s coat. That’s when Jason flashed back to Britt telling him how ruthless Cullum is and that he wouldn’t think twice about killing Jason.

After what Josslyn told him, Jason may realize Cullum is somehow involved in what has happened to Anna and may be somehow responsible for her breakdown. And now her incarceration at this clinic in France. So, it could be that Jason’s planning to take off to France to help Anna and then once he leaves Port Charles, he abruptly disappears.

The WSB Connection and Potential Captivity at Steinauer

We know Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna) has wanted Jason to be a WSB asset for a long time. So, he could play into it. And of course, Brennan is also suspicious about what’s going on with Anna. Somebody might grab Jason in France. And stick him in a random unmarked cell in Steinauer. Or Jason could be drugged. And stuck in the same mental hospital as Anna until they decide what to do with him.

Jason is feeling really guilty about Anna, so to me, this seems likely. Plus, Finola Hughes is still on her own hiatus. She is filming very minimally so that she can have a longer break from the soap that was negotiated with the powers that be. But both she and Steve Burton remain on contract. So Jason and Anna will both be back and their absences may be intertwined.

The Quest for Britt Westbourne’s Medication and a Hostage Twist on GH

The second thing we also know is Jason’s worried about Britt’s meds. So Jason may break into Wyndemere to look for the stash of Huntington’s medications for Britt so he can get a vial so that Brick (Stephen A. Smith) can have it reverse engineered.

We may see Pascal (Mark Forget) or Marco Rios (Adrian Anchondo) capturing Jason, getting the drop on him, drugging him, or sticking him in the same room where they were keeping Anna. That would be ironic. And that would be especially wild. Because Britt might even know that Jason’s there. But is unable to help him. Because Cullum would kill Jason if she defied him.

Britt knows her own life is at risk, not just from the Huntington’s. But from Jenz Sidwell (Carlo Rota) putting a bullet in her. So, Britt wouldn’t be in any position to help Jason even if she knew he was there. He might be stuck as a hostage to leverage Britt into finishing her research ASAP.

A Presumed Dead Plane Crash Scenario for Jason Morgan on General Hospital

Another way that General Hospital could exit Jason is to repeat a plot they did with his twin brother, Drew Cain Quartermaine (Cameron Mathison), several years back. They could have Jason flying to France on a private jet to go help Anna. And then the plane goes down and Jason’s presumed dead.

If you remember, they did that when Drew was heading to Afghanistan to return the dirty money Hank “Shiloh” Archer (Coby Ryan McLaughlin) stole. That was when Billy Miller was in the role. And it was how they exited him. So, Drew’s plane supposedly crashed. And then he was presumed dead. But Victor Cassadine (Charles Shaughnessy) had him the whole time.

And then, of course, we got the Drew recast, Cameron Mathison. Of course, Carly Corinthos Spencer (Laura Wright) would flip out if Jason goes missing and Carly might ask Jack to try and find out what happened to Jason. That is if she and Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart) haven’t destroyed Jack by then. So that could pull Carly into the story.

Could Jason Morgan End Up in a Coma on GH?

Another possibility is Sidwell puts Jason into a coma like he did Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms) and they stick Jason into some super secure private long-term care facility as a Jake Doe, which would be ironic since that was what Drew was called. Just to put him on ice for now.

And of course, this is feasible. Because that was how they covered for Kirsten Storms’ break by having Sidwell put Maxie in a coma. It would also be ironic if Jason’s put in a coma while Willow Tait (Katelyn MacMullen) has his twin brother Drew locked in awake. But basically physically comatose.

But it also could be Marco that does it to Jason, not Sidwell. Because we know that Marco wants Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) eliminated and getting his guard dog Jason out of the way would help.

Why Another Jason Morgan Death Story Would Upset GH Fans

Now, one final possibility that I honestly hope does not happen is that Jason is gunned down and GH tries to convince us that he’s really dead yet again. This is the thing that I’ve seen GH fans least wanting to see based on soap social media. Any sort of Jason death story where they try to convince the audience he’s gone is unwelcome.

He was already shot and killed once by Cesar Faison when he was disguised as Duke Lavery (Ian Buchanan) back when Steve Burton exited to go to Young and Restless. And then he came back. Because of the Covid vaccine stuff they wrote Jason out again. And he died in the tunnels in Greece.

So, I’m really hoping they don’t go that route again. Hopefully, if they do a presumed dead scenario, it’s one where the fans know that he’s alive. And the people in Port Charles may presume he’s dead.

I think that’s really the only way that a Jason death twist is acceptable if they don’t try and trick fans into thinking he’s dead. Wait to see. But I’m sure that as Steve Burton’s final episode airs, we’re going to wind up with a very shocking exit for Jason Morgan.

Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers up to The Pitt Season 2 Episode 6.

Now that HBO’s The Pitt has returned for Season 2, it’s clear things are only just beginning to ramp up for the doctors and nurses working in the emergency department of the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. While the first several hours of this Fourth of July shift were admittedly quiet, that’s no longer the case as of the season’s sixth hour of R. Scott Gemmill, John Wells, and Noah Wyle‘s medical drama, “12:00 P.M.” Another hospital is mysteriously reporting a “Code Black,” resulting in their patients being diverted elsewhere, and one of the ED’s most frequent occupants, Louie (Ernest Harden Jr.), has just coded seemingly out of nowhere.

Ahead of The Pitt‘s return, Collider had the opportunity to speak with the show’s creators and cast alike about some of Season 2’s most pivotal moments over the first six episodes, including Wyle. Over the course of the interview, which you can watch above or read below, the show’s lead and EP delves into what Dr. Robby is emotionally navigating ahead of his planned three-month sabbatical, whether the tension between Robby and Dr. Langdon (Patrick Ball) is going to boil over before the end of shift, the deeper meaning behind The Pitt‘s staff memorial for Louie at the close of Episode 6, and more.

COLLIDER: We can’t start talking about Season 2 without talking about how Dr. Robby is coming into this shift, which is that he’s leaving the next day for a three-month sabbatical, as far as we know. For you, and in playing the character, do you feel like having that storyline hovering over the shift is impacting him at all? Does it feel like a kid on the last day of school, or is he just determined to get through this shift one way or another?

NOAH WYLE: I think it’s all of that. It was a wonderful device to come up with to allow the story to have something very specific that he was going through on this particular day while the day was challenging and had all sorts of obstacles that would potentially keep him from accomplishing his goal, which is to get out on the road before it gets too late.

This trip is Robby’s curated form of self-help that he has come up with for himself in lieu of going through the more traditional routes of finding a therapist and adhering to some of the prescriptive advice he’s giving his staff on the other side of their experience with this mass casualty event, and their own PTSD. So the trip becomes symbolic, both for the character’s avoidance of a healthier mode of treatment and maybe evidence that he’s not as well-adjusted as he’s coming off. And as the season progresses, that trip gets looked at with a finer and finer lens.

Noah Wyle Teases Whether Robby and Langdon’s Tension Is Going To Boil Over by the End of ‘The Pitt’ Season 2

“They’re terrific characters in that their relationship is extremely complex.”

Image via HBO

To talk about avoidance, it seems pretty clear that Robby was hoping that the timing of his sabbatical would overlap with Langdon’s return. I think he even says as much at one point. We see Langdon make the effort to broach a conversation, Robby shuts him down early on, but then, as the shift continues, they’re forced into each other’s orbit. Langdon obviously has the patient with the necrotizing fasciitis, and that pulls Robby in, whether he wants to be involved or not. That tension between them, though — what can you talk about in terms of how that’s really simmering in the background of Season 2, and is there any point at which it’s going to boil over?

WYLE: I hope so. You can’t keep these tantric lovers apart for too long. They’re terrific characters in that their relationship is extremely complex. Langdon’s addiction wasn’t just a moral failing of Langdon. It was a personal betrayal to his mentor in Robby and a breach of their friendship and the honesty that they shared. That’s one way of framing it. Another way of framing it is Robby fucked up. He was supposed to look out for his number one pupil, and under his watch, this guy developed a painkiller addiction in practiced medicine, and Robby was totally oblivious. So, who’s really at fault here?

Then you look at it through another frame, and you see Langdon’s coming back, having already walked through the therapeutic road. He’s humbled himself. He’s faced his demons, and he’s ready to come back and rebuild his life, all of which Robby hasn’t done yet. So to a certain extent, he represents kryptonite. It’s a relationship that, as the day progresses and they are thrown into each other’s company, all of those begin to kind of redefine themselves.

Related

‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Stars Tease Why “the Day Just Keeps Getting Worse” After Episode 4

Supriya Ganesh and Taylor Dearden also discuss what fans can expect from Mel’s reunion with Langdon and the possibility of a Mohan/Abbot romance.

Continuing this thread of talking about relationships with Robby, I picked up on some vibes between him and Noelle Hastings early on. I think fans will be curious to see if that develops. I did think it was interesting that Dana warns Noelle against getting involved with this man at this particular point, especially, as we’ve been talking about, he’s about to leave for three months. Is this meant to be maybe a little fun fling? Is it potentially more? What can you tease about where that is heading?

WYLE: Well, again, on one hand, it’s titillating. Robby’s been having a social life. It’s so exciting and probably speaks to him not being so bad off. Then you look at it for another frame, and you see somebody who’s unable to have a relationship that lasts more than six weeks, who only wants to mine it for the most superficial aspects, and who, when confronted with the opportunity to go deeper or more intimate, takes an escape route each and every time, and has very few personal connections to anybody.

We very rarely ever hear about anybody socializing, if ever, with Robby outside of work. We don’t know anything about him outside of work. And as the season progresses, that lone wolf, kind of do-what-he-wants thing that seems so cool and almost enviable in the beginning, we start to realize, is what’s probably throwing his life so far out of balance, is he has no offset for the work that he’s doing and for what he takes in and takes on through that work.

Noah Wyle Reveals the Meaning of ‘The Pitt’s Tribute to Louie in Season 2 Episode 6

“Robby is able to give the frame around the picture…”

Image via HBO

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To wrap up, there is a scene in Episode 6 where the staff gets together to memorialize a lost patient. It feels like this shift is often so frenetic and hectic, and everyone is being pulled in a million different directions, that it’s rare that everyone gets to be in a room together to have a moment of quiet contemplation. Robby shares a lot of really moving and poignant details in their debriefing, and I was curious about the experience of bringing everyone together in that room and having that scene, because it feels really important.

WYLE: I was sort of taken with this notion of, when you know somebody, but you only know a fragment of them, you’re getting a glimpse of them in this moment of time that you share with them, you may get an impression, but it’s part of a mosaic that builds up a life or builds up somebody’s story. All of the staff know Louie. Louie is a frequent flier who has been coming in for years. We’ve been patching him up and sending him back out and listening to this joke and listening to that anecdote, but nobody’s really taken the full measure of the man. Nobody’s had the opportunity to.

So, in Episode 6, what we try to do is, from each person’s limited perspective, they fill in a piece to a puzzle that has been on their family table for years, but nobody really understands what the picture looks like and why it looks like it does. Robby is able to give the frame around the picture and say, “This was a great guy who had a real tragedy happen. As many people do when they face this kind of tragedy, it derailed his progress and his trajectory in a way that we all tried to help, but ultimately got the better of him. And as much time as we would love to take to confer this man’s dignity and to wrap up his life, we’ve got eight more Louies out there that we can still save.” So, even though this is a funeral, it’s a funeral with a clock.

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Kandi Burruss is spilling new details about her divorce from Todd Tucker. According to new docs obtained by TMZ, Kandi claims Todd has been shacking up in her guest house since they separated. On top of that Burruss adds that he hasn’t been providing financial support for their two kids, Ace and Blaze Tucker.

RELATED: Kandi Burruss Seeks Hearing To Set Parenting Time And Child Support Amid Divorce From Todd Tucker (UPDATE)

Kandi Burruss Exposes Todd Tucker For Allegedly Squatting In Her Guest House

Kandi Burruss isn’t holding back on Todd Tucker. In new docs, she’s airing him out for not paying to stay in her guest house or help with their kids. The former ‘RHOA’ star says Tucker has been living in her Atlanta guest house ever since they split in November 2025. Burruss says the property belongs to her and was purchased before their marriage. Additionally, Kandi notes that Todd hasn’t covered a single expense for the home’s upkeep — that includes utilities, gas, lawn care, water, pest control, and alarm system fees.

That’s not all! She also accuses her estranged husband of not providing for their son Ace and daughter Blaze. Although he presents himself as an “active dad” on social media, Burruss says he hasn’t pitched in to help pay for their tuition fees, school supplies, or child support.

Where Is Todd In All Of This?

So far, Todd hasn’t responded to Kandi’s claims, but he has continued to post on Instagram. Most recently, he shared a photo of his son Ace after what appeared to be his basketball team’s championship win. Other photos showed Ace posing with the team on the court, followed by a video of him shooting the ball. Todd captioned the post, “@acetucker stay ballin!”

Kandi Doubles Down On Todd Avoiding Financial Responsibility

Although Kandi is making fresh claims about Todd’s lack of financial help, she has criticized him before for not supporting their children. In January, the reality star filed court documents requesting a hearing to settle parenting time and child support. She said their kids have “significant monthly expenses,” including a nanny, tuition, extracurricular activities, birthday parties, medical bills, and daily needs. She claims Todd hasn’t paid his fair share and has left the financial responsibility solely on her, according to Us Weekly. Despite that, Kandi says he has traveled internationally multiple times for vacations. Burruss also pointed out that Tucker works as a self-employed entrepreneur and has the means to support their children. She added that he doesn’t contribute to the mortgage or cover expenses for their martial home.

“Tucker does not exercise parenting time with the minor children on a significant basis despite the façade of his two-to-three-minute social media videos chronicling his ‘Daddy Daycare’ on his social media platforms,” Kandi noted in her filing.

RELATED: Kandi Burruss Shares Her 2026 Vibes After Todd Tucker’s Family Photo Sparks Reactions (WATCH)

We might only be just over a month into 2026, but the horror genre is already continuing its impressive streak of the past couple of years. Already, YouTuber Markiplier has surprised audiences with the impressive Iron Lung, director Sam Raimi has returned to the genre that made him an icon with the brilliantly bloody Send Help, and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple debuted to enormous critical fanfare. Sure, the likes of The Strangers: Chapter 3 and Return to Silent Hill prove that not every horror is destined to be a hit, but the quality on show in theaters in just six weeks is remarkably impressive.

Hidden among these notable names is an early contender for the most underrated horror movie of 2026: Primate. Johannes Roberts‘ latest horror project follows “a group of friends’ tropical vacation turns into a terrifying, primal tale of horror and survival,” and stars Academy Award-nominee Troy Kotsur, Johnny Sequoyah, and more in a frightening flick that has captured plenty of critical praise.

In Jeff Ewing‘s review of the movie for Collider, he said, “Primate isn’t aiming to take the crown as the next elevated horror contender. It’s not answering life’s deepest questions or following layered characters on a journey of self-discovery. Primate is aimed at a singular cinematic experience, and that’s to weave a gory tale of youngsters besieged by an unhinged chimp. That level of focus proves wildly successful, because Primate rocks.”

After Primate’s arrival on digital on February 10, the movie has instantly found its place among the upper echelons of the streaming charts. At the time of writing, the movie ranks #4 on the iTunes charts in the U.S., outperformed only by Zootopia 2, Marty Supreme, and Sydney Sweeney’s erotic adaptation, The Housemaid. Primate will receive a physical release on DVD and Blu-ray on April 21.

How Did ‘Primate’ Perform at the Box Office?

As the theatrical run of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple has proven, critical success in horror doesn’t always equal box office triumph. This is, sadly, also the fate that befell Primate. Against a reported production budget of $24 million, Roberts’ gory flick returned only $39.7 million in global revenue before it finally tapped out and turned to the digital charts, where it is already making quite an impression.

Primate is one of the most-streamed movies on the U.S. iTunes charts. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for the latest streaming stories.

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Release Date

January 1, 2026

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Runtime

89 minutes

Director

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Johannes Roberts

Writers

Johannes Roberts, Ernest Riera

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Producers

Vicki Dee Rock, Walter Hamada, John Hodges

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Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for The Pitt Season 2 Episode 6.

A third of The Pitt Season 2 is already over. In that time, audiences have watched Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) struggle through his last shift before a three-month sabbatical. Not only does he have to tolerate his pushy replacement, Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), but Dr. Frank Langdon (Patrick Ball) is back from rehab and looking to have a long-overdue conversation. Over the last four hours, Robby has managed to keep Langdon away from him, only for it to fall apart in Episode 5 as the ER is hit with an influx of patients from another hospital. As last week’s episode ends, lovable patient Louie Cloverfield (Ernest Harden Jr.) has just flatlined. Will he make it through the next hour, “12:00 P.M. – 1:00 PM”?

‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Episode 6 Begins With a Tragedy

Episode 6 begins with Robby doing chest compressions on Louie. An attempt is made to shock his heart back into rhythm, but it doesn’t work. Instead, Louie’s lungs start filling up with blood that spills out of his mouth during compressions. Meanwhile, Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) continues training Emma Nolan (Laëtitia Hollard) when a phone call summons them to Louie’s room. Robby shakes his head at Dana because it’s not looking good. Louis is hemorrhaging from liver failure, and Robby tells Langdon there’s nothing else they can do. Time of death is called, and everyone is silent for a moment before going their separate ways. Nurse Perlah Alawi (Amielynn Abellera) looks particularly heartbroken.

In another bay, Victoria Javadi (Shabana Azeez) and others are talking to Jackson Davis (Zack Morris), who’s now able to speak. His sister, Jada (Erin Croom), wants to know what happened. Jackson mentions hearing someone in the college library not wanting him to pass the bar exam. Confused, his sister decides to call his law school friends to find out what happened. As we later find out, Jackson’s been dealing with hallucinations for months, long before he was tased, so he’s put on an involuntary psych hold. Meanwhile, nurse Princess Dela Cruz (Kristin Villanueva) visits the cancer patient, Roxie Hamler (Brittany Allen), who doesn’t have the strength to get off her bedpan. She talks about being married for 20 years and how difficult it is for her husband, Paul Hamler (Taylor Handley). Just then, Cassie McKay (Fiona Dourif) comes in to check on Roxie and give her something for her pain.

News of Louie’s death is starting to spread among the doctors and nurses, but there’s no time to mourn now. Dr. Al-Hashimi is talking to Dr. Mel King (Taylor Dearden) and Dr. Samira Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) about a patient when Robby pulls her aside to discuss discharging a patient to make way for more coming in. Dr. Dennis Whitaker (Gerran Howell) is crushed when he hears about Louie and goes running to his bedside, where Langdon is there and fills him in on what happened. They find a photo of Louie with a woman and child. If he had a family, he never mentioned it. There’s an emergency contact listed for him, and because Whitaker was Louie’s primary physician, Langdon offers to let him make the call, but Whitaker’s too heartbroken to do it. Sadly, when Langdon calls the number, the phone rings at Dana’s desk. The ER was his emergency contact.

Langdon Wants to Make Up With Robby in ‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Episode 6

Brandon Lee, a motorcycle acrobat, is wheeled in on a stretcher, but because he was wearing a helmet, he’s at least conscious. (Did you hear that, Dr. Robby?) Robby talks to him about his bike as the others work on him. The patient can move all his limbs, so what’s wrong? His knee is ripped apart, with the joint visible. As they’re leaving, Robby hears that Langdon’s patient with necrotizing fasciitis, Debbie Cohen (Mara Klein), is going to need an amputation above the knee.

Meanwhile, Whitaker pours his heart out to Dr. Trinity Santos (Isa Briones), who is so tired that she can barely stifle a yawn. Dana sends them to do something else while she and Emma clean Louie’s body. They talk about the possibility of his family existing. If he’s not claimed, his body will be cremated, with the remains stored alongside other unclaimed patients. Later, Robby asks Whitaker if he’s okay. Whitaker admits he had a relative who was an alcoholic, but at least Louie seemed happy. Robby’s here if he wants to talk, and walks off after they share a fist-bump.

Al-Hashimi and Mohan, along with Mel, check in on prison inmate Gus Varney (John Lee Ames). It’ll be a liquid diet for him for the next few weeks while his jaw heals, but they’re concerned that the levels of protein in his blood are too low. Meanwhile, in the break room, Langdon tells Dana that no one reached out to him when he was in rehab, but asks if the patient who punched her last season was arrested. He was, but Dana didn’t want to go through with pressing charges. Since Langdon is going through the 12 steps, he tries to apologize to Dana, but she tells him they’re good. He wants to talk to Robby, but today isn’t the best day for that.

Related

Dr. Robby Is in Even More Danger Than ‘The Pitt’ Fans May Have Realized

Why can’t Robby take his own advice?

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Al-Hashimi tells Robby that Gus needs to be admitted to one of the hospital’s rooms upstairs. He’s not sure what the hospital can do for him that can’t be done at the prison, but Al-Hashimi is concerned that he’s not eating enough. Robby doesn’t think they have the beds to spare, but says he’ll call the prison to see what food they’re serving. Still, Al-Hashimi says they can treat him better here. Robby puts his foot down on admitting Gus because they can’t take everyone. Meanwhile, Paul Hamler asks his wife, Roxie, if she’s ready to go home. She doesn’t look so sure, but he says he’ll be by her side the whole time. Roxie’s worried he needs a break, but he won’t hear it. She tells Paul to go ahead and get the house ready, and she’ll be right behind him in the transport ambulance. He reluctantly agrees, and she’s given a painkiller, but before she’s moved, Roxie insists on staying in the ER instead.

The ER’s Doctors and Nurses Honor Louie’s Memory in ‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Episode 6

Image via HBO Max

The ER’s Deaf patient, Harlow Graham (Jessica Flores), is finally seen by Princess, who can sign a little. She’s introduced to Santos and signs about having a bad headache. There might also be a stomachache, and she may have passed out, but Precious isn’t sure she’s interpreting the patient correctly. Frustrated, Santos walks away until an interpreter can come in, leaving Princess to apologize to Harlow. Robby and others get to work on treating Brandon’s open knee wound. Robby asks where Santos is and is disappointed to hear that she’s probably catching up on her charting — and he’s definitely not happy when she uses the AI app, which incorrectly reports that a patient had a history of appendectomies. Robby confronts Al-Hashimi about it, but Al-Hashimi blames Santos for not proofreading her charts first.

Dana and Emma get Louie’s body ready in a separate room in case anyone comes in to see him. When Emma asks Dana why she keeps coming back to the ER, she has no answer. The truth emerges moments later, when Dana checks on Gus, who’s about to be discharged and taken back to prison, and learns they have some things in common. Suddenly, his pulse oxygen levels drop; now, he’ll need to stay. Dana looks relieved, and when Robby asks her what she did, she feigns ignorance. Episode 6 ends with a dozen doctors and nurses in the visiting room with Louie’s body while sharing stories about him. Langdon pulls out the photo Louis had in his belongings, and Robby reveals the truth: it was his wife, Rhonda. He didn’t want kids, yet Rhonda wore him down, but then, a week before the baby was due, Rhonda and their unborn child were killed in a car crash.

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Release Date

January 9, 2025

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Max

Showrunner

R. Scott Gemmill

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Directors

Amanda Marsalis

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Writers

Joe Sachs, Cynthia Adarkwa

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  Noah Wyle

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  Dr. Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch

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  Tracy Ifeachor

  Dr. Heather Collins

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Pros & Cons

• Louie’s death is treated with compassion, with his character given a final posthumous twist.
• Whitaker has quickly become the most lovable member of the cast.
• Dana is finally given something worthwhile to do in the best of ways.
• Santos being on the verge of a breakdown shows the high stress of a such a complex job.

• The storyline around Debbie’s necrotizing fasciitis essentially disappears.

Allison Holker
I’m Off The Market!!!

Published
February 12, 2026
5:26 PM PST

Several stars took the next step in their relationships in 2026 by getting engaged to their significant others.

Sports Illustrated model  Clarissa Bowers kicked off the New Year by announcing her engagement to Jackson Morgan by showing off her sparkling square-cut diamond engagement ring via social media on January 4.

Days later, Fire Country star Jules Latimer revealed her engagement to partner Kat Cunning after three different proposals.

The next month, Halle Berry confirmed her engagement to longtime partner Van Hunt, as did Hunger Games alum Jena Malone and boyfriend Jack Buckley.

Allison Holker joined the list on February 12 when she shared the news of her plans to wed Adam Edmunds after he popped the question.

Scroll down to see the stars who got engaged in 2026: