‘Brilliant Minds’ Season 2 Episode 8 Recap: “The Upside Down”

By
Rebecca Murray
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Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 8 Recap
Ashleigh LaThrop as Dr. Ericka Kinney and Aury Krebs as Dr. Dana Dang in ‘Brilliant Minds’ season 2 episode 8 (Photo by: Pief Weyman/NBC)

A co-pilot is still feeling the effects of a long night of partying as NBC’s Brilliant Minds season two, episode eight begins. The pilot knows she’s tired but leaves her in charge as he takes a bathroom break, shooting selfies and checking out his hair.

(The following is a recap of season two, episode eight, which means there are spoilers ahead.)

The co-pilot, Elle Palmer (T.V. Carpio), seems to have difficulty keeping her eyes open as they approach the airport. The pilot is knocked out from turbulence as the passengers scream in fear. An engine is on fire, and Elle’s having a difficult time seeing out the windshield. The instruments are going crazy, and Elle instructs the flight attendant to get everyone to brace for impact. Air traffic control sends increasingly urgent messages and Elle finally responds, indicating she’s attempting an emergency landing.

Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto) and his team examine Jorge, and he compliments Jorge’s mom, Mrs. Torres, for her dedication to helping her son. They’re going to continue to monitor Jorge, but all they can really do is wait. After they leave the room, Charlie (Brian Altemus) expresses doubt that Jorge will recover. Oliver tells him to trust the process.

Carol (Tamberla Perry) heads out to Hudson Oaks to get an answer about a patient. Oliver dislikes the “succubus” from there who keeps poaching their patients.

Ericka (Ashleigh LaThrop) is keeping an eye on her credit card account after loaning Sam her card, promising to return it. Sam didn’t and has ghosted her, so she has every reason to be concerned. Nurse Nico (Al Calderon) pops in and informs Ericka and Dana (Aury Krebs) that they need to take drug tests; it’s been two years and they’re supposed to take one every six months.

Ericka panics, sure she’s going to get fired. It’s been a week since she took a benzo, and Dana offers suggestions on how they can get her body ready for the test. However, that conversation has to wait when they’re notified it’s all hands on deck in the emergency department due to a plane crash. They’re expecting at least 40 patients.

The plane crashed into the Hudson River, and Dr. Anthony Thorne (John Clarence Stewart) reminds Neuro to “treat and street.” Oliver confirms they’ll be treating all patients, not just neuro patients.

Anthony’s disappointed they got the walking wounded and not the big traumas. Oliver helps the co-pilot out of an ambulance, and she can’t open her eyes. Elle says her vision has failed and when she opens her eyes, everything is upside down. Oliver quickly diagnoses her with reverse visual metamorphopsia. Elle realizes she can’t move her right side, and Oliver believes she’s having a stroke. Her condition is declining fast.

A short while later, the tests so far are inclusive. They need more tests, and Oliver explains there’s a drug that can help stroke victims, but it must be given now. Elle agrees, but Oliver adds that if she didn’t have a stroke, it could cause life-threatening bleeding. Oliver is against giving the drug, but Elle wonders if she’ll be permanently impaired if he’s wrong. Oliver asks her to trust him.

Jacob (Spence Moore II) and Ericka hurry to a man screaming on a gurney and discover he has a twisted testicle from the impact. It turns out he’s the pilot and he calls his co-pilot a stupid b*tch. Ericka decides she’ll be the one fixing his testicle.

162 people were on the plane, and Anthony tells Elle that they are all accounted for. He wonders how she landed a plane safely with her vision problem, and she says she trusted her instruments. Elle’s tests came back and the MRI was normal, which means Oliver was right. Anthony compliments Oliver, saying he’s odd but he knows his stuff and can be trusted.

Meanwhile, Charlie responds to an emergency in Jorge’s room. His temperature has spiked and he’s infected again, and Charlie explains to Mrs. Torres that they can treat this. She asks for Oliver, but Charlie swears she can trust him.

The pilot confronts Elle, claiming he’s going to make sure she loses her license. Anthony forces him to back off, but the pilot tells the patients in the waiting room that Elle owes them an explanation. She’s still seeing everything upside down but tries to explain what happened. Instead, she speaks gibberish and panics. The pilot insists she’s on drugs.

NTSB agents show up to speak with Elle and she’s barely able to answer questions. Both of the meds she’s on are approved by FAA, and Oliver and Anthony stand by her side as she struggles to provide answers. They confirm she didn’t appear intoxicated when she arrived, and Oliver insists they need to get back to treating her. The NTSB agents dismiss the doctors but continue to question Elle.

Oliver and Anthony go over her symptoms and there’s no obvious answer. Anthony knows they have to figure it out quickly before the NTSB jumps to the wrong conclusion.

Charlie speaks with Jorge’s mom and even though Oliver wanted to hold out hope, he breaks the news that Jorge likely won’t return to normal. Charlie thinks they need to ask themselves how much Jorge would want to go through. He also explains that it might be time to stop doing things for Jorge and start doing something to him. Mrs. Torres doesn’t think Jorge would want this. Charlie suggests that if his condition worsens, they should allow him to pass with peace and dignity.

Carol meets with Dr. Amelia Frederick at Hudson Bay and asks the status of Hector Martinez. Amelia claims he’s making good progress, and Carol is there to personally check up on him because his family’s concerned about when he’ll be discharged.

Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 8 Recap
Tamberla Perry as Dr. Carol Pierce and Bellamy Young as Dr. Amelia Frederick in ‘Brilliant Minds’ season 2 episode 8 (Photo by: Pief Weyman/NBC)

Carol speaks with Hector and wonders why he wasn’t discharged a week ago. He insists he likes it there because he’s not the only “crazy” one. Hector isn’t ready to go back to his family, but Carol reminds him his commitment to treatment is to develop the tools to handle adversity. She believes his family is one of his best tools and informs Hector his family reached out to her to get him home.

Before Carol leaves, she has a friendly discussion with Amelia. Both agree it’s time for Hector to be discharged. (It’s obvious Carol gets a weird vibe from Amelia.)

Charlie tells Dana that he spoke with Mrs. Torres, and she’s agreed not to allow any more invasive measures. He thinks he can get Oliver to understand, but Dana says that’s not Oliver’s way. He always wants to give hope to patients. Charlie doesn’t believe that’s the right approach.

Dana shows Oliver a video of Elle partying the night before the crash. She’s sure it’s just a matter of time before it hits the news. Her toxicology reports are negative, but Dana confirms they don’t catch every new rave drug.

Elle tells Oliver and Anthony that she didn’t take drugs; she just uses dancing to reset. Oliver questions her vision flip, and Elle recalls it started with seeing black dots all over the skyline. At Oliver’s prompting, she attempts to write a sentence to get proof her brain is wired upside down. She writes “what is happening to me?” upside down, and Oliver believes he knows the cause. She has a rare, complex basilar migraine.

Elle doesn’t even have headaches, but Oliver is certain the black dots are a warning sign that a basilar migraine is coming on. Medication can stop the symptoms and Carol should be able to get to the source of the migraines.

Charlie informs Oliver that Mrs. Torres has decided to follow his treatment suggestions, and Oliver is furious. Oliver speaks with Mrs. Torres and says Charlie’s not wrong; he’s just young. She’s understandably confused.

Elle tells Carol she didn’t experience anything unusual until the approach. She doesn’t feel stress flying over the city so that wasn’t it. However, her captain was acting inappropriate and asking too many personal questions. Carol knows emotional triggers can bring on migraines. Elle finally admits her stepfather was an abusive alcoholic, and leaving home was the most difficult thing she’s done. She still hasn’t forgiven her mom.

Carol believes that with treatment, they can help her migraines.

Nurse Nico reminds Ericka about the drug test and she panics. Van didn’t know about the benzos, but she fills him in as she grabs a needle. Her plan is to stick herself and then check herself in occupational health; she’ll buy herself time to get a clean test result.

She has always wanted to be a doctor, and if she gets fired, her life will be over.  Van apologizes for not understanding what she was going through and suggests she speak with Nico.

Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 8 Recap
Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf and Aury Krebs as Dr. Dana Dang in ‘Brilliant Minds’ season 2 episode 8 (Photo by: Pief Weyman/NBC)

Carol and Oliver meet with the NTSB and confirm Elle’s migraines can be treated and that in time she will be able to fly again. Carol assures them Elle fully cooperated and doesn’t have a history of substance abuse. And Elle takes full responsibility for her actions and is proud of how she responded. Her vision was inverted and yet she landed a plane without any injuries.

The NTSB agents agree with her. They’ve determined her plane hit a drone in restricted airspace. The pilot is suspended for leaving the cockpit while the autopilot was disengaged. Elle, however, is not suspended.

Ericka meets with Nico and tells him she can’t take the test. He trusts her to handle this and warns her not to let it happen again. She has two weeks to get them out of her system before he has to test her.

Oliver calls Charlie in for a talk, reminding him he made plans for a patient without consulting his attending. They’re a team and not having the same approach to patient care sends mixed messages to patients. Charlie tells Oliver his reaction is irrational, and he should look into why he wants to keep treating a comatose patient.

Oliver is fed up and reminds Charlie he’s a trainee and his privileges at the hospital are provisional. This hospital isn’t his home. He orders Charlie to get out of his office.

Later, Oliver speaks with Carol and Anthony about Charlie. Although Oliver thinks he went too far, Anthony doesn’t think he went far enough. They all know the team needs to work together. But Carol reminds him he can’t yell at residents and he needs to stop sleeping at his office. Plus, he hasn’t swum in the Hudson since his dad left.

Ericka seeks Carol’s help and asks her to recommend a good therapist, admitting she needs help.

Oliver helps Elle get her confidence back, being her co-pilot on her first flight back.

Mrs. Torres sits next to Jorge and holds his hand. He squeezes it and then squeezes it again when she asks him to. She runs down the hallways screaming for help, overjoyed he’s alive.

The episode ends with Carol calling Emilia to thank her for helping Hector. She thinks Emilia’s priorities are in place. Emilia says she hopes Carol will think of her if she ever has someone in need.

Four months later, Emilia tells Oliver she wants to help him because he’s a very sick man. He responds by telling her she’s a liar. She reminds him it’s her word against his, and she has witnesses.  Hector is seated next to Oliver and confirms he’s the witness. Emilia warns Oliver to get comfortable. She quietly says, “You’re going to be with us for a while.”

 

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