1 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:10,000 Ripped & Corrected By mstoll 2 00:00:11,244 --> 00:00:13,109 Hey, you heard of modafinil? 3 00:00:13,279 --> 00:00:15,406 - Mm-hm. - Neuroenhancers? 4 00:00:15,582 --> 00:00:18,278 Well, it's like that. Just better. 5 00:00:19,185 --> 00:00:21,016 A lot better. 6 00:00:27,694 --> 00:00:31,061 These neurotrophic drugs, as they're called, they exist, 7 00:00:31,231 --> 00:00:33,756 not as strong in the form of NZT, 8 00:00:33,933 --> 00:00:36,993 but our show, Limitless, is kind of a glimpse into the future. 9 00:00:37,170 --> 00:00:41,402 It's nice to imagine going back to the way things were before. 10 00:00:41,574 --> 00:00:42,939 But you can't. Neither of us can. 11 00:00:43,109 --> 00:00:45,134 We all sort of have this sad reality 12 00:00:45,311 --> 00:00:47,336 where we all know we're capable of so much more 13 00:00:47,514 --> 00:00:51,575 and there's this frustration where we wanna be able to access 14 00:00:51,751 --> 00:00:53,184 these parts of our brain. 15 00:00:54,254 --> 00:00:56,552 Hangover's rough, and the trip can be intense. 16 00:00:56,723 --> 00:00:58,554 Usually you use about 10% of your brain... 17 00:00:58,725 --> 00:01:01,922 Yeah, that's a myth, actually, that whole 10% thing. 18 00:01:02,095 --> 00:01:03,221 But who's to say? 19 00:01:03,396 --> 00:01:07,332 We had a neurologist come in and talk to us very early on 20 00:01:07,500 --> 00:01:10,560 and he said, "That's completely not true that you use 10% of your brain." 21 00:01:10,737 --> 00:01:13,934 "You use different parts of your brain for different things all the time." 22 00:01:14,107 --> 00:01:18,043 "It annoys me more as a neurologist to hear that myth than anything." 23 00:01:22,148 --> 00:01:23,342 Sir? Are you OK? 24 00:01:23,516 --> 00:01:25,245 There's a downside to any drug. 25 00:01:25,418 --> 00:01:28,444 Anything that is making your body do something it wouldn't naturally do, 26 00:01:28,621 --> 00:01:30,748 there's always going to be a flipside to it. 27 00:01:30,924 --> 00:01:34,018 ...this enormous thing by tomorrow, but maybe I can help. 28 00:01:34,194 --> 00:01:36,662 Brian? 29 00:01:36,830 --> 00:01:39,060 If Brian doesn't get his booster shot in time, 30 00:01:39,232 --> 00:01:42,793 what's it like for that character to experience these escalating 31 00:01:42,969 --> 00:01:45,802 and really quite frightening side effects? 32 00:01:45,972 --> 00:01:49,032 The writer Jenna Richman and I explored the idea in that 33 00:01:49,209 --> 00:01:50,801 that it worked in three stages. 34 00:01:50,977 --> 00:01:55,004 The first stage was paranoia. The second stage was hallucination. 35 00:01:55,181 --> 00:01:57,513 And then the third stage, which he's only just reaching 36 00:01:57,684 --> 00:02:01,017 when he's finally rescued by Eddie Morra, is outright psychosis. 37 00:02:01,187 --> 00:02:02,654 So we saw him face the choice 38 00:02:02,822 --> 00:02:06,986 of subverting his partner Rebecca's career or facing the side effects. 39 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:09,492 He made the choice to face the side effects. 40 00:02:10,597 --> 00:02:13,191 - Brian. - Shauna. 41 00:02:13,366 --> 00:02:17,097 Shauna was interesting because she was the ex-girlfriend, the one who got away. 42 00:02:17,270 --> 00:02:20,933 He finds her again and she's much more attracted to him again 43 00:02:21,107 --> 00:02:23,041 now that he is NZT-enabled. 44 00:02:23,209 --> 00:02:26,372 I'm wondering, does she like me or does she like me on the drug? 45 00:02:26,546 --> 00:02:28,741 It's the first place where you really start to see him 46 00:02:28,848 --> 00:02:31,180 push against the NZT persona. 47 00:02:31,351 --> 00:02:32,978 They're the same guy. 48 00:02:33,153 --> 00:02:35,781 Absolutely not. Not true. 49 00:02:35,955 --> 00:02:40,085 What is the difference between Brian Finch on the pill 50 00:02:40,260 --> 00:02:41,887 and Brian Finch off the pill? 51 00:02:42,061 --> 00:02:44,928 It's Rebecca who first advances the notion that Brian on NZT 52 00:02:45,098 --> 00:02:48,761 is just a crystallization of Brian without the drug. 53 00:02:48,935 --> 00:02:51,028 Sure, you can do more when you're on the pill, 54 00:02:51,204 --> 00:02:55,265 but, either way, it's your character. 55 00:02:55,441 --> 00:02:58,842 What is really special about him is he's the kind of person where it's like, 56 00:02:59,012 --> 00:03:00,411 well, if you had the Midas touch, 57 00:03:00,580 --> 00:03:02,878 if you had this power where you could accomplish everything, 58 00:03:03,049 --> 00:03:04,914 his life wouldn't look that much different. 59 00:03:05,084 --> 00:03:08,178 He cares about the people in his life. He's a happy person. 60 00:03:08,354 --> 00:03:12,017 Why are you trying so hard to hold on to the person you were before NZT? 61 00:03:12,192 --> 00:03:14,854 What's the fundamental difference between these two characters? 62 00:03:15,028 --> 00:03:16,290 That scene was born out of that. 63 00:03:16,462 --> 00:03:17,793 That's who I am. 64 00:03:19,032 --> 00:03:21,330 Well, it doesn't have to be. 65 00:03:21,501 --> 00:03:27,303 We've seen Eddie Morra operate on kind of this post-human level of NZT. 66 00:03:27,473 --> 00:03:30,033 He wants to create a world that he envisions 67 00:03:30,210 --> 00:03:33,202 and knows that if he's gonna make an omelet, he's gonna break some eggs. 68 00:03:33,379 --> 00:03:36,246 And they might be morally reprehensible things that he does, 69 00:03:36,416 --> 00:03:38,884 but it doesn't matter to him because he's above morality. 70 00:03:39,052 --> 00:03:43,045 You're above the kind of concerns that you're letting weigh you down. 71 00:03:44,290 --> 00:03:46,349 Put them down, walk away. 72 00:03:47,961 --> 00:03:49,292 You'll feel so much lighter. 73 00:03:49,462 --> 00:03:51,123 There's always a morality question 74 00:03:51,297 --> 00:03:57,293 when it comes to any use of technology or drug or a weapon. 75 00:03:57,470 --> 00:04:00,769 Are you using it to actually protect and serve 76 00:04:00,940 --> 00:04:04,341 or are you using it for greed and power? 77 00:04:04,510 --> 00:04:09,880 We definitely explored the theme of NZT as a kind of moral equestrian fence 78 00:04:10,049 --> 00:04:13,815 that you could either jump over successfully or trip up on. 79 00:04:13,987 --> 00:04:17,388 And really what I think is most unique about Brian is how 80 00:04:17,557 --> 00:04:23,826 in spite of his seemingly soft exterior, he cleared that hurdle every time. 81 00:04:23,997 --> 00:04:27,194 - No, no, no. - Brian, it's OK. It's over. 82 00:04:27,367 --> 00:04:30,530 - I'm not gonna frame Rebecca. - I know. 83 00:04:30,703 --> 00:04:34,104 For the most part, when people go on NZT, 84 00:04:34,274 --> 00:04:37,903 the person who they already were is really magnified, 85 00:04:38,077 --> 00:04:41,444 but the things that would keep them in line start to fall away. 86 00:04:41,614 --> 00:04:46,210 If Brian doesn't have his own internal moral compass, 87 00:04:46,386 --> 00:04:47,614 it's not gonna be given to him. 88 00:04:47,787 --> 00:04:50,722 In fact, it would be harder to develop it after having the pill. 89 00:04:50,890 --> 00:04:53,950 The thing about the family is they are a kind of moral compass for Brian, 90 00:04:54,127 --> 00:04:58,359 and in that way for the show, about how things stray. 91 00:04:58,531 --> 00:05:01,398 And there's something very solid about this family 92 00:05:01,567 --> 00:05:05,663 and an essential kind of responsible goodness. 93 00:05:05,838 --> 00:05:07,669 You grew up surrounded by love and support, 94 00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:09,967 which suggests a strong moral framework. 95 00:05:10,143 --> 00:05:12,577 Why do you care if I have a strong moral framework? 96 00:05:12,745 --> 00:05:16,112 You could remain who you were on NZT, but it would be an effort, 97 00:05:16,282 --> 00:05:19,945 because it's hard not to leave behind the more limited way of being yourself. 98 00:05:20,119 --> 00:05:22,451 This drug, I think it's making me a better person. 99 00:05:22,622 --> 00:05:25,420 Every different character you meet has their own moral compass 100 00:05:25,591 --> 00:05:27,525 pointed in a slightly different direction. 101 00:05:27,694 --> 00:05:30,390 So someone like Piper, who is I think still a good person 102 00:05:30,563 --> 00:05:33,191 but obviously is very willing to kill for what she believes in, 103 00:05:33,366 --> 00:05:34,924 where Brian doesn't seem to be. 104 00:05:35,101 --> 00:05:37,069 And I care because I know how Morra works. 105 00:05:37,236 --> 00:05:39,363 He has a way of corrupting good people. 106 00:05:39,539 --> 00:05:43,066 You're one of them... same way I was. 107 00:05:43,242 --> 00:05:46,405 With knowledge comes anxiety and pressure and responsibility, 108 00:05:46,612 --> 00:05:48,443 and I think that's what Piper feels. 109 00:05:48,614 --> 00:05:51,640 She's incredibly anxious and incredibly weighed down 110 00:05:51,818 --> 00:05:56,346 by this responsibility of what this information she's been privy to, 111 00:05:56,522 --> 00:05:59,514 what it means and what the right thing to do with it is. 112 00:05:59,692 --> 00:06:02,126 With a lot of the characters who took NZT, 113 00:06:02,295 --> 00:06:05,492 they would succumb to thinking in the bigger picture 114 00:06:05,665 --> 00:06:09,226 at the expense of small bits of morality 115 00:06:09,402 --> 00:06:11,461 that arguably are what make you who you are. 116 00:06:11,637 --> 00:06:14,936 Let me be very clear. I'm not saying Nick should have killed Russ. 117 00:06:15,108 --> 00:06:17,770 But since he did, from a macro perspective, 118 00:06:17,944 --> 00:06:21,436 the best thing we can do is to pin the theft on Russ. 119 00:06:21,614 --> 00:06:24,879 Brian's ability to effortlessly remain Brian while he's on NZT 120 00:06:25,051 --> 00:06:27,781 is part of what makes him really unique and such an asset. 121 00:06:32,425 --> 00:06:33,892 Rebecca takes NZT. 122 00:06:34,060 --> 00:06:38,053 That's actually an episode that we wrote and shot through Rebecca's perspective. 123 00:06:38,231 --> 00:06:41,166 First time's always a little trippy. 124 00:06:41,334 --> 00:06:45,361 You said Sands killed my father. Tell me everything. 125 00:06:45,538 --> 00:06:49,474 And so it was a chance for Jennifer Carpenter to flex muscles 126 00:06:49,642 --> 00:06:54,011 that she hadn't had the chance to flex before and do amazing work in it. 127 00:06:54,180 --> 00:06:56,774 I don't feel the pain. The NZT's taking care of that. 128 00:06:56,949 --> 00:06:58,940 You're gonna sew me up and we're gonna find Hawks. 129 00:06:59,118 --> 00:07:00,983 There's a dead guy lying in a field over there. 130 00:07:01,154 --> 00:07:03,816 Yeah. We'll call it in when we can. I can still use my right hand. 131 00:07:03,990 --> 00:07:06,220 - Tag me in. - Dope. 132 00:07:06,392 --> 00:07:10,192 We had several other people taking NZT who were not Brian 133 00:07:10,363 --> 00:07:13,958 and we watched them very quickly just do what they wanna do 134 00:07:14,133 --> 00:07:16,465 without really giving a lot of thought to what it means. 135 00:07:16,636 --> 00:07:19,230 So what we did with that was try to kind of counterpoint that 136 00:07:19,405 --> 00:07:23,341 with Brian always kind of keeping a moral register within himself. 137 00:07:23,509 --> 00:07:26,273 Just cos you're on NZT, you can't see what you're not looking for. 138 00:07:26,446 --> 00:07:28,914 Your immunity. 139 00:07:29,081 --> 00:07:32,949 You gave up Sands. You came clean about Morra. Y... 140 00:07:33,119 --> 00:07:37,112 You sacrificed your connection to him, to the immunity shot. 141 00:07:37,290 --> 00:07:39,758 You sacrificed all of that for me? 142 00:07:39,926 --> 00:07:40,984 As I said. 143 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:42,923 He is the person that you want on NZT 144 00:07:43,095 --> 00:07:46,189 because he still retains a moral conscience 145 00:07:46,365 --> 00:07:49,027 while he's on the drug as well as when he's off. 146 00:07:49,202 --> 00:07:51,397 If I took NZT, like personally? 147 00:07:51,571 --> 00:07:53,539 Oh, wow. Um... 148 00:07:53,706 --> 00:07:55,674 It's amazing I've never thought of that question. 149 00:07:55,842 --> 00:07:59,676 It would be music for me, if I had NZT, just to be able to just soak it all up. 150 00:07:59,846 --> 00:08:01,871 All the things I've ever heard I could just play. 151 00:08:02,048 --> 00:08:03,208 That would be amazing. 152 00:08:03,382 --> 00:08:06,476 If I were to take it, I would certainly learn all of the languages 153 00:08:06,652 --> 00:08:09,519 that I've bought in Rosetta Stone and might actually open them. 154 00:08:09,689 --> 00:08:14,956 Figure out a way to infallibly get ten good hours of sleep a night, 155 00:08:15,127 --> 00:08:17,425 which never, ever happened in my life ever. 156 00:08:17,597 --> 00:08:18,962 If someone just would record me 157 00:08:19,131 --> 00:08:22,430 like playing the piano brilliantly for the time, you know. 158 00:08:22,602 --> 00:08:25,264 First thing I would do is get a cure for cancer. 159 00:08:25,438 --> 00:08:28,407 There's such a pressure to do so many great things. You know what I mean? 160 00:08:28,574 --> 00:08:31,873 I think the show has that same pressure, where people watching at home are like, 161 00:08:32,044 --> 00:08:33,807 "Why doesn't he do this, this and this?" 162 00:08:33,980 --> 00:08:37,211 We're like, "I don't know. You make a show about you, then, guy." 163 00:08:37,383 --> 00:08:38,407 Or girl. 164 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:46,000 Ripped & Corrected By mstoll