We’re back! Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 5 ‘Once Upon a Time in America’ is hard, it’s frustrating, it’s painful, but it’s real. So real it hurts. So real it leaves us with a lump in our throats and tears in our eyes. In this episode, the case of the week shakes all our favorite characters. Josh must face the brutal loss of a patient, while Oliver struggles to stay by his side while Dr. Nico Silva challenges him. Ready?
Here we go!
When Giving It All Isn’t Enough
Josh did everything he could to save Benito—and Jorge—in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 5 ‘Once Upon a Time in America,’ but sometimes, that’s not enough. And this was one of those times. Then comes the guilt. The way Josh can’t help but feel guilty for not managing it, even though he’s not to blame for anything. The way his mind can’t stop thinking about the “what ifs?” and the “maybes” with which everything could have turned out differently.
Josh couldn’t have done anything more to change the outcome, though. But it’s so hard to let yourself believe that. And we love the way Oliver knows that and stays by Josh’s side every step of the way. He doesn’t say anything, not really. There’s nothing Oliver can say to Josh that will make him feel better. But his presence is enough. His presence matters. Oliver is there, helping him clean up.
Oliver chooses to stay by his side, not trying to erase what happened in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 5 ‘Once Upon a Time in America,’ but rather helping him, silently, move past it. It’s all about making sure he knows he’s not alone. Isn’t that what love is? Choosing each other every day, even in the worst of times. Especially in the worst of times. Love isn’t about grand declarations. Not really. It’s about choices. And no matter what situation they’re in right now, Oliver chose to stay by Josh’s side, and that speaks volumes about what will happen between them in the future.
MORE: Brilliant Minds Season 2, Episode 4 Review: ‘Lady Liberty’
Guilt in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 5 ‘Once Upon a Time in America’
In contrast, Ana, Benito and Jorge’s mother, blames Josh for Benito’s death in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 5 ‘Once Upon a Time in America’ and curses him. And while we know it’s unfair because Josh did everything he could to save them both, we understand. Ana needs someone to blame for what happened. Blaming the doctor who couldn’t save her son is the easiest thing to do. Because she’s not yet ready for the hard stuff.
Ana isn’t yet ready to accept that sometimes something horrible, unfair, and unexpected just happens. And there’s no reason for it. And Ana is even less ready to accept that she feels guilt and that she’s really angry with herself. Ana had years to get closer to Benito, to be by his side, to enjoy her son’s company. Now, he’s gone, and the moments they should have had together… simply won’t return. And all because she decided to cut him out of her life.
I’m probably not the best person to analyze what happens in this part of Brilliant MindsSeason 2 Episode 5 ‘Once Upon a Time in America.’ After all, although I was born and raised Catholic, my parents never cared much about it. So, religion hasn’t been a part of my life for decades; in fact, I’m an atheist, and I’ve always been free to be one. This is the complete opposite of how Ana raised her children. In her case, religion dictates her life and her values, and anything that deviates from that is a problem for her.
That’s what happened with Benito. And Ana had this dilemma about what to do… and decided that the best way to bring her son back into the fold was to turn her back on him. Personally, I don’t understand how a mother can do something like that, much less for something like religion. I think if we weigh what should weigh more, well, for me the choice is clear. And it’s not religion.
But, as I’ve already said, I didn’t experience the religious aspect with the importance that Ana does. So the reason why this is even a dilemma for Ana in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 5 ‘Once Upon a Time in America’ is beyond me. But the point is, it is, and now that Benito is gone, Ana realizes all the time she lost…and that it won’t come back.
MORE: Brilliant Minds Season 2, Episode 3 Review: ‘The Pusher’
The First Step in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 5 ‘Once Upon a Time in America’
This week’s case shook everyone up, in a good way, too. What happened was the catalyst for Erika and Dana to start sorting things out in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 5 ‘Once Upon a Time in America.’ Although Jacob also helped a bit. As we discussed last week, Erika was still angry at Dana for what she did to Carol, and this episode is proof of that.
Erika says everything’s fine, but she ignores Dana. Erika avoids being alone with her or talking to her unless necessary. Erika’s angry, outraged, and feels betrayed. And Dana’s failure to explain her “reasons” isn’t helping. We understand how Erika feels because we feel the same way. Erika doesn’t think she has anything to say to Dana. The ball is in her court. Dana’s the one who owes her an explanation, and, in part, Erika’s right.
However, Jacob is the first to put his finger on the wound in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 5 ‘Once Upon a Time in America.’ He makes Erika see that it’s Dana they’re talking about. Dana’s her best friend, her partner. They even live together, for God’s sake. Erika has to trust her, that there’s an explanation for what she did. And Erika has to talk to her. Even if Dana doesn’t start that conversation. Erika can’t just ignore her and walk away, letting what happened come between them, creating a wall that will later be too late to break down.
But it’s not until Erika sees Dana crying, devastated—even though she tries to hide it—remembering her sister’s death, that Erika realizes Jacob is right. Dana is her best friend, and she deserves better than pretending everything is okay while ignoring her. Thus, the two begin to rebuild their friendship. Not everything is resolved. Erika still doesn’t understand what Dana did and why she didn’t tell her. So, in reality, everything is still broken. The difference is that now they both both standing with a broom and dustpan in hand, ready to pick up the pieces of their friendship and put them back together.
MORE: Brilliant Minds Season 2, Episode 2 Review: ‘The Contestant’
New Doctor in Town
We have to admit that we changed our minds about Dr. Nico Silva throughout Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 5 ‘Once Upon a Time in America.’ At the beginning of the episode, he seemed too arrogant for his own good. And it was clear he was going to clash with Oliver as soon as Nichols put them together. But we really wanted to fight him when he messed with Oliver.
The nurses deserve full recognition for their work. They make that hospital run. And yes, the least they deserve is to be remembered by name and not just be “those nurses.” We completely agree with Nico on that. However, he doesn’t fool us. He treated Oliver’s illness as a challenge, or worse, a joke. He tested him.
Who does this guy think he is? Oliver isn’t his patient, much less his toy. Nico had no right to pressure him like that. Nor to treat him with such condescension, as if Oliver were deliberately treating the nurses with indifference, intending not to acknowledge their work, as if they didn’t matter. When that’s not the case. And yes, we agree with Nico’s intentions in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 5 ‘Once Upon a Time in America.’
He expects Oliver to make an effort and acknowledge the nurses by name, just like Oliver does with his team or Carol. And that’s exactly what Oliver should do. But it wasn’t the right time, much less the right way. So our first impression of Nico wasn’t good, but the truth is that everything changed toward the end of the episode. Nico realized that Oliver wasn’t deliberately elitist and that he was genuinely trying to right what was wrong.
So Nico began to see Oliver in a different light in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 5 ‘Once Upon a Time in America.’ And that continues to be the case as Nico watches Oliver work hard to make sure his patient has everything he needs, beyond just the medicine and even learning all the nurses’ names. Nico realized he had misjudged Oliver, and we loved that he had the courage to come forward and apologize—sort of—acknowledging the effort Oliver had made. And that gesture made all the difference for us.
MORE: Brilliant Minds Season 2, Episode 1 Review: ‘The Phantom Hook’
Other Stuff in Brilliant Minds Season 2 Episode 5 ‘Once Upon a Time in America’
- Did we see a spark between Oliver and Nico at the end of the episode?
- “Not my floor, not my problem.” Thorne is insensitive, but part of us understands why he needs to maintain that emotional distance.
- We’re convinced that there’s going to be something between him and Carol.
- It really devastated us to see Josh like this.
- The episode could have played it easy and given us a happy ending, but it chose the hard way. And we’re grateful for it because it makes it real.
- We’re still waiting for Dana’s explanation about Carol…
- We need more Jacob!
- There was a lot of Spanish in this episode, and I love it!
Brilliant Minds Season 2 airs on Mondays at 10 pm ET on NBC.
