Spoilers ahead for the winter premiere of Brilliant Minds, “The Boy Who Feels Everything,” streaming now with a Peacock subscription.
Brilliant Minds’ second season finally returned for the 2026 TV schedule, with the winter premiere airing on the first Monday of the year. It continued the fall finale’s cliffhanger, in which Michelle (Stacey Farber) got into a terrible car accident. Between trying to care for her and the driver responsible, there was a lot going on, and the episode seemed to keep fans on their toes the entire time until the very end. Two characters left Bronx General by the episode’s end, with one shocking me far more than the other, though I now understand why it had to happen.
Following the death of his ex-wife due to the injuries she sustained in the crash, Dr. Van Markus (Alex MacNicoll) made the decision to leave the hospital, telling Wolf (Zachary Quinto) that he needs to be with his son, and that he doesn’t know when he’ll be back. This came after he refused to believe Michelle was brain dead, even going so far as to nearly driving to a hospital in New Jersey for a religious loophole. But after imagining her coming back to life and remarrying her, Van realized that she won’t be returning after all.
While Van’s decision to leave Bronx General came as a shock, it’s not entirely a surprise. We’ve seen him trying to be there more for his son, Liam, and how difficult it’s been even when Michelle was around. Now that Michelle’s gone, it only makes sense for him to put all of his focus on raising Liam. Whether or not he’ll ever come back to the facility remains a mystery, but this standout medical drama has proven to be unpredictable even only two seasons in.
Speaking of unpredictable, as mentioned, there were two exits by the end of the winter premiere, Van’s was the one that was truly surprising. Dr. Jacob Nash (Spence Moore II) also revealed he’d be leaving Bronx General, but it wasn’t too much of a shock. It was already known that a doctor who was affiliated with Jacob’s old football team offered him a spot in his residency program in Texas. He had wrestled with the idea throughout the winter premiere, but ultimately came to the decision to take it.
This gives Jacob the opportunity to continue pursuing medicine, but also going back to his first passion, football, and helping athletes. Giving them the care he never received when he was a young athlete. Given his past and given how much he was struggling with the choice, it made sense for him to take the opportunity.
Check out the trailer for the next episode below.
With Wolf’s team being down two doctors and his newest second-year resident having a vendetta against him, it’s hard to tell what the rest of the season will look like. Tune into new episodes of Brilliant Minds on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC to see what happens.
