Summary
Brilliant Minds returns for Season 2 in fine form, but “The Phantom Hook” has perhaps a few too many dangling subplots to keep track of.
A lot has changed in the world of Brilliant Minds. This was inevitably going to happen after the dramatic events that capped off the first season, with every character experiencing their own personal turning point, whether that be the beginning (or end) of a relationship, a close brush with death, or, in the case of Dr. Oliver Wolf himself, the pretty significant development of his presumed-dead father not only being alive but suffering from a mysterious neurological condition that only his estranged son can treat. Episode 1 of Season 2, “The Phantom Hook”, is a bit of a showcase for how significantly things have changed for so much of the cast, perhaps to a dizzying, detrimental degree.
The premiere is bookended, for instance, by flash-forward scenes, with Wolf in a mental health facility called Hudson Oaks as a patient, not a doctor. The opening scenes feint in the direction of another of Wolf’s madcap schemes, which would have been a nice way of mirroring the first season premiere, but no such luck. Whatever happens to Wolf in the six months that separate these scenes and the rest of “The Phantom Hook”, it evidently isn’t good.
I wouldn’t imagine we’ll find out much more about this anytime soon. The whole thing stinks of a season-long arc to me, especially since the show hasn’t abandoned its case-of-the-week format, which occupies the bulk of the focus in the meantime while the personal subplots tick away in the margins. On the docket here is an MMA fighter named Tommy, who is rushed to Bronx General after repeatedly punching himself in the face during a sparring match. Tommy’s right arm is eventually revealed to have a mind of its own, and if you were wondering whether this might be connected to Tommy’s overbearing father/coach and their long-time “family doctor”, then wonder no longer.
Predictability – and indeed plausibility; Wolf and the entire gang attend Tommy’s retirement fight after he’s diagnosed with a form of Parkinson’s – aside, I enjoyed this subplot. Tommy’s father is a bit of a cliché, but Tommy isn’t. His conversations with Carol, who is now working as a private psychiatrist for wealthy clientele on the Upper East Side while determining what to do with her future after the scandal involving her husband’s mistress, are really illuminating, and there’s a big payoff in Tommy socking his own pops in the mouth for risking his son’s health to keep living vicariously through him. It’s all good stuff.
It’s also probably the least interesting stuff to talk about in Brilliant Minds Season 2, Episode 1, since it’s over as quickly as it’s introduced, and there’s much more going on elsewhere that is presumably going to develop gradually over the season. For instance, Wolf’s father is now living with him, while Wolf makes an effort to treat him in his spare time, but Wolf is more or less living at the hospital since his relationship with his dad is the source of tons of internal trauma and confusion. As a result, they never really see each other. It isn’t until the very end of the premiere that Wolf returns home to “get to know” his dad, on Carol’s advice, and discovers he has gone, leaving only a letter behind. We aren’t made privy to its contents, but I think we can probably imagine.
It’s just Wolf’s luck. His father comes back into his life, he keeps him at arm’s length out of fear, and then just when he’s ready to confront the problem, his dad’s gone again, arguably thanks to his own actions. And this has also pumped the brakes on his relationship with Nichols, who still, to be fair, seems quite keen, but also can’t wait forever for something that might not even happen. His words, not mine.
Further complicating the hospital dynamic are two new characters – Dr. Anthony Thorne, who runs the emergency department in almost the exact opposite way from how Wolf runs neurology, and Dr. Charlie Porter, a second-year resident from Cornell who was selected by Muriel to join Wolf’s team (and, it’s assumed, keep an eye on him). Porter is especially interesting since he’s flagrantly sinister. Initially, he just seems like a know-it-all who’s callous about the patients, two things that Wolf isn’t inclined to like, but it gradually becomes apparent that he’s actively hostile to both the interns and Wolf himself. His demeanour changes wildly at a moment’s notice, so he’s evidently a skilled manipulator, and there’s a very clear suggestion in this episode that he might be instrumental in getting Wolf admitted to Hudson Oaks. That might be a reach this early on, but it’s also pretty unusual for Brilliant Minds to have someone who so clearly resembles an outright villain.
And, finally, there’s Ericka and Dana. The former is back from a leave of absence to help get her head straight after her building collapsed on her head in Season 1, but while she’s working again, she still isn’t entirely over it. She’s taking Lorazepam in secret and has what seems like a go bag hidden in her still-packed luggage, as if she’s ready to flee at a moment’s notice. But things are going well for Dana, at least, since she’s in a flourishing relationship with Katie. Given the success of romances in this show, though, I’m not sure whether that means we should be worried or not.
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