Reviewer Rating: 4.6/5.0
4.6
Teen pregnancy and witchcraft. What a perfect combo heading into Halloween.
In Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 6, a group of teenage girls experience massive psychogenic illness, and one of them experiences a pseudopregnancy, or pseudopregnancy.
Dr. Wolfe and his team went back to the high schools to find the root of the problem and connect with the girls.
While it’s a serious issue, it’s also one of the most heartwarming and funny episodes of the season.
It shows the power of female friendship during the tough years of high school. Viewers also learn why Dana hates high school and why she becomes anxious.
Elsewhere, both Wolff and Carroll try to flirt with their new colleagues. Are they back to their best?
Return to high school to solve the latest mystery
Brilliant Minds continues to surprise us with medical cases we’ve never heard of.
While I’ve heard of fake pregnancies or false pregnancies, the addition of multiple teenagers experiencing mass hysteria was an exciting twist.
Often, women who are infertile experience false pregnancies as part of their grief. Most teenagers don’t want to get pregnant.
If they were both pregnant, the only strange thing was that none of them were pregnant.
–PhD. Wolf
With this in mind, Dr. Wolfe and his team went back to the high school to decipher whether Sarah Lin and her friends had experienced any group trauma that might have triggered this condition.
Even though Dr. Wolfe hates high school as much as Dana does, he looks like he belongs when the group swaggers in.
Wearing a leather jacket, he looked relaxed and confident as he and Principal Owens tried to reassure parents and find answers.
He is very good at making patients feel comfortable even when he is uncomfortable in relationships. Dr. Wolff understands the teenage desire to find purpose in life, even if it is misguided by being a teen parent.
He’d been through so much trauma as a teenager, and he still wasn’t sure what his goals were outside of medicine, so in a way, he envied these girls for having clear goals.
The magical pregnancy contract
While pacts don’t happen as much in high school, pregnancy pacts still exist. It’s sort of a way for best friends to do something together.
The bond between Sarah Lim, Lily Jones and their friends is so strong that doctors have a hard time deciphering it and understanding it.
It was so hilarious to see them join their group and read tarot cards. These are classic high school activities that help them bond with the girls.
Thankfully, Dana learned that this pregnancy protocol was different. The girls were enchanted to become pregnant and thought they were pregnant a month later.
Group singing is crucial to their bonding because it releases oxytocin, which opens neural pathways and allows mass hysteria to spread. Who thought something as wonderful as a desire to belong could do this?
Finding index patients becomes even more urgent.
Fan’s mirror-touch synesthesia saves the day
Van still hates being different and feels like his mirror-touch synesthesia is more like a science experiment for his friends.
He still has trouble getting blood tests done because of his fear of needles. However, his ability to sense pain saves the day.
When Samantha Lee arrived at the hospital, everyone thought she was suffering from mass hysteria like everyone else, so she had a fake birth.
But Fan almost doubled over in pain. He knew that it was real labor pain and that the baby was about to be born.
The parallels between Van’s surprise at Samantha Lee and Dr. Wolfe and Principal Owens’ discussion of how Samantha dropping out of school affects the girls are shown well.
The calmest Van has been since taking office, he leads the girls to help their friends and asks Erica to assist him. I hope we get to see more of the delivery, as Van would be great as an ob-gyn.
I loved that he later admitted that he focused on Erica to keep him calm during the surgery. The two share small moments in the episode that make them a potential couple. The highlight of the show is teasing the audience a little bit.
Dana’s panic attacks explain a lot
Hear more about Dana’s past, explaining why she hates school and has panic attacks in the library. This also explains why she formed an inseparable bond with Lily.
While sometimes a chemical imbalance can lead to depression and anxiety, it’s often triggered by trauma. They’d been hinting at something to Dana for weeks.
It never occurred to me that Dana had a sister, or that she was dead, but this information explains why her and Lily’s relationship grew so quickly. Lily has a fierce personality, is funny, and is ready to take on the world like Dana’s little sister.
Dana also envies the relationships between Lily, Sarah and the other girls. She wishes she had the deepest friendships she had in high school so she might be able to handle it better.
I love the growth of the interns. They went out outside of work to celebrate the win and support each other, and they both assured Dana that they would be there for her.
Erica: Now you have us. We are your rally.
Dana: You get a group hug. That’s it.
Carroll and Wolff are back to their best
Neither Wolfe nor Carol dated anyone their entire lives. Carol has forgotten what it’s like to be single, so it’s fun to watch her ask an old co-worker about the experimental run on Jane Doe.
She had known Simon since college, and he was still attracted to her. Although Simon doesn’t want to cooperate with Wolfe in this trial, he would tolerate him if he could see more of Carol.
Maybe Carol would benefit from an interesting fling. She’s right, too, that Wolfe needs to be seen by more people besides his plants and patients.
He’s almost identical to Principal Owens. The chemistry is strong and they care about helping those teenage girls.
Mark Owens even pursued Wolfe by asking him out. Should we hope he thinks he’s unavailable now that Wolfe and Nichols will soon be in the spotlight?
High school can be one of the toughest times.
This episode shows how you need a group of friends to help you survive, and when things change between them, it can cause chaos for teenagers.
It speaks to Dr. Wolfe and Dana the most, but this case will also affect many viewers.
What did you think of this week’s episode of TV Fanatic’s Talent?
Are you surprised by the magical pregnancy covenant?
Did you enjoy learning more about Dana?
Are you happy with Wolfe and Carol’s social life?
Let us know in the comments.
Watch “Ingenuity” online
