RECAP: ‘Brilliant Minds’ Season 2 Episode 17 — “Doctor, Interrupted”

Considering the long build-up to Wolf’s (Zachary Quinto) stay at Hudson Oaks, his time there would have to last more than one episode. Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 17, titled “Doctor, Interrupted,” pads the rest of Wolf’s recovery by having him solve a fellow patient’s case.

After the last episode’s heartwarming Wolf and Josh (Teddy Sears) reunion, Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 17 opens with a lovely montage of Josh visiting Wolf at Hudson Oaks. They consult on cases together, hang out, laugh, play cards, and have fun. And all the while, Josh looks at Wolf like he’s having a revelation.

It’s a great reunion between them, and it makes me wish we could see more of them just hanging out together. But there’s still Beau to think about, who’s hard to forget when he’s hanging out in Josh’s office and talking about the apartments they’re looking at together so they can start a family.

Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 17 reveals more about Hudson Oak’s financial situation.

Josh still doesn’t say anything about the very obvious feelings he still has for Wolf. Whether or not he was going to broach the subject is moot when the two are interrupted by Muriel, who returns to Bronx General to make sure Josh sees the firing of Charlie (Brian Altemus) through. And if he can’t, she’ll take matters into her own hands.

The patient Wolf sets his eyes on in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 17 is Regan, a woman who’s been in and out of psychiatric facilities for years. The other residents call her the howler of Hudson Oaks. She believes herself to be haunted. Her kids barely remember a time when she wasn’t like this. But through gossip and general observation, Wolf believes Regan’s condition is not psychological, and implores Amelia to let Regan get a full neurological workup.

However, Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 17 reveals more about Hudson Oak’s financial situation as Amelia pushes for Wolf’s insurance to go through and uses every opportunity to get Wolf to stay longer. This thread has been planted since the beginning of Season 2, but this episode and the last episode pull the curtain back a bit on Hudson Oaks to reveal a relatively decent place that cares about its patients.

His conversations with Dr. Adler in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 17 hammer home Wolf’s growth.

This is especially evident in Wolf’s talks with Dr. Adler, who approaches Wolf’s stubborn personality with kindness, humor, and understanding, and gets Wolf to open up a great deal. As Wolf tells Amelia at the end of this episode, Hudson Oaks isn’t a bad place; the issue is her. Whether her attempts to make people stay longer started off altruistically or are even more nefarious remains to be seen.

His conversations with Dr. Adler throughout Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 17 hammer home Wolf’s growth this season. Starting the season out sleeping in his office and pushing people away, only to accept Dr. Adler’s suggestion to remember what makes him himself, is really beautiful. When Wolf tells Dr. Adler that Josh is the one who makes Wolf happy, it’s such a profoundly simple moment that works really well in the context of this season.

Josh and Beau’s breakup is anticlimactic in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 17.

What doesn’t work quite as well is Josh’s side of things. His relationship with his old ex-boyfriend, Beau, and the depth of that relationship came out of nowhere. Even though they had been together before, Josh’s sudden pivot to wanting a house and a family with Beau, and spending so many episodes convinced of that, dragged on for a while.

But even in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 17, Josh and Beau’s breakup is anticlimactic. Beau’s the one to finally pull the trigger, not Josh, who seems confused by this turn of events, even after that opening montage of him and Wolf. I’m all for Wolf and Josh getting back together, but the love triangle could have used a bit more angst and believability.

Muriel tells Charlie that he has a place at NYU as long as he never sets foot in Bronx General again. This prompts Charlie to visit Wolf at Hudson Oaks, looping back to a flash-forward we had seen previously, but, like in the last episode, there’s not as much hostility clouding Charlie this time. Instead, he tells Wolf he’s leaving, but Wolf sees right through his mother’s interference. He forgives Charlie and also reminds him that they are both just humans who are trying their best. The Charlie plot this season hasn’t been a favorite of mine, but this is a nice, heartfelt conclusion to it.

Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 17 features a moving patient case that allows for Wolf’s healing at Hudson Oaks to last a little longer and also gives Wolf and Muriel some beautiful scenes together as they talk about Wolf’s father. There wasn’t too much happening back at Bronx General, but things on the Carol and Throne front are looking good. This episode officially closes out the big build-up to Wolf’s stay at Hudson Oaks as he walks away with a new lease on life, ready to win Josh back.

Brilliant Minds Season 2 airs new episodes on Wednesday nights on NBC and is available to stream the next day on Peacock.

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