Oliver (Zachary Quinto) confirms his recent medical history as NBC’s Brilliant Minds season two, episode 16, catches up with him at Hudson Oaks. Amelia (Bellamy Young) informs him she’s personally overseeing his case.
Oliver talks to his imaginary friend Sofia (Sarah Steele) in Hudson Oak’s dining hall, assuring her he’s there to rescue her. Oliver insists he faked a psychotic break to help her, and that there’s nothing wrong with her.
(The following is a recap of season two, episode 16—”Senses”—and there are spoilers.)
Oliver’s been at Hudson Oaks a week and he’s still convinced Sofia exists. He’s convinced that Amelia’s holding him and Sofia against their will. Amelia is equally certain she’ll be able to treat him and send him home…but not Sofia.
Over at the hospital, Oliver’s interns are anxious to get him back or at the very least visit him. Carol (Tamberla Perry) squashes that idea; he needs time to recover.
Josh (Teddy Sears) is told that for him to be promoted to the permanent chief of staff position, he needs to shore up neurology. The board doesn’t want Oliver back after he showed up during a psychotic break. If Josh can’t put the hospital above Oliver, then he won’t be given the position.
Oliver whispers to Sofia that it’s time to break into Amelia’s office. Sofia doesn’t think it’s a good idea, but Oliver is adamant. He’s frustrated that he can’t remember Sofia’s last name and she won’t tell him. Oliver steals a file, but Amelia catches him. He’s not ready to be discharged if this is how he’s going to behave.
The case of the week involves Head Chef Johnny Tang (Ben Levin), who isn’t feeling pain. He was badly burnt in the kitchen and doesn’t even flinch a week later when Dr. Anthony Thorne (John Clarence Stewart) removes a bandage. Ericka (Ashleigh LaThrop) wonders if the reduced sensitivity is why he waited so long to be treated. Neuro’s going to examine him, and Johnny asks for Dr. Wolf, since Wolf knew him before he was a Michelin Star chef. Of course, Wolf isn’t available.
Johnny gets agitated, refusing treatment from anyone but Wolf. He’s unaware that he’s urinated on himself after becoming upset. Thorne suggests he stick around and this time he doesn’t argue.
The blood tests come back normal, and Johnny refuses to stay for an MRI. Chef Nari Kim (Rosie Simon) stays behind and says this is all abnormal behavior. He’s been clumsy recently, in addition to getting injured.
Oliver participates in a group therapy session and it’s obvious the other patients resent the fact he acts like he doesn’t belong there. A patient disagrees when Oliver says none of them should be there, confessing that Hudson Oaks has given her a reason to live again.
Carol and Anthony go on a date and it turns out he’s taken her to a restaurant where he hosts a gathering of Bronx General employees. (Carol had no idea this gathering exists.) Anthony created it so that the employees can get things off their chest since outsiders might not understand what they go through.
Ericka disobeys Carol’s suggestion and visits Oliver at Hudson Oaks. She tells him about Chef Tang’s medical issues and Oliver explains that he treated Johnny’s mother, who was suffering from MS. Since he refused to stay in the hospital, they can’t test him for MS.
Oliver makes a split-second decision and asks Ericka to wait for him in the parking lot. He’s going to grab Sofia and escape Hudson Oaks.
Oliver bursts into Sofia’s room and tells her they have a small window to escape. She doesn’t want to go and suggests that he check her file again. He does and can’t grasp that she isn’t real. Sofia gently tries to fill in gaps and explains that he created a protective delusion – a patient he could save – to help him heal and let go of his past. Sofia assures Oliver that he belongs there right now and that he can prove he’s not his dad by getting better. He sobs as he tells Sofia he doesn’t want her to go, but she has to and disappears.
The mirror confirms he’s all alone.
The facility goes into lockdown as Oliver attempts to escape. He runs down flights of stairs and fights with the nurses who try and restrain him. Oliver loses the battle and is sedated.
Amelia calmly speaks to Oliver after he’s settled down, reminding him that the reason he’s in this state is because of his father. She’s certain that his sense of self was shaken when his “dead” dad showed back up in his life. His psyche couldn’t handle it and he created Sofia.
Oliver asks for a different doctor.
Chef Tang serves his mother’s signature meal to Dana (Aury Krebs) and Ericka, and they try to hide the fact his food tastes horrible. They wait until he walks away to agree that he’s lost his sense of taste. A scream rings out and Johnny’s sliced his arm with a knife but can’t feel it.
This time Johnny has no choice but to stay at the hospital for tests. He suspects it’s MS and Ericka warns him not to jump to conclusions.
Josh asks Carol for her opinion on Wolf. How long will he be out? She honestly doesn’t know.
And now we finally get a throwback to a scene from an earlier episode. Charlie (Brian Altemus) tries to speak with Josh about Johnny, but Oliver calls from Hudson Oaks and interrupts their talk. Oliver insists he needs Josh’s help leaving the facility and that they’ve taken his phone. He becomes agitated again as the phone’s taken away.
Charlie tries to act as though he’ll take over for Oliver. He assures Josh the neurology department’s in good hands. Josh shuts him down and insists he’s not the leader of neuro in Oliver’s absence.
Johnny’s relieved when Ericka delivers lab results that don’t indicate an MS diagnosis. However, they’ll need more tests to figure out what’s going on. Unless, that is, he wants to take a field trip with her to see Oliver.
Oliver apologizes that Johnny has to see him at Hudson Oaks, and Ericka assures Oliver that it took courage to seek help. Johnny explains that he’s been using his mom’s old ceramic pot to help him deal with the grief, cooking in it for all three meals. But three weeks ago, he started feeling uncoordinated and experiencing brain fog. His loss of his senses of taste and smell made him feel like he was experiencing another death.
Suddenly, Johnny begins seizing.
A short while later, Oliver goes over the symptoms and possible causes with two of his fellow patients, as if he’s talking to his interns. Of course they don’t have the answers, but that doesn’t stop Oliver from working through the problem. When Oliver opened Johnny’s mouth, he saw his gums were inflamed. He thinks Johnny is suffering from lead poisoning because he used his mom’s heirloom pot.
Oliver calls Ericka with his diagnosis just as Charlie accuses her of acting unprofessionally for taking Johnny to see Oliver. Dana takes Ericka’s side and Ericka doesn’t back down. She believes Charlie’s acting this way because he can’t get past hating someone who doesn’t deserve it.
Josh meets with the hospital board and admits he doesn’t plan to replace Dr. Wolf. He has faith in Oliver and suggests that no one should expect doctors to be invincible. Oliver is getting the help he needs, and if they fire him, they will be stigmatizing mental health. If he’s chief of staff, Oliver will stay on in his position as head of neurology. Josh praises Oliver’s skills and declares, “If my stance costs me the role of chief, well, so be it.”
Josh shocks the board by announcing he wants to terminate Charlie Porter’s residency.
Ericka and Dana tell Johnny the good news, confirming Oliver was right and that with treatment, his senses of taste and smell will quickly return. He just needs to rest.
Johnny agrees to do that, since Oliver was strong enough to let his team take over while he sought help. He turns over the evening service to his trusted next in command, Nari.
Carol turns down another date with Anthony at the restaurant. She doesn’t want to listen to other people’s problems or talk about her own. She’s had a tough year and just wants to feel good for once. Anthony helps with that by kissing her in the elevator.
Oliver finally speaks in group therapy, telling the group about his father, who is bipolar. It was difficult as a kid to understand what was happening to his dad, and he blamed psychiatric treatment centers for making his dad worse – which wasn’t true. Now he understands that it’s okay to admit he needs help.
A doctor tells him the mind is brilliant and it’s incredible the lengths it will go to to protect us. Getting help doesn’t mean he’s inherited a bipolar diagnosis from his dad. The doctor asks him if there’s something he positive he inherited from his dad. Oliver believes his dad was a really good doctor.
Oliver’s turned a corner toward healing just by understanding what he’s been suppressing. When Amelia says he can leave since his 72 hours are up, Oliver confesses that he’d like to stay. He asks for his phone to make a call and speaks with his mother, who doesn’t know he’s getting treatment. She wants to visit but he’s not quite ready for that yet.
Charlie and Nico (Al Calderon) go out for drinks after a rough day, and Nico helps Charlie get home safe. Charlie wonders if Nico thinks he’s a horrible person. Nico replies, “No. I just think you’re in a lot of pain.”
Oliver’s setting up for group when Josh shows up. They hug, the tightness increasing as the seconds go by.
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