Bree goes off the deep end in Home And Away this week, which given she’s a doctor, could have catastrophic consequences.
Still haunted by the death of Felicity (Jacqui Purvis) – who’d collapsed with a brain aneurysm – Bree (Juliet Godwin) is struggling to focus on her responsibilities at the hospital. Instead, she’s fixated on Felicity’s last moments under her care.
“Bree was the doctor in charge of Felicity’s case, and couldn’t save her,” Juliet tells TV WEEK. “She becomes terrified of making a mistake and losing another patient.
“Also, she’s seeing the devastating effect of Flick’s death on her community and feels partly responsible. She starts to doubt her abilities as a doctor, the fear manifesting in a need to control everything and being overly cautious.”
That control is tested when an accident victim is rushed into Emergency. When Bree gets a splash of blood on her medical scrubs, she rushes away to wash it off – leaving nurse Dana (Ally Harris) rattled that she’s been left to deal with the injured man by herself.
“It’s a moment that Bree loses control,” Juliet explains. “Seeing the blood triggers a loop of fearful ‘What if?’ thoughts. She’s frozen and becomes overwhelmed.”
Later, when Dana quizzes Bree about what was going on, she’s still obsessed with the blood stain.
What does this mean for Bree – and the Summer Bay community, who rely so much on her?