Critic’s Rating: 4.3 / 5.0
4.3
We’ve all struggled with physical or emotional pain, and Brilliant Minds excels at choosing cases we relate to.
Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 10 introduces us to two patients on the opposite end of the pain spectrum. Finn Kemp was a 10-year-old autistic boy who didn’t feel pain, while Katie, a paramedic, felt too much pain.
Two action-packed cases would have been typically enough, but viewers barely had time to breathe in this episode. It also included many examples of emotional pain and relationship drama.
Besides the case, the biggest draw was watching how Dr. Wolf and Carol have always been there for each other. We even saw flashbacks of them in college.
Both cases affected the interns and their relationships, too, so let’s begin.
A Single Dad’s Cry for Help Brings Interesting Results
As someone who has worked with children with autism, I found Finn Kemp’s case fascinating. Many autistic children have meltdowns and headbangs, but that wasn’t the case here.
Mr. Kemp feared that his son would hurt him and called for help. This was the first time we saw Katie, the paramedic. She put Finn at ease, and we saw his special gift: knowledge of cars.
Finn didn’t even flinch when Van accidentally tore his IV out, which made Ericka suspect Finn had CIPA, a rare genetic nerve disorder, preventing him from feeling pain.
It’s why he couldn’t feel anything from burning himself to a simple splinter.
While there was no cure, Dr. Wolf tried an experimental treatment to improve Finn’s sensitivity to pain and recondition him to situations. Watching Van with him and showing him what cold ice felt like was priceless.
Those Who Help Others Have Difficulty Asking For It
Paramedic Katie Rodriguez was like so many of us. She worked hard so she wouldn’t have to think about her own pain. She would have been lost without her career.
Dr. Wolf’s facial blindness probably saved her life. He recognized her by how many winces she did, and he recognized she looked like she was in pain right before she fainted.
She was stubborn and tried to check herself out, but she passed out again. What a devastating blow. She had caught meningitis from an elderly patient she’d recently helped.
Katie was the type of paramedic you wanted. She connected with each patient, whether it was an elderly man, an autistic child, or a suicidal teen.
It affected Dr. Wolf, Dana, and Jacob to see one of their own worsening, and Jacob thought of searching the ambulance for clues on why she wasn’t improving. They never dreamed they’d find something illegal.
Chronic pain is an invisible disease. Anyone who struggles with migraines or fibromyalgia understands that. Poor Katie suffered a gunshot wound, but the pain never disappeared.
Like the younger Wolf, the longer she was home alone, the more depressed she got, so she returned to work but took steroids to numb the pain. However, they interfered with her immune system.
Dr. Wolf and Dana understood Katie’s predicament and determined to help her.
Wolf and Carol Always Had Each Other’s Backs
Not every series casts younger versions well, but Brilliant Minds found fantastic actors to portray the college-age versions of Oliver Wolf and Carol Pierce.
The flashbacks showed that those two always had been there for each other when someone hurt the other one. It also showed why Oliver struggled to let other people in.
A guy in college had stood him up, reminding Oliver that he couldn’t count on people. Seeing Carol find him drunk and passed out from depression hit home.
She was angry that he would have almost killed himself, but what Oliver said also struck a nerve. He had been disappointed too often and spent too much time alone with bad thoughts, leading him not to want to live.
Carol saved his life that time, and they saved each other many times.
While I love Carol, she should have rejected Alison as a client much sooner. Alison has been playing dangerous games, affecting Carol’s career and family.
Morris would have kept begging Carol for another chance if Wolf hadn’t kicked him out of Carol’s office and rushed to comfort her.
Wolf and Nichols Went Public
I knew Wolf had a reason to reveal his relationship to Carol, but I never guessed it was because she wanted to set Nichols up with someone else. Are she and Nichols that kind of friends?
Nichols seemed offended that Carol didn’t know about their relationship yet. While he wanted to keep the ball in Wolf’s court, he also wanted to define their relationship.
He seemed proud of being with Wolf and wanted the essential people to know.
That prompted Wolf to tell his best friend, who told him to be careful since they worked together and couldn’t avoid each other if they broke up.
Both Wolf and Nichols had baggage from previous relationships. Nichols was more of a player, while Wolf had difficulty trusting others from being hurt previously.
Nichols was right, though. It was time to let that go and look towards the future.
The Love Triangle Heats Up
Who else thought they were done after Ericka and Van’s awkward talk in Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 9?
Imagine my surprise when Ericka discreetly invited him over again. They acted like a couple with secret looks on the job.
This won’t end well since Ericka doesn’t want children, and Van has a son she doesn’t know about. Van was meant to have children. He put Finn and his dad at ease better than anyone else.
We all know how something as fundamental as having children can make or break a couple, especially since cuddly Van probably sees them as long-term, and Ericka only wants to have fun. I don’t want to see him get hurt.
Unfortunately, Jacob probably got hurt, too. He tried to put Ericka first and bring her favorite ice cream. He was ready to confess his feelings, but he had awful timing.
Did he know those red shoes were Vans’s? Will this destroy the interns’ fun vibes? The love triangle just got even messier.
Dana Gets a Wingman to Help Her Claim Her Love Interest
Dana and Katie were adorable. They were like kindred spirits because they understood chronic emotional pain and wanted to give up. Katie needed someone in her corner to help inspire her.
I loved that Dana and Jacob were there to cheer Katie on as she began therapy in the cold plunge pool. There was subtle flirting between them, but Dana thought Katie had a partner.
Those cute scenes between Dana and Jacob must have been the ones Aury Krebs teased in the Brilliant Minds intern interview when she said we’d see an unexpected friendship soon.
It was sweet but unexpected how they cheered each other on. Hopefully, we’ll see more of Dana and Katie’s relationship evolve in the season’s final episodes. Dana deserves happiness, too.
Over to you, Brilliant Minds Fanatics. What was your favorite part of the episode? What about that cliffhanger? Can Carol get herself out of another mess?
Did you enjoy seeing Dana with a love interest? What did you think of the younger versions of Wolf and Carol?
Let us know in the comments.
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