Brenda

**Brenda** is a character on HBO Max's *The Flight Attendant*. She is portrayed by Shohreh Aghdashloo.

Brenda appears as a recurring character in the second season of *The Flight Attendant*. She is Cassie Bowden's sponsor for Alcoholics Anonymous. She is an older woman with a deep, gravelly voice and is somewhat unconventional for an AA sponsor. She tells Cassie that she's her sponsor because it helps her with her own recovery and encourages Cassie to eat donuts if she wants to. She tells Cassie that she thought she was acing recovery until her house burnt down.

## Throughout the Series

### "Seeing Double"

Cassandra Bowden meets with Brenda after she gives a speech in which she discusses how she has put her life back together, into nearly a year of being sober. They discuss how Cassie got called out for interrupting a man who described a similar situation as being like a pink cloud and stupidly naive. Cassie calls the man a dick and Brenda agrees. Another fellow Alcoholics Member, Jenny, then comes over, saying that Cassie's story really inspired her. Brenda asks Cassie if she's ready to be a role-model and Cassie agrees that she is.

### "Mushrooms, Tasers, and Bears, Oh My!"

Cassie arrives at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, apologizing for being late, but Brenda compliments her on actually being early. She tells Cassie that she's brought her a one-year anniversary cake and Cassie tells her that her boyfriend Marco and brother Davey are coming to the meeting. Brenda tells her that it's okay, that it's an open meeting, saying that it's good that she has family who are invested in her recovery. She further states that the only thing her own family gave her was a restraining order.

Brenda then opens the meeting, mentioning various milestones for sobriety. She mentions 24 hours, one week, one month, and then playfully asks if there is anyone there who has reached one year. Cassie then comes up and gives a speech, and Brenda hands her a chip for one year of sobriety. Afterwards, she asks Cassie how the letter to her father is going, but Cassie groans, asking if they really need to talk about that right now. She tells Brenda that Davey has a whole trip planned out and Brenda asks if the plush bear with the shirt reading "Easy does it" came from Davey. Cassie agrees that it did and pulls it out as Davey comes over. Brenda tells him that Cassie was saying how grateful she is for everything that he's doing.

### "Blue Sincerely Reunion"

After spiriting her fugitive friend Megan Briscoe away from Iceland, Cassie brings her to Brenda. She introduces Megan to Brenda as "Hildegard." Brenda agrees to shelter Megan for one night, despite Megan's protest that she doesn't want to be there. Brenda asks Cassie how she's doing and she claims to be doing good. Brenda, however, describes Cassie's state as manic, telling her that she won't accept that answer. Cassie tells her that she's only one tiny accident away from a complete collapse, asking her if sobriety is supposed to feel like walking a tightrope above a pit of broken glass. "Only sometimes," Brenda tells her.

### "Drowning Women"

Cassie gets a text from Brenda, asking her to call her. She eventually does so and Brenda reports that "Hildegard" left. Cassie asks where she went. Brenda tells her that they had a chat, with her being careful not to say anything dark or tragic. She left to make some tea and when she returned, "Hildegard" was gone. Cassie apologizes, promising to call her later.

Later, Cassie texts Brenda after falling off the wagon hard and driving drunk to a nearby beach. Brenda tells her that she slipped and fell, and now her choice to decide just how hard she wants to fall. She tells Brenda that she just wanted to feel shiny, like she used to, but that didn't happen. Brenda replies that even after a year, the disease still waits for you, ready to pick things up where you left off. Cassie, however, tells her that it being a year was a lie, that she slipped twice in New York and moved to Los Angeles in the hope of starting over, then repressed the memory of having slipped.

She tells her that she just wanted her time in New York to count. Brenda asks her how she could have driven drunk, given what happened to her father, and she says she doesn't know why she did. She sobs that she was doing so well. Brenda, however, tells her that she wasn't, that she built her recovery on a house of cards. She warns Cassie that she'll never get anywhere without taking the first step and admitting that she's powerless on her own. Cassie tells her that she'd like to walk into the ocean and never come out. Brenda tells her to take it from the woman who tried that it's a lot easier to just quit drinking. She gives Cassie a hug.

### "Backwards and Forwards"

After unraveling the conspiracy of the woman who has been killing people and impersonating her, Cassie recommits to her sober life. She receives a visit from Brenda and tells her to come in, handing her two boxes of donuts. Brenda tells her that she didn't have to do it, that she's only missing one meeting, but Cassie says that she felt bad about it. She tells Brenda that she's in a rush, but Brenda asks her to wait just a moment. She asks her how it feels to be 30 days sober. Cassie replies that it feels good, that she knows she's not going to have a drink today, so it's good. Brenda agrees that it is good, saying that she's glad that she's well.

## Appearances

Season Two
* "Seeing Double"
* "Mushrooms, Tasers, and Bears, Oh My!"
* "Blue Sincerely Reunion"
* "Drowning Women"
* "Backwards and Forwards"