After Gareth Bateman’s shocking death, Neighbours doctor David Tanaka is battling to conceal his guilt.
Last week, when Gareth died from injuries incurred in a mini-bus crash, David (Takaya Honda) and his Erinsborough Hospital colleague Freya Wozniak both stood by and did nothing.
After Freya (Phoebe Roberts) disclosed that the villain had severely attacked Aaron Brennan, David changed his mind about treating Gareth at the crash scene.
David appeared to be regretting his decision in Monday’s Channel 5 show.
Aaron (Matt Wilson) needed emergency surgery at the hospital when doctors discovered a hemorrhage on his brain as a result of Gareth’s attack.
A guilt-ridden David stated his idea that his husband was being punished in some way as a result of Gareth’s death during a private time with Freya.
David told Freya: “I took a life and now Aaron could lose his in return. I’m the one who’s paying, because I vowed that nothing would ever come between me and my duty to a patient.”
Freya had a different opinion about the scenario, citing Gareth’s criminal record and the fact that he was unlikely to have survived his injuries anyhow.
Freya took David aside later, when it appeared that Aaron would be okay, and persuaded him to forget about Gareth’s death.
She said: “Gareth doesn’t deserve our sympathy. He is a criminal, he is a liar. And I am done with being a victim, I am over it. So we need to put this behind us otherwise he wins, do you understand? And that means keeping it to ourselves.
“Bury it – focus on your husband. He needs you.”
Shane Isheev, the narrative editor for Neighbours, recently tweeted that David’s decision will have “ramifications up till the very end” of the show, implying that this tale is only getting started.
