We’re back! Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 3 ‘The Pusher’ delves into the team dynamic, giving Dana and Carol time to shine while revealing some surprising truths. Ready?
Here we go!
Taking a Step Back in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 3 ‘The Pusher’

The Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 3 ‘The Pusher’ case not only served to introduce us to Adam, but also to delve deeper into the team dynamics. Especially in how Charlie doesn’t fit into it. He’s uninvolved and doesn’t care about his patient’s health. Charlie doesn’t care if they need help. He doesn’t see patients as people, but as numbers or cases he has to solve quickly to move on to the next.
As soon as one patient needs more involvement, he prefers to move on to another because he’s not interested in helping them. And that not only makes him unfit for Oliver’s team, but also makes him a terrible doctor. A doctor should be committed to their patients; they should want to do everything necessary to heal them. A doctor should care about their patients. And Charlie, well, only cares about Charlie. Honestly? We don’t understand how Oliver hasn’t realized this yet.
Besides Charlie, Carol is also the target of this case in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 3 ‘The Pusher.’ She’s there to help, but when Oliver is determined to take things a step further, Carol backs down and steps back. And while a part of us is hurt by this—she and Oliver are like an inseparable duo—we understand.
If we’re honest, we would have done the same thing. Carol just got back to the hospital, and there are still plenty of eyes on her, waiting for her to step out of line even a little. So now isn’t the time to do anything that might risk losing everything again. It’s the right and smartest decision. And Oliver could have gotten upset at her for not being by his side through this—the old Oliver probably would have—but he doesn’t. He understands. This speaks to character growth.
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Surprising Revelations

Speaking of Carol, we have to address the elephant in the room in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 3 ‘The Pusher.’ We always thought Allison was the one who reported Carol, but it turns out it was Dana. And that really disappointed us. Dana tells Erika she had her reasons, and we’d like to know them so we can try to understand and forgive her, because right now it seems like the worst kind of betrayal.
Yes, Carol made a mistake, but, as Wolf says, she’s essential in that hospital. Carol saves lives every day, helps patients, and is involved. Is it fair that they lost her because of one mistake? Is it fair that one mistake makes Carol lose everything? Carol needed a friend. Someone who would be there to stop her. She didn’t need a spy. So yeah, we need to know why Dana did this.
Aside from Dana, Erika’s reaction in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 3 ‘The Pusher,’ is also significant. Erika is right about people like Oliver getting all the opportunities while people like her, Carol, and Dana don’t. And they need to fight to change that.
However, a part of us can’t help but think she’s so worked up about this because of the pills she’s taking. Just as we’re not unaware of the irony of her accusing Dana of lying when she keeps doing it…and it’s eating her up inside. Erika needs help. She’s sinking deeper and deeper into a hole she won’t be able to climb out of. And she’s going to lose everything as a result.
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Heroines in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 3 ‘The Pusher’

Despite all the issues we’re having with Dana right now, we have to admit she’s right when it comes to Katie in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 3 ‘The Pusher.’ She takes too many risks. Katie has a duty to save people, and that, more often than not, comes with risk. But even in those jobs where risking your life is a daily occurrence, you have to set boundaries. And Katie doesn’t. She just jumps into the void without thinking about the consequences.
And that makes her take stupid decisions. Katie makes those kinds of stupid and reckless decisions. And yes, when it goes well, it’s amazing, but when it doesn’t… well, Katie wouldn’t be there to know what would happen. And Dana knows that. That’s why she’s afraid. Katie doesn’t need to make those kinds of decisions to be a hero. She already is one because she saves lives. Just like Dana does. So yes, we’re with Dana on this. Katie needs to think more about the consequences of her actions.
And we don’t really believe what Katie told Dana in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 3 ‘The Pusher’ about doing it because Dana made her realize that life is precious. We think there’s more to it than that. Much more. And the way Katie pushes away from Dana when she tries to heal her makes us even more suspicious about the whole thing.
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Reconnecting

The distance between Oliver and Josh in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 3 ‘The Pusher’ hurts. Oliver understands why Nichols rejected him. But now he’s avoiding him, and Oliver just wants to reconnect with him, to be friends again. Oliver doesn’t want to lose him, doesn’t want to let Josh distance himself from him so much that they become strangers.
They’ve been through so much together, they’ve said so much, and they feel too much for each other to ever be just coworkers again. But we didn’t expect the surprise Nichols was holding back. A part of him is avoiding Oliver because of what happened. But the biggest part of that is that he doesn’t know how to tell him he’s the new boss.
And not just because he’ll be taking his mother’s place, but also because this could lead to some professional confrontations between them. We’re already seeing Oliver wanting Josh to approve some kind of expensive test for a patient, and him refusing, if we’re honest. And, with their personal relationship being so messed up right now, that’s going to stir things up between them. Which sounds really interesting if you’re asking us.
MORE: How Did Season 1 of Brilliant Minds End?
Other Stuff in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 3 ‘The Pusher’

- Adam is amazing.
- We have no doubt Charlie provoked him.
- Markus with a beard is a yes. We definitely didn’t like him without one.
- We like that he was able to work things out with his ex. They weren’t good together, even though he only remembers the good things now, but they’re at a point where there’s no bad blood between them, and we’re happy. They deserve to be this good.
- Carol and that new doctor? We can’t deny there’s a spark… but we’re still deciding if we like him.
- Nichols is the new boss, WTF?!
Brilliant Minds Season 2 airs on Mondays at 10 pm ET on NBC.