NBC’s Brilliant Minds episode five opens with Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto) reflecting on coping mechanisms and how they help us make it through the day. Oliver’s voiceover tells us that sometimes our ghosts are visible to everyone. Other times, only we can see them.
In the case of ex-Marine Steve Hill (Joshua Echebiri), his ghosts seem very, very real to him. Dr. Carol Pierce (Tamberla Perry) tells Oliver that Steve’s suffering from intrusive thoughts and severe anxiety, and that he revealed he’s been seeing ghosts of people he served with.
Carol and Oliver meet with Steve and his pregnant wife, Anna (Sabryn Rock), and she confirms he’s been struggling. Steve doesn’t want to burden his wife, but confesses he often breaks down. He hands over his medical records from the VA, and Anna says they only gave him meds, which he stopped taking. Anna is shocked when Oliver asks about Steve’s recent visions. Steve didn’t share this particular development, and he admits his friend Lance Corporal Aiden Miller’s recent death has been painful to accept.
Following the meeting, Carol tells Oliver, Jacob (Spence Moore II), and Ericka (Ashleigh LaThrop) that she initially believed Steve’s suffering from PTSD. However, she’s realized Steve’s withholding something. Oliver points out that seeing ghosts isn’t part of PTSD and asks Ericka and Jacob to investigate Steve’s military history. Also, they should check to see if Aiden suffered from any similar conditions before his death.
Carol will talk to Dr. Josh Nicols (Teddy Sears) since he was in the military.
Wolf has determined that John Doe (Alex Ozerov-Meyer) has locked-in syndrome, which means part of his brain stem is permanently damaged. His eye movements mean his cognitive abilities are intact, but he’s unable to move. “If we’re right, John Doe has been in a very lonely place for a very long time,” says Wolf.
Wolf tells his team of interns that their job is to find out who is behind John Doe’s eyes. Oliver asks Van (Alex MacNicoll), who feels what others are feeling, if he’s getting anything from John and Van says no. The other interns have no idea why Oliver asked Van that question, and a short while later Dana (Aury Krebs) peppers him with questions. She jokingly accuses him of sleeping with Wolf, and Van reluctantly admits Wolf diagnosed him with mirror-touch synesthesia. Dana’s impressed and thinks Van has a super rare superpower, but Van confesses it feels more like a curse.
Dana promises not to tell anyone.
Van and Dana create a yes/no system for John Doe that allows him to answer with his eyes. John indicates he understands them, isn’t in pain, and knows where he is.
Wolf visits Steve Hill at his work and returns his notebook with his medical records. Steve wonders if Oliver was followed and claims that “they” came for Aiden and will come for him next. Oliver asks if Steve has anything he wants to share that he hasn’t shared with his wife. Steve admits that he believes the government put a microchip in his head to control him. The chip makes him see things, and he wants Oliver to remove it.
Steve undergoes an MRI, and Oliver, Ericka, and Jacob don’t find anything unusual in the resulting scan. Oliver believes they need to keep the results to themselves; too much info too quickly could result in a full-blown psychosis. They need to keep his trust and should admit him.
A flashback shows Oliver walking with his dad through the woods when his father becomes paranoid that hikers are following them.
Dr. Jordana Moore (Nicki Burke) from the VA has a personal connection with Steve and meets with Carol and Oliver to provide more information. He was an exemplary Marine but changed after his deployment. Steve stopped coming to the VA because he didn’t trust them. He was ultimately dishonorably discharged and lost his VA benefits after threatening to reveal military secrets online.
Jordana reveals Steve was never on the front lines, but she’s not allowed to say his actual assignment. Later, Josh confirms via a military contact that Steve’s unit supported the front lines with artillery fire from miles away. His unit never suffered any combat-related injuries. However, Josh also learned that more than half of Steve’s unit has died since returning home, mostly by suicide.
Josh and Oliver brainstorm possible causes, and Oliver compares it to football players who suffer from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Josh thinks Oliver’s on to something, but Oliver is confused about how Steve and his unit could have CTE if they weren’t in combat.
Josh takes Oliver to a shooting range, thinking there’s a way to tie CTE to Steve. Oliver’s never shot a gun before and as Josh is providing instructions, Oliver asks what serving in the military was like. Josh says the military whipped him into shape, but ”don’t ask, don’t tell” wasn’t an ideal situation.
Oliver fires a shot and immediately feels the blast wave through his arms. Josh believes firing a much larger weapon hundreds of times a day every day for months could result in CTE. To confirm this, they need to analyze the brain of someone from Steve’s unit who died.
Carol and Oliver meet with Aiden’s grieving parents, who describe their son as being paranoid after returning from a tour of duty. He was also other than honorably discharged for assaulting his therapist. Oliver asks if they’ve heard of CTE and explains how it’s possible Aiden and others in the unit suffered from it. Aiden’s parents are shocked when Oliver asks to exhume their son’s body to look at his brain. Aiden wasn’t given a military funeral and, therefore, is the only member of the unit they can access.
Carol assures them this is a last resort, and Oliver believes this might give them closure.
Jacob and Ericka ask Steve a series of questions with Oliver supervising. Steve’s surprised when Ericka mentions CTE, and Oliver explains that Aiden complained of similar symptoms right before he killed himself.
Another flashback shows Oliver’s dad stomping out their campfire so that the hikers won’t find them. His dad admitted he stopped taking his meds and believes he’s more aware now and can protect Oliver.
Steve locks himself in a room with a scalpel, ready to carve the microchip out of his head since Oliver’s not helping him. Oliver’s able to talk Steve down by using simple math to engage his prefrontal cortex. Steve puts down the scalpel after Oliver reminds him that he’s just weeks away from becoming a father.
Josh, Oliver, and Carol look at the pathology results and it’s confirmed Aiden had CTE. Steve’s wife alerts them that Steve isn’t in his room. She can’t find him anywhere.
Oliver finds Steve at work, and Steve apologizes for leaving the hospital. He doesn’t think he can be there for his wife and baby. Oliver explains that his father had ghosts, too, and he still wishes he was in his life. He also breaks the news that Aiden had CTE, which means Steve probably suffers from it too. Oliver assures him he’ll help him manage his symptoms, but Steve’s worried because the VA cut off his benefits.
Oliver speaks before a military panel and describes Steve Hill’s condition, comparing what happened to Steve’s brain to stretching a rubber band repeatedly. It’ll break over time. Aiden had a textbook case of CTE, and they believe the same is true of the men in Steve’s unit.
“Steve’s conspiracies and delusions are not an attempt to betray his country. They’re a cry for help caused by a neurodegenerative disease,” says Wolf.
Oliver pleads with the panel to understand what Steve and his unit went through and to restore their lost benefits and dignity.
John Doe’s condition seems to have worsened, and he’s not responding to lights in his eyes. He might have had another stroke, but Van confirms his vitals are still normal. Neither Van nor Dana can figure out what’s going on, and Van suggests that maybe the spark of life he felt going outside with Ericka and Jacob is wearing off. Suddenly, John opens his eyes and looks up and down rapidly as Mrs. Petrov, a patient who comes in for dialysis, walks by speaking Russian.
With Mrs. Petrov’s help, Van, Dana, and Oliver communicate using the Russian alphabet as Mrs. Petrov interprets. John’s message reads: “Don’t leave me.” Oliver becomes emotional and asks Van and Dana to get a paid interpreter to learn more about John.
That night an inebriated Jacob stops by Ericka’s apartment. Jacob seemed upset after Steve’s diagnosis, and now he admits he blacks out a lot. He’s worried about turning into Steve and explains that in his junior year, he decided not to play anymore after two concussions. Jacob regrets that decision because he was a really talented player, and now he’s just a “bad doctor.”
Jacob makes a move to kiss Ericka and she pulls away. He asks that it be her who slices his brain open.
He’s snoring on the couch as morning breaks and Ericka wakes him with coffee. He wonders if they did anything the previous night, and Ericka assures him nothing happened.
Ericka, Jacob, and Dana are gossiping about Van’s condition when Van walks in. Dana broke her promise not to tell anyone, and Ericka compliments Van on his sensitivity. Dana asks Van to forgive him, and Van smiles and confesses that he knew word would get out by telling her. He wouldn’t have to tell each of them himself.
“Well played,” says Jacob.
Oliver’s voiceover informs us that Steve’s VA benefits were reinstated, his family was compensated, and his honor was restored. Oliver and Carol watch as Steve speaks with a group of veterans and shares his story. While there isn’t a cure for CTE, it’s possible to slow its progress.
Episode five ends with Oliver asking Josh if implanting a microchip in John might work as a brain-computer interface to help him communicate. It’s experimental tech, but it’s possible the chip might give John back his voice. Oliver isn’t going to leave this patient and needs Josh’s help.
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