What a fantastic episode of television, my goodness. This was far and away the best episode of the show all year. The acting was top notch on all fronts, the plot was insane and crazy but in the best ways, and the combination of Jenna Richman and Lexi Alexander proved that Limitless thrives on girl power. I might be starting to side with the people in favour of a more serialized show because the case, although it was interesting, was a little tired for me. But it didn't take away from the overall episode at all. Without further ado, let's get to the review!
Previously on Limitless... Brian fled to Russia to help Piper get the last of the ingredients to make the enzyme on her own. Before that, Sands and Morra thought she was dead. Brian told them he killed her. But as we all know, she's alive, and Sands found that out last episode. And Brian returned home, which leads us to now. Brian meets Naz in her rules, and she has a list of 10 very strict rules for him. Among those were some gems, such as Mike and Ike raiding the file room for Brian's knick knacks. While there, Brian left the effigies of Mike and Ike kissing. I'm sorry, that was the best thing I've ever seen. And Ike trying to exit the room with a box was great. And then they had to check to make sure Brian is swallowing the NZT. Be still, my beating heart. Something I didn't like even though I understand why it had to happen was these two new guys who have to accompany everywhere. Brian calls them Agent X and Y. And Brian's wardrobe choices were put into question, which might've been the worst rule. What about his amazing sweaters?! Come on, Naz. Brian meets with Rebecca, and as a surprise to everyone, she wants to make up. "Hallelujah" plays in the background, in true Limitless comedic timing. More interesting is the next scene, with Rebecca, Mike, and Ike, examining security footage of Brian and Sands talking in the elevator from way back when. I'm really enjoying that the three of them are joining forces to figure this out. It shows you how much Mike and Ike truly care about Brian's safety, because they could've kept it to himself, but they shared this information with Rebecca, who we already know cares deeply about Brian. Boyle walks in and needs to talk to Rebecca. They've got the case.
The case did give an opportunity to showcase the core squad working together again; that of Brian, Rebecca, and Boyle. They're looking at someone who died with a supposedly 3D-printed kidney. That's pretty sweet. Agent Y is there to take Brian home after, or is he? They head into a garage and Sands is there waiting for him. He knows Piper is still alive. Creepy! At least he gives Brian a shot after all of this. Oddly enough, though, he gave it to him in his arm as opposed to his neck. Does this mean the shot is less potent? This show has made me quite paranoid. I bet the writers didn't think I'd tear up at the mention of Costa Rica again, but I was reminded of Headquarters! and I smiled. Back at the office, Brian gets a mysterious text, but on NZT, he is able to realize it's Piper's phone number in code. Rebecca walks in with, "What have you got, besides crumbs on the evidence?" Oh Brian, I had no idea you ate like Jake Peralta from Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Naz comes to talk to the both of them, and she gives Brian a new suspect. Brian hacks the State Department, much to Naz's dismay. Brian offers to play a cat video on YouTube, but Naz just wants him to get the hacking over with. They apprehend this suspect, and they find out he's a kidney donor. So that kidney in our victim wasn't 3D-printed after all. This all seems very sketchy. On another note, if Sinbad (Brian's bong) was a real person, that would be the most important relationship on this show. He really misses that thing.
Anyway, Brian wants to make a quick stop with Boyle and Rebecca for some donuts. That's my man! Well actually, he wants a prepaid cell phone. Armed with that phone, he goes into a porta potty to call that number. It seemed like a normal call at first, but in hindsight, you could tell Piper could've been coerced into making that call. Things are looking very tricky for Brian, but more on that later. As for right now, it's time for my favourite scene of the episode. The Bruntouchables reunion!!!!!!! I've been waiting for this for quite some time now. James Tech's representing them well, of course, with that beautiful shirt, which I desperately need. They're working on the case at hand, via venn diagram. Very interesting. Brian thinks that in order to lure out the real perps out of hiding they need a fresh wound from one of them. Brian sees James at the viable person, because he sits at work all day. That would make me the viable person for this too, then. But Rebecca expresses her distaste for this, so Brian looks around the room at everyone else, and we learn some interesting things. James hates knives, Mike runs triathlons, Ike d a n c e s, and finally, Stavros nominates himself. What a man. He says he lost feeling in his left leg, but he proceeds to stab the right leg instead? Is he serious? The rest of their reactions to this are priceless. Brian asks Rebecca if it's okay if he heads home, and she agrees.
This next sequence is too funny, honestly. Brian needs to figure out a way to ditch Mr. Y. He decides on knocking him out. But how? With sleeping pills dispersed among a thin crust cheese pizza, of course. Mr. Y might be a very serious man, but he's not a robot. No one can resist that pizza. He's having trouble falling asleep though. How can Brian possibly fix this? With the glorious, soporific tunes of Enya; what else? Brian gets to his meeting point, but he notices Piper's not showing up, and someone's tailing him. Bad night to be Brian. Mike and Ike are tailing him! I don't know why this shocked me as much as it did. In case they did spook him, Rebecca told them to come home. Brian also returns home, and Mr. Y is gone. In perhaps Jake McDorman's best acting he has ever done all show, he finds Piper's bracelet with some blood on it. He has two clones to talk about who did this, and all signs point to Morra. Brian describes himself as "needing" Piper, not just the enzyme, but her. Again, I think this is a bit of an overstatement, but I'll allow it right now. The direction in the sequence was beautiful. Brian tries to explain to Naz what happened. In another beautiful, heartbreaking scene, Boyle and Rebecca are talking. This reveals that their friendship is very important, to the both of them. The camera angles in this scene were interesting as well. He calls her Reb., says, when referring to Finch, "I don't meet with him, I meet with you.", and is almost on the verge of tears because she's keeping these huge secrets from him. And then he shows her the NZT pill he kept. It's been burning a hole in his pocket, despite him occasionally thinking he'd give it to his mother to give her one more good day. Wow. This is all too much.
Brian's still with Naz, not sure of what to do or how to replace Mr. Y. She says she'll sit with him all day if she has to, to which Brian responds, "Rad! Party with Naz." Excellent, still trying to maintain some humour even at a time like this. Rebecca decides to tell Boyle at least some things about Brian. Brian wants to know how Stavros is doing, and James says to come with him. Look who saved the day, yet again. They found the perp, with the email address sheepadoodle1996. I know it's irrelevant, but that's my birth year, so I laughed. Apparently the soon to be ex-wife of the victim sedated their dog? That's not okay. At least the drawings were cute. Brian's on the move, and Ike asks Rebecca if they should follow, she says no. It's time for the Brian/Morra showdown we were promised, right? Well, not exactly. Morra claims he had nothing to do with Piper's disappearance. He seems very laid back about this whole situation. And he even offered to give Brian more pills, and he does give him one! Why isn't he worried? We just found out that Sands has gone rogue - he took Piper, he's on NZT, he's recruiting a team of villains to probably take down Brian, and Morra himself. The music choice here was excellent, as per the usual. This is very disturbing news, but even more disturbing is what happens next. Rebecca shows up at Brian's, taking out her gun and handcuffs. She saw him leave the rally for Morra. What an ending! The plot just keeps getting more and more intense, and things are looking worse and worse for Brian. I can't believe how amazing this show is, truly. More people need to watch this. They're missing out on so much goodness.
Side Notes:
- Stavros is fascinating. I hope he gets a backstory episode at some point.- They gave Boyle some great depth in this episode, but I only hope this is the beginning of this. With the pill still in play I hope we will continue to learn more about him in the upcoming episodes.
- Speaking of the pill, I honestly thought he showing someone about it now would be too early for it, but it was actually the perfect time and since he's still holding onto it, keeps the potential there for a great story.
- The end scene, once again, reminded me of White Collar. Particularly a Season 5 episode.
- EVERYONE was award-winning in this episode. Acting, writing, directing, the music. All of it.
What did YOU think of A Dog's Breakfast? Are you scared about Sands's team of villains? What about Rebecca - do you think she's going to arrest Brian? Well, we have a week to think about this with no new episode for two weeks. Please leave a comment down below!
