We’re back! After a long hiatus, Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1 ‘The Phantom Hook,’ opens a new season of our favorite show in a rather well-rounded way, bringing to the table the conflicts that will develop throughout the new episodes and some new ones that have us hooked from now on. Ready?
Here we go!
The Escape in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1 ‘The Phantom Hook’
In Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1 ‘The Phantom Hook,’ Oliver tries to help cure his father. However, the reality is that he avoids him. Oliver avoids seeing him and avoiding facing him, what his return means, and even the fact that this whole illness thing may just be another lie.
He tries to treat him as if he were just another patient, but he can’t even manage that because the distance between them makes it impossible to get to know him well enough to conduct a clinical follow-up. So Oliver is trying to do something impossible because he always finds himself at a dead end. He’s trying to forget all the emotional implications—almost as if that would eliminate them—and just get on with it, being the doctor, not the son…and that couldn’t work out.
In the middle of all this, there’s Muriel. With her, Oliver also holds back when talking about his father in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1 ‘The Phantom Hook.’ He only talks about him as if he were just another patient, when he isn’t. And Muriel tries not to push too hard. Overall, it’s all too…contained. Oliver also isn’t talking to his mother about the fact that she lied to him for years. He hardly forgave her outright. But Muriel also doesn’t want to push Oliver because she sees that he’s not ready to face her or his father.
Muriel does the only thing she can: protect Oliver. She’s not so sure that her ex-husband needs Oliver’s help. She thinks he might be lying and knows it’s not healthy for Oliver to be constantly trying to figure out how to help him when he probably doesn’t need it. So she gives the ok to the test Oliver wants. It’s time they know the truth, whatever it is. It’s almost like ripping off a Band-Aid; it hurts, but it’s better than never doing it at all.
MORE: How Did Season 1 of Brilliant Minds End?
Fathers and Sons
So, we come to the case of the week for Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1 ‘The Phantom Hook.’ As always, it’s a case that ends up paralleling Oliver’s life and helps him move forward. This time, it’s the relationship between Tommy and his father that clicks for Oliver. Tommy’s father didn’t want to face his son’s illness and preferred to harm him rather than support him. He told himself he was protecting him, but the reality was he was hurting him.
And that’s exactly what his father did to Oliver. Under the false pretense of protecting him, he abandoned him to his fate, made him feel guilty about his death, and deceived him. He hurt Oliver. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t love him, just that he does it selfishly. It’s at that moment that Oliver realizes he must talk to his father. Oliver must confront him and break that cycle of selfishness and lies.
But by the time Oliver decides to do so, he’s gone. His father has run away again, and that breaks Oliver’s heart into a thousand pieces. He was ready to give him a chance… but his father is still the same coward he always was.
MORE: Brilliant Minds Season 2, Episode 1 Preview: ‘The Phantom Hook’
Festering Wounds
Oliver and Josh’s first meeting in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1 ‘The Phantom Hook’ after what happened between them is…tense. Nichols is clearly furious with Oliver. So, out of pride, he tries to make it clear that he’s over it, even though he isn’t. But we understand. We would do the same. However, their second meeting is different and much more clarifying. Josh decides to put his pride aside and seeks out Oliver to try to talk to him about what happened. Oliver isn’t ready and refuses, but Josh isn’t going to let him slip away. Not anymore.
Despite everything, Nichols understands. That’s why he gave Oliver time. Josh knows that Oliver’s withdrawal is just a response to what’s happening. His father’s return not only shattered the foundations of Oliver’s life but also rekindled the trauma of abandonment and his guilt for leaving his father to his fate. But Josh’s understanding of Oliver doesn’t stop him from feeling hurt by what he’s doing to him.
Oliver broke his heart, and breaks it again and again every time he pretends nothing happened between them and refuses to talk to him. It’s as if Oliver has given up. Despite all that, in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1 ‘The Phantom Hook,’ Josh is there, fighting for him, for them. But Josh can’t do it alone. He needs Oliver to do it too. Nichols needs the reassurance that Oliver, even if he’s not ready to talk yet, will be one day, and that, in the meantime, he’ll let him in. However, Oliver is too closed off and refuses to do so…and that could cause him to lose Nichols.
MORE: Brian Altemus and John Clarence Stewart Join Brilliant Minds Season 2
Other Stuff in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 1 ‘The Phantom Hook’
- Muriel has a lot on her plate, but we think something else is wrong with her. And we need to know what.
- We knew everything couldn’t go so well with Erika…this is only going to blow up in her face and be much worse. We hope she seeks help sooner.
- That picture is skewed. And it’s driving us crazy.
- Seeing Markus without a beard is a little weird…we’re still deciding if we like it. But what we do like is that he looks much more mature now, just like Jacob.
- As always, Oliver and the team don’t just help heal the body. Tommy needed that last fight…and Oliver helped him get it.
- Oliver and Carol’s friendship is still EVERYTHING.
- Carol fought again for where she belongs. We’re proud of her! But we also need to know what happened with her license.
- We can’t stand any of the new guys. One thinks the interns work for him, instead of with him. And the other, Charlie, thinks he’s better than them just because he’s a second-year resident. We already hate them.
- Dr. Wolf fan club? Seriously, Charlie? Also, this guy spoke to Erika like that and threatened them all? F**ck him!
- We didn’t believe that fake apology for one second. This guy is up to something, and it’s not good.
- We liked seeing Oliver cut Charlie. These two characters are definitely going to work really well for the plot.
- We loved seeing Nichols defending Oliver like that! As soon as he saw he was in danger, he went out there, willing to do anything to avoid it.
- For the first time, we know where Oliver will be in six months, and it’s not a good place. Why is he in that mental institution? Did everything that happened finally catch up with him and break him…or does it have something to do with whatever Charlie is up to? This is so interesting!
Brilliant Minds Season 2 airs on Mondays at 10 pm ET on NBC.
