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!

Oreo- I agree. I disagree the acting was good and it was so stretched out it was frustratingly slow. I'm glad it's over and won't be watching series 3 if there is one.

I don't want to pee on any cornflakes, but does anyone else have problems with some aspects of the plot? I've only watched it once, so probably missed a fair bit, or didn't understand certain elements.

Firstly, I can't understand why anyone would accept Sophie as Alice. Sophie had massive blue eyes, a distinctive upper lip and a turned up nose. Apart from Julien, it seems that everyone else accepted her. But Alice, when she emerged, had dark eyes and was generally darker. Granted they looked similar at first glance but wouldn't they have done some sort of identity test on Sophie as soon as she showed up as Alice?

Secondly, I'm bothered by the imprisonment of the Butcher. Was he actually tried and convicted? Or was he being held on remand?

If he was convicted, I don't get what evidence there was. I know the picture was on the camera, but that was found later, wasn't it?

I had a huge issue with how differnt the girls looked too!

**different

I'm bothered by the imprisonment of the Butcher ... If he was convicted, I don't get what evidence there was.

I had issues with this too. He seemed to be convicted (think he WAS convicted, not on remand) on just the evidence of Sophie/Alice identifying him and the photo – which, yes, came to light later.

A plot contrivance and a creaky one, IMO.

The girls looking different was deliberate.

Not only that but there was a massive difference between the reunion when it was Sophie-Alice than when it was Actual-Alice.

Sophie said she was Alice, no one had any reason to doubt her. The British Army was v quick to establish it was her - Stone & Gettrick. They ruled out a DNA test saying the family didn't want it, the family v much wanted to believe she was Alice. Were it not for Stone & Gettrick a test may well have been done as a matter of procedure.

Gemma felt something was wrong but couldn't explain why. 11 to 22 is a massive leap, they had nothing to measure it against.

Baptiste knew something was off because of her reactions and his having seen the Sophie finger tic.

Kristian Herz the buther was tried and convicted as Sophie identified him as her abductor. The photo just convinced his wife that he was guilty, he was already serving time.

Kristian Herz the buther was tried and convicted as Sophie identified him as her abductor. The photo just convinced his wife that he was guilty, he was already serving time.

I know; as I said, I think that was somewhat flimsy evidence on its own.

If she really thought her husband (butcher not buther!) was innocent why would a camera handed in to lost property with just one convenient photo of Sophie change her mind? Particularly as it was so obviously a mugshot type picture.

But, as a poster noted, suspension of belief regarding some plot lines.

Thanks. Glad it's not me feeling uneasy.

Don't forget they found the receipt for the butcher shop in the bunker

I think the victim identifying the person by picture is pretty reliable.

Receipt - yes, planted by Gettrick.

He broke into the Herz's house and took the camera. Probably also the card used to buy clothing, the last 4 numbers were on the receipt found in the bunker. Which was never used to house the girls, only as part of the framing of Herz.

We can ask why not report the camera & card loss, maybe they did. May well have been seen as planned by Herz.

I think all those commenting on the fact the girls look different should watch 'The Imposter'. It's a documentary about a true story of a 25 year old French speaking Algerian male who claimed to be an 18 year old blond haired blue eyed all American boy who'd been reported missing three years previously.

His family accepted the Imposter with open arms as their missing boy. Like 'The Missing' they refused to allow a dna test because 'of course they recognised their own brother/son/cousin etc and became very hostile when Police raised doubts about his identity.

It's a very interesting study in how people believe what they want to believe.

Mumdebump
Gettrick knew Baptiste was on to him and it wouldn't be long before Jorn would be missed. He needed to get away and a 'family' life in Switzerland seemed his best option.

That one RL case doesn't make it at all plausible. I just don't buy the premise, at all. Essential features don't change that much in 11 years.

The last episode could have been way more tense. Alice hardly featured. It was all too swift. Even the Swiss Police pitching up in the nick of time was .

The girl in the Morrisons xmas ad is Lucy

To me, it is more unbelievable that something like that (a 25 year old French speaking brown eye Algerian male who claimed to be an 18 year old blond haired blue eyed all American boy) actually happened in real life.

The Sophie-Alice situation was based on that case. It is supposed to get that reaction: how come if the two girls are so different the family couldn't see that Sophie was an impostor. Just as it happened in that real life case.

Also, Sophie was only back for 4 days. In that short time the doubts about her identity had started to rise (Baptiste and her mother Gemma). It was only a matter of time before a DNA test was demanded and Sophie exposed. That is why they quickly had to pretend that she died and falsify the DNA test to stop the doubts questioning who she was and inquiring where the real Alice was.

Loved it but I have some questions.
We still don't really know about Alice's/ Sophie's relationship do we? Were they friends or rivals? I'm not clear if Sophie was planning on rescuing her or wanted Alice gone.
Also up until tomightvi assume Sophie hated gettrick and was biding her time to escape with Lucy. But then she said he was family at the edge of a cliff and I'm not sure now.

I just don't buy the premise, at all. Essential features don't change that much in 11 years.

I googled Sabine Dardenne. She was kidnapped when she was 11. She was rescued after 80 days but due to the cocktail ups in bringing Dutroux to trial she was a young woman by then. At the trial she looked nothing like her 11 year old self.

In the last episode when Gettrick is being questioned about Hertz and he says he broke in to nick the camera and then he says he was going to do something to Nadia while she was sleeping but then didn't because basically he wanted revenge for her having left him in the hands of his Iraqi torturer (minute 47 on my sky recording)... I just can't understand what he is saying. Can anyone help?

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome

Also Sophie and Alice were told every day for 10 years since they were children that they were 'bad' and only 'good girls' if they did exactly as Gettrick told them. They were abused, raped, beaten and witnessed him killing at least one other girl. He was also their only source of food and water. He was all they knew for years and years. That's going to mess with her head and leave her confused and scared when faced with any change. Even if that change is freedom. Can't explain myself properly but maybe Stockholm syndrome covers it?

Shalli Think he said he was going to 'slit her throat whilst she slept'

YY he says he was going to but it was too easy and she deserved to suffer