There is a lot of focus on Josh Nichols in Brilliant Minds season 2, episode 5, and it feels like things are going to get worse before they get better. Meanwhile, we meet a nurse, who is focused on his staff, but could go about things the wrong way.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS from Brilliant Minds season 2, episode 5.
Usually, an episode opens with a focus on the patient, but this time, we open 17 hours into the future. Josh is cleaning up a bloody and messy OR room on his own, and it’s clear that something is going to go wrong in a surgery. It's a haunting look into the later part of the episode.
Then we cut to 17 hours earlier, with two women walking through the workplace, talking about boys. It’s not either of them who will end up a patient, though. Instead, the guys fixing the high-rise window become the patients, as the pulley system breaks and they fall to the ground.
Josh is focused on fitting in everything he can in Brilliant Minds season 2, episode 5
This is the first chance we’ve got to see Josh as Chief, and he is doing a good job of balancing it all. He’s doing surgery, finding time to get his workouts in, and signing paperwork. We know it’s all likely to go wrong, though.
Elsewhere in the hospital, Carol is trying to get her daughter to talk to her, but Thorne has some advice not to push the children after divorce. It turns out that Maya asked to remain in the house, and the parents would move in and out, but then Carol found a bra in the bedroom, and so, Morris had to move out. If there’s no respect in the nesting location, it just doesn’t work. Thorne tried the same thing, but it didn’t work for him either, as his ex-wife had signs of another man being there. The two continue to bond, and there remain hints that this could go somewhere.
Back with Josh and Wolf, Josh wanted to have a meeting with Wolf and a nurse, Silva. Josh points out that the two are the best at what they do, and he wants them to continue to work well together so that they can pull their floor back up, and get it back on track. What are they getting back on track with? That’s not clear, as there’s a call for neuro to get into the ED.
Jorge and Benny, the window guys, are being rushed into the hospital. Things look worse for Jorge than they do Benny, and it’s Jorge who the family is most concerned about. However, there are a lot of questions about the family, who only speak Spanish and have to have Ericka translate for them. Jorge and Benny are brothers, but Anna, their mom, only speaks of Jorge. Anna gives Josh her necklace, asking him to do everything he can to save her Jorge, but Josh is focused on both brothers.
Silva wants to get the details about Wolf
The surgery for Benny is a success, but there is a lot of concern about why the family hasn’t even come to see him. However, Wolf needs to put the focus on checking for any neurological damage after the injury.
Silva uses this chance to get the details about Wolf from Dana and Ericka. He wants to understand his face blindness and finds out that Wolf will remember people if he wants to. This seems to annoy him a little.
Meanwhile, Carol goes to see Anna, setting her up for realistic expectations about Jorge. Anna won’t listen to it, sure that God will save her son, Jorge. She won’t go to see Benny, though.
Jacob comes to check in on Ericka, finding out why she and Dana aren’t speaking. That’s when Ericka shares that Dana was the one to turn in Carol, and she can’t understand it considering Dana never reported Wolf for doing PCP. So, what’s the deal? Jacob is sure that there has to be a good reason, but he also knows that life is too short for grudges and problems.
As for Silver, he decides to put Wolf to the test with the names of his nurses. He wants Wolf to learn all of their names, as that will make the floor much better. For a nurse, it’s a bit unempathetic to test a neurological disorder like this. It’s not like it’s Wolf’s fault, and Silva should understand this.
Wolf has more important things to deal with, though. Benny wakes up and wants to know where his brother is. This is the first time we see that there could be a problem, as Benny doesn’t understand the Spanish that Ericka says to him. He does understand the English that Wolf speaks, though.
Josh continues to work hard to save Jorge
Back in the OR, Josh is struggling with the surgery. It doesn’t help that his scrub nurse keeps putting the gloves on the wrong hand first. Josh is a creature of habit, and it’s clear that this is going to come up later in the episode.
In Benny’s room, Wolf is shocked to learn that Benny’s memory seems intact. There doesn’t appear to be any issue, so Wolf uses this chance to find out more about Benny and Anna’s relationship. He thinks that Benny needs to try, at least for now, as family is important. And he’s saying that as someone with a problematic mother.
Carol and Ericka are working on Anna, who shares that she brought two children to New York, and when it comes to Jorge, she doesn’t regret a second. However, New York was when Benny became his own person, and that’s when he turned away from his faith. This is why she can’t go to see Benny, as she knows that she will live in Eternity without him. However, Carol gets Anna to go see her son.
When she gets in the room, she immediately tells Benny how much Jorge’s injuries are his fault. If something happens to Jorge, she will never forgive Benny. However, Benny doesn’t understand anything. Despite Spanish being his native language, he doesn’t understand anything his mom has said to him.
Wolf needs to figure out how to help Benny
This is a condition Wolf hasn’t seen, especially when areas of the brain are intact. He and Carol deduce that he likely learned English around the age of six, meaning the language was stored in a different part of the brain. That part was less damaged in the fall, and it was likely easier for the brain to remember. It cut off the memory of the Spanish language.
Wolf wants to get Benny to remember the language, though, and he tries picture cards. These cards, by the way, are what Wolf is also using to help remember the names of the nurses.
Silva offers to help with the family, translating between Anna and Benny. He doesn’t translate perfectly, though. In fact, he says everything that Anna wants to hear to connect with her son, and it’s a good idea, because Benny starts to have a seizure, and he starts herniating. They need to rush him to CT.
While Josh is still working on Jorge and finally seeing some good results, Wolf walks in to share that Benny has suffered a stroke. He needs another surgery.
Ericka comes to terms with Dana’s decision
There’s a beautiful moment in the hospital waiting room. I’m not comfortable with praying with others, so I understand Wolf’s uncertainty at first, but Carol is right. There is a comfort in it, and to be honest, this is about the family and not them as doctors. They all pray for both Jorge and Benny, and at the end, Josh comes out with a mixture of news. Jorge has made it, but Benny has not.
Of course, Dana rushes off, triggered by the events. Ericka rushes after her, and not only is she there for her friend, but she makes it clear that she doesn’t need to know Dana’s reasons after all and she apologizes for her own attitude. There’s a moment of forgiveness between the two of them, which is what they’ve needed, although I am curious about why Dana reported Carol still.
Elsewhere, Jacob, who is counting down to the end of his ED rotation, is checking in on Jorge. Thorne joins him, but it’s not to see Jorge. He shares that outside of the ED, the patients aren’t his responsibility. It’s clearly a coping mechanism for Thorne to be able to deal with the emergencies and then pass on to other parts of the hospital.
We now catch up to the beginning of the episode, with Josh cleaning up the OR after sending everyone else home. Wolf joins him to help, giving Josh a chance to think about everything that went wrong. He goes back to blaming it on the glove being put on the wrong hand first, throwing off his own routine, but Wolf makes it clear that Josh can’t do that to himself. He did everything that he could.
What happens after death in Brilliant Minds?
While Anna sits with Jorge, Wolf and Ericka come in with a tablet. Despite Benny’s heart stopping, his brain was still functioning, and there was a chance to capture that. What could his last thoughts have been? Nobody will know, but Wolf encourages Anna to think of positive memories that she would have. She also points out that there will be many firsts for Jorge to come after his surgery.
Back in the ED, Thorne sees Carol and her daughter hugging it out. It should be a moment for celebration, but Thorne shares that he is also jealous. His kids haven’t spoken to him since he moved out, and it most be heartbreaking for him. However, the two continue to connect, and I’m still rooting for something between them.
Back with Wolf, he has now learned the names of all the nurses, and it’s time for Silva to finally apologize for what he did. He makes it clear that he pushed for so much without speaking Wolf’s language, and he promises to change that, especially as he can see that Wolf does care about the people around him.
There is a connection to the start of the episode, with the women from the workplace coming to see Jorge and his family with flowers. As they share the good they witnessed between the brothers, Anna asks for them to stay.
Anna isn’t as happy with Josh, though. She sees him in the hallway and slaps him before cursing him. Just in time for Halloween! Uh oh! This could certainly push Josh back further, who already seems to be questioning his skills considering he’s not putting his name on the board for an upcoming surgery.
Brilliant Minds airs on Mondays at 10/9c on NBC.