Brian goes on a road trip to Quantico!
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow.
Coming off the big Eddie Morra episode a couple weeks back, “Stop Me Before I Hug Again” wasn’t likely to top that case, and in many ways this week’s episode was kind of a “back to basics” installment, particularly for Brian and Rebecca. And as great as this show is at toying with expectations and subverting tropes, this one felt pretty fillery, at least for Limitless. Still, there were a few twists and riffs to keep the case from feeling too generic.
For instance, this episode introduced Brian’s subconscious, Josh-O-Saurus Josh (Eddie Pepitone), who put a fun spin on the proceedings by changing all scary words to fun words, as well as naming all the bad guys after ice cream flavors. This at least spiced things up a bit, while also providing some funny asides with Josh (e.g., turning the finger bones into cool dinosaur toys). I also chuckled a few times at Naz, Boyle and Rebecca saying “hugging,” “cuddling” and “playing air guitar” in a serious context.
Unfortunately, the Quantico side of things — which was a big part of this episode — didn’t offer much outside the norm. David Englander (Terry Serpico) never quite clicked as a character and came off as more of a plot device. Granted, Brian’s cold-case investigation into “Mr. Butter Pecan” was a clever way to shake things up. So too was the optogenetics twist, which gave the case a cool sci-fi slant — though it was a pretty big logic leap on Brian’s part, even by this show’s standards.
Weed o’clock?
Meanwhile, the road trip aspect gave this storyline a more personal touch. It had been awhile since Brian and Rebecca had some real bonding time, and this case gave them a good excuse to hang out one on one (and jam out to “Rich Girl”). Of course, the most interesting part was Brian discovering that Rebecca suspected Eddie of being on NZT. Obviously we’ve seen Brian side-step this issue before, but never quite as actively.
Which is why the stakes were even higher than normal for Brian this week as he planted false evidence for Eddie. Indeed, one of the tensest scenes to come out of this episode was Brian’s secret visit to the FBI, which nearly got him caught by Rebecca and Boyle. As Brian himself mentioned, it was only a matter of time before Rebecca thought to test the blood on Eddie’s jacket for NZT, and at this point it seems like Brian is really struggling to stay ahead of Rebecca.
While the assassination followup was only a B story, I hope it’s a sign of things to come for the rest of Season 1. The fact that Rebecca is already suspicious of Eddie indicates that it won’t be long before she discovers the truth about him. That, in turn, will probably become more of a problem for Brian as well, as he attempts to throw Eddie (and Sands, for that matter) off Rebecca’s scent — while also carrying out tasks for Eddie. Although, to Josh’s point, maybe Brian wants Rebecca to succeed, if only to slow Eddie down.
This week’s Limitless was pretty forgettable in terms of the Quantico/Englander case, but it did include some amusing moments — most notably Brian’s kid-friendly censorship. “Stop Me Before I Hug Again” also featured a compelling subplot, as Brian covered Eddie’s tracks from Rebecca, who is now even closer to exposing Eddie and Brian’s secret. Overall, this was a filler episode, but it was still fun to watch.
