‘Brilliant Minds’ Episode 8 Recap: “The Lovesick Widow”

By
Rebecca Murray
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Brilliant Minds Episode 8
Donna Murphy, Teddy Sears, and Zachary Quinto in ‘Brilliant Minds’ episode 8 (Photo by: Rafy/NBC)

NBC’s Brilliant Minds episode eight opens with Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto) thinking about what motivates us to carry on, even on our worst days. His opinion? It’s all about desire. When we get what we want, our brain gives us dopamine – the neurotransmitter that creates pleasure.

Dr. Ericka Kinney (Ashleigh Lathrop) and Dr. Jacob Nash (Spence Moore II) engage in a little flirting, but what catches Dr. Carol Pierce’s (Tamberla Perry) attention is the look that passes between Oliver and Dr. Josh Nichols (Teddy Sears).

In other news, the tension between Oliver and his mom, Dr. Muriel Landon (Donna Murphy), is so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Episode eight’s titular case involves June Sullivan (Susan Nimoy), an elderly woman whose two adult sons are concerned she may have dementia. Her assisted living facility asked her to leave because she’s been going into other residents’ rooms at night. She gets aggressive when they return her to her room. June thinks it’s all nonsense, and her sons are embarrassed when she suggests Dr. Wolf looks like a younger version of their dad. June wonders if Oliver gives his mom a hard time, too.

A flashback shows a teenage Oliver being rude to his mom and Tom, a med student from Oxford who came to stay at their house.

Carol speaks with patient Alison Whitaker (Julia Chan), a PhD student at NYU who’s having difficulty refraining from contacting her ex. Alison’s an intelligent woman who hates feeling weak when it comes to men. She mentions Carol’s private life and confesses she googled her while doing research. Carol’s a little put off by that admission.

Dr. Dana Dang (Aury Krebs) and Ericka tell their fellow interns, Jacob and Dr. Van Markus (Alex MacNicoll), that June’s living facility did indeed kick her out. And, it turns out, she left with a literal bang – sleeping with half the male residents before being booted. They run through the list of medical conditions that could cause hypersexuality, including dementia. Ericka suggests they admit her to find out what’s really going on.

And now, about 10 minutes in, it’s confirmed Dr. Oliver Wolf and Dr. Josh Nichols are really, really into each other. Oliver closes his blinds and locks the door before he and Josh get caught up in a passionate kiss. The scene ends before we’re treated to what comes after the kiss!

Oliver speaks with June about her sex life and learns she and her husband had a healthy one. He was her first and only until a year ago when he died. Since then, she’s been exploring her sexuality. She doesn’t feel sick; she’s just enjoying herself now that she’s single and doesn’t have children to raise.

Oliver and the interns discuss June’s case and Jacob’s fully supportive of her sexual activities. Ericka remains convinced it’s a symptom of a disease, while Dana thinks June’s just “finding herself.” Oliver suggests they need to confirm the root cause with a series of tests.

Oliver and Josh relax over lunch and discuss June, similar cases, and Josh’s preference for a fork over chopsticks when eating noodles. (How cute!)

Another flashback shows Oliver apologizing to Tom for being rude and offering to show him around the city.

Brilliant Minds Episode 8
Zachary Quinto, Susan Nimoy, Jim Watson, and Kristopher Turner in ‘Brilliant Minds’ episode 8 (Photo by: Rafy/NBC)

June’s results are back and Ericka and Dana inform Oliver everything is normal. Suddenly, they receive a stat page from June’s room. Her sons are there and explain that they were talking when she stopped making sense. Oliver recognizes the word salad as Wernicke’s Aphasia, and she may be having a stroke. Oliver orders an immediate CT scan, and it confirms she had a transient ischemic attack (a mini-stroke).

Oliver assures her sons that she should recover quickly and get her speech back. However, TIA is a warning sign that she could have a full stroke soon. He asks about what their mom was like before their dad passed, and they describe her as kind and caring. She was healthy except for a period decades ago when she and their dad got sick for weeks. Their parents had high fevers, and their dad even lost some hair. Oliver latches on to that and wants to perform a lumbar puncture on their mom to zero in on a diagnosis.

Ericka provides June with info on the spinal tap, and June admits that sex is the only activity that makes her feel young. Ericka thinks a brisk walk would do the same thing. June’s surprised when Ericka says she’s gone without dating and sex for three years and admits she went without sex for the last decade of her marriage. She warns Ericka not to make the same mistake.

A flashback shows Tom and Oliver having a great time at the beach. Tom asks about Oliver’s dad and Oliver explains he died four years ago. Oliver’s happy to have someone to discuss it with since his mom avoids the topic. A montage of scenes shows Oliver and Tom spending more time together and growing closer.

Carol asks Dana to try and find Alison Whitaker, her patient who’s gone radio silent. Dana suggests that Carol check the hospital’s records, and Carol sees her listed as Alison Zhang-Whitaker. Dana googles her and finds a photo of Alison with Carol’s husband. Also, she’s a med student at Columbia, not NYU.

Oliver informs June that she has neurosyphilis from an untreated case of syphilis from decades ago. It spread to her central nervous system and caused hypersexuality. That’s why it’s called Cupid’s disease. If not treated, it can be fatal.

June’s disappointed that what she’s been feeling is due to a disease.

June’s sons are shocked by the diagnosis, and June is forced to admit their father cheated on her. She remained in the marriage because she loved him. Her sons had no idea and apologize. However, they disagree with her decision not to seek treatment. June loves being sexually awake and doesn’t care that the condition could kill her. She’s 80 years old and wants to feel alive. (#TeamJune)

Oliver and June have a private talk, and Oliver doesn’t try and change her mind. He believes it’s possible her sons may come around. Oliver notices something and has June copy a simple design.

The interns debate June’s decision, which turns into a discussion on sex and emotional intimacy. Ericka seems surprised when Jacob says it’s over if there’s no physical connection between two people. On the other hand, Van prefers the emotional intimacy of a relationship.

Oliver and Josh step into the elevator and an update on June leads to kissing, which leads to the door opening while they’re kissing. Which leads to Oliver’s mom catching them. They look like embarrassed teenagers when she joins them in the elevator without saying a word.

Oliver shows June’s sons her drawing, which doesn’t resemble his example. Instead, she’s made Oliver’s simple box design into a beautiful drawing with flowers. The disease unlocked something in June; it’s an awakening. The sons understand but can’t get on board with their mom choosing to die instead of seeking treatment. They ask her to consider her grandkids, and June changes her mind. She promises to do anything to get better for her sons, and one of her boys reveals he wants her to move in with him and his daughters.

Brilliant Minds Episode 8
Ted Sutherland and Andrew Hornton in ‘Brilliant Minds’ episode 8 (Photo by: Rafy/NBC)

Once more to a flashback we go, and Oliver joins Tom while he’s studying. Oliver shares study tips and Tom tells him he’s very impressive. They kiss just as Oliver’s mom arrives home and sees them on the couch.

Oliver tells Carol about June’s decision, but Carol’s mind is elsewhere. She admits she just discovered she was treating the woman who slept with her husband and ruined their marriage. Carol confesses she liked Alison before Alison slipped up and mentioned her husband during a session. It turns out that whenever Alison mentioned her ex, she was talking about Carol’s husband. Still, Carol wishes she never knew her husband cheated on her.

Oliver believes Alison is an unreliable narrator and needs help. Carol knows that and will set her up with a new therapist.

“If there’s one thing I do know, it’s setting boundaries,” says Carol.

Speaking of boundaries, Oliver’s mom enters the elevator with Dr. Nichols. She tells him it’s none of her business who Oliver gets involved with, but she warns him not to hurt her son.

Oliver speaks with June and it’s obvious she’s not the vivacious woman she was before starting the treatment. She isn’t looking forward to living with her son without freedom or independence. That conversation alarms Oliver, and he tells her sons that June’s suffering from despair. Her symptoms are disappearing but so is her spark.

Oliver asks them to reconsider how they feel about her sex drive and support her going through hormone therapy to enhance her libido. Sure, that will mean she’s dramatically different from the mom they grew up with, but she’ll be happy. They can help save what makes her feel alive.

The sons agree.

The episode’s grab-a-tissue moment comes when Josh visits Oliver in his office and suggests they need to break off their relationship. Josh thinks it was just a reaction to their grief over Roman, and it would be best to keep things professional. Josh seems stunned when Oliver immediately agrees and even jokes about not being awkward when they see each other at work.

Alison comes in for her appointment and Carol suggests she visit another psychiatrist. Alison refuses to change doctors and claims Carol is the only therapist she feels comfortable talking to.

Brilliant Minds Episode 8
Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf in ‘Brilliant Minds’ episode 8 (Photo by: Rafy/NBC)

Oliver, Dana, and Ericka say their goodbyes to June, who is in a much better mood now that she’ll get her sex drive back. Plus, she’s moving into a different retirement community. Dana even gives her a present for her “alone time,” and June chuckles when she looks in the bag. Oliver assures her she’ll feel like the June who walked into the hospital with a twinkle in her eye.

As they’re saying goodbye, two of June’s sexual partners arrive, happy to have her back. Dana says, “Here’s to being women who aren’t afraid to get their needs met.”

Oliver, in a voiceover, says desire is a complicated emotion that leads to the highest highs and lowest lows. A flashback shows that the day after Tom and Oliver kissed, Tom flew home without saying goodbye. Oliver’s recollection of that day leads to him barging into his mom’s office and demanding to know what she said to Josh. Muriel refuses to say, and Oliver brings up Tom. Tom left the day after she saw them kiss, and by sending him away, she made him feel as if he’d done something wrong – and that there was something wrong with him.

Muriel claims it was inappropriate of Tom, so she sent him away. Oliver confesses that because she didn’t say anything to him about it, she made him feel rejected. Muriel admits she kept silent because she didn’t want to know. It was a different time and she’d seen so much pain (and death) and feared what was in store for Oliver. She didn’t know how to talk to him. Oliver says he was finally happy with Tom, and she ripped that away. Muriel apologizes, claiming she just wanted to protect him.

“I didn’t need protection. I needed love,” says Oliver, voice breaking.

Elsewhere, Ericka nervously pours wine and prepares for a date. She greets Van (yes, Van!) at the door and when he walks in, it’s obvious he didn’t think this was a date. Ericka kisses him and Van’s still confused and asks about her feelings for Jacob. However, that line of conversation ends quickly when they kiss again. Van takes off his shirt and Ericka pushes him onto the bed.

Oliver tackles the Josh situation head-on, telling him it’s not about grief and that their odds are 50/50. He doesn’t want to end this relationship before it even begins. Josh responds with a smile, “I’d say our odds are more like 60/40.”




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