‘Brilliant Minds’ Recap: ‘The Colorblind Artist’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

BRILLIANT MINDS -- "The Colorblind Painter" Episode 109 -- Pictured: (l-r) Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf, Robert Manning Jr. as Gabriel Ferguson -- (Photo by: Rafy/NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Nine of ‘Brilliant Minds’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Healing is a word that carries with it a supremely black and white view in our minds, and understandably so. Because just about every injury we deal with regarding with that word, follows a very baseline course in our minds. For instance, if we cut our hand, we go to the hospital and get stitches for the wound and we heal. If we need knee surgery, we have our knee repaired and we heal. And if we suffer through grief and loss, we heal from it. But as time marches on, it is becoming clear that we cannot think about healing in such basic terms. Simply because it is not a simple and quick process. There is irritation as the wound closes and stitches must be removed, and we must go through physical therapy for our knee surgery and mental therapy for our loss. For healing is a genuine process, and sometimes… we are not the same when we heal.

For we may have a scar when that wound heals and we may not regain full use of our knee after major surgery on it, and our worldview is changed when we lose someone. So, how then should we view healing? Well perhaps we need to see healing as the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one, so that we can go about life differently in that new chapter, and what that looks like, is top of mind today, simply because it was showcased in the next episode of Brilliant Minds on NBC. For ‘The Colorblind Artist’ saw Dr. Wolf receive a very specific request from the agent of world-famous artist, Gabriel Ferguson. Wherein she wanted Wolf to meet Gabriel because he wasn’t himself after an accident and his career was about to falter and potentially end and well, what Wolf learned about the man truly hammered home that fascinating lesson.

Because it turned out that Gabriel had been through it in the past year. For a devastating car accident ended the life of his beloved wife, and the toxic fumes he inhaled while waiting for help, damaged the pathways in his brain that allowed for him to see colors. All of which in turn, he believed, robbed him of his ability to create art and of course… to feel anything really. Because he was hurting, his life was changing and that meant it fell to Wolf, to help him understand his worth in this new chapter of his life and how he could find his way back. Since his body adjusted and gave him new elements to his sight, and while it was slow going to get through to him, eventually, Wolf helped him to understand that he lost nothing from a talent perspective and that he could find ways to honor his wife and heal from the pain of losing her. Through art and through living and that give rise to incredible new creations… that offered new perspective on the world.

But what mattered more is that Wolf correctly pointed out the central theme. That the loss of someone we care deeply for, and major injuries are truly the end of chapters for us. For we won’t be the same emotionally and physically and we must understand that and accept it. Because we still must go on and we still have to honor those we’ve lost and what better way… than by embracing that new chapter and thriving within it and learning what positive things we can find within it. Which made for a beautiful story, one that also featured some other musings regarding new chapters. Since Van and Ericka struggled to learn that new chapters in romance aren’t easy and can often go the wayside when there isn’t enough communication and understanding what that new chapter entails, and Carol also learned… that sometimes, new chapters mean absolutely closing the old one through and through.

Since she started to see the toxic nature of sticking with the patient that slept with her husband, and that prompted her to close that uncomfortable chapter, with a bang no less. Since her car was vandalized in response to sending her patient away, that will absolutely bring about some twists and turns in the new chapter for her. All of which, made for one engaging episode. One that in a way, pulled the show back to its core roots. Not to say that it was straying, but it has loosened up a bit to tell more personal stories about the staff and close out the mystery of Roman/John Doe. But great shows always know how to ground themselves and get back to basics and this one did so in a magnificent and beautiful manner, by informing us that healing is so much more than a simple moment. Until next time.

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