Brilliant Minds (1x7) ⁞⁞ Episode Spotlight

The new medical drama Brilliant Minds provided a major storyline climax in Episode 7, that would change the course of the lives of several of the show's main characters, including gay leading man Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto). After weeks of attempting to unravel the mystery behind a young John Doe patient experiencing Locked-In Syndrome after an apparent stroke, Wolf reached a breakthrough, with help from his fellow queer doctor Dr. Josh Nichols (Teddy Sears), a skilled surgeon. The two managed to get their patient, whom they had been able to communicate with a bit enough to learn his name was Roman, into an experimental medical study around new technology that would see Nichols implant a micro-computer interface chip into Roman's brain, allowing for an analysis of his brainwaves that translated to language using a machine. The breakthrough now allowed Wolf and his team to have longer conversations with Roman (Alex Ozerov-Meyer), which they hoped would help them find out more about him, where he came from and who out there might be looking for him, since they had no luck previously finding any relatives. Roman expressed his thanks to all of the medical team that had spent time with him for weeks, revealing that he could always hear them and their care for him, despite not truly knowing him. He also revealed his desire to end his life, due to his suffering in his present condition. The episode used a filming technique of showing Roman out of his bed, disconnected from his breathing tube, for his conversations with the other characters, as they all imagined him sitting and speaking with them instead of hearing him through the machine. 

Roman revealed he fled Russia in the face of harsh homophobia, living in Chechnya where it is illegal to be gay. He detailed how he came to New York with nothing and found a job, leading him to reach out to someone from Russia. After being struck by a car on his bike, he refused medical attention, ignoring his head injury, later leading to his stroke. Roman later revealed that he had ultimately fled Russia for love. This led the team to finally locate Alex (Mishka Yarovoy), who showed up at the hospital for a reunion with his love. Wolf was immediately emotional upon realizing that his anonymous patient was gay and in love. He explained Roman's condition to Alex who was immediately open to taking care of Roman for the rest of his life due to his love for him. Wolf revealed this to Roman, explaining how he could live a fulfilling life, despite his condition and inability to breathe on his own. Roman, however, made it clear that despite being reunited with Alex, he was still ready to end his life. Despite protests from his interns, Wolf ran out of options to convince Roman to change his mind. Roman spoke to him about embracing life and even told Wolf about the connection he's noticed between him and Nichols, which Wolf disputed. Roman told him to embrace the life he has while Wolf helped him bring his own life to a joyful conclusion. Wolf and his team moved Roman into his home to spend his final night out of the hospital, with Alex at his side. Alex imagined a final kiss with his love and Wolf's team surrounded them with support, as Roman was disconnected from his breathing tube and allowed to pass away. In the wake of the loss, the medical team found themselves contemplating taking charge of their lives, and for Wolf, that meant reaching out to Nichols, planting a public kiss on him to end the episode.