Brilliant Minds' Fall Finale Ended On A Scary Cliffhanger For One Doctor, But I'm Just Excited For Mandy Patinkin To Show Up
There's scary news and good news after Brilliant Minds' fall finale!
Spoilers ahead for the fall finale of NBC's Brilliant Minds, called "The Other Woman" and streaming now with a Peacock subscription.
Brilliant Minds debuted in the fall 2024 TV schedule as network television's newest medical drama, with Zachary Quinto, Tamberla Perry, and Teddy Sears starring as the senior doctors specializing in matters of the mind and working over a team of residents. The fall finale forced Carol (Perry) to face her ethical misstep in treating Alison as the woman her husband had cheated with, required Wolf (Quinto) to realize something about himself to save his relationship with Josh (Sears), and pitted residents against each other with the dreaded love triangle drama.
All in all, it was an eventful episode that ended in a scary cliffhanger for Ericka (Ashleigh LaThrop) for the drama to pick up on in the 2025 TV schedule... and also reminded me of what one star told me weeks ago about a guest star I've been waiting for all season: the one and only Mandy Patinkin.
Ericka's Fate
"The Other Woman" was a messy hour for Ericka, Van (Alex MacNicoll), and Jacob (Spence Moore II), with the two men trying to outdo each other on the job in a very thinly-veiled attempt to prove who is better for Ericka. Van wasn't exactly being magnanimous about Ericka picking him, while Jacob retaliated by telling Ericka about Van's kid... who Van hadn't told her about.
In my book, Jacob crossed the worst line by dropping the news about Van as a father when he'd promised to keep the secret, but Van wasn't exactly treating Jacob with respect, and I can't blame Ericka in the slightest for ending the arrangement with Van by telling him that it "isn't fun for me anymore."
But that's not a cliffhanger worthy of a fall finale, and "The Other Woman" raised the stakes much higher than the relationship messiness in the final moments. Ericka's attempt to do laundry backfired when the elevator carrying her stopped working and the building started to shake.
And I originally thought that the cliffhanger would be whether or not the cable snapped on Ericka's elevator, but Brilliant Minds went above and beyond. As the finale switched over to show the doctors at Bronx General glued to the TV, Wolf learned that a building had collapsed not too far from the hospital.
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The natural next step was to start preparing for the influx of emergency patients who were likely on the way, but Dr. Deng realized the very personal stakes before anybody else did: the building was Ericka's. Cue the credits rolling to leave fans hanging on her fate until Brilliant Minds returns in January!
The promo for the winter premiere gives a glimpse of the chaos that's waiting in the new year, but not a clue about who I've been waiting for: The Princess Bride's Mandy Patinkin, whose role in the medical drama was announced months ago. Despite the intense cliffhanger all about Ericka, the episode's heavy focus on Carol reminded me of when I spoke to Tamberla Perry about reuniting with Patinkin for NBC's new show.
Why I've Been Waiting For Mandy Patinkin Since Talking To One Star
All the way back in July, TVLine reported that Criminal Minds and Homeland vet Mandy Patinkin was slated to appear in two episodes of Brilliant Minds' first season on NBC. At the time, I assumed that fans would see him before the end of the 2024 portion of the season, with the outlet further reporting that Patinkin would be playing a doctor who joins the staff at Bronx General and wins the respect of Wolf, which is no small feat, and kicks off a mentor-like relationship between the two.
Can I be blamed for looking forward to seeing his episodes?! I don't know if Patinkin's character will be tear-worthy like Broadway's Andre De Shields in the premiere (and Zachary Quinto takes it as a compliment when fans cry during Brilliant Minds), but the actor is an Emmy-winner for a reason. Given that the fall finale was Episode 11 of a 13-episode season, it seems that Patinkin's two episodes will also be the last two of the season.
When I spoke with Tamberla Perry ahead of the premiere about her chemistry read with Quinto and what sets Brilliant Minds apart from other medical dramas, I had to ask about her working with Patinkin again after they co-starred in Hulu's Death and Other Details. She shared:
With how excited Perry sounded when asked about teaming up with Patinkin again, how was I supposed to not be excited about his arrival? As it turns out, she gave her endorsement about him being cast on Brilliant Minds when the possibility arose. She continued:
Death and Other Details may have only lasted for one season, but it was enough that the two former stars were happy to see each other again on Brilliant Minds. With Patinkin arguably best known nowadays for The Princess Bride and Criminal Minds and now set to play a doctor on NBC, I noted to Perry that he has a knack for jumping from genre to genre, and she replied:
Hopefully Carol and Patinkin's character will share some scenes when Brilliant Minds returns in the new year, even though his is evidently set to mentor Wolf. Whatever happens (or doesn't) between their characters, the Season 1 fall finale was the best episode showcasing Perry as an actress so far, as far as I'm concerned. As for what comes after the cliffhanger, check out the promo for the winter premiere:
Brilliant Minds returns to NBC with the winter premiere on Monday, January 6 at 10 p.m. ET to pay off on the collapse of Ericka's building, with the promo seemingly confirming that she was indeed still inside when it came down. In the meantime, you can always revisit earlier episodes of the medical drama streaming on Peacock and/or check out Death and Other Details streaming with a Hulu subscription for Tamberla Perry and Mandy Patinkin in the same show the first time around.
Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).