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Brooke Thompson is a wide-eyed ingenue whose new friends coerce her into spending a hellish summer at Camp Redwood[1]. She is a character in 1984 portrayed by Emma Roberts.

Background[]

Brooke grew up being the smartest kid in her class, coming in first in many subjects. Joey Cavanaugh was jealous of Brooke's intelligence and always came in second. He began nasty rumors about her, which resulted in her classmates refusing to speak to her. Brooke purposely started to fail her classes so that the awful rumors would stop. Once Joey achieved being the top of the class; he asked Brooke out for ice cream. The two started to date and soon became engaged.

In the summer of 1983, Brooke was planning to marry Joey, despite his jealous nature. During their wedding, he grew suspicious and shot his best man, Sam and Mr. Thompson because he thought Brooke cheated on him with Sam. He then shot himself, leaving Brooke traumatized.[2]

Personality and Appearance[]

Brooke is a short brunette with long straight hair and is a jewelry enthusiast. She is often in formal and cozy outfits.

Brooke is a naïve, sweet and innocent young woman who appears to have interests in serial killers. Despite her purity, she happens to be fragile and easily peer-pressured into drinking with her fellow counselors. Her encounter with Richard Ramirez left her traumatized and highly cautious regarding any threat. Brooke carries minor knowledge of medicine from her veterinary background and assisted Ray Powell in bandaging his cut.

During the course of the series, after getting incriminated for the crimes committed by Margaret Booth, Brooke started to have a slow change of attitude, being more aggressive and hellbent. Despite that, she refused to give in to the darkness during her confrontation with Richard Ramirez in prison, who asked her about a deal with Satan. Following her execution, and later resurrected by Donna Chambers, Brooke promised that she will seek revenge on Margaret because she "stole" her life after getting framed for the crimes.

Although she was trying to avenge her lost life and stop the carnage in Camp Redwood, Brooke still showed signs of purity, specially with Ray, who knew that she "deserves better in life". At the end of the day, Brooke knew that there will be a better life by leaving the bloodshed in the past.

Story[]

Brooke's plans to study veterinary medicine over the summer of 1984 were suddenly derailed after a deranged serial killer broke into her apartment, stole her jewelry, and vowed to murder her. Attempting to flee the killer's intentions, she joined her new group of friends to participate as a counselor at Camp Redwood, aiming to dodge The Night Stalker's menacing threat to return and kill her. Xavier accidentally hits a hiker and they bring him to camp.

After Margaret Booth gives a tour around the camp, the counselors settle down in a cabin and a heated argument between Chet and Ray stirs up, resulting in Chet accidentally gashing Ray's palms with a beer can. Brooke volunteers to assist Ray with his cut, but spots the hiker in the infirmary, who expresses his confusion regarding the camp's reopening and urges her to leave. She instead guides him back to his bed, but, later on, is horrified to catch a glimpse of a figure in a raincoat out in the window, and turns around to notice the hiker's dead corpse on the door. Fleeing the place, she is immediately followed by a limping Benjamin Richter but makes it back to the counselor's cabin and panics to everyone of Mr. Jingle's return. The skeptical crew search the camp which turns to be clear. Margaret Booth soon shows up, separating the counselors and reminding them to brace for tomorrow's big day.

Unable to sleep, Brooke hears the pay phone ringing (despite the hiker saying earlier the lines were down). She answers the line and hears the jingling of keys, while she herself is observed by the Night Stalker from afar.[3]

Brooke is still shaken from her phone call. She hears on the TV a news brief about a murder at a gas station in Red Meadows, the same one they stopped at on their way to the camp. She says the Night Stalker is following her. The other counselors think she is overreacting. Margaret enters and reminds the counselors to sleep early, and not to fraternize between genders after dark. She makes a point of reminding the boys to clean away impure thoughts. Montana consoles Brooke, but says that she can't assume that everyone is out to get her. She describes her early experiences went sent to camp as a child, and that she should not imagine the worst.

The previous summer, Brooke walked down the aisle to get married, and her groom Joey is nervous. He saw his best friend, Sam, enter Brooke's apartment the night before and not leave. They insist nothing sexual happened, but Joey jilts her and shoots Sam in the head, killing him, then killed Brooke's father when he tried to stop Joey and then he killed himself.

Brooke insists that Sam was being kind and that they were simply friends. She is upset that no one ever believes her. Montana says that she believes her, and leans in to kiss Brooke. Brooke recoils and says that she needs air, walking away.

Brooke sits on the pier and finds a dead body floating towards her feet, and turns screaming to find the Night Stalker. She overpowers him with an oar and runs. He is intercepted by the hiker, whom he disembowels. Later, the hiker rematerializes alive, only to be killed again. Ramirez pulls the hiker's name tag, which shows he was a counselor in 1970. Looking back up, the hiker has vanished.

Brooke runs to the payphone but finds it cut. Montana finds her and questions what is going on. Together, they run in the direction of Ray's yell, where the men have found Blake. Xavier is distraught, but denies knowing who Blake is. Trevor discovers that Blake's ear has been cut off and they are under siege by Richter.[2]

Richard Ramirez corners Brooke, Chet, Rita, and Ray after he breaks into the nurse's cabin. Ray abandons the group, only to be attacked by Ramirez, who proceeds to stab him. While Brooke and Rita escape the cabin after gaining the car keys, Chet decides to save Ray by throwing Ramirez off of him. Brooke and Rita manage to escape to the parking lot; however, Brooke tells Rita that they should go for help. Rita refuses to and suggests that Brooke should take her car. As Brooke is about to open the car door, Rita injects Brooke with a tranquilizer and it's revealed that Rita is a fraud.[4]

Montana requests Ramirez to kill Brooke Thompson because she believes she's responsible for her brother's death, Sam. Montana believes that Brooke did sleep with Sam and lied about it. Ramirez agrees to kill Brooke for her.

Montana confronts Richard on why he hasn't killed Brooke yet and explains that Mr. Jingles is at the camp. Brooke wakes up and starts to run away. However, she runs into a net trap. Donna confronts her, telling Brooke that she placed traps everywhere on the camp. Donna leaves Brooke so Mr. Jingles can find her.

Brooke cries for help and Montana finds her hanging up in the net. Brooke explains that Donna isn't really Rita and she is working with Mr. Jingles. Montana pretends to help Brooke by fetching something to cut down the net, but she leaves her so Ramirez can finally kill her.

Montana finds Ramirez trying to contact Satan through a ritual. She interrupts him and explains that Brooke is in a vulnerable spot. While Brooke awaits for Montana, she spots Ramirez and goes into a panic. However, Richter shows up at the same moment. Ramirez and Richter battle each other.[5]

Xavier, Montana, Margaret, Brooke and Chet try to come up with a plan for escape since Blake's car is engulfed by flames. Xavier loses it and lights a large stick on fire. He wants to burn down the whole camp. Margaret knocks out Xavier, fearing he would hurt someone. The group takes him back to a cabin. Margaret suggests that they take a boat to get across to the other side, claiming to see two people camping the other day. Montana proposes that Chet will go with Margaret, much to his dismay. Once Montana is alone with Brooke, she attempts to strike her with an object, but is quickly stopped in her tracks. Brooke sees Ray through the window wandering aimlessly around the camp grounds. Brooke runs outside to speak to him and Ray is confused, stating that his mind is foggy. He can't recall what happened after he left on Trevor's motorcycle.

Brooke and Ray run to the mess hall. The two share a moment together. Brooke tells Ray her past and explains that she was always the best in her class. However, Joey Cavanaugh, her late fiance, always came in second and was jealous of Brooke. He started rumors which resulted in her classmates refusing to speak to her. Brooke purposely began to fail her classes and Joey soon became number one. He asked Brooke out for ice cream and they proceeded to date till they became engaged. Brooke admits she didn't know if she loved Joey or not. Ray tells Brooke that his dream was to become a doctor and he worked hard to get into the best schools. But, ultimately, he set himself up for failure due to his actions. The two kiss and eventually end up having sex, believing that they may die soon.

After Brooke and Ray are finished having sex Brooke confides to Ray that he was her first time and she was saving herself for marriage with Joey. The two go to the fridge feeling thirsty and Brooke screams after finding Ray's head inside. Brooke, afraid of Ray suddenly, runs out the mess hall. Ray slowly comes to terms that he is dead.

Brooke runs back to Montana, telling her that Ray is dead. Brooke panics during the whole ordeal. Unbeknownst to Brooke as she turns away, Montana strikes her in the head with an object. Brooke questions Montana and Montana explains that she is avenging her brother, Sam's, death. She tries to strangle Brooke with a cord, but Brooke stabs her in the knee with a sharp object. Brooke races out of the cabin, while Montana quickly trails behind her.

Brooke and Montana still continue to brawl in the night.

Dawn breaks and the children on the bus are singing songs during the ride to Camp Redwood. As they approach the campsite, they witness a horrific sight. Brooke is seen stabbing Montana several times in the chest in the middle of the camp clearing. The police are called later and Brooke is arrested. Margaret stabs her leg and acts as the victim to the police. Margaret tells them that Brooke went crazy and killed everyone.[6]

In San Quentin State prison, Brooke is accompanied by guards on her way to a cell. Ramirez spots her and states he should have killed her that night, saving her the trouble. Brooke retaliates back as she continues to be escorted down the hallway.

In her cell, Ramirez contacts Brooke. He appears to her in a manifested form and asks if she's willing to accept Satan, who would protect her from death. Brooke refuses and Ramirez disappears.

After Brooke is finished with her last meal, she is taken to be executed. Ramirez taunts her from his cell, claiming it's her last chance to sell her soul to Satan. Brooke is brought into the execution room and is watched through a glass screen by Margaret and Trevor. Brooke's last words are that she is innocent and tells Margaret that she will burn. Brooke is then strapped onto a contraption while a hooded person, donned in all black from head to toe, administers the lethal injection. Brooke passes away shortly after, leaving Margaret unsatisfied over the execution choice.

Brooke is wheeled into the room by the executioner, who then administers adrenaline and Brooke returns back to life. The hooded person removes their mask, revealing to be Donna.[7]

Donna takes Brooke into a hotel room and Brooke is not compliant when Donna tries to care for her. Brooke is skeptical about Donna's intentions and threatens her for an answer. Donna explains that she is trying to make things right. Brooke sees a newspaper on the nightstand with Camp Redwood's event on the front page. Brooke wants to go to Redwood to watch Margaret die. Donna decides to treat Brooke for a fun day at the roller rink. The two enjoy their time together. But, as they're about to leave, a man approaches them. He introduces himself as Bruce and asks for a ride to his girlfriend's place. Donna refuses his request and the two leave the rink.

When Donna tries to start her car, the engine sputters. Brooke and Donna open the hood to find the issue. Bruce emerges and decides to help them. Once the car starts up, Donna decides to give Bruce a ride out of kindness for helping them.

During the ride, Brooke becomes annoyed of Bruce. She senses that Bruce is trying to manipulate them and tells him that his ride is over. Donna pulls over to the side of the road and insists that Bruce get out. However, a cop car pulls up behind them. The cop approaches the vehicle and asks if everything is okay. Donna and Brooke tell the cop that Bruce talked them into giving him a ride. The cop tells them that there are fliers of women who have gone missing from the highway. He proceeds to ask to see everyone's ID's. Bruce pulls out his gun and shoots the officer. Donna puts the car into drive as Bruce begins to shoot at them. Bruce later shoots the cop again and takes his vehicle.

Donna and Brooke believe they have gotten away from Bruce as they wait at a stoplight. Suddenly, a police car speeds towards them and rear ends the car. The two are knocked unconscious. The man in the car in front of them gets out to check the scene but is shot by Bruce. Later on, Brooke finds herself in the car with Bruce. Bruce gives her two options: She puts the car into drive and drag Donna who is tied to the car by a rope or he shoots Brooke and drags Donna himself. Brooke decides the first option and puts the car into reverse. Bruce is struck by the dashboard as he jolts forward. Donna unties herself and tries to choke Bruce with the rope. Brooke stops her and tells Donna that she has a better idea.

Donna and Brooke tie up Bruce to a sign and cut off both thumbs so he can no longer hitchhike. Brooke decides to leave Donna and walk to Camp Redwood. But, Donna insists that she join her to see things go through to the end.[8]

Brooke and Donna sit in a diner as Brooke thinks about her future and starting over once they kill Margaret. Donna tells her that her or Margaret will end up being the final girl of the story, since ever horror film has a surviving female who lives to tell the tale. During their discussion, they are interrupted by a nosy reporter who introduces herself as Stacey Phillips. She makes a comment that Brooke looks so much like Brooke Thompson. Stacey goes on to tell the two about her work on serial killers and is planning to attend the Camp Redwood music festival. Brooke and Donna excuse themselves from the table and tell Stacey they will hopefully see her at the festival. Brooke is terrified that Stacey knows who she really is.

Brooke and Donna relax in their hotel room until they hear a knock on the door. Donna looks through the peephole and it is Stacey. Brooke begs her not to open the door, but Donna does so anyway. Stacey greets Donna by her name, much to her shock. Stacey claims that she knows who they are and if they want to know how, they would have to follow her. Stacey leads them to her hotel room. She explains that she has done a lot of research on Donna and her history. Stacey knew Brooke was alive because she had paid fifteen hundred dollars for her execution tape. She had recognized that Donna was the executioner and had faked Brooke's death. The only thing Stacey couldn't figure out was the motive. Brooke responds that they're out for revenge. Brooke decides that she will tell Stacey everything for her new book as long as she doesn't expose them and if she sneaks them into Camp Redwood. Stacey agrees to the conditions

Brooke tells her that Margaret Booth was responsible for the murders in 1970 and had framed Richter. Brooke also mentions that Margaret had framed her for the murders in 1984, but she admits that she did kill Montana out of self-defense. Stacey is astounded and promises that she'll buy them first class tickets to Paris if they can prove it to her.

Brooke and Donna take Stacey to Camp Redwood to show her how the events unfolded that night. Brooke takes her to the spot where she was caught up in the net while Ramirez and Richter fought to the death. At first, Brooke wonders if Stacey even believes her. Stacey does and wants a story to sell. Donna is worried that she will expose them. Brooke reassures her that they won't, because she will take Stacey to the shack and kill her. Donna reminds Brooke that she is not a murderer. But Brooke tells her that she has changed in prison. She calls for Stacey to come follow her.

Brooke takes Stacey to the shack as Donna waits outside. She tells Stacey that Margaret drugged her with horse tranquilizers but then admits it was Donna. Brooke tells Stacey that Donna played an active role in Mr. Jingles coming to the camp. She tells Stacey to close her eyes so she could imagine how Brooke felt during that night. Brooke pulls out a knife and is about to slash her throat, but is interrupted by Donna who pulls her away. Donna tells Stacey to run as she holds onto Brooke. Donna redirects her to their plan of getting revenge towards Margaret and to not feed into the evil.[9]

Brooke walks up to a dying Trevor. Montana screams for her to not touch him. Brooke ignores Montana and helps Trevor cross over to the property line. Montana demands to know why Brooke had helped her. Brooke only responds that she is not like Montana.

Brooke appears and tussles with Margaret. She slams her into a mirror and stabs her in the side. As the two brawl, Margaret ends up shooting Brooke in the abdomen and she falls to the floor. Donna is overcome with devastation, thinking that Brooke is dead and opens the door for the ghosts.

Donna wishes Brooke was able to see Margaret's death. Donna lives with guilt of being the final girl of the story.

Donna and Bobby trace the routing number to Prineville, Oregon. They stake out the post office and follow a vehicle to a nice neighborhood. They approach the home and ring the bell. Brooke Thompson greets the two of them, asking Donna what took her so long. Inside her home, Brooke makes them coffee. It is revealed that she is married to a dermatologist and has two children. Brooke apologizes to Donna for everything. Donna inquires why Brooke hadn't let her know she was alive. Brooke admits that she tried to call but couldn't make out any words as she was overcome with memories of Redwood. Brooke decided to move on from it, but always thought of Donna. Donna wishes she could have been part of her life and wonders how Brooke made it out alive.

Brooke goes on to reveal another part of the story back on Halloween night of 1989. While Brooke laid bloody and injured. Ray had went inside the cabin and attended to her wounds. He wraps her up as Brooke sobs that she doesn't want to die at Redwood. Ray promises that she won't. He helps her up and takes her to the entrance of the camp. Brooke feels sorry that Ray is bound to the land and thanks him for saving her life. The two share a kiss as Brooke walks past the entrance and collapses. Brooke explains that someone had called for help and she woke up in a hospital the next day.

Bobby questions why Brooke had been sending him the checks. Brooke tells him that she admires Richter for moving on with his life. However, the camp ended up steering him back to a path of darkness. Brooke knew that the camp would pull Bobby in and she wanted him to have a normal life. Bobby thanks her. Brooke tells Donna she hopes that she can forgive her. Donna responds that they're bonded for life and they're both the final girls.[10]

Quotes[]

  • Brooke Thompson: "I heard serial killers become more active in the summer months when it's hot."
  • To Chet Clancy: "Just stay away from me. Everyone I get close to ends up getting hurt."
  • Brooke Thompson: "Don't have to imagine the worst when it's already happened."
  • Brooke Thompson: "Nobody ever believes me."
  • To Ray Powell: "Did you hit your head or something?"
  • Brooke Thompson: "Is everyone in this whole fucking place dead?"
  • To Donna Chambers: "I was wrong. I do have a reason to live... and it's to see her die."
  • To Donna Chambers: "1,825 days... that's how long I spent locked up in that hellhole. I counted every single one. I counted days, I counted cracks in the ceilling, I counted how many times I've blinked in a fucking hour, just to take my mind off everything I was missing on the outside!"
  • To Ray Powell: "I'm sorry if you have to stay here. You don't deserve this either."

Notes[]

  • Brooke is the fourth character portrayed by Emma Roberts. For a complete list of her characters, see Cast.
  • Brooke shares her surname with Bob Thompson, a news anchor from Cult.
  • Brooke also shares her surname with Nancy Thompson, the protagonist of the 1984 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street.
  • She is one of the two main characters to survive the season, the other being Donna Chambers.
  • Brooke is the first character portrayed by Emma Roberts that survived the season she appeared in.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Swift, Andy (September 15, 2019). AHS: 1984: Everything We Know So Far. TV Line.com.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Episode: Mr. Jingles
  3. Episode: Camp Redwood
  4. Episode: Slashdance
  5. Episode: True Killers
  6. Episode: Red Dawn
  7. Episode: Episode 100
  8. Episode: The Lady in White
  9. Episode: Rest in Pieces
  10. Episode: Final Girl
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