Twelve episodes into the second season of “The Pitt,” there’s a short scene — scratch that, a mere minute-long exchange — that has unexpectedly emerged as a point of contention.

Joy Kwon, a third-year medical student trainee with a photographic memory and a scathing eye roll, clocks out at the end of her 12-hour shift.

That’s it.

And, given the format of the critically acclaimed HBO medical drama, in which each episode represents one hour of a shift, Kwon doesn’t appear again for the last three episodes.

Before she steps away, one of her supervisors, Dr. Frank Langdon, who returns to the emergency room after a stint in rehab for drug addiction, tries to pressure her to stay. But she doubles down, reminding him that she has finished her shift and that she isn’t being paid. (Medical students are not paid during their trainings and continue to pay school tuition.)

That exchange landed in the midst of a season that spotlighted the mental health struggles of hospital staff members. Each character’s stoic, professional mask slips at some point, including that of the emergency room’s chief attending physician, Dr. Michael Robinavitch (who goes by Robby), who comes to realize that dedicating his life to this practice is slowly killing him.

“Maybe all you lunatics need to learn how to set some boundaries,” Kwon tells Langdon before walking out the door.