Eric Dane guest stars in a heavy, emotional, but powerful episode of Brilliant Minds. This one reminds us of everything that this series can be.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS from Brilliant Minds season 2 episode 9
When Brilliant Minds told us that Dane would guest star on an episode, we knew the condition he would have to face. It’s focused on a former firefighter who has been diagnosed with ALS, a disease that Dane has been diagnosed with. This isn’t about a man learning about his disease for the first time, though. Instead, the focus is on getting the support needed, as firefighter Matthew struggles to tell his family about the disease.
At the same time, Sam comes into the hospital needing emergency treatment. This time, it all looks serious.
Matthew’s ALS is getting more serious in Brilliant Minds season 2 episode 9
The episode opens with Matthew stuck in a house surrounded by flames, and he can hear his family calling for help. It’s surely a dream and it will come up later, as the next minute we see Matthew in the hospital ready for his monthly checkup.
During the appointment, Wolf and Dana note that his breathing has declined severely. Carol also notes that Matthew missed his last therapy appointment, and she wants to see him later on. However, she also needs to let Wolf know that Muriel is back at the hospital. It seems that she has finished traveling, and she wants to spend Thanksgiving with her son.
Wolf is more focused on Matthew, though, as it’s time for them to discuss the next steps. The ALS is progressing much faster than anyone wanted, and it means using a breathing machine. Matthew isn’t ready for this, especially since it would mean the firefighters he used to work with coming to hook him up every night. He’s not ready to tell his family yet.
Meanwhile, Thorne sees Sam in the hospital, and it looks like just a regular visit. That is until Sam throws up blood, and when Thorne checks his eyes, they are yellow.
It is serious. Thorne tells Ericka that Sam is facing liver failure, but they don’t understand why. He doesn’t have a history of anything that would cause this. To make it even worse, he may need a liver transplant.
Ericka needs to get help for Sam
Carol spends some time with Matthew to understand why he hasn’t told his family about his ALS yet. He and his ex are separated, but there was always still a lot of love there. However, Matthew makes it clear that his daughter, Gabby, is in her last semester at school and he doesn’t want her to put her life on hold for him. He also doesn’t want his ex, Alisha, to only get him to live with her out of sympathy.
As for Sam, Ericka will do everything she can to get him help. There’s just the issue of the liver transplant, as Josh notes that he would never be accepted. Being homeless means that he won’t have the support system needed to take his medications and remain safe from infection, which means he’s at a higher risk of rejecting the liver transplant. Carol and Wolf want to fight for him as well, so the three doctors decide that they will do whatever they can to make Sam look like a good candidate.
Part of that means making sure that Sam even wants a transplant. She also needs to understand how it all happened, and Sam is able to explain that he took the medication that Carol gave him, including the medication for pain. This is why his liver is failing. He took too much Tylenol, accidentally overdosing on it.
Why didn’t he come back sooner? Well, he was ashamed of losing Ericka’s credit card after he got beaten up by some youths. He promised to bring it back, and he failed her.
So, Ericka now shares that she needs to find Sam his family so that he has the support needed. This is when Sam shares that he’s dead to his family, so they wouldn’t come to help.
As for family showing up, Matthew sends his wife a voice note to say that he won’t be home for Thanksgiving, and she shows up at the firehouse. The truth is about to come out.
It’s time to find Sam’s family
The episode jumps between Sam and Matthew’s storyline for the next part. We start off with Matthew’s ex-wife and daughter finding out the truth, and naturally, that leads to a mixture of emotions. They are both unhappy that Matthew kept it all to himself rather than accepting their help.
This is when we learn why Matthew and Alisha split up. They used to talk a lot, but then 9/11 happened, and that changed everything for Matthew. While he managed to make it home on that fateful day, he wasn’t back home mentally, and he started to shut down. Alisha is understandably upset that Matthew talks to Carol, but this offers hope that they can talk again.
At the same time, Ericka, Van, and Michelle (who are back together, but Michelle isn’t ready to tell their son, yet), are calling around the hospitals in the hope of finding someone who has information about Sam’s next of kin. It’s Dana who manages to get a phone number, and Ericka is able to call Sam’s mom, who rushes with the whole family to New York.
Back at the firehouse, Matthew sees a coffee pot burning. He tries to get over to it, and that’s where we cut for a commercial break. What’s going to happen to him?
Matthew needs to accept help on Brilliant Minds
It turns out that it was nothing too serious. Matthew fell and hit his head, so he ends up back at the hospital. Wolf tries again to get Matthew to take the support that Gabby and Alisha are offering him, but Matthew can’t. He has had to adapt to so much, but he doesn’t want to lose the ability to protect them from what his illness is going to become.
The chief, Dennis, shows up at the hospital to apologize to Wolf for leaving Matthew alone there. He shouldn’t have done it. The truth is, living at the firehouse was always only supposed to be temporary, and it’s clear that while the firefighters want to help, Matthew needs extra support. Wolf gets an idea.
Matthew’s family clearly wants to help. Gabby is spending her time looking through clinical trial data, which she was doing on the train to the hospital in the first place. Dana shares that some of the clinical trials could be possible, but it all depends on what Matthew wants. This is when we learn the type of dad Matthew was. As much as he didn’t like or understand modern art, he would make sure they could go to art gallery openings and shows, and he would send her weird art memes. He was a very involved dad, and she’s going to miss him.
As all this is going on, Sam’s family makes it to the hospital. However, it could be too late, as Sam becomes unresponsive, and they need to get him on the transplant list.
Families immediately step up
Ericka needs to deliver the bad news to Sam’s family, which is also when she learns the truth about what happened between them. Sam’s parents never kicked him out. The voices in his head told him that they were dangerous to him, and he left, making it clear that he didn’t want to see his parents again. His parents tried, but they had his younger siblings to care for at the same time, putting them in an impossible situation.
When they learn that Sam will need support for the liver transplant, they immediately make it clear that they want him to come home. That’s not safe, so they will move to New York to look after their son. They’re not letting him go this time.
As for Matthew, he needs to accept the help from his family. His dreams are telling him this. Wolf learns about Matthew’s dreams of the house fire, and it’s clear that his lack of oxygen on a night is leading to him dreaming of the fire. However, he’s not dreaming about his family being stuck inside the house. His ex-wife and daughter are outside, trying to get him to get up and come to them. This is Matthew’s subconscious telling him to let them help him.
Meanwhile, Muriel gets to Wolf’s house, and it’s time for her to see everything. Wolf hasn’t been home in weeks, and all of his plants are dead. The half-drank cups of coffee are also still all around the house. Muriel quickly starts tidying up, and that’s when she breaks down and cries, likely realizing that while she was enjoying her time away, her son was suffering in silence.
There’s some bad news from the transplant committee. They see Sam as too much of a risk, so they reject him. Wolf is trying to find other programs, but there is a concern that Sam doesn’t have enough time. He needs a transplant right now, or he’ll die.
As for Matthew, he decides that he will go to Alisha’s house for Thanksgiving, with Wolf going with him. That’s when he shares that he has arranged to go into a care facility, so that he isn’t a burden on Alisha. Well, Alisha won’t have it, and she makes it clear that with the firefighters, there will be some help. It’s not just the firefighters, though. Matthew has helped save countless lives in his career, and they show up in support as well.
Matthew is doing the bravest thing ever
With that, we wind down the episode. With Carol working over Thanksgiving, her family ends up coming to the hospital to celebrate. Yes, Carol’s sister can tell that there is something between Thorne and Carol, and it’s time for the writers of Brilliant Minds to go somewhere with this.
As for couples, Van and Michelle decide to become an official couple in front of their son. He has a small smile. I get why Michelle didn’t want to confuse her son at first, but it’s clear that the two want to make it work. If they can look at why things went wrong in the first place, they can attempt to make it work this time.
Alisha is also there for her ex, helping Matthew into a button down shirt, which he’s wearing at the art gallery with his daughter. We get Matthew’s voiceover as the scenes play out, and while there is a moment between Wolf and Muriel at Wolf’s house talking about the ferns and carving the turkey, the ending is mostly a lesson that everyone can learn.
Sure, people do brave things all the time. Firefighters certainly do by running into burning buildings. However, Matthew notes that the bravest thing he has ever had to do is to accept the support of the people around him. Oh, and leave voice notes to bank for his family to listen back to when he can no longer speak.
It’s a touching episode of Brilliant Minds, focusing on mental health and support systems. It’s hard asking for help, but it really does take a village, and not just when having children.
Brilliant Minds airs Mondays at 10/9c on NBC.