RECAP: ‘Brilliant Minds’ Season 2 Episode 1 — “The Phantom Hook”

The fate of Brilliant Minds Season 2 took a good five months to solidify. The lives of Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto), Dr. Carol Pierce (Tamberla Perry), and the rest of the staff at Bronx General were left on such fantastic cliffhangers that the possibility of the show not returning seemed likely. But return it did, and thank god, too, because Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1, titled “The Phantom Hook,” is a solid start to this sophomore season, full of new characters, new dynamics, and fractured relationships.

A new mystery presents itself in the opening moments. Much like the Brilliant Minds Season 1 premiere, Wolf escapes a hospital under the somewhat watchful eye of the night nurses. But he’s not wheeling out his own patient this time. Instead, he’s the patient, cornered in a stairwell and begging to be released as the doctors and nurses sedate him. Why he’s a patient, we’ll have to wait to find out as a “Six Months Earlier” title card pops up, taking us to a boxing ring and Season 2’s first case.

The walls of Bronx General are a little different when we first enter it in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1. Instead of bringing us back to the neurology department, we’re thrust into the chaos of the ER, where new character Dr. Anthony Thorne (John Clarence Stewart) tends to patients. Dr. Jacob Nash (Spence Moore II) is reporting to Dr. Thorn now for his ER rotation, but his experience with Dr. Wolf in neuro means he has a keen eye for when to page them. Having Jacob now a part of the ER opens up the world of the hospital more. And while Dr. Thorne is new to us, he’s not new to Bronx General, giving him a lived-in history with Dr. Wolf and Dr. Pierce.

Carol is still on administrative leave when we see her in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1.

More time in the ER department also gives paramedic Katie (Mishel Prada), whom we first met in Brilliant Minds Season 1, a foot in the door. She drops off our main patient, Tommy (Duke Davis Roberts), after he punches himself multiple times while in the boxing ring. Then she makes out with Dr. Dana Dang (Aury Krebs) in a hall closet, though they get interrupted by Dana being summoned to help with Tommy.

Our first glimpse of the team back together in Brilliant Minds Season 2, Episode 1, occurs when Wolf examines Tommy in the ER. Tommy’s accompanied by his father (who’s also his coach), his family doctor, and his wife. No one’s quite sure what to make of Tommy’s situation, except that calling neuro was the right way to go when Tommy punches Wolf in the face. When the team gets stuck, Wolf decides to send Tommy to Dr. Pierce.

Carol’s still on administrative leave, renting out an office space to see clients who are less than interesting. But at this point, she’s standing firm on the fact that she did nothing wrong with Allison. Allison sought her out, and when she discovered the connection with her husband, kept treating Allison out of fear that Allison would hurt herself. But it’s also clear how bored she is, which is why she agrees to see Tommy.

The case Wolf and his team work on in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1 echoes Wolf’s relationship with his father.

Wolf and Carol eventually realize that Tommy’s outbursts are uncontrollable, a point that seemed pretty obvious from the beginning of Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1. But a psych consult ruled out anger issues, a necessary distinction in this case. Tommy’s suffering from alien hand syndrome, but that’s only a symptom of a larger issue.

And after further testing, Wolf discovers that Tommy’s been taking a medication known to Parkinson’s patients, though he didn’t know it. This twist complicates Tommy’s relationship with his father, who, along with their family doctor, covered up Tommy’s illness without his knowledge.

Tommy’s case echoes similar issues in Wolf’s relationship with his own father, Noah (Mandy Patinkin), in that there’s a complicated history. It’s definitely not a 1:1 parallel, and it would have been nice to actually see Patinkin in this episode to really sell the similarities. However, Brilliant Minds often does a good job of making the patient’s stories tie in thematically with the personal lives of the doctors.

Mandy Patinkin’s absence in the episode slows down the momentum after his reveal last season.

Despite knowing where Wolf ends up in six months, he’s doing alright in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1, for the most part. After the one-two punch of discovering that not only is his father alive but also dying, and seeking out his help, Wolf decided to let Noah live with him. However, Wolf is sleeping at the hospital, unable to actually be around his father, though he’s still working on his father’s case, seeking advice from his mother on it, as well.

Patinkin’s notable absence is an odd choice, given his character’s significant presence in the actor’s name and the character’s overall importance. His appearance at the end of Brilliant Minds Season 1 elevated an already fantastic show.

 Not having him in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1, when the biggest emotional turmoil descends on our main character, really slows down the momentum from that huge reveal. Noah was gone from the present day during the entirety of the first season — and now he’s gone again. But despite there being no actual sign of Noah, he still has a large effect on Wolf’s life.

Wolf and Nichols’ relationship has been paused in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1.

Not only is he using his office as temporary living quarters, but Wolf’s investment in solving his father’s case has put a pause in his relationship with Dr. Josh Nichols (Teddy Sears). The two are back to throwing out snarky comments when they pass each other in the hall. That “you should see the other guy” exchange is the first indicator that they’re clearly no longer together.

However, as Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1 goes on, it’s clear there’s still love there. Nichols stops by to chat with Wolf, expressing his understanding that Wolf needs some time to “get his house in order.” The bombshell revelation that his father is alive after 30 years sent Wolf into a spiral of betrayal and a loss of his sense of self. His last comment to Nichols in the Season 1 finale was that he’s not even sure Nichols really knows him because he’s not even sure he knows himself.

But despite Nichols’ understanding and care to give Wolf the space he needs, he makes a great point. Wolf’s house may never be in order. The situation with his dad is a big deal with a lot of trauma attached to it. It might not be something that can simply be fixed by “getting his house in order,” whatever that means. And Nichols can’t exactly wait around for something that might never happen. Folks, we might be in a slow-burning era with Wolf and Nichols. Brace yourselves.

Dr. Kinney returns from her vacation a little distant and hides a bottle of pills in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1.

That’s not the only fractured relationship in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1. Dr. Ericka Kinney (Ashleigh LaThrop) returns from her vacation in Mexico and seems a lot more distant, though no one has quite noticed yet. She’s putting up a good front, but the trauma from the collapsed building is still clear in her body language. She also seems to have a prescription for Lorazepam, or at least, she has a bottle of it. Her name isn’t exactly on the pill bottle, but she’s still hiding her anxiety and use of pills from everyone around her, including Dana, who is perhaps the one who would understand the most.

Kinney and Jacob have a cute moment together in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1 when he calls her down to the ER for a consult, but she also tells him that she’s not in a place for romance at the moment. Jacob backs off graciously, no harm, no foul. But Kinney and Jacob as a couple does seem to be where the show is headed. Cheers to another slow burn!

With Jacob in the ER, there’s technically a spot open on Wolf’s team. Dr. Charlie Porter (Brian Altemus) is a second-year resident and immediately makes a bad impression. He’s cocky, slimy, and disrespectful in the way he talks about patients and to his coworkers, particularly Kinney. Wolf doesn’t like him because he believes he’s a plant by his mother to spy on him, though his mom and Charlie both deny that.

The new member of the team doesn’t mesh well with his coworkers in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1.

Charlie does help solve Tommy’s case, but that doesn’t make him part of the team. Evidenced even in the fact that he’s not present at Tommy’s final boxing match, which Wolf, Carol, and the rest of the team attend in support of Tommy’s desire to win one more match before calling it quits. It’s clear Charlie doesn’t understand Wolf’s philosophy of how he treats patients.

During the closing monologue by Wolf, Charlie goes to Wolf to apologize for his behavior and tells him he wanted to be a part of Wolf’s team to learn from him. They agree to start over. But as Charlie turns to leave, an evil little smile appears as Wolf’s narration says, “What if a threat comes out of nowhere?” Perhaps a little obvious, but an interesting development. Hey, whatever gets him off Wolf’s team!

The end of Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1 takes us back six months later. As Wolf is being sedated in the stairwell, a woman appears, clearly directing the doctors and nurses to ensure Wolf is secure. Is that the First Lady? Bellamy Young of Scandal fame seems to have it out for Oliver, which begs the question … does Oliver really belong in the psychiatric hospital?

There are many changes and a surprise in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1.

There were a lot of changes to sort through in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1. Although many changes make for a somewhat jarring beginning, the core of what makes Brilliant Minds so great is definitely still there. The camaraderie of the neuro team, despite Jacob’s move to the ER and the introduction of Charlie, remains in place. Carol and Wolf’s friendship is as strong as it’s ever been.

Their ability to see through each other’s BS yet still be there for one another is one of my favorite parts of the show. And Wolf and Nichols’ dynamic is still such a fun push and pull, despite their fractured relationship. Nichols defending Wolf’s honor against Tommy’s father was a great moment in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1, too.

Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1 is off to an exciting start with this premiere, setting up an expanded world of the hospital with Dr. Thorne in the ER, and an intriguing six-month timeline for things to fall apart. The biggest issue is Patinkin’s absence, who doesn’t appear to be in Episode 2 either, as Noah disappears once again. But with plenty of new dynamics in Season 2, there’s enough mystery here to keep us occupied for now.

New episodes of Brilliant Minds air on Monday nights on NBC and are available to stream the next day on Peacock.

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