Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 5 Delivers Emmy-Worthy Hour!

Critic’s Rating: 4.85 / 5.0

4.85

While many award shows ignore broadcast series, nowadays, this episode of Brilliant Minds should be a strong contender.

During Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 5, Dr. Nichols spent 17 hours in the operating room working on two brothers, who had fallen 30 stories and had experienced multiple head and neck injuries.

He was definitely the episode MVP, but Wolf, Carol, and Ericka jumped in to assist and bridge the gap since the family did not speak English, and Ericka spoke Spanish.

It hasn’t been since John Doe, aka Roman’s case during Brilliant Minds Season 1, that we’ve witnessed a case that affected the entire team.

We saw that tonight in spades, so grab your tissues, and let’s dive in.

It’s All Hands on Deck to Save Two Brothers, With Dr. Nichols Leading the Charge

As soon as I saw the two window repairmen fall to the ground, I knew this would be a rough case. I didn’t realize they had fallen 30 stories. 

Dr. Nichols had been trying to do fewer surgeries and see to more Chief of Staff duties, but all that changed when the brothers had multiple head and neck injuries. 

There were skull fractures, and if they were mishandled, they could die. Nichols told Wolf that he was counting on him to have a neuro room ready the second he was done operating.

You could tell Bronx General had a budget problem since they didn’t have an interpreter. Luckily, Ericka knew Spanish and was able to communicate with the Torres family.

They put all their faith in him, gifting him a St. Christopher pendant, begging him to save Jorge, who helped the family with everything.

You could see the stress increase on Dr. Nichols’ (Teddy Sears) face throughout the episode as he thought he had stabilized Jorge, but then found a bleed on the left side and had to remove the skull on both sides.

No matter if they were dating or not, the amount of support Wolf showed Nichols was beautiful. He knew Nichols would do anything to save a life, no matter what.

I also loved how they’ve deepened the relationship between Carol and Nichols. The trio is delightful whether they’re supporting each other or hanging out.

Every Family Has a Favorite, and Dr. Wolf and His Team Work Through the Torres Family Dysfunction

Families aren’t supposed to have favorites, but every family does. However, they aren’t usually as blatant about it as the Torres family, and grievances generally disappear when lives are in danger.

The series never technically said why Ana Torres and Benny were estranged, but I suspect he was gay. Ana maintained that she “tried,” but then he turned against her faith. But she couldn’t deal with being separated from her baby.

Ana made it sound like he was going to hell, and Benny told Wolf that his mom wanted him to live his life her way.

I had to keep reminding myself that Ana Torres was suffering. Because she definitely seemed so old-fashioned and mean at times.

She didn’t consider Carol or psychiatrists to be genuine doctors. She called all the shots and wanted nothing to do with Benny initially, and then told him that if Jorge died, it would be his fault.

That’s harsh and unheard of for a mother to leave him unattended.

By a twist of fate, Benny didn’t understand his mother since he could only understand English and not his native tongue, Spanish.

Benny felt frustrated since he could only identify a few pictures in both English and Spanish, but Wolf told him that fixing both the brain and relationships took patience and time.

I’m relieved that Wolf’s team managed to get Benny and his mother to make up before he had a stroke and died. Wolf understood about having an opinionated mother, while Carol related to having to let your children make their own decisions.

This Case Burdened Dr. Nichols and Affected Everyone Else

While Wolf doesn’t typically promote lying to patients, he didn’t stop Nurse Silva from embellishing the translations since mother and son finally admitted they loved each other through their tears.

Dr. Nichols was a man of routine, so things went downhill when his assistant handed him his tools on the wrong side.

The St. Christopher pendant was meant to bring a miracle, but it only burdened him with responsibility after over 16 hours in the OR.

He was the only doctor skilled enough even to give Jorge and Benny a fighting chance, but he could only save one. While Ana Torres maintained she only cared about saving Jorge, in reality, she wanted both her sons to leave.

Her agonizing guttural scream made me cry! It’s devastating for a mother to lose a child.

There was nothing Wolf could say to Nichols, except offer silent comfort and help him mop up the blood. That was such an emotional scene between them that only doctors and loved ones understood.

The interns were all affected by these cases, too, beginning with Jacob, who became sick from the amount of blood he saw. I suspect this emergency rotation is getting to him, and he misses neurology.

He’s not like Dr. Thorne, who brushes off cases if they’re not on his floor. Jacob believed life was short and reminded Ericka of that.

I loved watching the interns have authentic conversations like in the first season. When you realize that life is short, it can put friendships and petty grievances into perspective.

I was relieved Ericka remembered that, realized how Benny’s death affected Dana, and was there for her best friend.

Al Calderon Debuted as Nurse Silva, and the Younger Crowd Felt Revitalized

Al Calderon began as Nurse Nico Silva and brought some needed charisma. It was obvious that he and Nichols knew each other for a while by how he praised the nurse.

It felt like the gorgeous guys’ fan club while Nichols praised both Nurse Silva and Wolf, saying they were top of their departments and wanted them to work together.

Those lighter moments sprinkled throughout the episode were needed since this one was highly emotional.

Nurse Silva seemed fairly likable, ran a tight ship with his nurses, and everyone flocked to him. Dana referenced him as “Socialite Silva.”

He seemed sincere in wanting to learn more about Wolf and his face blindness, not to use it against him, but so Wolf could identify each of the nurses better.

The interns actually felt like a family again. Part of that was Nurse Silva inquiring about Wolf and Ericka, and Dana both jumping to defend him and explain his face blindness.

He already seems like he could fit in seamlessly with Dana and Ericka, or with Wolf and Nichols.

While he misjudged Wolf’s face blindness, he at least admitted it and acknowledged his error. I already prefer him over Charlie.

Did That Cliffhanger Set Things in Motion For a Brilliant Minds Halloween Episode?

I totally get it. Ana Torres just lost one of her sons and wasn’t thinking straight.

But it still didn’t give her the right to slap and curse Nichols, saying she hopes he never finds peace again.

Poor Nichols already felt guilty for not giving her a miracle. Neither Nichols nor Wolf knew exactly what she said, since neither spoke Spanish.

But Nurse Silva understood, saying she cursed Nichols, just in time for Halloween. Will we see Benny’s ghost in the upcoming episode, or will something else plague Nichols?

We have not had a holiday installment before. I don’t want Nichols cursed, but I think it would be interesting to see how he deals with these fears.

Over to you, Brilliant Minds Fanatics.

Did “Once Upon a Time in America” make you cry? Is Dr. Nichols overworked? Were you relieved for the break from Charlie?

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If you enjoyed our Brilliant Minds coverage and want to see more discussions about character-centric shows, yours truly covers Will Trent. We also cover medical shows like DOC, Best Medicine, and more. Interested in more analytical and passionate pieces? Check out our editorials and op-eds.

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