We’re back! In Brilliant Minds Season 1 episode 10 ‘The First Responder’ Carol confronts Morris about all his lies while Oliver and Nichols take a big step in their relationship and the love triangle between Markus, Ericka, and Jacob is on fire. Ready?
Here we go!
The Truth is Preferable, Even If It Hurts
Carol faced one of the most painful truths of her life in Brilliant Minds Season 1 episode 10 ‘The First Responder.’ While she was determined not to report her patient, things only got worse. This woman dared to threaten Carol and we were ready to jump on her because no one messes with our baby! She knew exactly what she was doing when she intruded into the life of not only Carol but also her daughter. And this woman needs help, a lot of help, and urgently. She needs to learn to respect herself.
However, this wasn’t the worst for Carol. The worst thing was that Morris lied to her, he didn’t sleep with that woman just once… and he couldn’t deny that he had feelings for her either. This is devastating for Carol. She could forgive the infidelity but the fact that it was something continuous, that her husband has feelings for another woman… no, that’s too much. It splits her whole life in two. And then she confronts him. She made so many sacrifices, so many juggling acts to be the perfect wife, the perfect mother… but all of that was useless. All she got was an excuse for a husband who couldn’t keep his pants up.
Carol needs to break something, cry, scream, hit that disgusting little man who didn’t know how to value her and their family as they deserve. Fortunately, Oliver is there for her, to hold her on her worst days. Oliver is there to calm her down, to listen to her but, above all, to hold her hand in silent support, letting her know that she is not alone, just as Carol did in the past with him. And that’s beautiful.
Brilliant Minds Season 1 episode 10 ‘The First Responder’ still had one more unpleasant moment in store for Carol, though. Her patient tried to take her own life — and a part of us can’t help but think she did it to get Carol’s attention and make her feel guilty — which confirms that she needs a lot of help. We already want to know what happens from here on out!
MORE: Here’re the reviews of Brilliant Minds episode 1, episode 2, episode 3, and episode 4.
Baby Steps in Brilliant Minds Season 1 episode 10 ‘The First Responder’
The relationship between Oliver and Nichols continues to go from strength to strength in Brilliant MindsSeason 1 episode 10 ‘The First Responder’ as they take some important steps. That “we are a thing but we don’t know exactly what we are” conversation really tickled us. Yes, we felt a pang in our hearts in some parts but we have to remind ourselves that these two are just starting something and are taking baby steps. At the moment, they don’t feel ready to be public but neither do they feel ready to put labels on their relationship because they don’t feel like any of them fit.
“Fling” sounds too casual for who they are, while “boyfriend” sounds too serious, too corseted, and doesn’t quite fit what they feel. So they are a thing… but they don’t know exactly what, and we’re going to see each step of the way as they figure it out, which we love.
Even though they don’t have a very defined what they are, it’s clear to both of them that they are exclusive, so Oliver needs to tell Carol what’s going on between him and Nichols so that she stops looking for dates for him and because he wants to share his happiness with his best friend. But nothing goes the way he expects.
When Oliver confesses to Carol his relationship with Nichols in Brilliant Minds Season 1 episode 10 ‘The First Responder’ he expects her to get excited, happy for him, and ask him a thousand questions to find out every last detail, but Carol’s reaction is… nothing. It’s as if Oliver had made some bland comment about the weather. And Oliver can’t help but feel hurt by this although, as he realizes later, Carol has too much on her plate.
Oliver’s confession takes Nichols by surprise because he knows that Carol is the most important person in Oliver’s life and that he shared it with her is tangible proof of how serious and important this relationship is to Oliver. And it’s no wonder. It’s been a long time since Oliver felt this excited and happy, that he didn’t let his defenses down and let someone in like he’s doing with Nichols, that he didn’t embrace what he felt. That’s why Carol wants Oliver to be careful because she knows that Nichols can break his heart if something goes wrong.
Nichols feels the same about Oliver but from his words, we think that he’s much more cautious and less expressive, like he’s more afraid to fully embrace what he feels for Oliver, as if it were so intense that it could overwhelm him, and he prefers to discover it little by little, concentrating on what’s to come, without dwelling on the past, and that’s perfectly fine. We just need our two babies together and happy, figuring out what they feel for each other.
MORE: Here’re the reviews of Brilliant Minds episode 5, episode 6, episode 7, and episode 8.
Wounds Too Deep
The love triangle between Markus, Ericka, and Jacob gets complicated in Brilliant Minds Season 1 episode 10 ‘The First Responder.’ It all starts when they are attending to that little patient and Ericka suggests calling Jacob when things get a little complicated, not trusting Markus to solve it, but that’s not even the point.
Ericka doesn’t do this consciously, it’s just that Jacob has this cheerful, outgoing, confident, and positive character that transmits good vibes and immediately makes everyone around him connect with him, and the vibe of the room changes, and that’s the real point here: when Ericka needs something the first one she thinks of, the first one she wants, is Jacob. Not Markus, Jacob. Almost as if Markus were something like a replacement, a kind of second course and this bothers him, as is normal.
As if that weren’t enough, Ericka has made it very clear in Brilliant Minds Season 1 episode 10 ‘The First Responder’ that children are not something she wants now or in the future and Markus continues to hide from her that he has a child – which we don’t know why he decided to hide from everyone in the first place – and this is not fair. It is not fair that things with Ericka advance to the point that they both fall in love with each other.
Does Markus plan to keep his son hidden forever? That’s impossible, so it’s clear that the later the truth is known the worse it will be, not only because Ericka has every right to know what she is getting into to decide whether to continue or not and when she finds out everything she will feel deceived, betrayed, and manipulated but also because that child is not going to disappear, and any relationship of Markus with someone who doesn’t want children is doomed to failure. So the longer they delay the inevitable breakup, the worse it will be for both.
In addition to this, in Brilliant Minds Season 1 episode 10 ‘The First Responder’ it’s confirmed that both Ericka and Markus have different visions of their relationship. For Ericka, it’s nothing more than fun, at least for the moment. While for Markus it’s something much more serious. He wants to be with Ericka because he really likes her – that’s why he decided not to tell her anything about his son. And this is another wound in the relationship of these two. There are too many wounds and zero communication between them…
In any case, Jacob wasn’t spared from coming out badly in Brilliant Minds Season 1 episode 10 ‘The First Responder.’ He had finally decided to find out what would happen if he crossed the line with Ericka… only to realize that it was too late and that she was with someone else. And we suspect that Jacob knows it’s Markus. Which doesn’t seem to bode well…
MORE: Here’re the review of Brilliant Minds episode 9 and our interviews with showrunner Michael Grassi and the star Alex Ozerov-Meyer.
Other Stuff in Brilliant Minds Season 1 episode 10 ‘The First Responder’
- Dana made a mistake on this one. She should have talked to Oliver about her patient’s intentions. But this is normal, there are things that only experience teaches you.
- We loved that Dana was there for Katie. Some people don’t have anyone who is there for them, who cares enough to see that something is wrong, but Katie now has Dana.
- We did see a spark there.
- We all need a first responder.
- Carol and Oliver’s friendship is EVERYTHING.
- Morris can go to h***.
- The love triangle between Markus, Ericka, and Jacob started badly and it just keeps getting worse.
- With Oliver and Nichols, it’s the little gestures for us. The words whispered in the ear, the dates eating pizza, the glances, the smiles, the jealousy at knowing that Carol was setting Nichols up on dates, Oliver’s excitement, the happiness in his eyes…
Brilliant Minds airs Tuesdays at 10 pm ET on NBC.
