‘The Pitt’s Taylor Dearden and Patrick Ball Break Down Mel and Langdon’s Sweet Reunion: “It’s Nice To Be Back in That Space”

Last night’s The Pitt Season 2 premiere on HBO Max reunited two Season 1 favorites in the most adorable way possible. When Dr. Frank Langdon (Patrick Ball) returns to the Pitt for his first shift after months away going through rehab and counseling, no one is happier to see him than his Season 1 mentee, Dr. Mel King (Taylor Dearden).

As soon as Mel sees that Langdon has returned, she exuberantly goes in for a hug, before pulling back, realizing that they are in a work place. It’s a cute moment that fans might have already seen prominently placed in HBO Max’s trailers for The Pitt, but it plays even better within the context of the scene.

“It was great,” The Pitt star Taylor Dearden told DECIDER about Mel and Langdon’s reunion. “I think Mel feels very insecure about her lack of friends and I think to have someone she knows is on her side, it’s always refreshing for her to kind of feel like at least someone gets her.”

“Yeah, I think it’s great. I think it’s a very interesting relationship,” Patrick Ball told DECIDER. “And I think it really is this sort of unlikely bond that shows up between the two of them.”

For Langdon, the situation is more complicated. He’s returning after an extended absence triggered by the Season 1 reveal that he was not only addicted to benzos, but also pilfering drugs from patients like Louis Cloverfield (Ernest Harden Jr.).

“I think it’s probably difficult to come back in and have someone like Mel — who I have previously felt like a big brother to and previously felt like a mentor to or a role model to — and realize that I’ve really let her down,” Ball said. “I think the shame spiral sort of makes it difficult to be as present for that relationship as maybe he should or could be.”

“But, yeah, I think coming back in and seeing all of my old friends again is a complicated experience,” he added.

Fans of Mel and Langdon’s friendship have more to look forward to in next week’s episode, when the two finally do get a chance to catch up and connect.

“I imagine the ten months without him was, you know, she did fine and she befriended everyone to a degree,” Dearden said, “but just this shared trauma, too, of going through mass casualty together and having him be one of her only advocates, I think, it’s nice to be back in that in that space.”

The Pitt Season 2 Episode 2 premieres on Thursday, January 15 at 9 PM ET on HBO Max.