Brilliant Minds (2024) s01e01 Episode Script
Pilot
1
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS]
When a doctor looks at a
patient, what do they see?
The disease or the person?
I believe you can't treat a patient
without understanding
who they really are.
And sometimes the only
course of treatment
is breaking the rules.
[NOMBE'S "CANT' CATCH ME" PLAYS]
Ah ♪
Unh ♪
Are you thirsty,
Harold? Want some water?
Didn't think so.
♪
Harold. It's me, Dr. Wolf.
Put this on quickly.
And I'm so caught up ♪
Now, is it me or my luck? ♪
Can't get enough ♪
Feed on alchemy ♪
And I'm running
petrol through my blood ♪
Excuse me, Dr. Wolf.
Where are you taking Harold?
Uh, just on a little field trip.
It's a very special occasion.
Alzheimer's patients
don't leave my floor
- without authorization.
- [ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
Sorry, Marcy. We'll be back soon.
- Hey! Hey! Hey!
- Hey!
Oh, you got to be [SIGHS]
Why the hell does he call me Marcy?
Tie my hair back, I'm Marcy, too.
People say he can't recognize faces.
I just think he's a dick.
J-Rod, we've got a runner.
[ENGINE REVVING]
♪
Ooh, can't catch me, baby ♪
[ENGINE SHUTS OFF]
[MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
Thank you so much.
Have you lost your mind?
♪
Oh, the Chases. I'm sorry.
I didn't recognize you.
What are you doing here with my father?
Surely the bride's big
night wouldn't be complete
- without her grandfather.
- He can't even remember her.
Harold, do you know who I am?
Do you know who this is?
He's lost his memory, Mr.
Chase, not his humanity.
- You, on the other hand
- Leave immediately
before our daughter sees you.
Do not make a scene.
And you, if you break my
daughter's heart tonight,
I will make sure you never
treat another patient again.
Showtime, Harold. Come on.
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
Showtime?
Are you ready?
♪
["GOD ONLY KNOWS" PLAYS]
♪
You like this one, Harold?
♪
Yeah.
But not the way you play it.
[LAUGHING] Okay.
Fair enough. Um
Well, show me how it's done.
[NOTE PLAYS]
["GOD ONLY KNOWS" PLAYS]
I may not always love you, but ♪
But long as there
are stars above you ♪
You'll never need to doubt it ♪
I'll make you so sure about it ♪
God only knows what I'd be ♪
Without you ♪
[TRUMPET PLAYS]
If you should ever leave me ♪
Though life would
still go on, believe me ♪
The world could show nothing to me ♪
So what good would living do me? ♪
God only knows what
I'd be without you ♪
God only knows what I'd be ♪
God only knows ♪
God only knows what I'd be ♪
What I would be ♪
God only knows what I'd be ♪
Without you ♪
God only knows what I would be ♪
Without you ♪
[LAUGHS]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
- Yeah!
- Bravo!
Wonderful.
Grandpa.
That was
I can't believe you're here.
Sophie.
How did you do that? How did you
Music.
It makes him lucid, unlocks
memories, his sense of identity.
Oh, my God.
♪
This could only be love ♪
You took an Alzheimer's
patient out of the hospital
on a motorcycle.
The family is threatening to sue.
For what, giving Harold
the night of his life?
A night he is incapable of remembering.
That doesn't mean he
shouldn't experience joy.
You're not his wingman.
You're his doctor.
Yes, exactly. I am his doctor.
And his condition can't be cured.
His world is darkening by the day,
and those days are numbered.
And while you would have
me forget him, let him rot,
I choose to walk with him,
to find a path forward,
because nobody else
will, not even his family.
Yes, it's true, Harold
can't live for the memories.
He only has the moment,
so I'm gonna help him
and patients like him seize that moment,
no matter how fleeting it might be.
That is my responsibility.
That is my job.
One of your better speeches.
We get it. You're a hero.
You want to change how
your patients see the world.
I want to change how the
world sees my patients.
You put this facility at risk!
Dr. Cohen, you don't understand.
You don't understand.
I'm sorry, Dr. Wolf,
but you are terminated.
♪
♪
♪
♪
Wolf?
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
Wolf!
[SIGHS]
♪
[METAL CLANKING]
♪
Wolf?
Are you decent?
[MUSIC STOPS]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
- Carol.
- I would have called or texted.
But you're a Luddite.
- I have a landline.
- That you never pick up.
Heard you got fired.
And you're here to what?
Help me drown my
sorrows over Chardonnay?
Sure. Isn't that what friends do?
Normal friends, maybe.
Not us.
Okay, you're gonna make me chase you.
Our Neuro attending just quit.
We need a replacement right away.
It's a small department, so
you'll get to be hands on.
And you get to work with me.
Carol, I cannot work at Bronx General.
You know why.
I do.
So maybe you should
take another offer, hmm?
There must be so many just rolling in.
You need us, Wolf.
I'm busy.
Of course you are.
You got your workouts,
your Bach, your plants.
- They're ferns.
- They're a coping mechanism.
Doesn't the Head of Psych
have, um, actual patients
- to psychoanalyze?
- I do.
But you're more fun.
Plus, I know you're lost
without your patients.
Yeah, well, it's not
gonna happen, Carol.
Well, that's unfortunate,
because there's a post-op case
I could really use your help with.
Hannah Peters, single mother, two boys.
She underwent a right temporal lobectomy
to cure her epilepsy, and it worked.
Except when she came
in for her follow-up,
I noticed a dramatic
shift in her behavior.
What kind of shift?
Doctor-patient confidentiality.
All I can say is that
it's a real anomaly.
I've never seen anything like it.
Meanwhile, our budgets
are being slashed,
and I have patients in
desperate need of care
that I have to turn away.
If only there was a
brilliant neurologist
who would stop at nothing to help them.
- Carol.
- I'm gonna leave you to your ferns.
And I'll give you till
5:00 to change your mind.
Wait. What do you think's gonna
happen between now and 5:00?
I don't know.
Maybe you'll think about
why you became a doctor
in the first place.
♪
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
[ENGINE REVVING]
[ENGINE SHUTS OFF]
♪
♪
- Dad.
- Come on.
You're almost there.
[CHILDREN SHOUTING, LAUGHING]
Friends from school?
Let's try something.
Close your eyes. Describe me.
Like, what makes me me?
You have bushy eyebrows.
You have a big nose.
[LAUGHS]
Try that with the kids at school
if you really want to remember them.
Make some friends.
♪
Dad? You're bleeding.
This is what happens
when your father stops
taking his medication.
[SIREN WAILING]
This is what I meant when I told
you that your father is sick.
♪
[ENGINE REVVING]
♪
♪
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
[TELEPHONE RINGING]
♪
Psych and Neuro are on the same floor.
And by Neuro, I mean you.
It's a one-man show,
just how you like it.
No one to get in your way
while you're saving the world.
As you can see, we are
overcrowded and understaffed.
Chronic care's to my left.
Sleep clinic to my right.
And here is the
excuse me psych ER,
which turns into a real
party after 2:00 a.m.
Went for a swim in the Hudson?
It's another coping mechanism.
Ah. Well, it's not the worst
thing we'll smell today.
- And here is your office.
- [EXHALES DEEPLY]
- I'm right down the hall.
- Just like in med school.
Except now we're prescribing
drugs instead of taking them.
Speak for yourself.
Hey, do me a favor.
At least pretend to be appropriate.
Your interns could really use
some stability around here.
Their last attending left
for a higher-paying job.
Interns? You said one-man show.
Oh, well, just think
of them as your audience
here to soak up your brilliance.
No, no, no, no interns. I
came here for the patients.
You're also here to be a mentor.
Because, believe it or not,
we need more doctors like you,
doctors who help the un-helpable.
- They are gonna hate me.
- No.
They're gonna tolerate you, like I do.
You know, it might go a long
way if you opened up to them
about your condition.
Carol, it's 2024.
We do not call
homosexuality a condition.
[LAUGHS]
I was referring to your face blindness.
That way they won't hate you,
at least not for that reason.
And shower.
Mm! Unbelievable.
[GROANING]
Oh, my God Are you okay?
Hey, I have extra if
you want to borrow
- What?
- Some scrubs.
- Oh, seriously?
- Yeah.
Thank God.
The PCP patient went full exorcist
and projectile-vomited on me twice.
You know, it's cool you and
Van are the same size, Ericka.
I'd lend you mine, but they're huge.
Face facts, Jacob. She
literally don't want no scrubs.
Guys, big news.
What, you switched mood stabilizers?
Yes, actually. And I'm on a new SSRI.
But no. We have a new attending.
Dr. Oliver Wolf.
- Wolf?
- Apparently, he's a genius.
We might actually learn
something for a change.
Really? 'Cause I heard he's a huge dick.
Speaking of
Hi. [CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY]
S-So s-sorry, Doctor.
I'm Ericka. And And
- Uh, Van.
- Jacob.
Dana. Very nice to meet you, Doctor.
Let go of me! I'm not crazy!
- Ms. Peters, please calm down.
- No, no. It's fine.
Ms. Peters, we're trying to help you.
I'm not I'm not crazy. Gus!
- We need a doctor now!
- Ellis!
- [INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
- Where are my kids?
- Calm down.
- No, no!
Get off of me! Get off!
Let go of my patient. Hey, hey.
Let go of my patient. Hey.
It's okay. It's okay.
What happened? Are you okay?
No. They took my kids, and
they won't give them back.
Did you take her children?
No, Doctor, we did
not take her children.
They are standing in
the hallway right there.
Don't you think I would
recognize my own kids?
- Those are not my sons.
- Okay, okay.
Who are they then?
I don't know.
When I went in for my surgery my boys,
Gus and Ellis, were with me.
And when I came out, those
those two were there.
Those
Those lookalikes.
somebody switched them.
You have to get them back.
- Promise me you can get them back.
- Okay.
Okay. W-What I can promise
is that we are gonna figure this out.
Together.
Well, she's sharp. I
mean, her memory's intact.
She's not showing signs of psychosis.
Her only blind spot,
or delusion, seems to be her kids.
Ever since the surgery, she
thinks they're imposters.
So Hannah still recognizes her sons.
But something in her brain
won't let her love them?
Well, that's what I need to find out.
Pierce, why is my
patient getting an MRI?
Nichols, this is Dr. Wolf,
our new Neuro attending.
Of course. I've heard a lot about you.
Oh, I haven't heard about you.
Nichols is our Chair of Neurosurgery.
He performed the procedure on Hannah.
Who hasn't had a single
seizure since I operated,
- so why are you
- Yes, but you did turn her into
- the woman who snubs her kids.
- [SIGHS]
It's expected post-op brain edema.
She'll be back to normal in a week.
That's unlikely. She
has severe selective
- emotional detachment.
- Wasn't my job
to make her a good mother. It
was my job to cure epilepsy.
- And I succeeded.
- [PAGER BUZZES]
But, by all means,
keep wasting your time.
- Uh, Josh
- And hospital resources.
Oof. Do I ever have
to talk to him again?
Yes. Unfortunately, your new
job requires working with people
who won't always recognize your genius.
- What are you thinking?
- After this is over,
I want to observe Hannah
at home with the kids.
It's a good idea. And take the interns.
[EXHALES]
Where are the interns?
They should be observing all of this.
That is not working out.
You didn't tell them
about your face blindness.
I did not, and I don't plan to.
You have never been good at
coming out about anything.
That is not the issue. The issue
- is that I don't like them.
- You don't like anybody.
That's not true. I like people.
Who? Who you like? Name
one that's not a patient.
- You.
- Okay.
- I like you.
- Get the interns.
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
Dr. Wolf!
Wait up.
Dr. Pierce said we should follow you.
The others are on their way.
About the Hannah Peters case?
Ericka.
Yes. Of course.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION]
♪
So Van, on the left there,
is very sweet and kind of odd.
And that's Dana. She's a genius.
And she talks very openly about
her anxiety, on and offline.
Jacob, on the right, played
football at Notre Dame
until he got injured and
for becoming a doctor.
He thinks of himself as the
quarterback of the interns.
And what about you?
I'm the one who always
works the hardest.
The one you're gonna want around.
I'm the real quarterback.
Dana. Dana. D-Dana, Dana!
I'm sitting shotgun. Dana!
- No, no, no, no. I get carsick.
- I'm sitting shotgun.
Then take a Dramamine 'cause these legs
not fitting back there.
Thank you.
- I got that for you.
- You are embarrassing.
After you. Chivalry not dead, Ericka.
[CHUCKLES]
It feels good ♪
♪
[HORNS HONKING]
- [TIRES SQUEAL]
- [GASPS]
- [CLEARS THROAT]
- Oh.
- Sorry.
- That's okay.
Whoa. I knew we should
have taken the subway.
[HORNS HONKING]
- Oh.
- Dang, Nurse Jackie.
- Find what you need?
- Try "Doctor,"
and stop med-shaming me.
These are prescription.
Sure.
Does anyone want to split a Klonopin?
Glory to God. Yes, please.
♪
What's our objective with Hannah?
Oh, um, to spend time with her at home
to see if she's still
capable of feeling emotion,
- love for her kids.
- Okay, but Doctor,
couldn't we just do
that at the hospital?
Ask not what disease the person has,
but rather what person the disease has.
Osler.
[CHUCKLES]
Nerd.
I read that, too. [CHUCKLES]
You got good taste.
[MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS, LAUGHTER]
♪
♪
Excuse the mess. Give
me a month or three.
When did you move in?
- Right after the surgery.
- How are you feeling?
Considering I can get through my day
without a life-threatening
seizure, I'd say pretty good.
And what about Gus and Ellis?
[OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
When I'm around them, I
You can't connect with them.
Let's try something. Close your eyes.
Describe for me a defining trait
one for Gus, one for Ellis.
Sometimes when there's
an inability to connect,
it can feel overwhelming.
It helps to focus on the details.
Can you do that?
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
Gus has this perfect
dimple on his right cheek,
and Ellis has a gap in his front teeth.
[CHUCKLES]
♪
You're emotional.
- I'm sorry.
- No, no.
It's a good thing.
It's not that I don't love them.
I do.
When they're at school
and I think about them,
my heart explodes.
I feel normal, like I
did before the surgery.
Your homework for tonight
think about that dimple,
think about that gap.
They'll help remind you who they
are and how much you love them.
And we'll regroup in the morning.
♪
[TELEPHONE RINGING]
♪
♪
[RINGING CONTINUES]
♪
Hello.
[ENGINE REVVING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
- Come on. It's time to go.
- Mom! Just come outside.
Why are you doing this?! Please! Mom!
Hey, I'm Hannah's
doctor. What's going on?
She's trying to take
us away from our mom.
- Child Protective Services.
- Mom!
Neighbors reported screaming,
and they saw the boys
standing in the rain.
Ms. Peters has kicked them out
and is refusing to let them back in.
Can I talk to her, at least,
before you take the kids away?
I tried, but she doesn't
think they're her kids
and she's endangered them.
I need to follow protocol.
[SIREN CHIRPS]
[POLICE RADIO CHATTER]
♪
♪
All I'm saying is that
this kind of separation
is traumatizing for children,
So is denying them
shelter. It's called neglect.
So where are Gus and Ellis staying?
In a temporary foster home
until we can reach their father upstate.
Would you have taken away her children
if she had a broken leg?
This is pretty different, Doctor.
In some ways, yes,
but fundamentally,
they're both injuries.
Hannah's just happens
to be in her brain,
which makes it harder for you to grasp.
Her case requires patience, time,
empathy beyond the ordinary.
Taking away her kids is not gonna help.
Well, unfortunately, we don't have time.
Until you can prove
that she's a fit mother
and that her household
is safe for those kids,
it's supervised visits from now on.
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
Before I forget,
the Chief Medical
Officer wants to see you.
Well, tell the Chief Medical Officer
that I'm busy trying to
get my patient's kids back.
Okay?
Hey, guys, I know
there's a lot going on,
but we wanted to see how you're doing
if you have any questions.
What's on your shirt?
- Uh, oh.
- [CHUCKLES]
This, Ellis, is the periodic table.
What's that?
Well
it represents everything
we can see and perceive,
like that chair or your teeth,
mountains, planets, stars.
The entire universe is right here
[SNAPS FINGERS] in
microcosm on my shirt.
That's pretty cool.
[CHUCKLES]
I think so, too.
Your mom's been different
since her surgery, huh?
- She hates us.
- No.
Only when she's around you.
[CLEARS THROAT]
It's a neurological issue.
But she loves you. She's told me so.
Can you meet her like she was before?
I don't know.
But I will help her.
All right, boys, it's time to go.
♪
♪
He's not coming, Mugwump.
- But he promised.
- I know.
But your father's not feeling well.
- Maybe you can help him.
- I am not that kind of doctor.
He's just not himself right now.
So we're gonna give him his privacy.
And we're not going to
talk about this at school.
So it's a secret?
You know what we always
say about being different?
Sometimes it's hard for
other people to understand.
That's right.
So we stay strong,
and we keep it to ourselves.
♪
Childhood home.
Childhood home.
[MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
Hey, you. Yeah, get the others.
I need your help with something.
But it's a medical emergency.
So is there anyone else
that I can speak to?
- Sure, I'll hold.
- All right, thanks anyway.
- Okay.
- All right. Bye.
I don't get it. If Wolf wants to know
where Hannah grew up,
why don't we just ask her?
Because he doesn't want her
to premeditate her response.
So for the experiment to
work, we have to surprise her.
Hey, w-wait. Wolf told you all this?
- Oh, yeah.
- Seriously?
Wolf has acknowledged
me zero times today.
- He's a hot mess.
- No, the whole thing is a mess.
Okay, let's face it,
those kids are better off
with their father, and I didn't
spend four years in med school
to do clerical work for a lost cause.
And I didn't spend
four years in med school
to listen to you talk
trash. Yes, Wolf is strange.
Yes, Hannah's situation seems hopeless.
But we're in the business of
understanding the human brain,
especially when they're strange,
especially when they're hopeless.
So stop judging and start
doing the goddamn job.
Mm. They hung up on me.
And that's okay, because
I found it.
I can't believe he
agreed to come get them.
Gus and Ellis can't go
live with their father.
- He barely knows them.
- I'm guessing you don't like him.
You know, he thought my
epilepsy made me a bad mom.
It's not hard to see why.
With my seizures, I couldn't even drive.
Every weekend, I would take
the boys out to the bluffs.
We'd take the bus. Walk a mile.
They always complained the entire way.
[CHUCKLES]
But they were so happy
once we got there.
It was our spot.
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
Now I can finally drive them there,
and I've lost them.
You were a great mom then,
and you're a great mom now.
That is why you are gonna get them back.
♪
What are we doing here?
Do you recognize this place?
Looks like the house I grew up in.
And what do you remember?
I remember
scraping my knee on the steps,
playing Monopoly under the awning.
But it's not my house.
[OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
It looks fake.
♪
- It's like
- Like a set?
- Or a replica?
- Why are you doing this to me?
When you look at this
house, is the feeling similar
to when you're looking at Gus and Ellis?
It's exactly like that.
But when you look at your new home,
the one you moved into
after your surgery
It feels normal.
[♪]
What are the sensors telling us?
No response, Doc.
We love you.
Dr. Wolf, how can
anyone watch this video
and not feel something?
Capgras syndrome.
Everything Hannah had a
deep emotional connection to
prior to the surgery, like
her sons, her childhood home,
no longer make her feel
like they used to at them.
But let's see what happens when
we remove the visual component.
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
I was playing with at Levi's house.
- I want that one, too.
- -Uh-huh.
Gus, it's my birthday.
Ellis, if you need help,
I'm a great fielder.
- You sure? 'Cause
- [COMPUTER BEEPING]
It worked. She's responding.
[INTERNS CHUCKLE]
Hannah.
Do you recognize those voices?
Hannah?
- [CONVULSING]
- Oh, my God!
On her left side. Get
her on her left side.
Lorazepam. Now.
[CONTINUES CONVULSING]
I don't understand.
I thought my surgery
removed the epilepsy.
It removed the part of the brain
that caused the epilepsy, but
the rest of your brain still
remembers how to have a seizure.
It's nerve memory. This happens.
We're gonna get you back on track.
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
Dr. Wolf, can I have a word?
Okay. What did you do to her?
Do to her? Wh
We were conducting an
emotional-response test.
She's supposed to be avoiding stress.
And you're reminding her of when
her seizures were at their worst?
Um, I was trying to understand
what damage you did to her brain.
- What I did?
- We're close to a breakthrough.
Are you? She's delusional,
she lost her kids,
and she had a seizure.
You're You know what? You're
You're done. You're off this case.
- You cannot do that.
- I can, actually.
And if you don't like
it, take it to the Chief.
[OCIE ELLIOTT'S "SLOW TIDE" PLAYS]
I think we're done for today.
♪
♪
Out here now, you see it ♪
[KNOCKS ON DOOR]
Ms. Peters? You have visitors.
They want to make sure you're okay.
It again ♪
That whispering in your mind ♪
Telling you in kind ♪
But you are all right ♪
♪
The tide takes you ♪
You gave up on him.
Honey, I had to protect you.
No! You don't understand him.
You don't even try.
If I were a doctor,
I would do something.
I'm sorry. I wish that I could help him,
but I can't.
No one can.
You alone ♪
You let go ♪
Under ♪
♪
And come out on a wave ♪
Excuse me. Um
Uh, where's Hannah Peters?
She asked to be discharged. She left.
Let go ♪
Longer ♪
[ENGINE REVVING]
[HORN HONKING]
Come out on a wave ♪
Every weekend, I would take
the boys out to the bluffs.
Now I can finally drive them there,
and I've lost them.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
[BREATHING SHAKILY]
[ENGINE REVVING]
[GASPING]
♪
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
How did you know I was here?
Well, you said this is your spot.
♪
I thought about doing this before.
That's how bad my seizures got.
But I couldn't. My boys needed me.
- They still do.
- Not if I'm like this.
Hannah
the mind is not black-and-white.
It remembers the pain, and it
can make it feel like a prison.
But it can also be the
thing that unlocks the door,
that sets you free,
that brings you back to yourself,
back to your kids.
You will find your way through this.
And if you let me, I
promise I'll be there
with you every step of the way.
♪
Those boys have been through enough.
I'm not gonna bring them in here
to have her reject them again.
She won't. Let's just have a little
faith, okay?
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
- What the hell is this?
- You'll see.
You can bring them in.
It's okay, Hannah.
Wolf. If this doesn't work,
they are going to live
with their dad today.
- I know.
- It's a risk.
♪
Mom?
Why are you wearing that?
Gus?
Yeah, Mom. It's me.
[CRYING]
Mom?
[CRYING] Ellis?
Get over here.
Both of you, come here.
Hi. Hi.
[SOBBING]
♪
These are my boys.
[LAUGHS]
These are my babies, I know it.
[CRYING]
♪
I gotta call my mom. [CLEARS THROAT]
I-I don't understand. What's changed?
Good question.
Think of the brain as
an intricate network
of connecting roads and highways.
When we look at an object or a face,
the messages travel down those
roads to the temporal lobes,
where it's identified,
and then it takes an exit,
and it goes down to the limbic system.
And let's think of that as home.
Now, this is where we
generate the appropriate
emotional response to whatever
it is that we're looking at.
But in Hannah's case,
that exit was damaged
during the surgery,
so she can't get home.
To cope with this
disruption, her mind creates
this elaborate delusion
that her sons are impostors.
But there are other routes
that she can take to get home.
The part of the brain
that connects from the auditory cortex
to the amygdala was not damaged.
So that's why when Hannah
hears Gus and Ellis,
she identifies them as her
sons and feels that connection.
She loves them.
She's home.
Doctor, I appreciate all this,
but I can't agree to give her
kids back if she's gonna be
in a blindfold for the rest of her life.
But you saw what I saw today.
Hannah is a mother who loves
her children unconditionally.
Just give me a chance to prove
that she can care for them.
♪
Give her a chance.
♪
[CELLPHONE RINGING]
Ugh. Morning, Mom.
Hi, Gus. How'd you sleep?
Is your brother up yet?
Step one every morning,
Hannah will make auditory
contact with the boys
before she sees them,
establishing their emotional bond.
Step two we've developed lenses
that slightly alter Hannah's vision.
These will retrain her brain
to prioritize what she hears
over what she sees.
Step three communication.
Hannah has to be open
about her condition,
acknowledging it directly with her sons,
telling them that her
brain makes it hard
for her to see the
things she loves the most.
They need to work through
it together as a family.
In order to grow, we have to adapt.
And no matter how much we
might want to disappear,
we must allow ourselves to
be seen for who we really are.
I am face-blind.
I try to focus on distinct traits
to remember people, but
it's not a perfect science,
especially in big crowds
or with new people.
The only way that this is gonna work
is if we open up to each other,
even when it's uncomfortable.
♪
Even when we feel like we are other,
we cannot be faceless,
voiceless, or forgotten.
Sometimes all it takes is for one person
to really see you.
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
Hey.
I got you something
for your new office.
You knew this case would
be triggering for me.
Mm. Helping a mother love her kids?
Nah, hadn't occurred to me.
♪
You know it's a gift, right?
Your face blindness.
It makes you look so much deeper.
You see the stuff the rest of us miss.
So, Doc, are you gonna
bill my insurance for this?
[LAUGHS]
Uh, consider it an ongoing perk.
[CHUCKLES]
And go see the Chief already, would you?
Get her off my back.
♪
No matter how many detours you take
or how much you try to run,
the road always leads back home.
♪
[KNOCKS]
Ah.
Our new Attending.
Thanks for finally
squeezing me in, Doctor.
Hi, Mom.
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
Greg, move your head.
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS]
When a doctor looks at a
patient, what do they see?
The disease or the person?
I believe you can't treat a patient
without understanding
who they really are.
And sometimes the only
course of treatment
is breaking the rules.
[NOMBE'S "CANT' CATCH ME" PLAYS]
Ah ♪
Unh ♪
Are you thirsty,
Harold? Want some water?
Didn't think so.
♪
Harold. It's me, Dr. Wolf.
Put this on quickly.
And I'm so caught up ♪
Now, is it me or my luck? ♪
Can't get enough ♪
Feed on alchemy ♪
And I'm running
petrol through my blood ♪
Excuse me, Dr. Wolf.
Where are you taking Harold?
Uh, just on a little field trip.
It's a very special occasion.
Alzheimer's patients
don't leave my floor
- without authorization.
- [ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
Sorry, Marcy. We'll be back soon.
- Hey! Hey! Hey!
- Hey!
Oh, you got to be [SIGHS]
Why the hell does he call me Marcy?
Tie my hair back, I'm Marcy, too.
People say he can't recognize faces.
I just think he's a dick.
J-Rod, we've got a runner.
[ENGINE REVVING]
♪
Ooh, can't catch me, baby ♪
[ENGINE SHUTS OFF]
[MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
Thank you so much.
Have you lost your mind?
♪
Oh, the Chases. I'm sorry.
I didn't recognize you.
What are you doing here with my father?
Surely the bride's big
night wouldn't be complete
- without her grandfather.
- He can't even remember her.
Harold, do you know who I am?
Do you know who this is?
He's lost his memory, Mr.
Chase, not his humanity.
- You, on the other hand
- Leave immediately
before our daughter sees you.
Do not make a scene.
And you, if you break my
daughter's heart tonight,
I will make sure you never
treat another patient again.
Showtime, Harold. Come on.
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
Showtime?
Are you ready?
♪
["GOD ONLY KNOWS" PLAYS]
♪
You like this one, Harold?
♪
Yeah.
But not the way you play it.
[LAUGHING] Okay.
Fair enough. Um
Well, show me how it's done.
[NOTE PLAYS]
["GOD ONLY KNOWS" PLAYS]
I may not always love you, but ♪
But long as there
are stars above you ♪
You'll never need to doubt it ♪
I'll make you so sure about it ♪
God only knows what I'd be ♪
Without you ♪
[TRUMPET PLAYS]
If you should ever leave me ♪
Though life would
still go on, believe me ♪
The world could show nothing to me ♪
So what good would living do me? ♪
God only knows what
I'd be without you ♪
God only knows what I'd be ♪
God only knows ♪
God only knows what I'd be ♪
What I would be ♪
God only knows what I'd be ♪
Without you ♪
God only knows what I would be ♪
Without you ♪
[LAUGHS]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
- Yeah!
- Bravo!
Wonderful.
Grandpa.
That was
I can't believe you're here.
Sophie.
How did you do that? How did you
Music.
It makes him lucid, unlocks
memories, his sense of identity.
Oh, my God.
♪
This could only be love ♪
You took an Alzheimer's
patient out of the hospital
on a motorcycle.
The family is threatening to sue.
For what, giving Harold
the night of his life?
A night he is incapable of remembering.
That doesn't mean he
shouldn't experience joy.
You're not his wingman.
You're his doctor.
Yes, exactly. I am his doctor.
And his condition can't be cured.
His world is darkening by the day,
and those days are numbered.
And while you would have
me forget him, let him rot,
I choose to walk with him,
to find a path forward,
because nobody else
will, not even his family.
Yes, it's true, Harold
can't live for the memories.
He only has the moment,
so I'm gonna help him
and patients like him seize that moment,
no matter how fleeting it might be.
That is my responsibility.
That is my job.
One of your better speeches.
We get it. You're a hero.
You want to change how
your patients see the world.
I want to change how the
world sees my patients.
You put this facility at risk!
Dr. Cohen, you don't understand.
You don't understand.
I'm sorry, Dr. Wolf,
but you are terminated.
♪
♪
♪
♪
Wolf?
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
Wolf!
[SIGHS]
♪
[METAL CLANKING]
♪
Wolf?
Are you decent?
[MUSIC STOPS]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
- Carol.
- I would have called or texted.
But you're a Luddite.
- I have a landline.
- That you never pick up.
Heard you got fired.
And you're here to what?
Help me drown my
sorrows over Chardonnay?
Sure. Isn't that what friends do?
Normal friends, maybe.
Not us.
Okay, you're gonna make me chase you.
Our Neuro attending just quit.
We need a replacement right away.
It's a small department, so
you'll get to be hands on.
And you get to work with me.
Carol, I cannot work at Bronx General.
You know why.
I do.
So maybe you should
take another offer, hmm?
There must be so many just rolling in.
You need us, Wolf.
I'm busy.
Of course you are.
You got your workouts,
your Bach, your plants.
- They're ferns.
- They're a coping mechanism.
Doesn't the Head of Psych
have, um, actual patients
- to psychoanalyze?
- I do.
But you're more fun.
Plus, I know you're lost
without your patients.
Yeah, well, it's not
gonna happen, Carol.
Well, that's unfortunate,
because there's a post-op case
I could really use your help with.
Hannah Peters, single mother, two boys.
She underwent a right temporal lobectomy
to cure her epilepsy, and it worked.
Except when she came
in for her follow-up,
I noticed a dramatic
shift in her behavior.
What kind of shift?
Doctor-patient confidentiality.
All I can say is that
it's a real anomaly.
I've never seen anything like it.
Meanwhile, our budgets
are being slashed,
and I have patients in
desperate need of care
that I have to turn away.
If only there was a
brilliant neurologist
who would stop at nothing to help them.
- Carol.
- I'm gonna leave you to your ferns.
And I'll give you till
5:00 to change your mind.
Wait. What do you think's gonna
happen between now and 5:00?
I don't know.
Maybe you'll think about
why you became a doctor
in the first place.
♪
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
[ENGINE REVVING]
[ENGINE SHUTS OFF]
♪
♪
- Dad.
- Come on.
You're almost there.
[CHILDREN SHOUTING, LAUGHING]
Friends from school?
Let's try something.
Close your eyes. Describe me.
Like, what makes me me?
You have bushy eyebrows.
You have a big nose.
[LAUGHS]
Try that with the kids at school
if you really want to remember them.
Make some friends.
♪
Dad? You're bleeding.
This is what happens
when your father stops
taking his medication.
[SIREN WAILING]
This is what I meant when I told
you that your father is sick.
♪
[ENGINE REVVING]
♪
♪
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
[TELEPHONE RINGING]
♪
Psych and Neuro are on the same floor.
And by Neuro, I mean you.
It's a one-man show,
just how you like it.
No one to get in your way
while you're saving the world.
As you can see, we are
overcrowded and understaffed.
Chronic care's to my left.
Sleep clinic to my right.
And here is the
excuse me psych ER,
which turns into a real
party after 2:00 a.m.
Went for a swim in the Hudson?
It's another coping mechanism.
Ah. Well, it's not the worst
thing we'll smell today.
- And here is your office.
- [EXHALES DEEPLY]
- I'm right down the hall.
- Just like in med school.
Except now we're prescribing
drugs instead of taking them.
Speak for yourself.
Hey, do me a favor.
At least pretend to be appropriate.
Your interns could really use
some stability around here.
Their last attending left
for a higher-paying job.
Interns? You said one-man show.
Oh, well, just think
of them as your audience
here to soak up your brilliance.
No, no, no, no interns. I
came here for the patients.
You're also here to be a mentor.
Because, believe it or not,
we need more doctors like you,
doctors who help the un-helpable.
- They are gonna hate me.
- No.
They're gonna tolerate you, like I do.
You know, it might go a long
way if you opened up to them
about your condition.
Carol, it's 2024.
We do not call
homosexuality a condition.
[LAUGHS]
I was referring to your face blindness.
That way they won't hate you,
at least not for that reason.
And shower.
Mm! Unbelievable.
[GROANING]
Oh, my God Are you okay?
Hey, I have extra if
you want to borrow
- What?
- Some scrubs.
- Oh, seriously?
- Yeah.
Thank God.
The PCP patient went full exorcist
and projectile-vomited on me twice.
You know, it's cool you and
Van are the same size, Ericka.
I'd lend you mine, but they're huge.
Face facts, Jacob. She
literally don't want no scrubs.
Guys, big news.
What, you switched mood stabilizers?
Yes, actually. And I'm on a new SSRI.
But no. We have a new attending.
Dr. Oliver Wolf.
- Wolf?
- Apparently, he's a genius.
We might actually learn
something for a change.
Really? 'Cause I heard he's a huge dick.
Speaking of
Hi. [CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY]
S-So s-sorry, Doctor.
I'm Ericka. And And
- Uh, Van.
- Jacob.
Dana. Very nice to meet you, Doctor.
Let go of me! I'm not crazy!
- Ms. Peters, please calm down.
- No, no. It's fine.
Ms. Peters, we're trying to help you.
I'm not I'm not crazy. Gus!
- We need a doctor now!
- Ellis!
- [INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
- Where are my kids?
- Calm down.
- No, no!
Get off of me! Get off!
Let go of my patient. Hey, hey.
Let go of my patient. Hey.
It's okay. It's okay.
What happened? Are you okay?
No. They took my kids, and
they won't give them back.
Did you take her children?
No, Doctor, we did
not take her children.
They are standing in
the hallway right there.
Don't you think I would
recognize my own kids?
- Those are not my sons.
- Okay, okay.
Who are they then?
I don't know.
When I went in for my surgery my boys,
Gus and Ellis, were with me.
And when I came out, those
those two were there.
Those
Those lookalikes.
somebody switched them.
You have to get them back.
- Promise me you can get them back.
- Okay.
Okay. W-What I can promise
is that we are gonna figure this out.
Together.
Well, she's sharp. I
mean, her memory's intact.
She's not showing signs of psychosis.
Her only blind spot,
or delusion, seems to be her kids.
Ever since the surgery, she
thinks they're imposters.
So Hannah still recognizes her sons.
But something in her brain
won't let her love them?
Well, that's what I need to find out.
Pierce, why is my
patient getting an MRI?
Nichols, this is Dr. Wolf,
our new Neuro attending.
Of course. I've heard a lot about you.
Oh, I haven't heard about you.
Nichols is our Chair of Neurosurgery.
He performed the procedure on Hannah.
Who hasn't had a single
seizure since I operated,
- so why are you
- Yes, but you did turn her into
- the woman who snubs her kids.
- [SIGHS]
It's expected post-op brain edema.
She'll be back to normal in a week.
That's unlikely. She
has severe selective
- emotional detachment.
- Wasn't my job
to make her a good mother. It
was my job to cure epilepsy.
- And I succeeded.
- [PAGER BUZZES]
But, by all means,
keep wasting your time.
- Uh, Josh
- And hospital resources.
Oof. Do I ever have
to talk to him again?
Yes. Unfortunately, your new
job requires working with people
who won't always recognize your genius.
- What are you thinking?
- After this is over,
I want to observe Hannah
at home with the kids.
It's a good idea. And take the interns.
[EXHALES]
Where are the interns?
They should be observing all of this.
That is not working out.
You didn't tell them
about your face blindness.
I did not, and I don't plan to.
You have never been good at
coming out about anything.
That is not the issue. The issue
- is that I don't like them.
- You don't like anybody.
That's not true. I like people.
Who? Who you like? Name
one that's not a patient.
- You.
- Okay.
- I like you.
- Get the interns.
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
Dr. Wolf!
Wait up.
Dr. Pierce said we should follow you.
The others are on their way.
About the Hannah Peters case?
Ericka.
Yes. Of course.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION]
♪
So Van, on the left there,
is very sweet and kind of odd.
And that's Dana. She's a genius.
And she talks very openly about
her anxiety, on and offline.
Jacob, on the right, played
football at Notre Dame
until he got injured and
for becoming a doctor.
He thinks of himself as the
quarterback of the interns.
And what about you?
I'm the one who always
works the hardest.
The one you're gonna want around.
I'm the real quarterback.
Dana. Dana. D-Dana, Dana!
I'm sitting shotgun. Dana!
- No, no, no, no. I get carsick.
- I'm sitting shotgun.
Then take a Dramamine 'cause these legs
not fitting back there.
Thank you.
- I got that for you.
- You are embarrassing.
After you. Chivalry not dead, Ericka.
[CHUCKLES]
It feels good ♪
♪
[HORNS HONKING]
- [TIRES SQUEAL]
- [GASPS]
- [CLEARS THROAT]
- Oh.
- Sorry.
- That's okay.
Whoa. I knew we should
have taken the subway.
[HORNS HONKING]
- Oh.
- Dang, Nurse Jackie.
- Find what you need?
- Try "Doctor,"
and stop med-shaming me.
These are prescription.
Sure.
Does anyone want to split a Klonopin?
Glory to God. Yes, please.
♪
What's our objective with Hannah?
Oh, um, to spend time with her at home
to see if she's still
capable of feeling emotion,
- love for her kids.
- Okay, but Doctor,
couldn't we just do
that at the hospital?
Ask not what disease the person has,
but rather what person the disease has.
Osler.
[CHUCKLES]
Nerd.
I read that, too. [CHUCKLES]
You got good taste.
[MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS, LAUGHTER]
♪
♪
Excuse the mess. Give
me a month or three.
When did you move in?
- Right after the surgery.
- How are you feeling?
Considering I can get through my day
without a life-threatening
seizure, I'd say pretty good.
And what about Gus and Ellis?
[OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
When I'm around them, I
You can't connect with them.
Let's try something. Close your eyes.
Describe for me a defining trait
one for Gus, one for Ellis.
Sometimes when there's
an inability to connect,
it can feel overwhelming.
It helps to focus on the details.
Can you do that?
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
Gus has this perfect
dimple on his right cheek,
and Ellis has a gap in his front teeth.
[CHUCKLES]
♪
You're emotional.
- I'm sorry.
- No, no.
It's a good thing.
It's not that I don't love them.
I do.
When they're at school
and I think about them,
my heart explodes.
I feel normal, like I
did before the surgery.
Your homework for tonight
think about that dimple,
think about that gap.
They'll help remind you who they
are and how much you love them.
And we'll regroup in the morning.
♪
[TELEPHONE RINGING]
♪
♪
[RINGING CONTINUES]
♪
Hello.
[ENGINE REVVING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
- Come on. It's time to go.
- Mom! Just come outside.
Why are you doing this?! Please! Mom!
Hey, I'm Hannah's
doctor. What's going on?
She's trying to take
us away from our mom.
- Child Protective Services.
- Mom!
Neighbors reported screaming,
and they saw the boys
standing in the rain.
Ms. Peters has kicked them out
and is refusing to let them back in.
Can I talk to her, at least,
before you take the kids away?
I tried, but she doesn't
think they're her kids
and she's endangered them.
I need to follow protocol.
[SIREN CHIRPS]
[POLICE RADIO CHATTER]
♪
♪
All I'm saying is that
this kind of separation
is traumatizing for children,
So is denying them
shelter. It's called neglect.
So where are Gus and Ellis staying?
In a temporary foster home
until we can reach their father upstate.
Would you have taken away her children
if she had a broken leg?
This is pretty different, Doctor.
In some ways, yes,
but fundamentally,
they're both injuries.
Hannah's just happens
to be in her brain,
which makes it harder for you to grasp.
Her case requires patience, time,
empathy beyond the ordinary.
Taking away her kids is not gonna help.
Well, unfortunately, we don't have time.
Until you can prove
that she's a fit mother
and that her household
is safe for those kids,
it's supervised visits from now on.
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
Before I forget,
the Chief Medical
Officer wants to see you.
Well, tell the Chief Medical Officer
that I'm busy trying to
get my patient's kids back.
Okay?
Hey, guys, I know
there's a lot going on,
but we wanted to see how you're doing
if you have any questions.
What's on your shirt?
- Uh, oh.
- [CHUCKLES]
This, Ellis, is the periodic table.
What's that?
Well
it represents everything
we can see and perceive,
like that chair or your teeth,
mountains, planets, stars.
The entire universe is right here
[SNAPS FINGERS] in
microcosm on my shirt.
That's pretty cool.
[CHUCKLES]
I think so, too.
Your mom's been different
since her surgery, huh?
- She hates us.
- No.
Only when she's around you.
[CLEARS THROAT]
It's a neurological issue.
But she loves you. She's told me so.
Can you meet her like she was before?
I don't know.
But I will help her.
All right, boys, it's time to go.
♪
♪
He's not coming, Mugwump.
- But he promised.
- I know.
But your father's not feeling well.
- Maybe you can help him.
- I am not that kind of doctor.
He's just not himself right now.
So we're gonna give him his privacy.
And we're not going to
talk about this at school.
So it's a secret?
You know what we always
say about being different?
Sometimes it's hard for
other people to understand.
That's right.
So we stay strong,
and we keep it to ourselves.
♪
Childhood home.
Childhood home.
[MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
Hey, you. Yeah, get the others.
I need your help with something.
But it's a medical emergency.
So is there anyone else
that I can speak to?
- Sure, I'll hold.
- All right, thanks anyway.
- Okay.
- All right. Bye.
I don't get it. If Wolf wants to know
where Hannah grew up,
why don't we just ask her?
Because he doesn't want her
to premeditate her response.
So for the experiment to
work, we have to surprise her.
Hey, w-wait. Wolf told you all this?
- Oh, yeah.
- Seriously?
Wolf has acknowledged
me zero times today.
- He's a hot mess.
- No, the whole thing is a mess.
Okay, let's face it,
those kids are better off
with their father, and I didn't
spend four years in med school
to do clerical work for a lost cause.
And I didn't spend
four years in med school
to listen to you talk
trash. Yes, Wolf is strange.
Yes, Hannah's situation seems hopeless.
But we're in the business of
understanding the human brain,
especially when they're strange,
especially when they're hopeless.
So stop judging and start
doing the goddamn job.
Mm. They hung up on me.
And that's okay, because
I found it.
I can't believe he
agreed to come get them.
Gus and Ellis can't go
live with their father.
- He barely knows them.
- I'm guessing you don't like him.
You know, he thought my
epilepsy made me a bad mom.
It's not hard to see why.
With my seizures, I couldn't even drive.
Every weekend, I would take
the boys out to the bluffs.
We'd take the bus. Walk a mile.
They always complained the entire way.
[CHUCKLES]
But they were so happy
once we got there.
It was our spot.
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
Now I can finally drive them there,
and I've lost them.
You were a great mom then,
and you're a great mom now.
That is why you are gonna get them back.
♪
What are we doing here?
Do you recognize this place?
Looks like the house I grew up in.
And what do you remember?
I remember
scraping my knee on the steps,
playing Monopoly under the awning.
But it's not my house.
[OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
It looks fake.
♪
- It's like
- Like a set?
- Or a replica?
- Why are you doing this to me?
When you look at this
house, is the feeling similar
to when you're looking at Gus and Ellis?
It's exactly like that.
But when you look at your new home,
the one you moved into
after your surgery
It feels normal.
[♪]
What are the sensors telling us?
No response, Doc.
We love you.
Dr. Wolf, how can
anyone watch this video
and not feel something?
Capgras syndrome.
Everything Hannah had a
deep emotional connection to
prior to the surgery, like
her sons, her childhood home,
no longer make her feel
like they used to at them.
But let's see what happens when
we remove the visual component.
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
I was playing with at Levi's house.
- I want that one, too.
- -Uh-huh.
Gus, it's my birthday.
Ellis, if you need help,
I'm a great fielder.
- You sure? 'Cause
- [COMPUTER BEEPING]
It worked. She's responding.
[INTERNS CHUCKLE]
Hannah.
Do you recognize those voices?
Hannah?
- [CONVULSING]
- Oh, my God!
On her left side. Get
her on her left side.
Lorazepam. Now.
[CONTINUES CONVULSING]
I don't understand.
I thought my surgery
removed the epilepsy.
It removed the part of the brain
that caused the epilepsy, but
the rest of your brain still
remembers how to have a seizure.
It's nerve memory. This happens.
We're gonna get you back on track.
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
Dr. Wolf, can I have a word?
Okay. What did you do to her?
Do to her? Wh
We were conducting an
emotional-response test.
She's supposed to be avoiding stress.
And you're reminding her of when
her seizures were at their worst?
Um, I was trying to understand
what damage you did to her brain.
- What I did?
- We're close to a breakthrough.
Are you? She's delusional,
she lost her kids,
and she had a seizure.
You're You know what? You're
You're done. You're off this case.
- You cannot do that.
- I can, actually.
And if you don't like
it, take it to the Chief.
[OCIE ELLIOTT'S "SLOW TIDE" PLAYS]
I think we're done for today.
♪
♪
Out here now, you see it ♪
[KNOCKS ON DOOR]
Ms. Peters? You have visitors.
They want to make sure you're okay.
It again ♪
That whispering in your mind ♪
Telling you in kind ♪
But you are all right ♪
♪
The tide takes you ♪
You gave up on him.
Honey, I had to protect you.
No! You don't understand him.
You don't even try.
If I were a doctor,
I would do something.
I'm sorry. I wish that I could help him,
but I can't.
No one can.
You alone ♪
You let go ♪
Under ♪
♪
And come out on a wave ♪
Excuse me. Um
Uh, where's Hannah Peters?
She asked to be discharged. She left.
Let go ♪
Longer ♪
[ENGINE REVVING]
[HORN HONKING]
Come out on a wave ♪
Every weekend, I would take
the boys out to the bluffs.
Now I can finally drive them there,
and I've lost them.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
[BREATHING SHAKILY]
[ENGINE REVVING]
[GASPING]
♪
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
How did you know I was here?
Well, you said this is your spot.
♪
I thought about doing this before.
That's how bad my seizures got.
But I couldn't. My boys needed me.
- They still do.
- Not if I'm like this.
Hannah
the mind is not black-and-white.
It remembers the pain, and it
can make it feel like a prison.
But it can also be the
thing that unlocks the door,
that sets you free,
that brings you back to yourself,
back to your kids.
You will find your way through this.
And if you let me, I
promise I'll be there
with you every step of the way.
♪
Those boys have been through enough.
I'm not gonna bring them in here
to have her reject them again.
She won't. Let's just have a little
faith, okay?
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
- What the hell is this?
- You'll see.
You can bring them in.
It's okay, Hannah.
Wolf. If this doesn't work,
they are going to live
with their dad today.
- I know.
- It's a risk.
♪
Mom?
Why are you wearing that?
Gus?
Yeah, Mom. It's me.
[CRYING]
Mom?
[CRYING] Ellis?
Get over here.
Both of you, come here.
Hi. Hi.
[SOBBING]
♪
These are my boys.
[LAUGHS]
These are my babies, I know it.
[CRYING]
♪
I gotta call my mom. [CLEARS THROAT]
I-I don't understand. What's changed?
Good question.
Think of the brain as
an intricate network
of connecting roads and highways.
When we look at an object or a face,
the messages travel down those
roads to the temporal lobes,
where it's identified,
and then it takes an exit,
and it goes down to the limbic system.
And let's think of that as home.
Now, this is where we
generate the appropriate
emotional response to whatever
it is that we're looking at.
But in Hannah's case,
that exit was damaged
during the surgery,
so she can't get home.
To cope with this
disruption, her mind creates
this elaborate delusion
that her sons are impostors.
But there are other routes
that she can take to get home.
The part of the brain
that connects from the auditory cortex
to the amygdala was not damaged.
So that's why when Hannah
hears Gus and Ellis,
she identifies them as her
sons and feels that connection.
She loves them.
She's home.
Doctor, I appreciate all this,
but I can't agree to give her
kids back if she's gonna be
in a blindfold for the rest of her life.
But you saw what I saw today.
Hannah is a mother who loves
her children unconditionally.
Just give me a chance to prove
that she can care for them.
♪
Give her a chance.
♪
[CELLPHONE RINGING]
Ugh. Morning, Mom.
Hi, Gus. How'd you sleep?
Is your brother up yet?
Step one every morning,
Hannah will make auditory
contact with the boys
before she sees them,
establishing their emotional bond.
Step two we've developed lenses
that slightly alter Hannah's vision.
These will retrain her brain
to prioritize what she hears
over what she sees.
Step three communication.
Hannah has to be open
about her condition,
acknowledging it directly with her sons,
telling them that her
brain makes it hard
for her to see the
things she loves the most.
They need to work through
it together as a family.
In order to grow, we have to adapt.
And no matter how much we
might want to disappear,
we must allow ourselves to
be seen for who we really are.
I am face-blind.
I try to focus on distinct traits
to remember people, but
it's not a perfect science,
especially in big crowds
or with new people.
The only way that this is gonna work
is if we open up to each other,
even when it's uncomfortable.
♪
Even when we feel like we are other,
we cannot be faceless,
voiceless, or forgotten.
Sometimes all it takes is for one person
to really see you.
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
Hey.
I got you something
for your new office.
You knew this case would
be triggering for me.
Mm. Helping a mother love her kids?
Nah, hadn't occurred to me.
♪
You know it's a gift, right?
Your face blindness.
It makes you look so much deeper.
You see the stuff the rest of us miss.
So, Doc, are you gonna
bill my insurance for this?
[LAUGHS]
Uh, consider it an ongoing perk.
[CHUCKLES]
And go see the Chief already, would you?
Get her off my back.
♪
No matter how many detours you take
or how much you try to run,
the road always leads back home.
♪
[KNOCKS]
Ah.
Our new Attending.
Thanks for finally
squeezing me in, Doctor.
Hi, Mom.
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
Greg, move your head.