This week, Sands reaches out to the most unlikely of lifelines: Brian Finch.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow.
One thing I’ve been pleasantly surprised by about Limitless is how invested I’ve become, not just in Brian Finch and Rebecca Harris, but the rest of the characters as well. Mike & Ike, for example, started out as punchlines and grew to become characters I actually care about. And now, this week, the series managed to do the same with Sands, a character we previously knew nothing about, by building an entire episode around him. And with Brian’s NZT-fueled brain fanning the flames of Sands’ kick-ass backstory, “Sands, Agent of Morra” was another hit for Season 1.
Similar to last week’s episode, which was couched in a three-part frame story, Brian’s latest adventure was cleverly structured around the names of Sands’s MI6 buddies. Easily one of the coolest parts about this episode was how we got Sands’s backstory in comic book form, including illustrations by actual comic book artists like Annie Wu (Hawkeye), Robbi Rodriguez (Spider-Gwen), Babs Tarr (Batgirl) and others. Not only was this a fun way to get the lowdown on Sands, but the case itself was really cool — just the idea of Sands going to Brian to figure out the whereabouts of his old mentor as he reluctantly continued to off his former teammates.
Even the way Brian slowly peeled back the layers of Sands’s story was a neat way of revealing more about Sands as a character, leading up to the reveal that his biological son had been kidnapped. I also thought it was also a nice touch having Brian put the screws on Sands for once, forcing him to admit the truth about Tanner and Anastasia. I honestly didn’t think the writers could make Sands all that sympathetic, but his storyline here was very well-executed overall. (I especially dug the recurring Ennio Morricone interludes.) Maybe now Sands won’t be quite so quick to leave Brian high and dry the next time he needs help.
Meanwhile, Rebecca and Boyle’s subplot had its moments, but it wasn’t nearly as engaging as Sands and Brian’s mission. Actually, were it not for the fact that both cases were one and the same (who knew?), I’d say this was one of the series’ weakest investigations to date. The same goes for Ike and Rachel’s C story, which was cute but ultimately predictable. (I will be curious to see where that romance goes though). Luckily, the Sands tie-in made both of these storylines more personal and entertaining.
Of course, the big revelation here was Brian finding out that Sands killed Rebecca’s father. Between this episode and the last, it seems like they’re setting up Rebecca and Sands to become archenemies, perhaps as a secondary rivalry to Brian and Eddie. Whether that’s the case or not, I’m already liking the potential of Brian being conflicted about taking down Sands along with Eddie, now knowing his backstory. The layering of deception and loyalty on this show is slowly becoming one of its greatest strengths.
What’s continually impressive about Limitless is that it can take an unfeeling bodyguard type like Sands and turn him into a character with vulnerability and depth, all in the span of one episode. While this week’s Rebecca/Boyle investigation was somewhat underwhelming, the unlikely team-up of Brian and Sands made this episode another winner for Season 1.
