(This article contains spoilers)
A curse, a clown, and a ghost from the past: Brilliant Minds is in time for Halloween, and offers an episode subtly creepy.
After featuring one of the worst cases of the show in last week’s episode, Brilliant Minds lightens up its mood with a spooky episode. This time, Cyrus (Arian Moayed), a biohacker, is hospitalized after being found unresponsive in an ice bath. With him comes his assistant, who clearly acts more like a servant. Biohackers think they can push the limits of life, de-age their body or live longer thanks to various experimentation, supplements, and other procedures.
It’s Time to Face Our Fears
In true Halloween tradition, Ericka (Ashleigh LaThrop), Dana (Aury Krebs), Jacob (Spence Moore II) and Van (Alex MacNicoll), accompanied by Porter (Brian Altemus) (undeserving of his Hannibal Lecter costume), are on a spooky team building activity… in a haunted house. And I have to say, it’s a good haunted house! Some of them end up in rooms that reflect their own personality or trauma, like Van in the hall of mirrors, or Ericka trapped in an elevator. Facing yourself and your fears in a haunted house might not be the best choice!
At the hospital, Josh (Teddy Sears) is not doing well, and if curses aren’t real (…right?), he’s definitely going through it. First, the parents of a former patient are suing the hospital over the bills they received (and if you remember, it was the pregnant girl and her witch coven from Season 1, Episode 6, The Girl Who Cried Pregnant). Then, while trying to understand why so many tests have been ordered in this particular case, he’s losing a tooth right in front of the interns. Josh can’t catch a break, and he even used sage in his office.
Carol (Tamberla Perry) also has a spooky day of her own with a clown in need of help. It would be less of a problem if she didn’t hate clowns, and if this patient wasn’t acting as creepy as he does! Thing is, when someone is in need of psychiatric help, a doctor worthy of the name wouldn’t refuse to help them. But fear is irrational, and Carol will need some backup to help her with this case, though I don’t know if asking Van, of all people, and his mirror touch was the best person to ask.
As for Ericka, facing her fear means finally asking for help. Not only are her fears not going away, but her addiction to Benzos won’t get better with time. With Jacob to support her, she agrees to finally ask for help, which is the best decision she could have made for herself, but also for people around her.
No Bitter Ghosts Than Regrets From The Past
Even Oliver (Zachary Quinto) has his own spooky storyline aside from the main patient. A past patient from his young resident years is coming back to haunt him, almost literally. At first, it’s just a dream, but when the woman starts to appear at the hospital, Oliver seems really troubled. And that could be the start of what will make him admit himself at Hudson Oak. The woman died of cancer on Halloween at the hospital, and after all these years, Oliver still blames himself for her death, thinking he could have done more.
What makes it even more sad for Oliver is the fact that they discover a mass in Cyrus’ brain, just like the woman. Oliver is once again facing the same situation, years later, on the same day. Life can be ironic in the worst ways sometimes.
Now, let’s talk about Porter. Since he arrived at the hospital, the show has been very clear: Porter doesn’t have the best intentions, and it’s becoming clear that he wants to replace Oliver. However, what he’s doing to achieve that is still unclear. Towards the end, the episode makes a point of showing Porter seeing the same ghost Oliver kept seeing throughout the episode, but is there more than that? Could it be that Porter is related to that woman and wants to make Oliver pay for not saving her?
At the very end of the episode, we jump four months into the future with Oliver at Hudson Oak, sitting at a table in the common room. And guess who’s visiting him? Porter, who even calls him “mugwump”, a nickname not only way too familiar for him to use, but one that only Muriel, Oliver’s mother, uses. Each episode paints a darker picture of Porter, and slowly pushes Oliver to the edge of sanity.
As a bonus, Oliver and Carol leave the hospital in their Halloween costumes, and if you know Zachary Quinto’s filmography, you can guess which character dressed in blue with pointy ears he chose to be, matching Carol’s red costume.
This week, Brilliant Minds made people face their fear of death, of the past, or even of themselves.
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