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I don't know what temperature this take is, by the way, but I think I kind of read in their most recent interaction that Langdon and Santos both kind of regret how badly they started off, even though they're both shit at expressing it out loud with the sort of people they are. And it checks out, because Langdon tries to be a good teacher and Santos clearly felt really, really shitty about ruining his career after she outed him to Robby, even if she didn't express it in so many words.

I don't think they'll ever like each other, but there's a level of depth to their interactions that makes me really want them to end off this season on at least kinda understanding where they were coming from. Plus, like, the medical profession is not ready for them as a functioning team.

...oh my god, Santos and Whitaker are seniority-reversed Langdon and Robby...

She's the sarcastic, arrogant prick with a heart of gold and he's the sopping wet cat with impossibly sad eyes...

It's like poetry it rhymes...

In my head, handsome, roguish, coffee-loving Dr. Shen has a husband. It's just a vibe.

Personal shoutout to Isa Briones, by the way, for being probably the most subtle and understated actor on the cast. For one, because that's saying a lot, given the layers to the performances of literally everyone else and the fact that she's onscreen with goddamn Noah Wyle. For two, because I love needlessly deep character dives, and by god if that woman doesn't give me three square meals a day, because she gives almost nothing away about Santos through overt expression or dialogue, other than the one scene with the accused abuser. Me over here piecing together a character portrait with one-inch puzzle pieces carefully left by a fucking master actor.

Now mind you it makes parts of the fandom fucking insufferable, but hey, I survived being a Vriska fan in my Homestuck days. I've dealt with a thousand times worse.

On rewatch, it kind of reads to me like...okay, so Santos is probably the most guarded motherfucker in the entire ED, for very understandable reasons when you factor in what was probably a shitty life before her current career. She owns up to using sarcasm as a shield, she's goddamn near impossible to talk to on a sincere emotional level, and she herself is awful (by which I mean first, second, third, and fourth-hand embarrassment-inducingly awkward) at being vulnerable and earnest with others.

And yet, she is almost completely unguarded and without her defenses up when she asks Whitaker if he's okay after he comes back from the conversation with Robby. Which, firstly, I think makes sense on a basic level, because Santos very clearly scans people as threat/not threat even if it's not acknowledged with words (Langdon, for instance, definitely landed in "is a threat" with the way he treated her from jump), and Whitaker is pretty much the most harmless person in the entire state of Pennsylvania to anyone with eyes. And, secondly, really feeds an idea I've had that Santos is "bossy older sister" distilled into human form and connects more easily with Whitaker because of it, because - as said above - he's completely harmless and is also keenly used to interacting with probably bossy older siblings.

Not a dynamic I thought I'd love so much. But goddamnit, Bright Spark and Huckleberry make great work siblings.