Fiona Dourif at the arrest of McKay, Brad Dourif

If it is a competition for which the most deserves to finally go home after the longest quarter of hospital in the world in Max’s “The Pitt”, little have a better case to do than Dr. Cassie McKay.

Played by Fiona Dourif, McKay is a qualified and empathetic doctor whose personal drama has exceeded that of his patients, culminating in the 14th episode of this week, alias “8:00 pm”, when she is arrested. But let’s go back.

Already this season, McKay has resisted a few crises, including the whispers on his ankle monitor mandated by the court and the arrival of his ex-Mari Deadbeat Chad (Ron Heaps), who broke some bones playing the role of Skate dad for their son, Harrison (Henry Samiri). Add the chaos of the mass victim event, and McKay decides to call reinforcements to save Harrison.

In the episode of this week, the cavalry arrives with the introduction of McKay’s father, played by the real father of Dourif, Brad Dourif. Of course, this is not the first time that the two have shared the screen. Since 2013, she has played an essential role in the recent television series and the episodes of films in the horror frankness “Chucky”, for which her father provided the voice and the human character since the beginnings of the Killer doll in 1988. While Dourif was delighted to have her father on the tower of her own project this time, she cannot tackle the intelligent casting.

“My suspicion is that it was Noah Wyle’s idea,” said Dourif Variety. “He already told me about my father’s career in detail, so I know there must have been a device to bring Harrison back home, and he was probably thrown into the writers’ room as a very cool idea.”

Immediately, it is clear where McKay obtains his way of empathetic bedside – and his edge. First of all, he consoles his daughter, kisses his grandson, then took a hit on his former son-in-law. “Chadwick Harrison Ashcraft III,” he said with Dédain. “A shower name for a shower guybag.” He calls them as if he sees them.

Simultaneously, McKay’s decision to challenge Robby (Noah Wyle) earlier in this endless change also returns to haunt this hour. She previously expressed her concern after a teenager named David (Jackson Kelly, who also recently played in the television series “Chucky”) presented signs of anger and perhaps violence against girls in his high school when he was in the emergency room with his mother, Teresa (Joanna Gold). Robby suggested not to get involved, but McKay still called the police when David fled. Since the mass shooting in Pittfest, McKay wondered if David was the shooter, something exacerbated by his bloody return to the hospital in the episode of last week.

This episode confirms that the shooter was someone else, who has since been killed, leaving Robby, Teresa and McKay to face a hostile and injured David. This is not going well, and it is all the more difficult by the Robby directive in McKay that “you made this fucking waste, you will have to repair it”.

If his day was not bad enough, the cops constantly called McKay, who disabled his defective ankle instructor with an IO exercise during the chaos of the trauma of Pittfest. After ignoring their calls once again, they show up to stop it in front of the whole emergency room.

Speak with VarietyDourif addressed the humiliation of the culminating arrest for her character and herself, if McKay has the impression that she made a mistake with David and why his father on the set made sure that the character feels more like her.

McKay has gone through a lot of things in a few hours. How do you think it is on time 14?

I think she spends a very, very long day. There is a humiliation in play with the ankle monitor, then the confrontation with Chad which takes place in my workplace is sort of its nightmare. That she could put herself in position and lose it to the point that I would wear this thing, then for this Manchild to show in front of everyone, I think, it’s quite humiliating for her.

She also has her son to worry in the other room. But fortunately, his father comes to pick him up, and he played by your father, Brad Dourif. How did it all come together?

My suspicion is that it was the idea of ​​Noah Wyle. He already told me about my father’s career in detail, so I know there must have been a device to bring Harrison back home and was probably thrown into the bedroom of writers as a very cool idea. I was approached by (executive producer and episode writer) Simran Baidwan, and she very respectfully wanted to obtain my permission before making an offer to my father – and I was delighted. We were both delighted. It was a gift, really, and a very tender moment to shoot.

You have obviously worked with your father several times in the past, especially in the movies and television series “Chucky”. You have even played a version of his character “Chucky” in the television series. But what was it to act in front of the other in this medical environment, which is also new for you?

Everything about McKay feels very close to my home. It all looks like a new thing. I especially worked in science fiction and horror and gender stuff, which is my first love and I would always like this thing. But they are wild and wild characters. This person is so close to Fiona that she gives me confidence, but also it is a bit frightening because you love me or you don’t do it. There is nowhere where to really hide. And then to bring my real father to my father’s context, we just played the scene that had the impression that it was just Brad to speak to Fiona. All and really all this show was surreal. I did not expect it to happen. I feel very lucky.

What is more difficult: jartir all this medical jargon or try to master your father’s “chucky” character?

It was probably easier to master my father’s voice. Well, and the secret is that it is mainly done by makeup! There is in fact quite little lifting.

This episode marks the culmination of some of the McKay day stressors. We see the confrontation between his father and Chad, and the exit of Harrison from the emergency room. Then we see her having to face the situation with David, who turns out to be the Pittfest shooter. Knowing this now, do you think McKay regrets calling the police?

I think in the end, McKay does not know if she made the right call. All she knows is that she did her best in the circumstances, and I think she gives herself a little credit for having done the courageous thing. It was probably more difficult to go against Robby when the path of the slightest resistance was for him to make the call. But I think in the end, she saves the face for herself. McKay is a character who has made a lot of bad decisions, especially at the end of these adolescents and at the beginning of the twenties where you feel invincible. You can see people who have made a bad decision and who can never really recover. So she considers David as someone who is part of her tribe and tries to help him, finally.

In the second attempt to speak to David with his mother, McKay is obviously shaken by the meeting. Why do you think it really struck her right now? Because she is a mother whose son has literally been on foot for a few hours?

Yes, and it is because she knows how easy it is to make the wrong decision. I think it’s a bit like your heart was walking outside your chest. She is also a single mother, just like Teresa. There are just a lot of parallels with his own life. Looking at these artists during the day, this scene was really quite difficult. When he shouts for his mother, you could really feel him on the set. This has often happened on “The Pitt”, in fact. The whole would acclimatize to what is happening. It was heavy stuff.

We saw Robby be firm but ultimately a director for the staff. However, at the moment, he tells McKay to repair his own mess. What do you think she feels of this very frank directive on her part?

I think she appreciates it. I think of McKay as someone who was not destroyed, and appreciates the franchise and turns to Robby. He is the backbone and the heart of the hospital. I think there was a frustration in her that he kicked in the box by making a decision about David at the start, and I had to go behind his back and do it anyway. But he has enough integrity, which, I think, is the most impressive moment of this scenario, when he faces it and assumes responsibility. He is an impressive person. He is also an impressive guy, Noah Wyle is. Very graceful, just an incredible team leader. It’s true, and it doesn’t always happen.

She seems to seek a place to put her feelings about David and do good at the end of the episode, going up to the nurses to ask her if there are cases where she can jump.

McKay doesn’t really know how to manage his life well. I think she has a fairly poor personal life, in fact. She made very bad decisions with men. I think that her life mainly takes care of her child and her work, so it is the only way where she has the impression of knowing how to restore and work. All his life experiences somehow resulted in this moment, and they were not always good. They were a little more difficult than the other people who are his peers. But they resulted in this skill, which is the ability to connect and have empathy for people in fairly difficult situations because it was there. She was at the party where the person was killed.

You mentioned that his ankle monitor is a source of humiliation for McKay, so what does it do to him to have called him so publicly in front of everyone when she was stopped for having deactivated her?

It was a reminder for her. Even the shooting was humiliating, because it was this flow to remember that you are not good enough. It was that, then very quickly, it became rage to the situation and injustice. The inner wire is always that it was my fault. Above all, it’s just a total humiliation that it happens in front of everyone.

But we have a very brief overview before the episode cuts black where some of her colleagues like Dana (Katherine Lanasa) and Langdon (Patrick Ball) jump to her defense. Does this have to mean something for her when we take the final?

Yeah, I think yes. And it feels a lot this way when we turn. Everyone loves each other, which does not always happen either. The hours are long, and everyone works every day, so especially after the mass victim, I had the impression that we had merged in this collective organization which, I think, lends itself well to what would happen in this circumstance. He stops being about you and begins to make sure that this thing works because the issues are so high.

Did it look like the “Marmot day” that goes back to the same clothes and stories every day that you filmed this season in real time?

I started to really hate my hair in six months! I just wanted to remove this ponytail.

This interview was published and condensed.