Poor Zav. We already knew that his family blamed him for his brothers death, and in this episode we got to meet some of that family. His grandfather, Reg, was brought in to the hospital after he fell while visiting Zavs brother Noahs grave on the anniversary of his death. Soon after, Zavs other brother Alex arrived. Alex was Regs main carer, and it was clear that he was feeling under pressure because of it.
When Reg disappeared from his bed, Zav tracked him down to a store-room – which Reg thought was a toilet. Regs confusion worried Zav, who thought he might have dementia. He also thought maybe Alex had hurt Reg in frustration. Luckily it turned out that Regs problem was a thyroid disorder that could easily be treated.
Alex took quite a shine to Donna, and he was the one who told her what had happened when Noah died. It was during the time when Zav was a child star, appearing in TV commercials. On Noahs birthday he got upset that Zav was getting all the attention and he got sent to his room, but he ran outside and got run over. It seems monstrous to blame Zav for that, and in an emotional scene in the prayer room Zav cried and told Noah that he misses him and thinks about him every day and every hour. When he returned to the ward, Donna noticed how upset he was. Zav seemed like he was about to open up to her, but then couldnt bring himself to and his defences went back up.
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Roxannas funeral had already happened before the episode started (so presumably there was no post mortem and the secret of the ligature thats still in her brain is still a secret). Gaskell and Hanssen went straight to work from the funeral and straight into a tricky bit of surgery on Darwin that needed their combined skills as well as Jac Naylors.
Hanssen was obviously suffering from the loss of Roxanna and mentioned her often, but it was the Professor who seemed most troubled (as well he might). He hovered around the operating table muttering things like Am I the only one who thinks this is looking a bit… futile? This was answered by a chorus of Yes! from Jac and Hanssen. Gaskell got even more agitated when Julie Bloom and her son Josh were mentioned, and actually made a mistake in surgery and caused a bleed at one point. I need you to pack! Hanssen told his old friend as the patient bled everywhere. Whats the point? said Gaskell, sounding like a goth teenager. Jac had to come back in and order Nicky to do the packing, and pack Gaskell off out of theatre.
Hanssen tried to excuse his friends behaviour, but Jac said bereavement didnt explain what had just happened. Still, Hanssen was inclined to think Gaskell was just missing Roxanna. He gave him a hug in the garden and invited him out for a meal at Roxannas favourite restaurant so they could raise a glass to her, but Gaskell insisted that he was far too busy with his research.
After Leah made it obvious that she was attracted to Serena last week, things are now a little awkward between them. Serena was doing her best to avoid the new F1, and to keep her out of the way she gave her a tricky patient to look after. It was none other than Scary Sue from ITU, now in AAU with an abscess called Donald (named after her ex husband). Donald was an angry and pus-filled thing, and so was the abscess. Leah saw an opportunity to get some Serena time by asking Serena to supervise while she treated it.
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Sue is a wonderfully indiscreet, gossipy person, and she was fascinated by Serenas long-distance relationship with Bernie. She reckons if anyone can sort out Nairobis terrible pollution problems its the big bad Wolfe. She was also fascinated by Leahs love life when she heard that Leah had her eye on someone at work. She told Serena she thought Leah was in love, and Leahs hand promptly slipped and nicked a vein in Sues neck. Dont worry, I once saw a surgeon chop off the wrong foot, Sue said, quite unperturbed.
At the end of the shift, Leah said to Serena, I dont think Sues scary at all – just lonely. Just like the rest of us, replied Serena and there was an awkward pause. Then Leah asked Serena out for a drink. Dont tempt me, said Serena, and she wasnt just talking about Shiraz. Thats what Im here for, said Leah, and she wasnt just talking about Shiraz either.
Sue Haasler is the author of the official Holby City book, which you can read about here. She also writes novels and theres information about all her books here
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