While Brilliant Minds Season 1 wasn’t consistent in its storytelling, it offered something that drew us in.
It was all about the found family arc with the interns, pulling us in each week to see how they would go from strangers to best friends.
Sure, Zachary Quinto’s Oliver Wolf is certainly someone to enjoy watching on the screen, and there are some great moments with Carol Pierce and Josh Nichols, but it was the interns that made the series as compelling as it was.
Brilliant Minds Season 2 hasn’t quite captured the magic of the first season, leading to a sophomore slump — and it’s not the only sophomore show to suffer from that this year — but the good news is there’s time to change that for the better.
Found Family
“Family don’t end with blood,” is a phrase that’s commonly linked to Supernatural, and arguably, that is the series that put a light on the idea of found family.
From there, we’ve had multiple shows continue with the idea that you can find your people as you get older, and Brilliant Minds is certainly one of them.
In school or out in the wild, there is no way that Ericka Kinney, Dana Dang, Van Markus, and Jacob Nash would be friends.
We saw them at the start of Brilliant Minds, competing with each other and even throwing each other under the bus to cover up their weaknesses.
Look at how far Jacob has come from the beginning, from the stereotypical jock to a heartfelt and kind friend, realizing that Van wasn’t his competition (both professionally and personally) after all.
We hoped Brilliant Minds Season 2 would continue this idea of found family, fostering the group’s friendships and seeing them interact more, whether in the break room or at home.
Yet, there’s hardly been any of that, and some of that comes from Jacob and Van being completely sidelined this season.
In fact, did you notice that they’re no longer series regulars on the show?
That was quietly done, and I’m not impressed with that decision, as Brilliant Minds needs the Core Four.
When Jacob has been included, he’s brought some of the heart that made the intern interactions so powerful, by proving that he isn’t a jock and that just because he’s been rejected by a girl doesn’t mean they can’t still be friends.
There’s a struggle with including Van, as sometimes he’s only there for comedic relief or to bounce ideas off, but at other times, he’s been able to use his mirror-touch to help patients and doctors.
And I get that the series has had to give time to the other new characters joining, but there hasn’t even been enough of that to justify reducing Jacob and Van’s roles so much and cutting out the intern interactions.
Too Much Wolf
I know what you’re going to say with that heading, but patience!
Brilliant Minds is based on Oliver Sacks, so it makes sense that Oliver Wolf is the main character.
And that’s great!
I don’t mind learning more about Oliver and seeing him grow as a person.
In fact, we do need to see that, as he learns, he can work through his own problems.
Oliver and Carol’s scenes are some of my favorites, even in Brilliant Minds Season 2, so it’s not the day-to-day stuff that is getting too much.
It’s the Hudson Oaks storyline, which has left us wondering whether Carol has really encouraged Oliver to go for inpatient treatment or if this is some sort of undercover mission to take down Amelia Fredericks.
This arc has connected to the new character Charlie Porter, and while it’s created a potentially season-long mystery, it’s just too much.
It’s also too tropeish for TV right now, and Brilliant Minds did such a great job in the first season of stepping away from the traditional TV storytelling.
While Brilliant Minds Season 1 featured the mystery of Oliver’s father’s disappearance 30 years earlier, it didn’t feel as drawn-out or frustrating; instead, it enhanced the overall storytelling.
That arc helped us understand who Oliver was and how he became the doctor he became, while this latest arc is giving us something in the future that lets us connect the dots in the present-day story.
The Brilliant Minds Season 2 mystery doesn’t add a layer to Oliver’s overall personality, nor does it give him something to work through from his memories.
Instead, it leaves us with the fear that we won’t see Oliver overcome all the baggage that holds him down.
Brilliant Minds Season 3?
It’s clear the series is struggling with the sophomore slump, and if nothing changes, I don’t think we’ll see Brilliant Minds Season 3.
We can just look at the Nielsen ratings from TV Series Finale, which shows Brilliant Minds is at the bottom of the scripted dramas on NBC, even behind Law & Order: Organized Crime, which has already aired its full season on Peacock!
Also, the first episode lost more than 40% of its demo and total audience compared to the series premiere, and the season average overall is down 34% in the demo and 27% in the total audience.
This is a sign that NBC won’t continue the show, viewing the loss of viewership as too great a risk.
So, Brilliant Minds needs to change something to help it succeed, and there is one thing that will help.
It’s all about the interns.
We need more of them interacting with each other in meaningful ways.
In fact, Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 7 has offered some hope that this is still possible.
As Ericka finally opened up to Dana about her mental health, Dana just held Ericka as she sobbed.
For the whole season, we’ve seen the two just become roommates, but this episode made it clear that Dana still cares about her best friend and can be there to support her.
Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 6 also featured it, with Jacob listening to Ericka and becoming the first person in the friend group to open up to her.
So, there is room for this sort of interaction, but Brilliant Minds has currently chosen to sideline it for the Wolf mystery; however, it’s time to change that to get out of the sophomore slump and give the show a fair chance at a renewal.
Brilliant Minds is one of those shows I want to succeed, and I’ll tune in each week to give it a boost and hope the Core Four becomes more central as a group and not just to help one member.
Agree? Disagree? Have a theory?
Let us know in the comments, or share this article with someone who will want to argue about it with you. That’s what makes it fun.
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