Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Pitt season 2, episode 2.This week’s episode of The Pitt prominently featured a new social worker for Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, and fans may be wondering what happened to Kiara Alfaro (Krystel V. McNeil). In The Pitt season 2, episode 2, Dr. Santos’ (Isa Briones) patient, Kylie, a little girl with a chin laceration, bruises, and blood in her urine, was a focus of the episode. She’s the only patient in The Pitt season 2 so far who has required getting a social worker involved.

Despite the fact that Santos suspects abuse and needed PTMC’s social worker to consult, Kiara Alfaro didn’t take the case. Kiara was a prominent member of The Pitt‘s cast in season 1, as she helped deal with abuse victims, a potential school shooter, and more. Given her big role in the first season, it came as a bit of a surprise that Kiara wasn’t in The Pitt season 2, episode 2, and fans may be wondering where she is.

Kiara Alfaro Isn’t Working During The Pitt Season 2

While Kiara Alfaro isn’t in The Pitt season 2, she hasn’t departed from the show. Some characters in The Pitt, like Dr. Collins (Tracy Ifeachor), depart from PTMC between seasons. Creator R. Scott Gemmill has noted that employee turnover is constant in The Pitt as it is in real life, as doctors, nurses, and social workers often move to new hospitals. However, Kiara hasn’t left PTMC, she’s just not working during the shift The Pitt season 2 covers.

The Pitt season 2 takes place on the Fourth of July, a holiday. During The Pitt season 2, episode 2, Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) offhandedly mentioned that Kiara took the weekend off, and that a different social worker at PTMC is covering her day shift. The show didn’t reveal why Kiara took the shift off, but it’s safe to assume she has a party to attend for the Fourth of July.

Importantly, Kiara’s absence from PTMC is not permanent. Based on the wording Dana chose, it seems Kiara is simply taking a single shift off, and that she’ll be back at the hospital eventually. The Pitt season 2 simply happens to take place on a day when Kiara isn’t there. It’s entirely plausible that Kiara will be back in The Pitt season 3, and she almost certainly hasn’t had her final shift at the hospital yet.

Kiara’s Replacement, Dylan Easton, Is The Social Worker Handling Dr. Santos’ Case

In Kiara’s absence, a new social worker is covering her shift: Dylan Easton (Becca Blackwell). We don’t know much about Dylan yet, as they’ve only appeared in one episode, but we can make a few inferences about who they are. When Dylan first appeared, for instance, Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) greeted them like an old friend, so we can assume they’ve been working at the hospital long enough to have a good relationship with Robby.

Dylan also seems like a capable social worker. Unlike Santos, Dylan isn’t jumping to any conclusions about Kylie’s case, and they want to interview everyone involved, including Kylie, the father, and the father’s girlfriend. Unfortunately for Santos, Dylan also wants to wait for Kylie’s father to get to PTMC before they make a judgment about her home life. Based on those observations, Dylan seems meticulous, careful, and dedicated to doing their job right.

Kiara’s absence and Dylan serving as her replacement also highlights something about The Pitt. We already knew that the doctors of The Pitt could leave at any time, but literally any employee of the hospital could be absent from one season only to return the next. The nature of the show following a real-time format and covering a single shift means that, like Kiara, any of The Pitt‘s characters may simply have the day off and miss out on a whole season.

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  The Pitt
  

  
  

  8/10

  Release Date

  January 9, 2025
  

  Network

  Max

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    Noah Wyle

    Dr. Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch

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    Tracy Ifeachor

    Dr. Heather Collins