"Limitless" Recap: "Badge! Gun!"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

I have to admit that while I fully enjoyed the pilot episode for Limitless, I found myself nervous about what we could expect quality wise from the rest of the series. Mainly because of my concern as to whether or not the concept of the show would actually work. What made the movie so effective was that it revolved around a decent guy quickly finding himself wrapped in a mysterious new world where the lines between good and bad were clearly blurred. 

At the end of last week it was clear that Brian Finch was not going to spend too much time in that world by making a deal with the F.B.I. to help them out, and that's where my concern came into play. Could a guy on NZT, who clearly has the world at his fingertips and can out wit and out run anyone while on the drug be able to play the role of a good guy, a hero if you will and make this whole thing come together in fine fashion? The answer as it turns out is a resounding yes because "Badge! Gun!" turned out to be a delightful episode. 

In fact, the crime that Brian works on this episode, turned out to be one epic conspiracy that I never saw coming and it was all thanks to the finite attention to detail that Mister Finch is able to bring forth when it comes to the miracle that is NZT. Granted his desire to solve the case gets him in trouble with his bosses frequently as he breaks protocol, but I mean man...this drug is something else. We really get to explore its abilities on this show and in the first half hour Brian managed to bring down a big time domestic terrorist. 

In the process of doing that, he uncovers the grand conspiracy involving a genetically modified bio weapon designed to bring down specific descendants of Genghis Khan to save a pharmaceutical company's government contract. If that sounds super complex and over the top...well let's be honest it is. Yet...it works. I mean seriously as wild and crazy as that sounds the whole thing works in this episode and while I enjoyed it and was pleased that my concern was addressed, a new worry arose in my mind...is this all the show is going to be? Good Guy Brian saving the day and taking the drug and that's it? 

Thankfully, the show extinguished that worry as well. There are several questions brought up in this episode, specifically about Senator Eddie Morra, our protagonist from the movie. For starters, any time Brian tries to learn more about the man, the power and his computer are promptly disabled. Hell, the nurse that gave him the shot that neutralizes the side effects to NZT is keeping an eye on his father and even Brian is wondering...what does Eddie want with him? Is Eddie now the villain and we're not aware of it? Or is there some grander plan here Eddie has put in motion? Either way, the show has yet to let me down, and the Eddie Morra mystery has me fascinated, I'll be tuning in next week to see where it goes. Until then. 

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