Straight outta lulz.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow.
Nothing like a citywide blackout to fire up tensions. For an episode that hardly even mentioned Eddie Morra, this week’s Limitless was easily one of the most emotionally charged — particularly for Brian and Rebecca, who until now barely disagreed with each other, let alone blew up in each other’s faces. And while this week’s case was fairly paint-by-numbers (at least for this show), the end result was a big game changer, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the premiere.
That’s not to say the blackout investigation didn’t have its moments. Sure, the buildup to Brian and Rebecca’s quarantine was comprised of the usual fare: TV monitor exposition, following leads, snooping around buildings, etc. — but the friction between Brian and Rebecca was palpable, as the latter kept getting onto Brian about “hoarding” pills. And what better place for a big argument to go down than in a cramped little room with nothing to do? (Insert Jennifer Carpenter/Quarantine joke here.)
Obviously we knew a big altercation was coming, but I wasn’t expecting it to be over the extra pills Brian was withholding. Still, I thought it was interesting how Rebecca and Brian implied that he may be addicted to NZT. But even more interesting than that was how Brian threw Rebecca’s logic back in her face: “You need NZT as much as I do, and you know it.” Again, this wasn’t the fallout I was expecting, but I thought it was well-executed, especially after everything that transpired in recent weeks. Brian and Rebecca needing a break from each other just made sense.
The mutilated money subplot was also pretty smart — especially how it would be an easier target than a bank — though, again, the casework that followed was a little tedious (sandwich boards, NSA recordings, etc.). However, it was a nice change of pace to see Brian and Boyle paired up at the end, to the point that I was actually looking forward to seeing a whole episode of that next week.
Of course, that notion was shot down moments later, when Brian walked into a life-changing family intervention. If memory serves, this was the first time we got to see Brian’s mom in any considerable amount of screen time, and suffice to say it wasn’t wasted. It almost physically hurt to see Brian’s mom put the pills out on the table and mention “the agent bleeding out” (Sands) in front of Mike and Ike. Undoubtedly, both those things will come back into play at some point. (We already know Ike is following up on the Sands thing with Rachel.)
But the game changer in question didn’t come until the episode’s final moments, when Brian decided to pack his bags and go searching for Piper. For all intents and purposes, Brian seems to be going rogue for the first time ever, while also leaving that information in Rebecca’s hands. Whatever happens next, we’re guaranteed a very different kind of Limitless episode come March 15th, as Brian officially goes off the grid from the FBI and Morra’s prying eyes.
This week’s Limitless marked a major turning point in the series, as Brian and Rebecca parted ways and Brian decided to go incognito from the CJC. That’s not to mention the falling out Brian had with his family, which upped the emotional stakes even more. While his terminating blackout case wasn’t the most exciting, it did effectively set the stage for Brian and Rebecca’s falling out, which appropriately took place in quarantine. With only five episodes left in Season 1, “Close Encounters” definitely felt like the beginning of the end in terms of Brian’s working relationship with the FBI.
