Wild Cards Season 1 Episode 8 Review: Eternal Sunshine of the Therapized Mind

Wild Cards Season 1 Episode 8, “Eternal Sunshine of the Therapized Mind,” takes Max and Ellis undercover as a married couple, and they discover more than they anticipated about each other and themselves.

Written by Alexandra Zarowny and directed by Winnifred Jong, this episode is a deeply vulnerable outing that sees the characters have open and honest conversations about the pros and cons of therapy. Of course, those occur while they uncover the truth behind a formidable and well-loved therapist’s murder.

Still, “Eternal Sunshine of the Therapized Mind” is a dialogue-heavy script that encourages Max and Ellis to open up and leaves them asking big questions.

It’s the ideal episode for a strict(er) procedural drama ahead of a season’s penultimate and final outings. Their case-of-the-week format doesn’t always leave a lot of room for the characters to communicate with one another without the investigation deterring or interrupting them.

“Eternal Sunshine of the Therapized Mind” is a creative way around that pitfall.

Wild Cards‘s case about a murdered therapist requires Max and Ellis not only to speak to each other but to look inward and acknowledge some of their trauma. 

It becomes a trope-filled dream — something this show does very well — that this introspection occurs while the duo is undercover as Maxine and Colton, a married couple. Some of the best couples on procedural dramas (NCIS: Los Angeles‘s Deeks and Kensi!) utilize the same trope before making things official.

It’s amusing that Wild Cards uses the end of Max and Ellis’s honeymoon phase to compare their partnership with Yates and Simmons’s. Any excuse to get to know those two characters better is a welcome treat.

The banter between Giacomo Gianniotti and Vanessa Morgan is always great (and keeps improving), but Amy Goodmurphy and Michael Xavier are an underrated dynamic duo. “Eternal Sunshine of the Therapized Mind” pulls an honest sweetness from their working relationship.

Their back and forth underscores the trust they’ve built since becoming partners.

Nevertheless, Wild Cards knows there is still plenty to discover about and between them. Yates’s dig about Simmons asking about her personal life is particularly effective because little is known about her. 

Consequently, it’s exciting that Max’s interest in Yates’s stories could result in a real friendship. That blossoming dynamic is a blast to watch.

Ultimately, it could mean more character-building for both female characters. That possibility makes it a little disappointing that “Eternal Sunshine of the Therapized Mind” doesn’t follow Max and Yates to drink between Ellis and Simmons’s scene and Max and Ellis’s final one.

Even so, Wild Cards does some incredible work between the former partners.

This episode heavily focuses on Ellis and Max’s dynamic after it takes a slight backseat — or passenger seat, really — on Wild Cards Season 1 Episode 7, “Con with the Wind.” What it does for them is entertaining and emotional, but “Eternal Sunshine of the Therapized Mind” surprises with Ellis and Simmons.

Though it has become a Wild Cards tradition to end the episode with an Ellimax scene, this one could have used Ellis and Simmons’s Act 6 conversation as the final scene because it’s that good. It gets to the heart of these characters in a refreshingly vulnerable dialogue between two men about therapy.

It’s such a compelling scene that it quickly becomes a favorite of this season.

It’s already rewarding to see Simmons ask Ellis how he’s doing; it’s another level for Simmons to discuss his own experiences in therapy. 

Learning that Simmons has been going to therapy as long as Daniel has been gone opens that character up in an intriguing way. It speaks volumes that Simmons began therapy because he didn’t know how to help Ellis through that grief, but Simmons discovered he didn’t know how to manage his emotions.

Thankfully, it’s becoming less rare to see discussions about therapy on TV, so this Wild Cards exchange is almost jarring in a good way. It gives hope that TV will continue to have these difficult conversations. Ideally, this show will also go beyond the therapy-centric case of “Eternal Sunshine of the Therapized Mind.”

Because they’re important — stories about mental health care are important.

So, yes, of course, it is fun to see Max and Ellis call each other “my husband,” “my wife,” and “sweetie.” Hopefully, there will be more of that in their future.

However, it is far more rewarding to see them inadvertently find some valuable tools to cope with their struggles and trauma.

With the help of multiple forms of therapy, Ellis reflects on his gentle, kind brother and the vastly opposing relationships he and Daniel had with their father. Gianniotti plays those scenes so well because it’s visible on Ellis’s face that these interactions are the first time he’s thinking about his dad in this way.

It’s impactful that “Eternal Sunshine of the Therapized Mind” is the first time Max questions whether her childhood is as picturesque and fabulous as she remembers. She starts confronting her fear of loneliness and how that connects to Ellis, inspiring Wild Cards to highlight the truth between the partners.

Part of this show is always wondering if Max and Ellis are being honest with each other, and this episode asks if they’ve ever been honest with themselves. This dynamic storytelling makes “Eternal Sunshine of the Therapized Mind” a standout of the season because of the character work.

Yes, Wild Cards is an easygoing watch, which the TV landscape desperately needs more of. However, that doesn’t mean this show avoids deeper stories for its characters—viewing it otherwise doesn’t give the show’s duality enough credit. Wild Cards‘s ability to do both will hopefully keep it on TV for many years.

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Wild Cards airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

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