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Teddy Sears on Finally Breaking the Will-They-Won't-They Tension on Brilliant Minds
What's next for Dr. Oliver Wolf and Dr. Josh Nichols' relationship in and out of the hospital on Brilliant Minds?
SPOILER WARNING: This story contains spoilers for Brilliant Minds Season 1, Episode 7, "The Man From Grozny."
From the moment they met, Brilliant Minds' Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto) and Dr. Josh Nichols (Teddy Sears) have been at each other's throats.
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"These two are different, but there is something about the differences that, to me, pale in comparison to the similarities," Sears told NBC Insider ahead of Episode 7, "The Man From Grozny," and its relationship-altering final moments. "And even though they approach patients differently ... they both want the same thing."
Dr. Oliver Wolf & Dr. Josh Nichols finally kiss in Episode 7
After a truly emotionally harrowing episode in which Dr. Wolf, Dr. Nichols, Dr. Carol Pierce (Tamberla Perry), and the Bronx General Hospital neuro interns worked together to get their season-long John Doe, Roman (Alex Ozerov-Meyer), set up with a Neurolink (a brain-machine interface), Wolf and Nichols put us out of our misery and — finally — kissed.
Sears confirmed that Roman's final words — equally heartfelt and heartbreaking — were what pushed Wolf and Nichols over the edge after so much back-and-forth, with Wolf chasing Nichols into the street for that cinematic first kiss.
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"I feel like Roman has a private moment with every cast member ... where he just is able to observe and make astute observations about people in this sort of mystifying yet very obvious and plain-spoken way that I think causes everyone's world to kind of just tilt a little bit, you know, in a way that they never saw coming," Sears said. "And that very much happens to Wolf. And at this point, Wolf and Josh are not only professionally comfortable but they're personally warming to each other."
Sears recalled shooting the scene in which, as Nichols, he's staring as Wolf delivers a last rite of sorts for Roman.
"There's something about Wolf's depth and his ability to love others so freely that I think really grabs Josh and shakes something a little bit loose inside of him," Sears mused. "There's often something avoided in ... that more tender, more vulnerable part of ourselves. And everyone is tender and everyone is vulnerable in that moment when Roman is making his transition, and everyone's cracked wide open.
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"I imagine [what] happens at the end of that episode [for Wolf], there's just this big decision made," he added.
In that moment, Wolf is stripped so raw that he overcomes his fear and literally chases after what he's realized he wants.
What's next for Wolf & Nichols?
"That's our big, grand gesture on the streets of New York moment, and I'm really excited to see how it came across [on screen]," Sears said.
Of course, new relationships aren't without complications, especially when your frenemy-turned-crush-turned-potential-love-interest is also your colleague.
As for what was holding Wolf back 'til now?
"We do understand why later in future flashbacks," Sears confirmed.
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And it's not like Wolf's brave emotional breakthrough is going to solve all the duo's problems. Sears didn't shy away from acknowledging how much they've always rubbed each other the wrong way.
"There continues to be an oil and water thing between these two," he said. "I think that there is a burgeoning and very deep respect for Wolf's, like, utterly encompassing dedication and devotion to his patients in a way that Josh doesn't necessarily have because Josh has a social life. Josh is not awkward around other people. Josh is not face blind. Josh didn't have what Wolf had growing up."
As for what happens next? Keep watching Brilliant Minds.
Catch new episodes of Brilliant Minds when they premiere on Mondays on NBC at 10/9c. Episodes are available to stream on Peacock the next day.
