MEAWW.COM / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

'NCIS' Season 18 Episode 7: Did Breena die in an older episode? Meet Michelle Pierce who played Jimmy's wife

The pandemic episode of 'NCIS' has fans heartbroken but also confused, wondering if they missed an episode in between where Breena died

It's a sad, heartbreaking day on 'NCIS' as we finally found out two big whopper shockers in Episode 7 of Season 18. Titled 'The First Day', the episode was the first time the pandemic was brought up in the procedural's arc this season. But it wasn't just people losing lives everywhere. One of their very own felt the rage of Covid-19 when Jimmy Palmer said she was going home to 'solo parent' his child. Those aware of Palmer know he was married, and this episode confirmed that he has indeed lost his wife Breena recently to the pandemic in the show's timeline. Read on to find out all about how Breena died.

Who plays Breena?

Michelle Pierce had played Breena in the past and it was no one-off either. Over the last decade or the 18 years the show's been on air, Pierce has starred in about a half dozen episodes as Breena. She was last seen in Season 12 when she gave birth to her and Palmer's (Bian Dietzen) daughter Victoria. Know for her stints in films like 'Transformers', 'Casting Couch', and recurring roles in a season of the hit ABC drama 'Desperate Housewives', Pierce had been playing Breena Slater on NCIS ever since the character was first introduced. So to see her not brought back and randomly killed off as the first personal strike of the pandemic has been heartbreaking for most fans.

RELATED ARTICLES

When will 'NCIS' Season 18 Episode 8 air? Here's what to expect when CBS drama returns with 'True Believer'

'NCIS' Season 18 Episode 7 'The First Day' Spoilers

How did Breena die?

For those wondering if they've missed an episode in between, worry not. Breena hadn't been addressed to or spoken about for quite a while now on the show. In fact, if this ongoing Season 18 is the first time you're watching the show, you won't even know she exists. The last time Breena and Palmer's marriage was referred to was in 2012, when their daughter Victoria was born. Now seven years later, Breena came up again as Palmer thanked his team for being so wonderful as he waded the waters of being a single parent after Breena died from Covid-19.

The conversation came up with Palmer telling them his mother is moving in to help raise his young daughter after the death of Breena, but it gets more tragic. Jack Sloane informs Gibbs that Palmer wasn't even allowed to see his wife in her final moments, nor allowed to give her a proper funeral and burial after she passed due to the raging pandemic. Gibbs, who too has been through something similar, then organizes a suit and tie mini gathering at the end of the episode so Palmer can give his wife a proper farewell.

When did Breena die?

Soon after it was revealed Breena has died, fans took to social media to check if they had missed an episode surrounding Breena's death. A send-off, with burial, funeral, goodbyes and the signature TV trope. "Was there an episode about Breena dying? Did I miss it? Or is this the first it's been mentioned?" a fan urgently asked, while another chimed in "Okay - I knew my life had become chaotic in these past months... but I didn't THINK I missed any episodes. I DID miss the first few minutes, tonight, though... When did Jimmie lose Sabrina???"

Some fans even thought it was something else. "I clearly must've missed an episode. I totally don't recall Jimmy losing his wife. Was it Cancer?" The general populace was however convinced. "So, Breena died of COVID? Did this come up on another episode or did I miss something?

The explanation behind it all, as a fan points out, is the time jump the show took since it aired last two weeks ago. "No you didn't miss a episode. It happened during the unseen time jump. Sure we will here more about what happened during the episode," wrote the fan. Whatever has happened this season was pre-Covid, and now we are finally in the Covid-19 era of the show - something 'NCIS: New Orleans' has been tackling and exploring heavily since the beginning of this ongoing Season 7.

'NCIS' Season 18 airs on Tuesdays at 8 pm ET/PT on CBS.