‘Brilliant Minds’ Scoop: What to Expect in Series’ Final Episodes

Even though NBC announced earlier this month that Brilliant Minds would not be returning for a third season, its missing medical drama is not just going quietly into the good night. Instead, the still-worthy series is returning after a lengthy winter break with new episodes and on a new day and time on Wednesday, May 27, at 8/7c.

“It’s kind of like the big escalation,” previews showrunner Michael Grassi. “And a lot happens in those last six episodes. So, I’m excited for everyone to get their eyes on them.”

Picking up from the February shocker that Bronx General’s Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto) had been interacting with an imaginary patient, the hunt is on for the now-MIA neurologist. His bestie, psychiatrist Dr. Carol Pierce (Tamberla Perry), leads the charge, but once she and Oliver’s ex Josh (the always reliable Teddy Sears) get a lead on him, they’re faced with a painful truth.

“We’ve all been in situations where a friend is struggling,” continues Grassi, noting how the hour gives the fabulously matched Quinto and Perry one of their most emotional interactions. “It’s a big show piece for Tamberla. She’s always amazing, but I talked to her a lot about this episode and this was the big Pierce episode and she knocked it out of the park. She’s so good. It’s one of my favorites of the season.”

David Lee/NBC

Fans, too, will be swept up by the scene, which finds Carol in the precarious position of finding the perfect way to get Oliver the professional help he desperately needs without betraying his trust and the years of friendship between them. “That’s what this is about in many ways,” Grassi explains. “Carol is so good at dealing with her patients, but what happens when your patient is your friend? It comes with this whole other layer of heartbreak.”

And a little horror. The show has been giving us flash-forwards to Oliver’s harrowing stay at the Hudson Oaks psychiatric facility, and this week’s events kick off that storyline.

Pief Weyman/NBC

“We’re [building] to somebody who has needed help for a long time and is finally getting that help, but it’s not easy to get help,” offers Grassi, adding that will become quite evident with the return of Bellamy Young (Scandal) as Hudson Oaks’s clinical director Dr. Amelia Frederick. “One of the things that we’ll learn is doctors make the worst patients. And even though Oliver knows he needs help deep down, I think it’s not easy to accept it and I think there’s some resistance there.”

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“We’ll learn in the next few episodes, is it indeed a scary place or is it scary to Oliver and that’s the lens we’ve been seeing it through?” says Grassi. “I think Oliver and Bellamy’s story really comes to a head here and they have some incredible scenes together. And again, there are more surprises with Bellamy along the way as well because she’s not what we think she is maybe.”

Another mystery? All Grassi will give us about that is that “we’ll uncover more” in the upcoming episodes — including next week’s, directed by “none other than Quinto himself. ”

Brilliant Minds, Returns, Wednesday, May 27, 8/7c, NBC

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