It’s no secret that Brilliant Minds has suffered the same fate as so many other TV shows, the sophomore slump.
Sure, the first season had the odd questionable episode, but for the most part, it pulled at the heartstrings.
Part of the reason it was so strong was the way Dr. Wolf and others connected with the patients at the hospital, which was something Brilliant Minds Season 2 had been missing.
(Pief Weyman/NBC)
There was so much focus on the mystery that the series lost some of the patient storylines and the heart to them, but that’s started to change.
A Push for Patient-Driven Stories
In Season 2, Episode 9 of Brilliant Minds, the series returned the focus to the patients and the connection between them and their doctors.
Sure, that episode in particular would naturally hit all of us, as it featured Eric Dane and his very real medical condition, ALS.
Having such a real-life element, including showing just how much the disease has taken from him, added a shock element and a connection that no other episode could, but it didn’t rely on that alone.
With the focus on a family doing everything they could, and the fear of being a burden, Brilliant Minds got back to the heart of what made it so great in the first place.
(Pief Weyman/NBC)
Then it continued with Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 10, focusing on Sam. After a few episodes of building up to his medical condition and needing doctors to fight for him, it came to an epic conclusion full of hope.
Of course, that episode ended with some of the bigger storylines involving Porter and Wolf, but it also ended with the crash that would catapult us into the next story that captured our attention.
Brain Death and False Hope
Brilliant Minds Season 1 brought hopeful storylines, but it always drew a line when it came to false hope. Sometimes, you have to prepare someone for the worst.
Yet, Brilliant Minds Season 2 has somewhat forgotten that message. We saw it with Jorge, and that somewhat unrealistic, dramatized storyline of falling 30+ stories to the ground.
(Pief Weyman/NBC)
So, when it came to Michelle’s accident and the fact that she was brain-dead, there was the discussion of false hope again.
This time, Brilliant Minds got back to the brutal honesty of it in a sympathetic and considerate way, bringing us back to what made the series so “brilliant” throughout the first season.
There was no cure. While it didn’t seem like Michelle had died, she had effectively passed away. There were only machines keeping her alive, and eventually, Van had to come to terms with that.
We could see in each character that they knew the truth and that there was nothing they could do to help Michelle. They had to be there for their friend, though.
It all goes back to Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 7, which covered locked-in syndrome and living with it afterward. How do you force someone to live in a state that they don’t want to be in?
Medical conditions can bring some of the most heartbreaking and difficult conversations, but they’re necessary, and Brilliant Minds gets them right every single time.
(Pief Weyman/NBC)
It’s Just Too Late
My fear, though, is that getting back to the heart of what made Brilliant Minds so special is just too late.
People have already tuned out.
The viewers who were there for the first couple of episodes, trying to get through the mystery element of the show, have gone, and they’re not coming back.
That’s the problem with taking a risk like this: people don’t want to sit through episodes that don’t quite keep them engaged just to get to the ones that capture the heart.
Especially not when they have to get through eight episodes to finally get back to the heart.
(Pief Weyman/NBC)
On top of that, the series is losing two of the Core Four.
While Brilliant Minds showrunner Michael Grassi says it opens up time for the bigger love story between Dana and Ericka, it’s not easy to sit through episodes and feel like two people are missing.
If the series had written one of them out, then maybe it would have stood a chance.
But to lose two of the Core Four in the same episode after not getting all that much of them for the first 11 episodes of the season? It may have been the biggest mistake yet.
Personally, I’ll tune in, and not just because I write about it. I’m hoping for more of these patient storylines, and I am intrigued about Charlie Porter.
However, I know a lot of people who are out, and it makes me worried that Brilliant Minds Season 3 isn’t going to happen.
Brilliant Minds airs on Mondays at 10/9c on NBC.
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