Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 1 Review: Helping the Hopeless

Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0

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Brilliant Minds pulls you immediately because of Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto). He believes that he can’t help patients without knowing who they are.

Based on real-life neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks, Dr. Wolf was a risk taker and a rule breaker if that meant helping his patients.

Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 1 was the ideal pilot because it introduced us to our protagonist and showed us how he worked. With his hell-bent attitude and heart of gold, he reminded me of Conrad Hawkins on The Resident.

When he smuggled a patient from the Alzheimer’s wing, Dr. Wolf rubbed others the wrong way. But it was a sight seeing him and Harold on his motorcycle.

Harold’s case was difficult. Should Dr. Wolf have taken him out of the hospital without permission? Probably not.

But so many families treat dementia or Alzheimer’s patients without dignity near the end, and all Harold wanted was to attend his granddaughter’s wedding.

Music helped him function, and seeing him come alive while singing at her wedding reception was heartwarming.

While Harorld may not remember the wedding later, Dr. Wolf wanted to help him seize the moment one final time. It’s hard to debate that logic.

We soon learned that Dr. Wolf has many of his own issues. He became a neurologist because his dad had some mental health issues, but no one took the time to help or understand his dad, not even his mother.

On the other hand, Dr. Wold learned many things from his dad, including how to describe people, which helped immensely with his facial blindness.

Another thing Dr. Wold has in common with Conrad Hawkins is that their large egos sometimes need stroking. Dr. Carol Pierce (Tamberla Perry) had to stroke him by asking him to join her team at Bronx Medical, saying she needed his expertise.

It was obvious that they were old friends, and she knew which buttons to press to get him on board.

They aptly named his character because he was a lone wolf. He preferred working alone and hated working with four new interns or getting along with the chief of neurosurgery.

The interns were entertaining, though they had already formed their opinions about working with him. Jacob (Spence Moore II) thought Wolf was crazy, especially in some tasks, until he saw him in action.

Wolf got along better with the other three, beginning with Dana, because she also struggled with anxiety and popping pills, something he related to.

Erica (Ashleigh LaThrop) often acted like the leader, reminding the others that they could learn from Wolf. However, Van (Alex Mac MacNicholl) was the first person Wolf bonded with since he understood the importance of helping Hannah and her lack of a premeditated response.

Wolf worked better with the patients since helping them was his goal. He soothed their new patient, Hannah, quickly but was concerned since her brain surgery caused an emotional attachment from her kids.

Like many other doctors, Dr. Nichols prioritized solving the medical problem. Dr. Wolf believed in looking at the bigger picture, which involved getting to know his patients.

Wolf’s main problem was getting people to look past, merely stopping Hannah’s seizures. I’ve had seizures, and stopping them is essential, but sometimes medical procedures cause massive side effects.

Wolf wanted to understand Hannah and help her sons since, again, everyone else had deemed their case hopeless. This case had stumped Dr. Pierce, too, and she knew it would take someone like him to work miracles.

Dr. Pierce had her work cut out for her as she tried to mediate peace between departments, monitor Hannah’s case, and get Dr. Wolf acclimated.

Wolf was fueled by his childhood and his father being taken from him. He didn’t want Hannah’s boys to endure that when she still loved them deeply. She just didn’t recognize them, which crushed the entire family.

Wolf theorized that Hannah struggled with Capgras syndrome, which made her think her sons were imposters. However, when he played audio of her sons’ speaking, she reacted emotionally until it became too much for her, and she had another seizure.

Fighting the system proved challenging because Dr. Nichols (Teddy Sears) and CPS only saw things in cold, hard facts. It wasn’t safe for the boys to stay with their mother while she was having seizures or couldn’t recognize them.

But Wolf studied the mind extensively and believed it wasn’t black and white. They were down to Hannah’s last hope when he tried blindfolding her in front of her sons and asked them to talk to her.

But, as the family embraced, it was apparent she knew and loved her boys.

There was a long road ahead to prove Hannah was a fit mom and to re-establish a relationship with her sons, but Wolf proved that untraditional methods work.

While he and Dr. Nichols will probably never be best friends, they developed a grudging respect, especially after Dr. Nichols heard Wolf admit honesty can be uncomfortable.

That was some cliffhanger. Since Wolf has lingering issues with his mother, how will he deal with her daily now with her as his boss? Combining family drama with this medical drama will be entertaining.

Brilliant Minds features some cliches and gimmicks about mental health, but it’s got heart. It’s one of the few medical dramas that explores the mind neurologically and how it concerns mental health.

Since it’s adapted from real-life cases, I’m excited to see where this goes, especially since we may see some guest stars more than once.

What did you think of the series premiere of Brilliant Minds? Did Dr. Wolf remind you of Conrad Hawkins? Would you like to see more of Harold or Hannah’s stories?

We would love to hear your thoughts, so please share them in the comments.