Tonight’s two-part season finale of Brilliant Minds was definitely a wild rollercoaster of emotions up until that final moment between Oliver and – SPOILER ALERT – his father, Noah Wolf.
The first episode, “The Doctor Whose World Collapsed”, brings us to the aftermath of the apartment building collapse – the same apartment building Ericka lives in. Everyone is worried about Ericka since they still haven’t heard from her. There’s no time for worrying though, Oliver tells the interns to try their best to focus on what’s to come.
Bronx Medical being the closest hospital to the collapse means a lot of incoming traumas. Within minutes, the hospital was packed. Oliver managed to get his interns to focus on what’s happening, but he can’t help but volunteer to go to the building collapse site with Josh (they only needed a neurosurgeon, but Oliver, I get it). Of course it’s under the guise of wanting to help the possibly overwhelmed first responders, but when he gets there, he immediately searches for Ericka.
“The Doctor Whose World Collapsed” – BRILLIANT MINDS – Pictured: Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf. Photo: Rafy/NBC © 2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC
Back at the hospital, Dana has to stop both Van and Jacob from trying to embark on their own mission to try and find Ericka. She tells them that there’s no doubt in her mind that she’s okay and that they need to stick to helping those currently in the hospital. However, as the day goes on, we see that Dana is starting to worry about Ericka when she doesn’t hear from her. She calls her, leaving a voicemail, pleading with her to reach out.
This episode definitely highlights how Ericka is the glue that keeps this team going. With the amount of trauma patients that are piling in the hospital, Van is feeling his mirror touch syndrome at an intense amount. Jacob goes to check on him and he explains that without Ericka being near to serve as his anchor, he can’t control it.
“The Doctor Whose World Collapsed” – BRILLIANT MINDS – Pictured: Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf, Teddy Sears as Dr. Josh Nichols. Photo: Rafy/NBC © 2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC
Ericka turned out to be okay, which was a relief to everyone when she finally arrived at the hospital. What they didn’t know was how that split decision of her going out instead of Ceilia, the other woman she was trapped in the elevator with, saved her life.
Now on to the end of this episode and it’s mind blowing revelation. When Oliver’s mom gets home, she sees that her back door has been broken into. When she goes to investigate, she sees a man she instantly recognizes: Oliver’s father.
There was this heartbreaking moment when we see the flashback of young Oliver going to visit his father and while suffering from mental confusion, he didn’t notice him there. This parallels a moment we see earlier in the episode, except it was present day and in reverse. The helpful doctor, who helped Oliver and Josh at the start of the episode was Oliver’s father – JAWS DROPPED! TEARS SHED! – this was such a ride I was not expecting to be on.
“The Doctor Whose World Collapsed” – BRILLIANT MINDS – Pictured: Mandy Patinkin as a doctor. Photo: Rafy/NBC © 2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC
There was little time to really process what had just happened, but that’s fine because the second episode of the finale, “The Man Who Can’t See Faces”, gave us some more answers – sort of.
Noah Wolf is still around. He tells Oliver’s mother, Miriam, that he’s in a good place. He’s back because he wants to connect with Oliver, and bless Miriam for wanting to keep Oliver safe because of how well he is doing, but is the decision up to her now?
Ericka is dealing with PTSD following the building collapse. Van, Jacob, and Dana help her work through her fear of elevators with exposure therapy. When that’s not working as fast as she’d expect, Dana suggests she sees a psychiatrist who can give her medication to help. She tells Dana she’s never been someone who needed drugs or “a crutch to get through [the] day”. That was a wild statement on her part. Good on Dana for calling her out on that while educating her on why medication is nothing to be ashamed of.
“The Man Who Can’t See Faces” – BRILLIANT MINDS – Pictured: Tamberla Perry as Dr. Carol Pierce. Photo: Rafy/NBC © 2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC
Noah, against Miriam’s advice, visits Oliver. This was not a great idea on his part, because he just, for lack of better words, set Oliver off. At the same moment, Miriam comes over with Carol, who she believes could help her break the news to Oliver, but they’re too late to the reunion. Betrayal is written all over Oliver’s face. He starts to take out his frustration on the people around him (even Josh which made my heart ache). It then turns into self-destruction — drinking at the bar with his interns, probably not the best thing.
Oliver and his mother have a talk about what happened that night after his father left him in the woods. The truth is finally revealed: Noah decided to stay away from him because he didn’t trust himself with Oliver. It was his idea to have Oliver think he died in the woods rather than have him know he left him.
“The Man Who Can’t See Faces” – BRILLIANT MINDS – Pictured: Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf, Spence Moore II as Dr. Jacob Nash, Alex MacNicoll as Dr. Van Markus. Photo: Rafy/NBC © 2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC
Self-destruction continues — Oliver doesn’t go to the Gala with Josh. I’m not ready for the conversation that happens after.
The episode closes with Oliver meeting with his father. He asks his father why he decided to show up after so many years and he tells him the truth, that he didn’t want Oliver to always be worried about him and that having a father with a mental illness would’ve been hard. Oliver says it was much harder being without a father. It’s as though both his parents made the decision for him without considering how Oliver’s father leaving did more harm than good. Noah then tells Oliver that he’s sick (not just mentally ill), but something else. He thinks Oliver is the only one that can help him.
“The Man Who Can’t See Faces” – BRILLIANT MINDS – Pictured: Mandy Patinkin as a doctor. Photo: Rafy/NBC © 2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC
That was the most insane two hours I’ve ever witnessed. I’m still in shock that Oliver’s father is alive and this has been a fact known only by Oliver’s mother. It makes me look at her sideways thinking back on how she treated him when it came to his father. I’m looking at him sideways too – See? Emotional rollercoaster! What’d you think of tonight’s two part season finale of Brilliant Minds? Share your thoughts below or connect with me on X/Twitter @chenfordhugs
