NBC’s Brilliant Minds episode 10 ended with Dr. Carol Pierce (Tamberla Perry) discovering Alison unconscious in her apartment. Episode 11, “The Other Woman,” opens with Alison rushed to the hospital, still unconscious and vomiting. Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto) glances knowingly at Carol, realizing the gravity of the situation.
Privately, Carol can’t believe Alison might be her one patient to die by suicide. She was only treating her to get more details on Morris’ infidelity and confesses she both envied and hated her. Oliver insists Carol isn’t at fault; Alison is a sick woman. Carol knows this is a huge ethical lapse, but Oliver thinks they should concentrate on keeping Alison alive for now.
Dana (Aury Krebs) and Van (Alex MacNicoll) can’t believe how many doctors in this hospital need neuro to weigh in on their patients. Jacob wants to make a competition out of how many patients they can see and discharge, and Van takes him up on it. (It’s more about who is the better man for Ericka, but that’s left unsaid.)
Meanwhile, Oliver sees Ezra, an old patient of his with Tourette’s who read about deep brain surgery that could help with his ticks. Oliver’s shocked when Ezra asks for a referral to a neurosurgeon. Ezra says he doesn’t want to just get by when there’s an option to fix it.
Oliver, Dana, and Ericka (Ashleigh LaThrop) check in on Alison, and she’s doing fairly well. She’s even ready to be extubated. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to contact any family members to be with her.
Oliver gives Carol an update on Alison’s condition and suggests that she stay away from her former patient. Carol knows Alison feels hopeless and alone, but Oliver insists she shouldn’t continue to check on her. Oliver assures Carol he’ll stay at the hospital while she goes home to get some sleep.
A short while later, Alison’s extubated and feeling pretty obnoxious about having a tube down her throat. Ericka tells her she’s lucky, and Alison insists she needs to talk to Carol. When Oliver says Carol’s unavailable, Alison refuses to speak with a different psychiatrist. Alison tries to get out of bed, and Ericka’s forced to explain that she’s on a psychiatric hold after attempting suicide. Oliver confirms they’ll transfer her to a psych bed as soon as she’s medically cleared.
Oliver sends the interns away and asks Alison if she needs to talk about anything. Alison says Carol can tell him anything he needs to know about her. She labels herself the villain – the other woman – which means she’ll eventually get what’s coming.
Oliver tells the interns about Ezra, and Dana’s super excited about the possibility. On the other hand, Oliver believes it will affect Ezra’s personality. He asks Dana and Ericka to keep an eye on Alison, and Van and Jacob for a status report on their patients. When Jacob pushes to have two of his discharged, Oliver questions why the rush. Neither Van nor Jacob reveals what’s going on.
Carol arrives home to find Morris and Maya having fun together in the kitchen. She has a flashback to a phone call with Oliver when Maya was a baby. She hadn’t been sleeping and asked if Morris called him.
Carol speaks to Morris alone and tells him about Alison’s suicide attempt. She confesses that Alison’s been her patient for two months, even after she found out Morris was sleeping with her. Carol explains that she thought if she could heal Alison, she could heal their marriage. She also wanted to figure out why Morris wanted Alison instead of her. Morris admits that it felt like wanting Carol wasn’t an option.
Jacob checks in on Mike, a patient who’s anxious to be discharged. He notices Mike’s voice has changed and after glancing at Van in the hallway, Jacob assures Mike he’ll get him checked out soon. But first, he has to check one final lab.
Oliver and Ezra meet with Dr. Josh Nichols (Teddy Sears) to review the brain surgery to block Ezra’s ticks. It’s a relatively minor surgery that should cut his vocal and motor ticks in half. Oliver argues that the risks of brain surgery aren’t worth it. He insists there’s nothing wrong with ticks, and Josh agrees but suggests that wanting a change is also okay.
As Carol walks into her room, Alison rudely insists she’s ready to go home. Carol doesn’t think she is quite yet. Carol asks what Alison wants to talk to her about, and Alison claims the sex was wild with Morris. Carol believes Alison’s lashing out because she’s all alone and can’t get what she wants. Alison reminds Carol she could ruin her career.
As Alison attempts to cut her food with a plastic knife, Carol flashes back again to Maya as a baby. She accused Morris of calling Oliver and telling him she had post-partum depression. Carol was not sleeping, and every little noise made her think there was something wrong with Maya.
Ezra asks Oliver if he really believes surgery is the wrong decision. They order coffee from a food truck, and Oliver gets a firsthand look at how people treat Ezra when he displays his ticks. Ezra confirms that people treat him badly or want to help, and he just wants not to be a “thing” in public.
Jacob taunts Van in front of Ericka with the impending release of a patient. Van admits to Ericka that he really likes her and that all Jacob cares about is winning.
Josh and Oliver chat over coffee, with Oliver suggesting the world is the problem, not Ezra. Josh gets it, but the world’s not perfect. Oliver reveals he wouldn’t have surgery to eliminate his face blindness because it would change how he sees the world. Josh says it’s easy to say that now when the surgery doesn’t exist.
Oliver’s called away from coffee when Alison experiences a medical emergency. Carol’s at Alison’s bedside and fills Oliver in on what’s happening. He orders Ativan for serotonin syndrome from the overdose, and it works.
Jacob signs Mike’s discharge papers but Mike stumbles as he stands. His voice isn’t raspy anymore, and Jacob asks Mike to hang around while he grabs some ice.
Maya and Carol meet for lunch, and Maya asks if her dad cheated. Carol confirms he did, but it’s never just one person in a relationship’s fault. She and Morris will try to fix things together, which isn’t the answer Maya wanted to hear. She believes it’s not up to her mom always to be the one to fix things.
Another flashback shows Carol very reluctantly letting Morris hold baby Maya. He told her she needed help (and sleep) and swore he would never hurt them.
Oliver’s shocked Ezra’s going ahead with the surgery, and Josh wonders if the root of Oliver’s problem is that he doesn’t want him to be the one who helps Ezra. Oliver denies that and insists he values Josh’s work as an equal. Oliver does, however, admit that neurologists and neurosurgeons always see things differently; it’s just part of the job. Josh wonders where that leaves their relationship.
Jacob brings in Ericka and Oliver as he tells Mike that he has myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease that stops communication between the nerves and muscles. If left untreated, it’s dangerous. Jacob saved Mike’s life by discovering the condition. However, this means Mike can’t be diagnosed.
Oliver admits he knows about the game because he played it as an intern. He congratulates Jacob for putting his patients first over winning the discharge contest.
A short while later, Jacob tells Van that Dana won the game. He insists he could have won but chose what was right for the patient. Van confesses he knows what Jacob’s doing and knows he likes Ericka. However, Ericka chose him. Before walking away, he thanks Jacob for the ice cream.
Oliver speaks with Ezra after the surgery, and Ezra is shocked at how quiet his body is now. Oliver believes Ezra will have room to discover something new about himself. He thanks Ezra for reminding him there’s nothing wrong with wanting to change.
Jacob does a little flirting with Ericka and reveals he’s done with the discharge game. He calls Van a worthy opponent and claims he’s impressed Van has time for all his patients, given that he’s a dad. He deliberately dropped that bombshell, and Ericka is shocked. She asks what sort of game Jacob is playing and says she wants no part of it. Jacob can’t even answer straight when she asks if he wants to be with her. She walks away, muttering, “I’m surrounded by boys.”
Ericka immediately confronts Van about having a kid, upset that Jacob knew and she didn’t. She suggests they return to being just friends, and Van describes what they’re doing as having fun. Ericka insists this isn’t “fun” for her anymore.
Carol brings Alison her dinner, complete with metal utensils. Alison apologizes for everything and claims she didn’t want to hurt Carol; she wanted to be her. Alison used to think of Carol as the other woman but realized that she’s the other woman. Carol doesn’t agree with that description.
Carol finally reveals Alison’s diagnosis. She believes Alison has borderline personality disorder. Alison probably didn’t realize she had it, and she can feel better with focused work.
“So, I am medium crazy not psychotic. I can work with that,” says Alison.
Oliver brings Carol her favorite coffee and wonders if he’s a d*ck. He’s not sure if people can really change, and Carol hopes it’s true. She knows for sure that she doesn’t want to be angry anymore.
Carol goes home and tells Morris she wants a divorce. She loves him, but he broke his promise never to hurt them. Carol can not forgive him for that.
Oliver talks to Josh about his dad being bipolar with severe manic and depressive episodes. Josh says he’s so sorry, and Oliver admits that if he could cure his dad, he would have done it in a heartbeat. Oliver also admits that Josh is right about treating patients. Different treatment methods exist, and Oliver’s methods aren’t always the only correct choice. Oliver assures Josh that he believes they are equals. He wouldn’t even bother to argue with him if he didn’t think that.
Josh laughs and reaches out for Oliver’s hand.
Episode 11 ends with Ericka stepping into an elevator with two other apartment building residents. The lights flicker, and suddenly, there’s rumbling and shaking. The hospital staff watch the news as reports roll in about a building collapse. Oliver tells everyone to make room for patients while Josh heads to prep the ER.
Van asks if anyone’s seen Ericka. Dana checks her phone and replies, “That’s Ericka’s building.”
- Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 1 Recap
- Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 2 “The Disembodied Woman” Recap
- Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 3 “The Lost Biker” Recap
- Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 4 “The Blackout Bride” Recap
- Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 5 “The Haunted Marine” Recap
- Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 6 “The Girl Who Cried Pregnant” Recap
- Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 7 “The Man from Grozny” Recap
- Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 8 “The Lovesick Widow” Recap
- Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 9 “The Colorblind Painter” Recap
- Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 10 “The First Responder” Recap
