Breena Palmer died during Season 18 of NCIS, with the plot point coming completely out of nowhere.
For years, Breena Palmer had been an important part of the NCIS cast, as she was the wife of Dr. Jimmy Palmer and the mother of their daughter.
Breena didn’t appear in a lot of episodes, with the appearances of actress Michelle Pierce spread out over several years, but she was referenced a lot by Jimmy during his talks with other characters.
By being a background character, though, it may have made her expendable in the minds of the writers who were looking for an impact story to deliver in Season 18.
How did Jimmy Palmer’s wife die on NCIS?
On NCIS Season 18, Episode 7 (called The First Day), Dr. Jimmy Palmer mentioned that Breena Palmer died from COVID-19. It was an abrupt revelation for NCIS fans, especially since the episode debuted after a large time gap for the show.
Most of the early episodes for Season 18 took place in the past, with the show continuing stories from Season 17, including Gibbs shooting McGee at the airport. NCIS Episode 400 also aired, which traced when Gibbs and Ducky first worked together.
When the show flashed to the present, NCIS fans found out that Breena Palmer had died off-screen, and that Jimmy Palmer was trying to cope with the loss while taking care of their daughter. It led to quite a few dramatic moments where Jimmy broke down under the stress of situations presented in a given case. But he also tried to remain strong on the surface and for the people around him.
Who played Breena Palmer on the NCIS cast?
Actress Michelle Pierce joined the NCIS cast in the episode called Mother’s Day back in 2010. That was Season 7, Episode 16 of the show and it fleshed out the character of Dr. Jimmy Palmer, giving him a life outside of the office.
After appearing in six episodes of the show, we last saw Breena Palmer in the 2015 episode called We Build, We Fight. That was Season 12, Episode 13 of the show, and the important plot point of the night was Breena going into labor with their child.
Victoria Elizabeth Palmer is the name of the child that Jimmy and Breena had, and she will appear on the February 28 episode of NCIS. Now a bit older, Victoria is going to be on-hand during a very dramatic episode of the show. Hopefully, her dad lives long enough to talk about it later.
We are also going to hear a lot about Breena Palmer again on February 28.
For any NCIS fans who haven’t heard about it yet, the show is having a crossover event with NCIS: Hawai’i on Monday, March 28. It’s going to be a two-hour event for the shows, and the promos for the big night are certain to create a lot of buzz.
NCIS airs Mondays at 9/8c on CBS.