LIMITLESS Chases a Legend and Finds the Friend Zone
Episode 3 – “The Legend of Marcos Ramos”
Still stressed about harboring his secret connection to Eddie Morra, Brian confronts the nurse sent to care for his father. She convinces him that she has nothing but the best intentions and if Morra needs something he will be in touch. Brian is only partially satisfied with this answer, but has to focus on what he can control.
With his recent string of success consulting with the FBI they have loosened his lease, allowing him to use NZT while he commutes to work. Their thought is that he may be able to use the information/experiences he has along the way during investigations. This freedom affords Brain a chance encounter with his ex-girlfriend, the one that got away. The animated neurotropic enhanced Brian quickly impresses his old flame, securing him a date later that night.
The task force is charged with solving the sudden murder of a colleague and former mentor Ray Dickson. Dickson was working with a local corporation to vet candidates to take over as CEO. The Bureau believes one of these candidates may be involved in Dickson’s death. Brian is asked to reassemble some of Dickson’s shredded documents in search of a motive for the assassination. He enlists the help of his two guardians, whom he playfully calls Mike an Ike. Together they uncover that one of the candidates had some suspicious banking and email activity. It does not take Brian long to uncover a child-producing affair and eliminate this suspect.
Brian meets with his ex for dinner. Post NZT, he struggles to be as charming but discovers the reason for their breakup and an opportunity to rekindle the relationship. The next day Rebecca takes Brian to a storage facility she tracked back to Dickson. Inside they find that he was running a private investigation into a powerful cartel boss named Marcos Ramos.
With this new lead, the team refocuses and contacts an NYPD task force tracking Ramos. Brian has a hunch about the identity of La Sabre, the suspected gunman. After constructing recreations of the two previous assassinations and looking at crime scene photos, Brian recognizes a face in the crowd: a 6’ 6” Finish Biathlete from the 1998 Winter Games. With the aid of the NYPD task force they bring in the gunman and secure a confession to the two previous murders, but not Dickson’s.
Back to the drawing board, they pour over the clues to see if they missed something. While Boyle and Harris search through some old files following a lead, Brian uses the afternoon to help his ex-girlfriend, Shawna. Using his heightened intellect, he discovers a connection to a disgraced artist that could establish Shawna’s building as a historical landmark, preventing it from being torn down. It’s a touching moment when Brian realizes he is truly happy, but cannot build a life with her due to his complicated life.
Rebecca summons Brian to the Bronx the next day to help her look for any missed clues at the crime scene. The two discover some graffiti that matches a note found with Dickson’s body. Investigating the building, they find Ramos’s body in a freezer and deduce that the NYPD task force is corrupt. Brian uses his chemically imparted gift to track down the fleeing members of the task force and help bring Dickson’s killers to justice.
They did not wait long to ratchet up the drama. We are introduced to Mr. Sands, an associate of Morra, the show’s first true villain. His arrival and encounter with Brain set the stage for the intense, emotional drama the early episodes promised.
Brian has a touching scene with Rebecca as the episode closes. He describes his sudden and painful break up with Shawna. Their relationship continues to deepen and the scene provides my new favorite slogan – Beer o’clock.
Final Thoughts
It would be easy for the writers to fall into the trap of letting Finch solve everything. They are, however, doing a great job of spreading the workload, careful not to marginalize any character.
They are very creative in the way they show Brian’s problem solving skills in action on NZT. They further add a splash of humor when Brian daydreams about various situations. This is a nice addition to the overall tone of the show and helps to highlight Brian’s character. They use various film genres like exploitation films of the 70’s and old TV shows.
There are a few subtle elements the show uses to indicate the differences in scenes when Finch is using NZT and not. Primarily the color palette changes from a slightly washed out look when he is not on the drug and then warms up when he’s using it.
Set your DVR’s for Episode 4 – “Page 44” Airs on Tuesday, October 13th at 10pm on CBS.
