‘Brilliant Minds’ Episode 3 Recap: “The Lost Biker”

By
Rebecca Murray
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Brilliant Minds Episode 3 Recap
Steve Howey as Wyatt James and Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf in ‘Brilliant Minds’ episode 3 (Photo by: Rafy/NBC)

NBC’s Brilliant Minds episode three, “The Lost Biker,” kicks off with Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto) recalling a childhood memory of losing track of his dad while visiting an arboretum. However, his recall of this specific event is called into question when he adds that as easily as the brain remembers, it also forgets.

If we don’t nourish our memories, we may discover they’ve wilted away.

A quiet night of caring for his ferns is interrupted when a biker gang pounds on his door. A member, Wyatt (Steve Howey), has been shot, and it turns out these guys are friends of Oliver’s. Wyatt’s fixed Oliver’s bike before and offers the doctor a free tune-up in exchange for removing the bullet from his arm. Wyatt experienced a tremor while cleaning his gun and shot himself. The guys exchange knowing glances when Wyatt claims the tremor means nothing. Oliver wants Wyatt to come in for an exam and won’t take no for an answer.

The workday starts with the interns and Oliver tossing around Taylor Swift song titles, and Oliver claiming he has no idea what a Swiftie is after telling the group to calm down. The Swiftie talk was initiated during an examination of Emily (Markeda McKay), a young girl who is apparently a returning patient. She experienced a seizure while on her iPad.

The interns fill Oliver in on Emily’s history, which includes multiple EKGs, MRIs, and every imaginable lab. They have all come back normal. Different drug treatments have also been unsuccessful, and Oliver’s shocked that none of the four interns have witnessed Emily having a seizure. A doctor who moved on to work for big pharma is the one who suggested the meds, but Oliver doesn’t work that way. He orders them to spend time with Emily, provoke an episode, and only then attempt to treat it.

Wyatt and his wife, Rosie, show up for an exam, and it turns out Wyatt didn’t shoot himself because of a tremor. He’s become forgetful and didn’t remember his gun was loaded. His memory loss has escalated recently, but Wyatt makes light of his forgetfulness. Rosie, however, believes there’s something going on. Wyatt’s forced to admit he’s been getting headaches and has felt more tired recently, and Rosie has become really concerned about his health.

Oliver sends Wyatt to get a brain MRI which doesn’t go well. Wyatt becomes combative and tries to choke intern Dr. Jacob Nash (Spence Moore II), and only Oliver can get him to settle down. Wyatt confesses he was disoriented after the MRI and thought he was being questioned by cops.

Oliver and Dr. Josh Nichols (Teddy Sears) break the news that they’ve found a tumor that’s obstructing Wyatt’s brain’s third ventricle. However, this type of tumor is usually benign and Dr. Nichols can remove it. Unfortunately, because of its location, the tumor’s removal could make him lose the ability to form new memories. On the upside, he’ll keep all of the memories he’s already formed.

If he doesn’t agree to surgery, he may only have weeks to live. Rosie wants Wyatt to get the surgery and insists she’ll help him. She’ll be his memory. “I have no interest in living a life that I can’t remember,” says Wyatt.

Oliver asks Dr. Carol Pierce (Tamberla Perry) to do a psych evaluation to make sure Wyatt’s tumor isn’t impeding his ability to make a decision. She does and determines he fully understands the risks.

It’s been hours and the interns haven’t been able to provoke a seizure from Emily. Her parents are concerned because nothing’s working, but Oliver insists this is the only way they’ll be able to figure out what’s going on. He asks for their trust, and Dr. Ericka Kinney (Ashleigh LaThrop) asks if they can describe exactly what was happening right before the most recent seizure. They recall it was 7:15am and Emily was doing her math homework before school.

Dr. Dana Dang (Aury Krebs) seems skeptical, and Oliver asks Emily if that’s correct. She admits she was watching the Three Stooges and Oliver confesses he’s also a huge fan of slapstick. The interns have no idea who Oliver and Emily are talking about.

Emily’s hooked up to monitors while they watch a Three Stooges video and when she starts laughing, she falls unconscious and stops breathing. So does Van (Alex MacNicoll)! The interns want to call a code, but Oliver insists it will end in five seconds. He’s correct. Both Emily and Van come to at the same time.

Oliver apologizes to Emily’s parents for the other doctor’s misdiagnosis. Their daughter doesn’t have a seizure disorder. She has laughter-induced heart block, which means her heart slows when she laughs. Now that they know what’s going on, they can focus on a course of treatment.

Brilliant Minds Episode 3 Recap
Aury Krebs as Dr. Dana Dang, Spence Moore II as Dr. Jacob Nash, and Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf in ‘Brilliant Minds’ episode 3 (Photo by: Rafy/NBC)

Oliver orders the interns to come up with a permanent fix that doesn’t require Emily to never laugh again. The interns wonder what’s up with Van, but he insists he’s fine. He just hasn’t eaten and got lightheaded.

Oliver pays Wyatt a visit at home and finds him busy getting rid of his stuff, so Rosie doesn’t need to worry about cleaning up after he’s gone. Wyatt confesses he walks into rooms and doesn’t know why he’s there. But although it’s hard on him, he knows it’s tougher on Rosie. He doesn’t want to be trapped in what feels like limbo for the rest of his life.

Oliver asks about one of Wyatt’s tattoos and learns it’s to celebrate his daughter Hailey’s birthday. He hasn’t seen her in years, and he wishes they could reconnect. Oliver points out that if Wyatt gets the surgery, maybe Hailey can make new memories with him one day.

Wyatt changes his mind and decides to have the surgery. Oliver admits to his mom/Chief Medical Officer Dr. Muriel Landon that he’s no longer sure it’s the right choice. Not being able to make new memories might be cruel, but Muriel suggests not all memories are worth revisiting. That prompts a flashback to the arboretum and his dad showing him a resurrection fern. (Oliver still loves the ferns and just brought one into the hospital.)

Wyatt’s scheduled for surgery, but Oliver delays it (without informing Dr. Nichols) by taking him to visit Hailey (Hannah Whitmore) at the bar where she works. Oliver hopes to create one final good memory for Wyatt but quickly realizes he’s misjudged the situation. Hailey isn’t interested in reconnecting with her dad who she believes deserted her. Wyatt apologizes and says his biggest regret is missing so much of her life. He should have been a better dad.

Hailey doesn’t forgive him, and Oliver informs her whatever she does will be Wyatt’s last memory. Hailey tells her dad she grew up without him and that she’ll never, ever forgive him.

Brilliant Minds Episode 3 Recap
Teddy Sears as Dr. Josh Nichols, Steve Howey as Wyatt James, and Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf in ‘Brilliant Minds’ episode 3 (Photo by: Rafy/NBC)

Wyatt stumbles as they leave the bar and needs to sit down. His head’s killing him and he feels off. Dr. Nichols drives up, angry that Oliver displayed such horrible judgment and took his patient out without permission. Oliver’s saved from a further tongue-lashing by Wyatt’s worsening condition.

Hailey rushes out as they’re driving off, concerned about her dad.

Wyatt’s fading fast, and Oliver’s forced to use a spinal needle to extract cerebral spinal fluid through the orbit just above the eye while Nichols drives. Nichols warns Oliver that if Wyatt dies in surgery, it’s his fault.

Back at the hospital, the interns toss out ideas of how to treat Emily, including beta blockers. Van’s against that and reminds them this is a problem with her heart. Ericka latches onto that.

Van asks Chief Medical Officer Dr. Landon to approve a pacemaker for Emily. Dr. Landon says it’s an unorthodox procedure, but she approves it. She also warns him not to cover for her son ever again. She’s well aware Oliver didn’t request that she weigh in on this.

Hailey, Rosie, and Oliver talk in the waiting room while Wyatt’s in surgery. Rosie assures her stepdaughter that Wyatt talks about her every day, and that it’ll mean so much to him that she’s there. Nichols joins them and confirms they removed the tumor and Wyatt’s alive, but it’s almost a certainty that he won’t retain any new memories moving forward.

Days later, Wyatt watches a video of himself explaining what he went through and what’s going on. The video advises him to check the notebook beside his bed to catch up on what he doesn’t remember. He writes important stuff that happens throughout the day in that book. Wyatt’s learned to accept help from his friends and from Rosie, who leaves Post-it notes around the house to remind him of things.

He’s also made peace with Hailey. She’s forgiven him and loves her dad.

Emily’s pacemaker surgery is a success. She can laugh at the Three Stooges all she wants from now on without fear of lapsing into unconsciousness.

Van’s called into Dr. Wolf’s office and assumes he’s being fired. He ran off while doing a spinal tap and passed out when Emily passed out, but Wolf isn’t letting him go. Instead, he diagnoses Van with mirror-touch synesthesia. The condition makes him feel what the person he’s talking to feels. It’s incredibly rare, and Van confirms that’s exactly what he feels. Oliver believes this could be an asset and they need to figure out how to use it in a positive way.

Episode three ends with Oliver and Muriel at the arboretum. When she talks about the resurrection fern, Oliver suddenly realizes his memory was wrong. It was his mom who brought him there when he was younger, not his dad. She never corrected him all these years because she wanted him to have good memories of his dad, even if they weren’t real.




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