Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 14 Recap: “The Invisible Man”

By
Rebecca Murray
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Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 14 Recap
Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf and John Clarence Stewart as Dr. Anthony Thorne in ‘Brilliant Minds’ season 2 episode 14 (Photo by: Pief Weyman/NBC)

One of Bronx General’s maintenance men accidentally shoots himself with a nail gun. He also shoots a pipe as NBC’s Brilliant Minds season two, episode 14 opens. The camera follows the pipe, soaring around the hospital, invisible to staff. It stops inches from a snoozing Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto). He wakes up and coughs.

(The following is a recap of season two, episode 14, and there are spoilers.)

Dr. Josh Nichols (Teddy Sears) shares the news with Dr. Carol Pierce (Tamberla Perry) that he’s heard rumors he’s about to be named the new chief. It’s unconfirmed, but it came from a reliable source (Silva). The permanent promotion will allow him to start a family, but he doesn’t seem overjoyed when Carol mentions Beau. His reaction to Beau’s name is muted, not excited.

There’s a major storm hitting the city, and Josh has suspended all elective and outpatient procedures. He wants Carol to pitch in where she can for any emergencies, hoping that everything goes smoothly so it will look good to his bosses.

Dr. Ericka Kinney (Ashleigh LaThrop) gives Oliver the scoop on all their patients, and he’s certain she can manage them on her own. Dr. Dana Dang (Aury Krebs) isn’t so lucky;  Dr. Charlie Porter (Brian Altemus) informs her that she’s been assigned the tedious task of updating charts that Wolf hasn’t gotten around to. Neither Charlie nor Dana got called in to Oliver’s meeting with Ericka, and both realize they’re on his blacklist. Until this moment, Dana had no idea Oliver knew she reported Carol. Nurse Nico Silva (Al Calderon) confesses he accidentally let it slip.

Dana thinks she can handle one shift of Oliver being mad. Unfortunately, Nico delivers more bad news: they’re all pulling mandatory double shifts because of the storm.

Amos the maintenance man stumbles into the emergency department, bleeding from his neck.

Elsewhere in the hospital, Oliver sets up a camera to monitor Sofia’s night terrors. She grabbed a Hudson Oaks brochure and seems to think she’ll wind up there because of her insomnia. (We saw Sofia in Hudson Oaks at the end of episode 13.) Oliver swears they’ll get to the bottom of this. He also promises that, unlike his dad, he won’t abandon her.

The camera focuses on the door to her room. Signs indicate it’s the Sleep Medicine Lab and that the patient should not be disturbed.

Dana informs her pregnant patient, Emma Henry, that her seizure med levels are perfect. She’s cleared to leave, but it’s best if she rides out the storm at the hospital. Emma’s happy to stay put instead of riding the train home to her hubby and two kids.

(The camera keeps ominously zooming in on air vents throughout this episode.)

Amos is doing okay and able to talk, even though he has a puncture wound to the neck. He’s surprisingly candid, almost as if he can’t tell a lie. Also, when he sneezes there is brain matter in his tissue.

An X-ray shows the nail is lodged in his brain, but Amos hasn’t complained of any pain. His neuro exam was normal, but his brain will begin swelling soon. Josh is going to prep for surgery, but strangely he can’t remember the name of the meds that need to be started. He claims he’s just preoccupied thinking about this once-in-a-lifetime case.

Dana informs Oliver that her pregnant patient has developed a terrible headache. Oliver’s short with her and Dana admits she reported Carol and that she and Carol have cleared the air. She asks if they can do the same and Oliver doesn’t even hesitate before he says no.

Josh is ready to begin surgery but starts sniffing. It’s obvious something’s off, and he shakes his head to clear it. The camera begins jerking around as Josh tells his team to stop because he needs to step out. He’s not feeling well.

Carol and Oliver check on him, and Josh has decided he’ll quarantine in his office. He thinks he may have caught the bug that’s going around. Oliver clears his throat but claims he’s not sick. They go through the list of possible surgeons and there’s no one at the hospital capable of performing Amos’ surgery. Carol suggests Beau since he’s nearby, and Oliver believes they need to call him in, despite the horrible weather conditions. Otherwise, Amos will die.

Speaking of Amos, he’s continuing to drop unexpected truth bombs. He speaks for the audience when he tells Dr. Anthony Thorne (John Clarence Stewart) that taking a date to the gala instead of Carol was a betrayal. Amos answers his phone and also delivers a scathing takedown of his wife.

Anthony and Oliver decide the nail in his head caused personality changes, and Amos suggests they bring in Carol. They do, and Carol explains that he’s speaking his unedited thoughts because the nail is affecting the area of his brain responsible for self-control.

Carol’s physician skills are put to the test when Amos begins seizing. She has to handle it by herself until Anthony arrives to help. Anthony’s impressed with her skills.

Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 14 Recap
Ashleigh LaThrop, Tamberla Perry, Aury Krebs, and Brian Altemus in ‘Brilliant Minds’ season 2 episode 14 (Photo by: Pief Weyman/NBC)

Charlie’s the first to suggest that maybe there’s something going on with all of their current patients since they’re all getting worse. Nico thinks it’s just the storm and the patients are going stir crazy. As they’re talking, all the phone lines light up. Something’s definitely wrong and Nico calls for help.

Nico helps Emma Henry, who’s complaining about breathing trouble. He checks her oxygen and it’s fine, but she’s wheezing badly. He’s not sure what that means and goes for help.

Oliver and Dr. Beau Pedrosa (Marco Pigossi) find Josh in serious trouble. He believes he’s having a heart attack, and they quickly move him to the emergency department.

Nico yells to get everyone’s attention. He explains that he’s seen the overall picture while everyone else has been busy treating their own patients. Nico lists all the symptoms he’s been hearing about, and Carol thinks it points to carbon monoxide poisoning.

They need to evacuate the floor as quickly as possible. Ericka announces on the PA that there’s a Code Orange on floor three. (The camera zooms in on Sofia’s sleep medicine lab room.)

Carol and Nico organize the evacuation, with the pregnant Emma Henry one of the first moved off the floor. A maintenance worker discovers the CO level is 800 which can be fatal. Carol orders Nico to spread the word that all workers from floor three need a few hours of oxygen treatment.

Fortunately, the leak’s isolated to floor three. Carol figures out it probably has to do with Amos’ accident in the boiler room. But why didn’t the CO detectors go off? The maintenance man believes someone might have turned them off since they’re super sensitive and go off all the time.

Carol informs Josh (currently being treated for a possible heart attack), Oliver, and Beau about the carbon monoxide leak. She believes that Josh might have had the highest exposure, and Beau confirms it mimics a cardiac event.

Oliver rushes to Sofia’s room and fortunately the maintenance man already moved her to safety. Sofia’s upset that Oliver left her and that she could have died. She calls him a fraud, just like his dad.

Carol stays with Josh and she’s there when suddenly the oxygen stops working. Too many people are accessing it and it’s run dry. Because the trucks aren’t running, they can’t even bring in an emergency shipment. Josh realizes the portable oxygen tanks will only last a few hours. He orders Carol to ration them to the sickest.

Wolf’s team and Nico take a break to suck in oxygen and talk turns to regrets. If this was their last day, what would they regret? When it’s Charlie’s turn, he regrets not being kinder to himself and the team. But Ericka doesn’t accept that and isn’t about to let Charlie off the hook for the months of abuse they’ve suffered working alongside him. (I’m completely #TeamEricka.)

Both Emma Henry and Josh are crashing at the same time, and Oliver realizes the amount of oxygen they’re receiving isn’t enough. Plus, they need oxygen under pressure. He suggests taking them to the basement where there’s an old hyperbaric chamber.

The team get Josh and Emma into the small chamber, and Nico and one attending need to be inside with them. Oliver knows the hospital from spending his childhood exploring and knows how to operate the chamber. He gives Ericka and Dana a crash course on how to use it.

Just as Oliver’s about to get inside, Beau arrives and wants to be with Josh. Oliver asks Josh who he chooses, and Josh says Beau. At least this means Oliver can stay outside and run the chamber.

It’s working, but they’re running out of time, and neither Josh nor Emma are getting any better. The temperature’s rising inside the chamber and the oxygen tank is near empty. Beau announces that Josh is about to go into cardiac arrest, and the pressure is turned up again. The ear pain is incredible for everyone inside the chamber.

The oxygen zeroes out and Beau holds Josh’s head. Josh barely opens his eyes and whispers, “Wolf.”

Fortunately, the chamber works. Their vitals return to normal!

Later, Dana apologizes to Emma for suggesting that she stay at the hospital and poisoning her. The good news is that both the baby and mom are doing fine. Emma says the incident actually helped confirm her wheezing episodes are symptoms of asthma. No other doctors would listen when she complained, but Bronx General always treats her with care and understanding.

Amos is recovering from his injury, and Beau even gave him the nail to keep. He’s still saying what he thinks, and Carol tells him that now he gets to live his truth.

Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 14 Recap
Tamberla Perry, Zachary Quinto, Teddy Sears, and Marco Pigossi in ‘Brilliant Minds’ season 2 episode 14 (Photo by: Pief Weyman/NBC)

Josh and Beau have the “Wolf” talk, and Josh finally admits they briefly dated. Josh assures Beau he’s not hiding anything else. Beau doesn’t want anything to come between them, and Josh says that’s not going to happen, followed by a kiss.

Carol asks Oliver if they can agree to disagree about Dana, and Oliver confesses he doesn’t want to fight. Near tears, he admits he almost lost a patient today. Oliver confesses that he was so caught up with Josh that he forgot about checking on Sofia, his off-the-books patient he was conducting a sleep study on.

Carol doesn’t know anything about Sofia but is concerned that since she was in a closed room, she might be sick. Oliver believes she’s fine physically, but emotionally she’s a wreck. Carol offers to meet with her, and Oliver explains his connection to Sofia. Oliver also confesses he’s been trying to hide the fact he hasn’t been himself. He cries as he explains that it’s all gotten to him—his dad, Charlie, Josh, and even Carol since learning about Dana. Carol assures him they’re good; she just wants to help him. He sobs in her arms.

Oliver heads to his dad’s place and Sofia’s calmed down. Sofia’s no longer angry; he just triggered her childhood abandonment issues.

Oliver opens up about his past and about becoming obsessed with the periodic table as a child. He imagined a few of the gases were like him and actually identified with Xenon. Just like him, no one believed Xenon could connect with anything. However, Xenon can bond with Fluorine under extreme conditions. Sofia claims she’s his Fluorine.

Carol’s looking at the email she requested showing the sleep study room. She fast forwards and sees Oliver entering the room and holding a Hudson Oaks brochure before lying down in the empty bed.

Sofia doesn’t exist!

Over at Oliver’s dad’s place, the imaginary Sofia tells Oliver that his dad is miserable without him. Oliver doesn’t understand how his dad can come back into his life again, only to leave more damage behind.

Imaginary Sofia hands Oliver a baseball bat and suggests that he do a little damage of his own.

Episode 14 ends with Carol asking, “Where’s Sofia?” after watching the entire video of the sleep study room.

 

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