Brilliant Minds Series Finale Recap: A Shocking Twist and an Emotional Ending

By
Rebecca Murray
-
Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 20 Series Finale Recap
Zachary Quinto and Ed Begley Jr. in the ‘Brilliant Minds’ season/series finale (Photo by: Pief Weyman/NBC)

An elderly man wanders around a strip mall and can’t seem to remember his way home as the season/series finale of NBC’s Brilliant Minds opens. Meanwhile, Oliver (Zachary Quinto) and his mom, Muriel (Donna Murphy), clean up his home, and he refuses to throw away his patient archives. Muriel’s busy booking a flight for Oliver, although he insists he can do it for himself.

(The following is a recap of season two, episode 20 – the series finale – and there are spoilers.)

Muriel reads from a file about a woman who mistook her husband for a hat, which is a twist on the real title of Dr. Oliver Sacks’ book (the series is based on his life) as well as the focus of season one, episode 13. She believes the archives prove he’s a good writer, and each case file reads the chapter of a book.

Dana (Aury Krebs) and Ericka (Ashleigh LaThrop) catch up with Van Markus (Alex MacNicoll) for breakfast, chatting about what’s going on at the hospital and in their lives. Ericka’s been frequenting this diner since discovering her mother, Joan, works there as a waitress. But she hasn’t told her who she is yet. Van reminds her it’s important to say things now because you never know how long you have.

A man rushes into the ER complaining that it feels like there’s a zipper in his chest pulling him apart. Dr. Anthony Thorne (John Clarence Stewart) quickly figures out he needs immediate open-heart surgery, but the patient refuses. Anthony calls Carol (Tamberla Perry) for support so she can evaluate his mental state. The man continues to refuse the surgery because his dad suffered for years after having it. He would rather die.

Carol speaks with the patient three different times and assesses that he’s fully capable of making a decision. Anthony wants her to lie and sign off on the operation, but Carol refuses.

Oliver’s embraced his new attitude and is actually going to take a vacation to Mexico. He tells Josh (Teddy Sears) he’s leaving, and Josh reveals he’s officially been promoted to chief. Suddenly, Josh’s sister, Serena (Amanda Walsh), barges in and orders him to take her side against their parents. It turns out the elderly man in the episode’s opening is Josh’s dad, Duke (Ed Begley Jr), who arrives with Josh’s mom, Bonnie (Anne Archer).

Josh’s mom introduces herself to Oliver as Duke wanders out of Josh’s room. Oliver follows him and Duke punches a glass, believing it’s a stranger staring at him. Bonnie explains that Duke’s been getting angry at home when he’s confused. The nurses Josh hired have quit because of it.

Oliver’s very gentle while explaining there are ways to help patients with Alzheimer’s, but Duke doesn’t want to talk about it. He asks Josh when he’s going to settle down with a nice girl and then leaves with his wife for the cafeteria. Once they’re gone, Josh confirms his parents know he’s gay and that’s what caused a rift between him and his dad. Oliver asks to take on Duke as a patient and assures Josh that they’ll handle what’s going on, no matter what it is.

Ericka, Charlie (Brian Altemus), and Oliver speak with Duke and try to assess his mental state. He gets upset but settles down when Oliver suggests a break. He recalls that he was stationed in Alaska in the ‘70s as a crew chief on an F15. He folds a paper airplane perfectly and it flies through the room. But then his mood shifts and he wants to go home.

Oliver asks him to draw what home looks like. He draws the outline of a basic house and writes the numbers 72 20 14.

Ericka, Dana, and Charlie wonder what it means. But Nico (Al Calderon) is much more interested in the fact Oliver’s treating Josh’s dad. Dana suggests what the audience is thinking, that this is a “pivotal moment in their ‘will they or won’t they’ saga.” Nico throws cold water on that when he reveals Beau asked Josh to marry him.

Dana pulls Ericka to the ground because Sofia (Sarah Steele) just showed up in the waiting room, and apparently she and Sofia slept together last night. Sofia left before Dana woke up. Sofia peeks over the counter and sees Dana and asks if she’s hiding from her. Sofia didn’t come to Bronx General for Dana; she came to see her brother, Oliver Wolf. That announcement stuns everyone and causes Ericka to drop the file she’s holding.

Nico volunteers to take Sofia to Oliver’s office, while Ericka’s shocked to realize that Dana slept with Oliver’s sister. Oliver sees Sofia standing there and is briefly confused. He asks Nico to confirm she’s real. After determining she is, Sofia introduces herself and Oliver admits he found photos and put together the pieces.

Sofia reveals their dad only told her about Oliver a few weeks ago when he got into a motorcycle accident. They live in Marin County, CA, and both she and their dad used to work at Mount Zion there. She breaks the news that their father died from the accident.

He left some things for Oliver in his will, and she asks him to help her clean out his secret apartment.

Oliver visits Bonnie and Duke at home, along with Josh and Serena. Bonnie’s made the house safe, even hiding the knives. Oliver points out that might be more harmful than helpful, but he understands why she did it. Duke’s quietly playing the banjo and Bonnie confirms that he was playing when she met and fell in love with him.

Oliver’s had luck with music and dementia patients before and asks Duke if he could have the banjo to play. He plays it well and sings “The Only Living Boy in New York,” which draws the family over to watch. Duke joins in singing on the chorus and everyone smiles. Duke turns to look at Josh, but when he speaks, he thinks he’s seeing his own father. Josh’s eyes fill with tears as they hug. Duke tells his dad he misses him and wants to go home. Oliver quietly assures Josh it’s okay to let him think that, but Josh corrects his dad. Duke insists he doesn’t have a son and pushes him away.

Josh and Oliver look through Josh’s old room, which Oliver calls a shrine. Josh looks at his old photos and sees a sad kid. He played sports and joined the military just to connect with his dad, but it didn’t work. Oliver can relate.

Oliver believes that Duke seeing him as his father was his way of trying to connect with his son.

Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 20 Series Finale Recap
Teddy Sears and Ed Begley Jr. in ‘Brilliant Minds’ season 2, episode 20 (Photo by: Pief Weyman/NBC)

Back at the hospital, Oliver tells Beau (Marco Pigossi) that it’s possible a focused ultrasound with microbubbles could help the progression. But it’s experimental and Josh isn’t big on experimental procedures. That’s why Oliver’s talking to Beau instead. However, Beau already discussed this with Serena (they’re apparently close) and Beau doesn’t think it will help.

Beau realizes Oliver’s not up on his and Josh’s relationship. Beau informs him that he and Josh broke up, and he hopes Oliver’s ready for everything Josh wants.

Oliver picks up Duke’s drawing and realizes it’s a home plate. He asks Josh, Bonnie, and Serena if the numbers ring a bell, and Josh realizes they are his dad’s high school baseball stats. Duke chimes in and confirms that’s true. Oliver holds a baseball and explains that while Duke can’t form new memories, his long-term memories are intact. He wants them to step back into the past, to the time when Duke’s most powerful memories were formed. Josh calls it reminiscence therapy, and Oliver agrees. He believes this is a low-risk intervention that has been proven to help patients with dementia. Bonnie agrees to try anything.

Serena points out that her dad is elderly and that it’s the dead of winter. Playing baseball might be dangerous. But Oliver’s already thought about that.

Carol’s upset to learn Anthony went behind her back, got a second opinion, and operated on the patient. She confronts him and says she thought he had more integrity.

Ericka is seated at the counter and Joan admits she looks familiar. Ericka finally confesses she was born in Brooklyn and was given up for adoption. She knows her mom was a good person and could be Joan. Ericka confesses she just needed to meet her, but Joan claims she never gave up a baby for adoption.

Dana and Van are waiting outside and pull Ericka in for a hug as she cries.

Oliver’s set up a baseball field, complete with a snack truck, inside a motorcycle gang’s warehouse. Carol’s impressed and Oliver confesses he wants Josh to have a moment with his dad that he never got with his.

Duke and Josh’s family arrive, and Serena tells her dad he looks handsome. Duke replies, “No crying in baseball,” while Bonnie hands him his mitt.

Josh finally tells Carol that he and Beau are officially over. He’s only holding back with Oliver because he’s worried Oliver will run away again. Carol reveals Oliver didn’t want to tell him, but his dad just passed away. He’s doing okay; he grieved a long time ago.

The hospital staff hit the field, and Duke takes the pitcher’s mound with Oliver up at bat. Oliver actually makes good contact and Charlie’s impressed that Nico’s got a good arm. Carol tags out Oliver as he tries to steal, and everyone’s having a great time.

Van’s pitching while Duke’s up to bat, and Van’s son cheers on his dad. Duke hits a home run on his first swing and both teams cheer. Duke stands at home plate, and Josh joins him to run the bases. Josh is smiling broader than we’ve seen in two seasons as Duke slaps hands and crosses home plate.

Once the game’s over, Bonnie thanks Oliver for all his help. She thought they’d spend their golden years looking back on all their memories, but Duke can’t remember things. Oliver points out that she picked the right person to make memories with. Bonnie wants that for her kids, too. She hopes she taught Josh to follow his heart.

Anthony confesses he’s felt awful all day and apologizes. Carol doesn’t think mixing work and their personal lives is a wise idea and wants to hit the pause button. Anthony understands and says to let him know when she’s ready.

Josh sits with his dad and talks about his Little League career. Josh recalls his dad made him bat cleanup, even though he was a weak hitter. He was mad about it back then, but then they stayed around and hit balls together. Josh even hit his first home run during their practice time. Duke tells Josh he’s so proud of him and knows he’s a doctor. He asks if Josh is dating anyone special, and Josh replies, “Not at the moment, but there is someone. It’s complicated.”

Duke asks for more details about “him,” and Josh catches that. He admits he’s crazy about a stubborn, brilliant neurologist.

Sofia packs up their dad’s apartment and Oliver confesses it hurt when he learned his dad had a good life with another family. Sofia hands Oliver half their dad’s ashes and then continues looking through his paperwork. She’s not taking the fact her dad had another family well since she learned about it right before he died. Sofia now understands that her dad was always comparing her to Oliver, without her realizing it.

Brilliant Minds Series Finale Recap Oliver and Josh kiss
Zachary Quinto as Oliver and Teddy Sears as Josh in the ‘Brilliant Minds’ series finale (Photo by: Pief Weyman/NBC)

Josh is waiting outside Oliver’s place, holding a fern. He bought it for himself months ago, even though ferns are Oliver’s thing. He’s tried everything to keep it alive, but only playing Bach seems to work. Josh talks about it being unpredictable, stubborn, moody, and taking over his life, and it’s the only thing he can think about. He’s definitely no longer talking about the fern.

Josh says, “I love you, Oliver. I want to play Bach for you. I want to put you in the sun.”

Oliver replies, “I love you, too, but I don’t know if I could give you the life you want. You know me, Josh, I’m not the one you choose.”

Josh corrects him and says it’s not a choice. He fought falling in love with Oliver, but it’s always been him. The life Josh wants is with Oliver.

Oliver’s voiceover talks about love being a brain-altering event that creates euphoria. They share a passionate kiss and finally make it inside Oliver’s place.

Scenes of the days following their reunion show they can barely keep their hands off each other.

The police arrive at the emergency department and inform Anthony that they discovered the dead wife of the patient who needed an open-heart surgery in the patient’s trunk. He named Anthony and Carol as his alibis.

Josh joins Oliver on vacation in Mexico and they tease each other about working while they’re supposed to be relaxing. Carol’s also joined them and knocks on the door to remind them that breakfast is in 15 minutes. They laugh as they enter the restaurant but then suddenly the mood changes. All the customers are unconscious in their chairs. They rush to take pulses and find some are thready. Others appear to be deceased.

Some are experiencing seizures and Oliver, Josh, and Carol have any idea what’s happening.

And that’s how the series ends. With a bunch of possibly dead or dying people in a Mexico City resort. At least Josh and Oliver had their happy ending – unless whatever caused this medical issue is still spreading…

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR