What a spectacular winter finale. That is quite the way to go out. Limitless, you are one fantastic show. I cannot praise you enough. What a nice change of tone as well. There were still some humorous moments to love and hold on to, but it was almost wholeheartedly a more dark and serious episode. Which I definitely enjoyed. Let's review it!
Previously on Limitless... Casey and Boyle had their scene where they wondered about Brian and NZT. This is important, due to what happens in this episode. Right off the bat, we have a very silly and adorable montage of Mike and Ike being called by Brian to run errands for him. I'll admit, this is not the best use of their time, but it's still very funny to watch. Poor Ike, he has this disgusting rash on his hand from being stressed out. The doctor he sees suggests meditation. I hope that works for him, I really do. Then we have some very interesting moments and conversations dispersed. Mike is counting down the days until he's finished body guarding for Brian. Ike, on the other hand, doesn't want this gig to be up, because he never got any offers to work somewhere else after the CJC. Ike being this self-deprecating reminded me of Oliver from HTGAWM.
Another funny thing to point out - Ike has been dreaming about an army of Mikes replacing him. And during his meditation, he thinks about Brian, and Female Mike rejecting him. Hmmm, I wonder what this could possibly mean. The montage continues with more hilarity. However, something I should point out, Ike mentions Mike received a marksmanship award. You'd think someone that great would think to TAKE THE SAFETY OFF HIS GUN? And maybe actually shoot the target he was after? This is just a thought. But I don't think this is too crazy. It's clear to me who the real hero of the two is. Ike - wanting to stay in touch with Mike when this ends, being as loyal as a puppy, and almost as cute, jumping in front of Mike to catch the bullet. That scene will never be easy to watch.
A quick theme song is bad news as well, meaning we have a lot to get through. Lots of "Actual Name Withheld" annotations over Mike and Ike's mouths. I personally have become so attached to calling them Mike and Ike. This episode gives us multiple perspectives on different situations. Some of them were in the now, and some lead us back to the past to rewind a bit and piece the story together. Rebecca's story is her trying to get herself to break up with Casey. I don't blame you, girl, he's kind of a hothead and he just seems - scary. After rushing into work, Mike seems a bit irritable about leaving his safety on. Brian tries to reassure him, and Mike gets defensive, telling him it was his fault, and the least he could do was call him by his real name. "It's just that they've been Mike and Ike for so long..." I agree with you, Brian. Whoever broke into the pharmacy originally targeted Oxycodone, but switched over to NZT, stealing 6,000 pills. That could do some serious damage.
Next, Brian is working in his Headquarters! when I noticed that he still has the clay effigies of Mike and Ike, literally directed in front of him when he is on his computer. That's adorable. Brian was able to find the man responsible in record time. Boyle requests with Rebecca to leave early, and he does. Then back to Brian and Rebecca, he's making a map out of lots of string. He asked Mike to help him, but he told him to do it himself. A nice theme of the episode is asked: is Brian disrespectful to Mike and Ike? The short answer, yeah, he could be a bit more respectful. Then again, an agent leaving his safety on... Regardless, they're able to find the person, and Brian sets up the plan to stop him in BATTLE CREEK of all places. Anyone who knows me knows I enjoyed the Battle Creek television show. This made me unbelievably giddy. Even more so when Brian realized he might've made a mistake by sending Rebecca to go their with Casey, who she really wants to break up with but keeps getting interrupted.
The drop seemed flawless, the perpetrator was appended and SWAT cleaned up the mess. Or did they? Brian is "NZT-ing" Rebecca, and I must admit I do like that verbiage. Rebecca breaking up with Casey over text isn't a great sign. Things got very awkward in that meeting, and Naz must've been so annoyed. Here's where it gets interesting. The scenario jumps to Casey's point of view from the night before. He's with three friends from SWAT who are contemplating taking NZT. This showcases how Casey was trying to do things strictly by the book due to Rebecca's job being on the line. Shows how quickly one text message can change everything. Following the break-up, Casey tells his friends that they're all going to take one pill and see what happens. Mixing alcohol with NZT seems like the worst idea. Each friend has a different hope for what they'll achieve on NZT.
- Casey, the fighter
- Kevin, the joker
- Russ, the adrenaline junkie
- Nick, the superstar
Back to Brian's perspective, it's finally time to check in on Ike. Turns out, Ike actually picked out a song (called You and Me) that reminds him of Mike. If that isn't the cutest thing you've ever heard...Brian declares that he is done taking them for granted, and he's going to treat them like the trained agents that they are. [I'm not even going to say it, you already know what I'm thinking.] One of the best scenes of the episode, and no doubt the funniest, Brian's talking to Ike, and wondering if Ike can hear him while he's in a coma. Answer? Yeah, he can, and he's running on a hamster wheel while a giant head of Brian is blabbing off to him. Very comical, but we all know Ike loves Brian. We then have the epiphany of Brian realizing Casey's hiding something big - the sudoku, his body language. Bad stuff. Brian has an almost Terminator moment where he figures out Casey's on NZT. Cool! Then comes the plan. Casey takes Brian and Rebecca hostage, along with Kevin and Nick. More zombie-like actions from Casey, might I add.
During the scuffle, Brian is able to use Nick's phone to text someone, who we later find out to be Boyle. Brian comes up with an idea to get them out. Tear gas, a distraction, and a plan to turn the building off lockdown to escape without anyone getting hurt. An intense sequence is to follow. When they finally make it to the room, Nick and Kevin get bumped in the head by someone else in the room. We don't find out who it is until their name and their scenario gets blasted on screen. Boyle, bless that man. He gets Brian's message, grabs a gas mask, and then goes to save the day. Or did he? While in a hostage situation, Casey grabs Brian and puts a gun to his head. Brian wholeheartedly believes that, while on NZT, he can talk Casey down, which would result in the least amount of casualties. Boyle, however, did not listen to Brian's plea, was trained to kill the perp with the gun, and shoot Casey square in the eye. Poor Rebecca, this must have been a whirlwind for her.
Naz tries to find out if there were any other ways, Rebecca says there were, but later changes her mind when Boyle debates his point of view. Man, this episode was so serious. It gets even worse when we find Boyle coming home to relieve his mom's care and see her. He gets a knock on the door, and it's Brian. This is one of the more tricky scenes of the episode. Brian appreciates what Boyle did, but he believes he could've talked Casey down. Boyle defends himself, and calls Brian out. "You're not a negotiator, Brian. You're an untrained consultant who sends real agents to get you sodas." "Look, I know I need to show Mike and Ike more respect, and I'm trying to do that. When are you going to start respecting me." MIC DROP. Ouch, feelings everywhere.
The next day Boyle's spending time with his mother. He really cares about her. It felt really good to get more insight about Boyle's life. He arrives at work, and after a talk with Mike about how Casey's 1 NZT pill left on him went missing, Boyle finds it under his desk. He decides to pocket it. Ooh, what an interesting predicament! Then, credits! Or wait, nope, if Headquarters! taught me anything I should keep watching for more. With almost no warning, the name Jason appears on screen, another scenario. But who's Jason? IT'S IKE. Ike's real name is Jason. Wow, you know, he kind of does look like a Jason, but I'm sorry, I'm sticking with Ike. In fact, Ike wants to stick with Ike. "I kinda got used to Ike." One of the best things ever said on this show, definitely. Brian spends the last minute of the episode with Ike in the hospital, smiling and laughing with him, and telling him to take it easy. This ending scene tied for me with HTGAWM's for best ending scene of the winter finale season.
FINAL THOUGHTS: I think from the title of this review you already know what possible grade I would award this episode with. Sure, there were more things I would have loved to see the SWAT team do while on NZT, and more side effects that could've been fleshed out. But for what they were going for, I enjoyed it. I loved the multiple perspectives, and if anyone had to die I am certainly glad it was Casey and not Ike. And the semi-cliffhanger with Boyle could lead to some interesting stuff down the line. Amazing work, Limitless staff. Sorry this review got so long, there was quite a bit I wanted to talk about.
What did YOU think of This Is Your Brian On Drugs? What has been your favourite episode of Limitless so far? I'm torn between this one and Headquarters! Any plans for binge-watching during the hiatus? I'm probably going to rewatch every episode - I miss them all.
Whatever you thought, please be sure to leave a comment down below!
