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!

Argh , Lillian's post where she mentioned the possibility that Lena was killed in the shed fire because there had to be a body made me think that Lena was chosen because she was the oldest, and therefore of the least interest to Adam. If that's the case, Sophie looks uncomfortable when Adam says that her haircut makes her look younger both because she knows what Adam does to his captives when they get older, and because she's worried about what he might do to Lucy when she grows up. Maybe .

Lena was older when she was taken but was the same age as Sophie and Alice.

Oh, thanks Grumble !

Did we find out what caused the blood-stain that Daniel Reed was scrubbing off the floor in 1 of the earlier episodes? Or why he so suddenly took flight?

I think the blood stain was from Henry's gun shot wound to the head. It looked as if an attempt had already been made to remove it but Daniel had to do it properly after the funeral. Now I think about it, wouldn't the blood have gone a lot wider? it was in a very contained spot. Surely on the bullet entering the head blood would have sprayed everywhere, but the blood on the floor only looked like it leaked out while he was lying there.
So perhaps whoever killed him did it somewhere else and then put the body there. And the MP did a very cursory job of looking beyond suicide as a cause of death.

I think Daniel left suddenly because he read his dad's diary after his death and realised everything he thought about his dad was wrong. I think.

Keep thinking about why Sophie didn't ask for help, either when she was at the Websters or in the Swiss cafe when she told the waiter she was taken. Even with Lucy to protect, the army could have effected a rescue mission.

Is it possible that she DID report it to Stone, and this was the meaning of the turtle lecture... she was meant to go through with the plan to lure Adam into a trap? But then Stone lost his memory and it fell apart....

I'm spending FAR too much time thinking about the Missing.

I might need to watch that episode again- what happened to the diary? & given what we think we know about his dad (basically a good guy), it's a bit strange that he ran away so suddenly? Or did he read about ilsa? I think I might have missed some more clues in the floor cleaning- if the writers had to cut a lot of scenes to fit everything in, it's strange that they kept this in?

Tableforjaun I'm guessing an army cover up (or fear of one) stopped her telling them but should could have told someone not connected to the army. So she either kept quiet because she wanted to ie she is a willing participant or because she feared what would happened (to her? To Lucy? To Alice - we don't know yet was Alice did to fall from favour did she try to escape? Did she tell Reed what was going on leading to his murder?) if she told the truth. In the real abduct cases where girls have been held for many years they gave often had plenty of opportunities to escape before they do - fear keeps them in line.

• Should could should read she could.

Binge watched this weekend & came on threads to see theories!
I will now vomit my theories up on the page!

I think Sam, the brig & driller are all in it together.
I think Reed knew nothing of it all until he was called in to try and help Sophie when she got sick, because he was a medic (they tried to use the Iraq thing to blackmail him into silence, but it backfired on them when he killed himself at the horror of what they'd been up to).
Him killing himself and Sophie being so ill made them come up with the 'plan' of her being Alice.

'Alice' (Sophie) definitely flinched in the hospital when Sam tried to take her hand, and again in the kitchen at home when he asked if she wanted a cup of tea.
He also said 'good girl' in the shed & she looked fearful of him.
He was also adamant that she was Alice - every time Gemma expressed any doubts he shut her down quickly and kept saying 'we've got her back, that's all that matters now' or similar.

Lena was drillers daughter I think, and Sam gave driller's DNA instead of his own to 'prove' the body was Alice.
I think he wasn't in on the fire plan though, because otherwise he wouldn't have dashed in to try and save her like he did - I think he thought it was a tragic accident.

No idea if he knows that Alice is actually alive though tbh - I think he just might be in on the Sophie & Lena part of the abuse ring.
Not sure though...

Either way, am v excited to see the last episode - I love these series - brilliantly written!

In fact, slight change to my Read theory, I think they tried to blackmail him into helping etc, but I don't think he killed himself - rather I think he said he was going to turn them all in, so they (driller?) killed him and made it look like a suicide.

I still think the body in the shed is Lena and she's only in the plot for that purpose. Also the link to Gettrick gets us to see Lucy and realise he's the abductor.

Also think the reason Sophie had to be Alice is that if she'd reappeared as Sophie in Eckhausen the connection (2 missing girls/Eckhausen) would have restarted the search for Alice. Also she'd have had to return to her dad in France which would make it harder to get back to Gettrick.

This way, reappearing as Alice and dying as Alice closed the case for once and for all. Except for that pesky Baptiste.

Come to think of it, it was Eve who informed him so she can't be dodgy - not that I thought she was. If she hadn't he would probably have picked it up in the news once she was dead. The timescale is v short.

Reappearing as Alice and dying as Alice closed the case for once and for all. Meant to add:

And but for Baptiste Sophie would never even had been thought of in connection to Alice.

That was Sophie's error, wasn't it? Saying her real name to the paramedics.

Quite. In fact all the clues and hints come from Sophie herself - saying her name, saying Sophie was still alive, the rollercoaster story.
Lena is in there to be the body in the shed, but also to make the connection to Gatterick - because he actually knew her. You'd think her parents would have been more vocal after Jorn alerted them (and Sophie's dad come to that).
If we're looking for other plot contrivances you could say Sophie had to be French to bring in Julien (and had to have an English mother so she could pass as Alice). Without Julien everything would have been brushed under the carpet because it is the army investigators who are covering up - which is why the Brig has to be involved.

Yes, plot hole - the German police would in RL, formally request assistance of the French police.

And there is no way Sophie could know that the roller-coster was unique and identifiable. Even if she was that familiar with German theme parks before she was taken, any knowledge would be 10+ years out of date. So coincidence/plot convenience (probably?)

Why would the Germans ask the French police for assistance though?

The paramedics obviously thought "Sophie Giroux" was the answer to "Who can we call?" not "What's your name?" So for the German police an English girl reappeared in Germany.

No connection with Sophie at all till Eve calls Baptiste. Didn't she say he'd been part of the investigation and she wanted to give him the good news? Must be how she had his number on file. Then he brings up the subject of Sophie.

He must be a renowned international abduction specialist to have been brought in at all. British Army, German police and Julien.

She did give some other details about the roller coaster though- near an auto bahn. Maybe she remembered there would be photographic evidence. I think it was a definite lead. She tried to drop clues without giving it away as she knew so many were in on it

When Sophie came around in hospital she told the doctors she was Alice Webster.

The paramedics wouldn't have mentioned Sophie as an ID at all I think. If asked who Sophie was she could have played confused and said "I don't know."

Why would the Germans ask the French police for assistance though? Because Sophie was taken in France and once 'Alice' had revealed Sophie was still alive and they had been held together I think the German police would have wanted all the details of that investigation. Obviously Julien is able to furnish some, but he is retired and not there in an official capacity. I think we need a bit of suspension of disbelief though - the reason this plot works so well is because it is the British army police who are investigating something they are trying to cover up.

If asked who Sophie was she could have played confused and said "I don't know. She didn't though did she? She said she'd been held with Sophie who had been close the death as she had not been fed. Why not just say she was dead or that she had been held with her, but hadn't seen her for years? If she mentioned her by accident to start with she could easily have done away with her afterwards, but she didn't.

I still think her mentioning the rollercoaster was a slip up on her part after Sam mentioned Glühwein and then Gemma's reaction forced the outburst about happy times - she was speaking as Sophie that time, not "Alice", hence calling her "Gemma" and not "Mum".

There can't be that many rollercoasters in the area and they'd have started searching near Eckhausen first.

Who did find the photo? Can't remember.

Lillian Ah, yes, forgot that!

You realise we'll be on here for days after the finale with "But why/who/when/how...?"

"Why would the Germans ask the French police for assistance though?"

Because Sophie Giroux is French, and mentioned (and reported) by the German paramedics, at a time when the investigation was wholly German (before Stone offered assistance, and of course the abduction remained in the hands of the German authorities, who prosecuted Hertz). It's inconceivable in RL that a formal request not be made.

Suspension of disbelief is a better lit crit phrase than my rather blunter 'plot hole'!

My head is spinning I wasn't sure the paramedics would have passed that on and that the hospital would have also passed it on. I thought it was the call to Baptiste that started the Sophie issue.

When LovelyJorn came to the school and told Gemma, and then until Baptiste turned up, there was no mention of Sophie apart from in the ambulance. The German policeman (bigwig) didn't mention it either at the first meeting with the Army.

It didn't occur to me till reading this thread that she could have said they were held together but either she was dead or she hadn't seen her for years. Instead of giving details.

She did ask to see Baptiste though and tried to clarify that Sophie had been so weak. Was that another clue for him, as well as not reacting to the French as I wrote ^^. She could have said "Why is he talking French?" but didn't.

Subconsciously asking for help? But terrified of Gettrick/for Lucy.