The patient saves this medical drama

Brilliant minds Season 1, Episode 2 is an improvement over the NBC show's tough debut — but not for the reasons viewers would expect. The success of “The Disembodied Woman” is largely due to the strong performance of guest star Nedra Marie Taylor in the title role, while star Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf finds more of his rhythm. But the troubling flaws at the show's core are unfortunately still present.

“The Disembodied Woman” refers to former basketball star Jessie Williams, who arrives at Bronx General Hospital for surgery but experiences strange symptoms before the procedure. Tasked by his boss (and his mother) with assessing Jessie, Wolf naturally falls down a rabbit hole of unexpected answers. Meanwhile, a student claims to have seen a dragon, although not that one game of Thrones Diversity. The series has the bizarre medical cases under control, but still has to find itself.

Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 2 features a stronger main case

Jessie Williams is a more proactive character

One of the main problems with the Brilliant minds At the series premiere, almost everyone felt like they were part of Dr. To be Oliver Wolf's story, and that included his patients. For Wolf, it felt hypocritical to talk about how patients deserve better care when the script doesn't pay much attention to anyone else at all. “The Disembodied Woman” takes a big step in that direction with Jessie, who is a better written and less compelling character than Hannah in the pilot. A former WNBA All-Star coach and later high school coach, Jessie comes to Bronx General with the mindset of an athlete and therefore has more energy. She can work more with the interns. She has a more pronounced dynamic with Wolf.

And even if Jessie is scared or incapacitated, actress Nedra Marie Taylor is worth watching. She conveys Jessie's entire roller coaster of emotions so the audience can empathize with her. Even if Brilliant minds The feel good ending comes when Jessie returns to coach her team (which feels like something out of a good sports movie). It works because the audience is rooting for Jessie as a person – not only for her to get better, but also for Wolf and company to “win.”

The same cannot be said for the second patient of the week. Pete isn't much further than a typical college student yet because this subplot isn't really about him. It's about the interns and how they treat him, especially Ericka, who dismisses his hallucinations as a result of drug use and then tries to take his case to Dr. To force it on Carol Pierce. Pete serves to develop Ericka and her friends. But Jessie's story is proof of when Brilliant minds If you put in the effort – and get a great guest star – it can provide much richer medical stories than the first time around.

Brilliant Minds still needs to fix some issues

Episode 2 continues to feel average in many ways

Unfortunately, Brilliant minds Episode 2 doesn't fix all of the problems that arose in the pilot. There's still a lot of work to be done before this becomes one of the best medical dramas on television – and that starts with forgoing the trappings of most medical dramas. Especially when the premise of the series is how unique Wolf is, this series shouldn't do what everyone else is doing. As a result, there are no pinholes, but visually it is still an unpleasant sight. Some scenes ooze color, while half of the series appears to be shot in the same muted colors used for the flashbacks. It also ends with another montage that suggests that every episode ends with Wolf telling what happened and/or what message he wants the audience to learn, which is a shortcut the series doesn't need.

The interns remain the weakest part of the show. They all fall into easily recognizable character types, and some of their behaviors are downright annoying. Brilliant minds made Dana the “sarcastic one” who jokes about getting high and watching House of the Dragonbut she's not funny at all. Van experiences some development in Episode 2 when he panics during a lumbar puncture – but his subplot is an example of how the text suffers from the “show, don't tell” problem. This scene doesn't feel big enough to overwhelm him. As he leaves, he might as well have forgotten to turn off the stove. It's only when he explains to Wolf (and therefore the audience) that viewers get a sense of what's really going on. And all the interns have to repeat to each other the mistakes they made in their last scene; Fans are supposed to find their shotgun beer in a bar to have fun or be an example of their bond, but that fails because there's no reason to invest in these characters yet.

Brilliant minds With Dr. Things go better for Josh Nichols as he learns of Wolf's condition and the two actually banter a bit at the end of the episode. The question is how much the show will actually use Teddy Sears in the future; It's not just about incorporating Nichols into every story, but about doing so in a meaningful way. But Sears and Quinto seem to be good counterparts for each other – rather than rivals just so Wolf has someone to argue with. And Quinto is much more attuned to Wolf the second time around; the character's stubbornness and passion come to the fore more clearly. He's still the main reason to watch, and he needs great people to play against if he wants to move the series forward. Unfortunately, the author's character also looks to the past.

Does Brilliant Minds rely on flashbacks?

Season 1, Episode 2 contains more of the same

Another one of the less successful elements of Brilliant minds were the flashbacks to Dr. Oliver Wolf – but Episode 2 suggests that these will be a permanent part of the series. There are several flashbacks in The Disembodied Woman, including the first scene between a young wolf and his father. These scenes also serve as crutches to show the audience why Wolf does what he does (in this case, he equates Van's panic with his own reluctance to dissect frogs in science class and therefore pass on his knowledge). The bigger problem is that if the flashbacks are going to be part of every story, then this in conjunction with Quinto's narrations suggests this Brilliant minds is Wolf's story. Is this supposed to be a show about Dr. Will it be Oliver Wolf, in which he solves cases every week, or should it be a medical drama with Wolf as the main character? Even though the series is based on the texts of Oliver Sacks, that doesn't mean that everything has to be presented from Wolf's perspective. Other series like those from NBC New Amsterdam are based on medical books but are more comprehensive.

Brilliant minds This theme doubles in the final scene of Episode 2, in which Dr. Muriel Landon reveals that Wolf is harboring at least one secret. The not-so-surprising ending of Episode 1, which established Wolf's mother as his new boss, was embarrassing enough; that just makes the problem worse. “Wolf” already has enough tragic backstory with what’s shown on screen, and the series doesn’t need an ongoing mystery to make it worth watching. It just has to be a good medical TV drama – and for as long as it lasts Brilliant minds Season 1, Episode 2 makes progress in this direction, but the writers still have to break away from the familiar and plunge into the unknown to get there.

Brilliant Minds airs Mondays at 10 p.m. on NBC.