It’s hard to believe that we’ve closed in on the first half of Brilliant Minds season 2 already. We went into Brilliant Minds season 2 episode 10 knowing that there was going to be an accident, but who would it be, and would it lead to Wolf being in Hudson Oaks?
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS from Brilliant Minds season 2 episode 10.
It doesn’t look like the Hudson Oaks mystery is going to end just yet. We open just after the events of the premiere episode, with Amelia going to see Wolf, sharing how she’s worried that he hasn’t made any progress. It’s time for Wolf to talk about “him,” but which “him” does she mean? Charlie, Teddy, or Noah?
A ballerina suffers from the cold on Brilliant Minds season 2 episode 10
After that short scene, we head back to three months before the events, suggesting that the Hudson Oaks arc won’t wrap until the Brilliant Minds season 2 finale. We pick up with the patient of the week, a ballerina who suffers from the cold while up in a hold. She panics while up there, leading to her falling from her partner and hitting her head.
As that happens, Charlie is seeing his therapist to talk about his problems. It’s clear that his issues with Wolf have come up multiple times in therapy, and Charlie needs to show Wolf who he is. That is something that he can do.
Meanwhile, Wolf’s mom is putting up the Christmas decorations. It’s her favorite time of the year, and she’s simply there to offer Wolf some support. However, she makes it clear to him that she understands he doesn’t want to talk to her about his problems. What she is doing is making sure he gets home!
At the hospital, Carol walks in happy. Her divorce is finalized, and it’s time to move forward in life. Thorne also has something to celebrate. He gets his kids for Christmas this year, offering him hope that he can co-parent with his ex.
They’re not the only ones with someone to celebrate, as Jacob is back with neurology now. It’s all whether the residents can find help for Sam to get him on the transplant list.
Back with Julia, Wolf and Charlie are performing the neuro exam, and Wolf can’t help but note that Julia discharged herself against the hospital recommendations when she came in for pneumonia three months earlier. Julia doesn’t want to stick around, as she needs to be ready for opening night, but as she starts to feel cold again, she collapses. Wolf and Charlie need to run more tests.
The darker side of ballet
Considering the head injury that Julia may have faced, Wolf wants to run a series of tests. It’s Zora, the ballet director, who he and Charlie need to speak with about this. Julia had mentioned that she felt like Nina and her dance partner were trying to hurt her, and she even told Zora about this. Of course, Zora believed she was overreacting, and that’s something Zora still thinks now. She watched Julia panic and not hold herself in the hold, leading to the fall, and she is sure that Julia just has a case of stage fright.
As we see that darker side of ballet, we continue to see the doctors work hard to help Sam. Michelle may have a way to get some references for Sam, but she needs to go in person. As she’s rushing out, Van asks her if she would like to come to the gala, but she doesn’t think she’ll be able to get her mom to watch their son. Van is about to let her go, but Jacob decides to stand up for Van to get Michelle to say yes.
Meanwhile, Amelia comes to see Carol, and it almost looks like they could be friends. If we didn’t know the future storyline with Wolf in Hudson Oaks, I’d like to see this friendship blossom, but it’s also clear that Amelia is using Carol as a way to get more patients. Their conversation doesn’t last for long, though, as Wolf needs Carol to use her magic to help get to the bottom of Julia’s medical issues.
This is when we learn more of what Julia experiences during the cold stints. It’s more than being cold. She sometimes feels like she’s being choked and there are times that she feels like she’s being stabbed in the back. What is going on?
Is this a case of ICU PTSD?
Wolf, Charlie, and Carol all discuss what could have happened to Julia. Wolf and Carol are sure it’s a case of ICU PTSD. Everything she describes sounds like the hallucinations her mind made up during her ICU stay, as she was intubated and there was a lumbar puncture. Her mind is just trying to make sense of it all.
However, Charlie isn’t all that convinced. He knows the type. Ballerinas put themselves through hell to get to the top of their game, and this leads to all sorts of mental health issues. Wolf isn’t happy that Charlie is arguing back, and he goes as far as asking Teddy to remove Charlie from his service at the very least. He’d prefer Charlie to be fired. That’s not going to happen though since Charlie hasn’t exactly done anything wrong.
Meanwhile, Van and Jacob chat, with Van admitting that he can tell Michelle has cold feet about getting back together, and he doesn’t blame her since he was the one who didn’t commit the first time. He gets that she doesn’t want her heart to be broken again, so he wants to ask her to move in with him to prove that he’s committed.
That’s when he realizes that Jacob has cold feet about something. It turns out that Jacob got an offer from back home in Texas to join his former doctor’s team. It would allow him to do neurology in the sport field, which is a dream job for him, but he’s not sure if he should do it. While he doesn’t tell Van that he wants to stay for Ericka, as she walks past, we see Jacob’s look. Of course, it’s still about Ericka.
Back with the ballerina, Julia talks to Carol, using light therapy to go through her experience in the ICU. She thinks back to how it all started, focusing on the negative feelings. As Carol gets her to go through the memories again with a more positive look, Julia is able to do it. It’s clear that she needs exposure therapy to get over her PTSD.
Things aren’t looking great for Sam, though. As Ericka and Dana run tests on him, his pupils are uneven and sluggish. He’s getting worse.
Wolf finds a way to get Sam on the transplant list
Wolf and Silva take Julia into the room she was in when she was admitted to hospital the previous time. It turns out that Silva did her lumbar puncture, and she is the man she sees as the Rat King when it comes to the stabbing part of her visions. Julia has a choice: she can do the exposure treatment or she can go on stage for opening night.
She ends up choosing the exposure therapy. When Charlie comes to see her, he comments about how they both have difficult bosses. Julia notes that she doesn’t want Zora’s approval anymore. She wants to prove to Zora that she is better. Zora is creating a monster in Julia, and there’s a look from Charlie that makes us think he’s thinking the same thing.
Elsewhere in the hospital, Teddy knows that he is just buying time with some brain surgery to help treat Sam. There is a sense of hope, as there's a liver on route to the hospital but the intended recipient has spiked a fever. The liver is a match for Sam, but now they need to get the committee to change its mind. Teddy notes that the head of the committee for transplants will be at the gala that night. It’s a way to get Sam boosted up the list.
Michelle may also have something that helps, getting references for Sam. He showed commitment by turning up for blood donation draws on a regular basis. Despite his mental illness, he will be able to keep on track with the transplant medications.
While everyone works on getting Sam on the transplant list, Van quickly checks in with Michelle to make sure she’s still coming to the gala. She comes up with all sorts of excuses not to, and Van makes it clear that while he broke her heart once, he’s not going to do it again. It’s not about Michelle, though. She’s worried about their son, and he makes it clear it won’t happen.
Love isn’t butterflies. It’s about finding someone who calms your nervous system, and that’s exactly what Michelle does for him. He wants to be that for Michelle. With that, she decides she will go to the ball.
So, now it’s time to get the doctor to agree to put him on the transplant list. Ericka tries at first, but it doesn’t work. It’s only when Wolf lies and tells everyone that he has decided to have a change of heart that it works. However, they may have made a dangerous enemy in the head of the transplant committee. At least, it’s good news for Sam, as he is on the list.
Charlie’s backstory comes out on Brilliant Minds
As Carol flirts with Thorne, his date for the night shows up. She doesn’t seem to be the type of person Thorne would want to be with, but here they are, together. Carol naturally feels like a fool for thinking Thorne was interested in her, but that man was showing some serious mixed signals!
Charlie gets to give a speech as the most promising second-year resident, and he shares about why he became a doctor. It’s not the usual reason of helping a person, though. Yes, as we all guessed it, his mom was the woman Wolf treated as a younger doctor, the one who haunts him at Halloween. Charlie isn’t angry that she died. He’s angry that Wolf gave the whole family false hope, so they weren’t prepared for her to die.
He believes that Wolf sold him and his family a fantasy, and it’s something that made him want to become a doctor. He wanted to be able to be honest and candid with patients and their families to make sure they were all prepared.
Outside the gala, Wolf realizes that the speech was all about him, and Charlie goes out to share more of his backstory. Four years after the death of his mom, his dad died from alcoholism. Charlie was just 14 when he was left alone, and as the saying goes, hurt people hurt people. Charlie is out for revenge, because Wolf ruined his life.
However, there is a moment of kindness in all this, or is it a way of getting revenge? He has the address for Noah, and it turns out that Noah wasn’t that hard to find. Wolf just never bothered to look hard enough.
Who had the car accident?
Inside the gala, Teddy shows up, and he’s worried about Wolf. However, Wolf is no longer there. He’s gone to the address on the piece of paper, even going as far as breaking in when there isn’t an answer.
While Silva and Julia watch the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City together, Julia gets a text to say that Nina got a standing ovation. She’ll let Nina have it for now, because she’s going to come back and prove that she is better.
We also learn that there were zero complications with Sam's surgery. That's a reason for Ericka and Jacob to celebrate, which leads to the kiss that we have all been waiting for! So, does this mean Jacob won't leave for Texas?
Back at the gala, Van tries to call Michelle. He’s sure that Michelle got cold feet, and he ends up leaving with Dana. Hey, friends have to stick together! However, it turns out that Michelle didn’t get cold feet. Remember the accident that was in the promo for the Brilliant Minds season 2 fall finale? It was Michelle in one of the cars, and it looks like she’s been badly T-boned.
We now have to wait until January to find out what happened. Will Van and Michelle get the happy ending that we’d like them to?
This is a live recap of Brilliant Minds, so tune in at each ad break to see how the next part plays out.
Brilliant Minds will take a break after this and will return on Monday, Jan. 5 at 10/9c on NBC.