Critic’s Rating: 4.6 / 5.0
4.6
Brilliant Minds has improved each episode by adding more impactful cases and emotional character arcs.
Steve Howey guest-starred on Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 3 as Dr. Wolf’s friend and mechanic, Wyatt, who experienced memory loss issues. As his condition worsened, Wyatt was forced to make an impossible decision that altered his life forever.
Elsewhere, the interns monitored a preteen girl named Emily, who had a laughter-induced heart block. We also learned more personal details about many doctors, influencing how they treat patients.
An Impossible Choice: To Live and Not Remember New Memories
Who knew Dr. Wolf did house calls or was friends with his mechanic? He always goes the extra mile.
Seeing an entire biker gang bang on Dr. Wolf’s door because Wyatt (Steve Howey) was shot was entertaining.
Unfortunately, that was where the humor ended. Wyatt didn’t have riding tremors. He had memory issues that had worsened in the last few weeks.
While initially, Wyatt thought everyone was overreacting, Dr. Nichols found a brain tumor that obstructed Wyatt’s third ventricle and caused spinal fluid build-up.
Finally, Dr. Nichols showed empathy and an understanding of bedside manners. Maybe he’s nicer around patients.
Still, Wyatt had an impossible choice — have the surgery and lose the ability to make new memories or forgo the surgery and only have a few months to live.
It was difficult not to get emotional about this case as Wyatt refused to become a burden on his wife, Rosie. He wanted to go out on his terms, and Steve Howey gave such a layered performance.
Again, this case had Dr. Wolf and Dr. Pierce on opposite sides since he wanted to save patients at all costs.
Dr. Carol Pierce: Imagine waking up every morning no idea what the day before, let alone ten minutes ago. Does that sound like a life to you?
Did Dr. Wolf’s Riskiest Plan Backfire?
What would you want your final memory to be? Wyatt wanted to reconcile with his estranged daughter, Hailey, and Dr. Wolf was determined to make that happen.
However, smuggling Wyatt out of the hospital and into a bar was risky, especially when Hailey was not too pleased to see her father.
She resented him for missing every recital and event in her childhood and wanted to ensure he knew it, even if it was the last thing he remembered.
It wasn’t until he collapsed outside that she realized she wanted another chance with her father.
When Dr. Nichols arrived to pick them up, he was rightfully angry but put that aside to help Wyatt.
Even in those serious scenes, it was entertaining to see their banter and see that Dr. Wolf shared Van’s fear of needles as he performed a spinal tap in the car.
Why does Dr. Nichols have those needles in the car?
Thankfully, Wyatt pulled through, and his daughter told him she loved and forgave him, even if she needed to repeat it. He was determined to make memories with his family even if he couldn’t remember them.
Saving Emily Without Suppressing Her Joy
Preteen girls should attend Taylor Swift concerts, watch slapstick comedy, and laugh freely.
Therefore, it made sense why Emily’s parents were concerned their daughter had seizures when she became seizures.
Her last doctor prescribed drugs that didn’t work, but Dr. Wolf wanted to provoke one, observe it, and then treat it.
It seemed difficult to believe that a preteen girl would watch The Three Stooges, but it was entertaining to watch Emily and Dr. Wolf bond over it.
Naturally, she was misdiagnosed. She had a laughter-induced heart block, so they needed to find a way she could live life fully.
The interns argued about that, with Dana and Jacob insisting that beta blockers work and Van and Ericka countering that drugs numb the mind and diminish joy.
The best part of the series has been learning how these four work together and learning from Dr. Wolf. Their friendship is so fun.
What’s Wrong with Van?
Van has often overemphasized with patients, from feeling the spinal tap needle to passing out when Emily did.
While Jacob ridiculed and deemed him a delicate flower, Van admitted he often shut out the world’s unpleasantness as a coping mechanism.
However, there was more to it than that. Van had a neurological condition called mirror-touch synthesis, which meant he felt whatever the person he talked to felt.
It explained many of his earlier reactions and was the condition previewed in his character description that Dr. Wolf was excited about studying. The series even used a flashback at the beginning of the episode.
Van felt like a freak, but Dr. Wolf thought they could use it to solve other cases.
Dr. Pierce’s Marital Issues
When Dr. Wolf asked Carol what she would like her final memory to be, she responded that eating Italian food with her husband and daughter seemed like something worth fighting for.
However, her marriage with her husband, Morris, appeared strained, and she hid at work to avoid him.
The series never specified what an unforgivable mistake Morris had committed, but I suspect he had cheated with a colleague since Carol couldn’t get past it.
Hopefully, we’ll see Morris and Carol work through their counseling issues and see the fierce Dr. Pierce break down. As she said, psychologists made the worst clients.
Some Memories are Better to Forget
A significant part of this episode involved preserving memories. Since Dr. Wolf was only a child when his dad became ill and later died, he had some selective memories.
His mom wanted to preserve those cherished memories and never corrected him, allowing her to become the “bad guy” in her son’s eyes.
Muriel Landon always seemed challenging, so it was refreshing to see her sentiment as she compared her son to his father and lovingly touched the resurrection fern. It made Dr. Wolf realize she taught him how to water the plant, not his father.
While his memories about his dad were inaccurate, his mom reassured him their love was strong. That emotional scene gave me hope that Dr. Wolf and his mom can rebuild their relationship, too.
Do you think Brilliant Minds is improving, TV Fanatics? Did you enjoy seeing Steve Howey as a guest star? What was your favorite character arc?
We would love to hear your thoughts, so please share them in the comments below.
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