Or “What to Do When You Literally Lose Your Mind”
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow.
Beyond the obvious NZT pill, Limitless has toyed a bit more with sci-fi elements in recent episodes, particularly “Arm-ageddon” and, more recently (though not as successfully), “Stop Me Before I Hug Again.” This week’s episode pushed them even further, as Brian returned to CRAFT to look into a mega-futuristic mind file case. The result, thankfully, was better executed than the previous episode’s, even if the conclusion was a little hokey.
It was cool seeing the return of Quentin (or “Q”) after Brian had become a consultant for CRAFT a few episodes earlier. While the mind file premise was pretty out-there, the idea that Brian and Rebecca could interview the victim’s mind file to track down the others was certainly clever, and the special effect they used for “ELO” was both creepy and impressive. I’m not exactly sure how they did it — some combination of practical and digital effects, I think — but it definitely gave off a creepy, “Uncanny Valley” vibe.
This storyline also included some funny character moments, like James getting jealous of Quentin being Brian’s new tech guy, and the “Business/Pleasure” switch in Brian’s headquarters. That’s not to mention the montage of Brian solving various crimes (Zoltar, poisonous frog, etc.) and uncovering Scrub Jay’s collection of rare items (radioactive kitty, Necronomicon, etc.). Although, I would have liked to see Brian actually use the Gecko Gloves at some point. Maybe next episode?
Make a wish!
Of course, the most notable subplot here was “Spike,” the latest addition to Brian’s security detail, as well as Brian’s “muse.” Personally, I thought Spike was kind of bland — a revved-up version of Ike, basically — and I was glad to see him go at the end of this episode. That said, the fact that he was a mole for ADIC Johnson was a nice twist, and I liked how Mike & Ike did a little detective work of their own to take Spike down (even though Brian had him pegged almost immediately).
Meanwhile, the final act or so was pretty underwhelming. I was actually excited to see Tate Donavan (The OC, Damages) show up as the head of BERG, but his appearance was all too short and, ultimately, trivial in the grand scheme of things. Gerard was also super cheesy, particularly how he agreed to confess to everything on the condition that he got to talk to ELO for all of five minutes.
Once again, the greatest strength of this episode was Rebecca’s ongoing investigation of Eddie Morra. Obviously we knew Sands would “take care of” the clerk Brian neglected to tell him about, but it didn’t make the ending any less impactful. If anything, the fact that Brian lied to Sands may have proved he wants Rebecca to succeed after all. Either way, this brought about some great scenes, my favorite one being Brian’s various “That’s the guy!” scenarios. (“Come on, mate! You can stay with me from now on.”)
This week’s Limitless was definitely one of the most science fiction-y episodes we’ve seen, but considering this is a world where smart pills exist, it wasn’t that much of a stretch. So far, the series has done a good job of incorporating far-out elements gradually and naturally — though this particular case ended on a very corny note. Regardless, “Fundamentals of Naked Portraiture” featured some great character moments, and the Eddie Morra factor was on point.
