THE MISSING IS BACK - part 4

[MrsderPunkt]

As part 3 is full.

I'm having a day off due to illness, so am planning a re-watch from the beginning as have got used to the time switches that confused me at first. Quite looking forward to it - will pay extra attention to all things yellow, legs in fireplaces and anything else that you suggest. Probably cover my eyes at the drilla moment again though!

Some questions that remain for me are: did the Brig know Gatterick had abducted three girls including Alice Webster? When he went to Gatterick's house with Reed, Sophie was upstairs on the sofa. No sign (and no mention) of Alice or Lucy. That being the case who did he think the body in the shed belonged to? It would explain his comment to Sam wondering whatever happened to Alice Webster. I also find it easier to believe he would go along with covering up one girl, but not three and a toddler.
In the end the solution was pretty much what we thought, that Gatterick essentially blackmailed the others to keep quiet because of what happened in Iraq. As previously discussed - quite hard to believe that while they might cover up a liaison with a 13-year-old this would extend to covering up kidnap and imprisonment of multiple young girls including one known to them personally. Clearly it was too much for Reed and he paid the price. I think for me, I needed what happened in Iraq to be much more serious than it was - not trying to diminish it, but I think in a post-war situation what happened was more understandable than the cold-blooded planned abduction of three girls on an army base.
I don't have a problem at all with Sophie and Alice not looking alike - I think that was partly the point. They were a bit alike - it came down the identifying tattoo in the first instance. Gemma wasn't sure and neither was Julien who didn't even know her - I have already said at length that I think Matthew should have been less sure. It was settled by the false DNA after she died - she wasn't actually back that long.

I'm going to re watch last nights episode - I thought it was brilliant (just me?!) don't even really care about the casting being a bit iffy re Sophie and Alice, or any holes in the plot. I found the ending so satisfying, in comparison to the first series.
The part where Gemma saw the real Alice for the first time and just grabbed her and said 'I've got you'
I cried like a baby! What an actress Keeley Hawes is.

Cel I think Gettrick must have explained something because one minute, Reed was going to get his medical bag, next minute Sophie was being dumped in the woods to walk in the snow to get medical help

Yes I thought that, how would she have known about Oliver Reid? Though Getterick might have come back in a rage and told her what happened..

Cel I agree with your comments about the flowers on the grave. She wasn't Alice so there is no chance she could have met him before. I actually like the idea of pp about the flowers being a signal that the body swap was on.

Down Isnt she just? I got very emotional at that point. She just knew then, like she hadnt with "Sophie"

Totally agree about the severity of the Iraq incident. The Brig could have come clean with honour I think, but instead covered up three sickening crimes. It doesn't add up.

Lillian Gettrick must have told the Brig that there were three girls. He knew returned Alice wasn't actually Alice, she was Sophie, hence the turtle story and he knew the shed body wasn't Alice as Gettrick had him do the DNA fiddle so he had to know there were three girls. No way of knowing if he knew about Lucy though.

Oliver Reid? That would have made quite a different series if he'd been in it. I think you mean Henry.
The song on the CD is obviously the theme tune - Jorn did a very good falsetto. another

Some observations:

1. It was sad that Sam died, though I am glad he lived long enough to see Alice. But what a massive idiot! The man is supposed to have military training. They were approaching a location where there was a man they knew to be dangerous and quite probably armed, who almost certainly now knew they were coming because of the guard dog. But he just crashed straight up the path making no attempt to be stealthy. I was sitting there saying "Use the natural cover, man!" I mean there was plenty of trees and bracken. The special forces managed to get right up there without being seen. And this is someone who has spent his whole adult life as a soldier and even been invited to do take a post training other soldiers.

1. I really don't think Stone was faking and I am slightly surprised how much vitriol he has attracted. He did a very bad thing in Iraq while trying to help a comrade - though he never actually intended to kill the girl - but has felt immense guilt for it ever since. He only reluctantly agreed to help Gettrick because he was afraid of blackmail.

1. I wondered whether the DNA swap might have been Gettrick substituting his own sample for Sam's since Lena had a family connection with him so there would be a match that they would then take as proof she was Alice.

1. Love Baptiste and hope they make a third.

I don't think Sophie put flowers on Reed's grave as a mark of respect... Seems odd she would care. I think, maybe on a subconscious level she was sending a message that there were people to talk to who knew more of the story (Reed, who was dead, and Stone), I think subconsciously she was hoping someone would find out about the flowers and begin asking questions as to why she would do that, look deeper and find the connection that would uncover the truth.
I think the only way she had coped with being abducted was to act like and try to convince herself she wanted to be with Gettrick. She had a child with him, and her child was her priority at all times I think. A much better life for Lucy if mummy seemed happy and willingly with daddy. Her head must have been a complete mess, all of the mind games and brainwashing that Gettrick had done to her over the years. He seemed to have been able to get inside her head and manipulate her much better than he did with the others. Using her child as an extra tool to control her. But she was never really happy with him, just living in utter fear. When he released her she knew he was right there, near her all the time, she knew he'd know about everything she did and said. I don't think she would have felt able to directly ask for help, or put a foot wrong, for fear of what he'd do to her daughter if he found out. The flowers on the grave is probably something she felt like she'd be able to get away with, because he'd told her to go get the petrol, so she could get away with a ten minute detour to leave a small cry for help.

Has Roger Allam done any audiobooks? His voice is heaven.

Think David 'Daddy Harrington' Morrissey does the current Santander bank ads.

Pretty sure it was heavily implied that Stone had also abused young girls whilst in Iraq. That's why he was doing what Driller told him. Driller had continued to record their conversation in the bar after Reid had left and Stone said they'd talked about what they did with 'other girls'.

TobleroneBoo yes she definitely knew. It was like seeing 13 years of being without her daughter just disappearing, the sheer relief of finally holding her, and knowing she was alive.. With Sophie she really wanted it to be true, obviously. But you could tell from the first meeting when Sophie was in hospital that deep down she knew something was wrong. Incredible acting all round I think, but I was mainly impressed with Keeley.

Oh yes, Enid, you might be right...there had to be more to it than just the Gettrick/Iraqi girl and the fire .

The whole Eve police calling in the police thing was a bit odd. First Baptiste says 'oh, we won't bother calling them, there's no time, they're too slow' etc, then she says she's calling them, then Baptiste in the woods is all like 'oh phew, don't worry, Eve has called the police' ...!' And they certainly weren't slow!!!

Sophie had to be SO conflicted, didn't she? The accusing of Brig with the 'how can you live with yourself' line and the whole flowers on Reed's grave thing, but at the same time she wanted to stay with Gettrick and almost believed they were a real family...

I'm going to really miss it!

I love Keeley Hawes. She is brilliant in everything I've seen her in.

I couldn't see if this has been mentioned - but did anyone else notice when Baptise was being put under anaesthetic and counting down, he got to 3??
Does that mean there will be a third series?!!! (Bloody hope so!)

I don't think Sophie put flowers on Reed's grave as a mark of respect... Seems odd she would care. I think, maybe on a subconscious level she was sending a message that there were people to talk to who knew more of the story

I could buy this, but how did she even know what had happened to Reed? She was already critically ill by the time she met him and then he was immediately killed; a few days later she was out of hospital, he was buried (with a headstone already - they're not generally erected for months); I don't really believe that she'd be properly aware of his existence, never mind the complicated role he played in her story. The timeline just seems all wrong to me. I don't believe that Gettrick would have told her to go to the grave for any reason - surely he wouldn't want any connection being drawn between Reed and 'Alice'?

Was Reed talked about in front of Sophie at all, when she was back? And what had happened to him?

We need The Williams Brothers to come on MN for a de- brief! MNHQ?

I could buy this, but how did she even know what had happened to Reed?
Yeah good point, unless Gettrick had told her before he released her what he had done, maybe painted it as 'Henry tried to take you away from me and Lucy so I had to kill him' ?
Maybe she had heard Sam talking about Henry's suicide? Don't know how she would have known or paid attention to his name though, in the state she was in.
Agree though - the timeline of 'Alice' being back was ridiculously short, very extreme and difficult to believe that all of that could have happened within a couple of days.

I thought the ending was very good but agree leaving a photo of where they were going was very unlikely.
I think Alice and Sophie would have been shown keeping in contact more at the end.

It wasn't a headstone on the grave, it was a wooden marker. But an inquest etc means he wouldn't have been buried that quickly.

I really enjoyed it.

So much better than series 1 imo.

I also noted another nod to series 1, Sam's reaction to the stars on the ceiling in the basement as drawn by Alice, mirrors Tony Hughes' reaction to the picture of the big eared man in the basement garage, as drawn by Olleh.

This series has been epic. I sobbed throughout the second half last night. I also expected Baptiste to see the surgeon at the end as the guy who was stalking him