The Missing (BBC drama)

8mv

Enjoying this immensely - twist after twist and I've always been a big fan of time jumps - they keep you guessing.

BTW, I was saying to my daughter that Sgt Eve Stone looks a lot like Lydia from Breaking Bad - sure enough, it's the same actress. I'm very impressed.

Charlie19

Is this on the BBC player?

Totally forgot about tonight's episode.

Merkin

I'm really impressed that the writers have once again managed to create such suspense and weave such an intricate plot. I'm not saying I'm not slightly confused at the moment but I'll be interested to see how all the pieces and story strands eventually fit together. The guy who plays Baptiste is an amazing actor isn't he?

EagererBeaver

8mv wrote: »

Enjoying this immensely - twist after twist and I've always been a big fan of time jumps - they keep you guessing.

BTW, I was saying to my daughter that Sgt Eve Stone looks a lot like Lydia from Breaking Bad - sure enough, it's the same actress. I'm very impressed.

Good spot!

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I'm loving this. The jumping about in time is slightly annoying but other than that I'm hooked.

I had a theory about what's going on but someone above suggested Daniel Reed's father died 8 days before "Alice" so it might not work now... unless.... did we get a date for when Alice was found?

EagererBeaver

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I'm loving this. The jumping about in time is slightly annoying but other than that I'm hooked.

I had a theory about what's going on but someone above suggested Daniel Reed's father died 8 days before "Alice" so it might not work now... unless.... did we get a date for when Alice was found?

Try it out anyway, twitter is full of them.

Don't think we've a date for when she was found. Henry Reed's death was 14th December and Alice's was 22nd I think.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

EagererBeaver wrote: »

Try it out anyway, twitter is full of them.

Don't think we've a date for when she was found. Henry Reed's death was 14th December and Alice's was 22nd I think.

Well, it's only sort of half formed..... I'll spoiler it just in case....

There's a pedophile ring involving several army people, Henry Reed, the woman married to the butcher, the older guy who was basically threatening "Alice", either Reed had something to do with "Alice" escaping and he was killed by the others because of it, or, she escaped by herself and he freaked out at the thought of being caught and did kill himself. It seems like his death was around the same time that Alice showed up again. I have no idea why Sophie would pretend to be Alice but assuming she is that's why she can't expose the rest of them, or whatever really happened, because they'll reveal her secret, likewise the army guy can't say she's Sophie because everyone would wonder how he knew.

Also... I have a vague idea about "Alice" doing away with Alice, that's coming from a Criminal Minds episode I saw where a guy held 3 girls captive and eventually told them two could go home if they killed one but they had to decide themselves wheter to do it and which one should die. So far that's the only "logical" reason I can find for Sophie pretending to be Alice, she feels guilty because she offed Alice to get free.... not sure how any of that ties in with the army people though.

I do love a show like this, where there's a proper mystery but it's doled out in just the right way to drive you mad trying to figure it out

EagererBeaver

This will sound ludicrous but the army paedophile ring is too obvious for this site in my opinion. So far everything appears to point to it, or something similar, which probably means we're completely barking up the wrong tree.

One thing I'd be confident of is that "Alice" did not escape. She was let go for a reason and appears to be almost cooperating.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Thinking about it more the paedophile thing doesn't really hold up given Alice is in her 20s now. If they were paedophiles she would have lost her appeal years ago so why keep her?
I still think it's a ring of some sort.

loriexxx

Baby making factory?

bobbyss

Anyone know where you can get a written detailed summary of each episode?

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

loriexxx wrote: »

Baby making factory?

Now there's an idea. Doesn't explain why Alice is keeping quiet about it all or if she's not Alice why she's pretending to be.

ariana`

bobbyss wrote: »

Anyone know where you can get a written detailed summary of each episode?

does this help at all?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Missing_(TV_series)#Series_2_.282016.29

bobbyss

ariana` wrote: »

does this help at all?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Missing_(TV_series)#Series_2_.282016.29

Thanks. I had read that already but it's not detailed enough to get me through this maze.

EagererBeaver

bobbyss wrote: »

Thanks. I had read that already but it's not detailed enough to get me through this maze.

It's not really that complex - what's confusing you?

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

EagererBeaver wrote: »

It's not really that complex - what's confusing you?

It is pretty complex, to be fair. Are you saying you know exactly what's going on?

Merkin

bobbyss wrote: »

Thanks. I had read that already but it's not detailed enough to get me through this maze.

If you need any explanations we can try and help. Rest assured though that there are an awful lot of unknowns (as there was with Series 1) to keep us guessing. I've no idea why they've decided to pursue Daniel Reed for example. Or what happened the soldier's baby or why Sophie is pretending to be this other girl. I think it's a case of watching it every week and all will become clearer....at least I hope so!!:o

EagererBeaver

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

It is pretty complex, to be fair. Are you saying you know exactly what's going on?

No, because the story hasn't been told. That's like asking do you know the plot of a film having seen the first half hour.

I can follow the different threads and the jumps about in the timeline - that's what I don't find complex. Not knowing the full story has nothing to do with the complexity of the show. There are only certain things we're supposed to, and can, know at this stage.

bobbyss

EagererBeaver wrote: »

It's not really that complex - what's confusing you?

You seem to suggest that it's not overly difficult to understand. However, I do find it complex and confusing. Do you know where I could find a detailed summary of each episode?
Would you be up to posting one yourself every week, starting with episode 1? Not an analysis just a detailed summary of what happened. I missed part of episode 1. Maybe you could be a reference point for the whole thing? I would be very grateful.

EagererBeaver

bobbyss wrote: »

You seem to suggest that it's not overly difficult to understand. However, I do find it complex and confusing. Do you know where I could find a detailed summary of each episode?
Would you be up to posting one yourself every week, starting with episode 1? Not an analysis just a detailed summary of what happened. I missed part of episode 1. Maybe you could be a reference point for the whole thing? I would be very grateful.

I don't think it's overly complex as I've said above, no. There's a difference between not being able to follow it and not knowing the truth of what happened, because the full story is yet to be told. You're supposed to be kept in suspense.

I've no interest whatsoever in writing an episode summary. If you've any specific questions, just ask them and I'll (or someone else, they offered above) will try to answer them.

ahlookit

bobbyss wrote: »

You seem to suggest that it's not overly difficult to understand. However, I do find it complex and confusing. Do you know where I could find a detailed summary of each episode?
Would you be up to posting one yourself every week, starting with episode 1? Not an analysis just a detailed summary of what happened. I missed part of episode 1. Maybe you could be a reference point for the whole thing? I would be very grateful.

Here's the Guardians recap of episode 1, if that's any help to you:

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/13/the-missing-review-a-missing-persons-reboot-with-more-than-one-way-to-keep-you-awake

Kalyke

Sophie/Alice looks like the girl from The Exorcist!

Marje

Going to admit I'm slightly losing interest in this episode but if you don't watch it all, you could miss something vital which will become clearer over the next few weeks.

Man in prison is a set up I think by the army guy who questioned Alice/Sophie at the end of last weeks episode.

Marje

Now we know why she was looking at the photos.

But I didn't hear what was said at the end who was in the photo as someone decided to start talking - can someone tell me please, thanks.

EagererBeaver

Marje wrote: »

Now we know why she was looking at the photos.

But I didn't hear what was said at the end who was in the photo as someone decided to start talking - can someone tell me please, thanks.

Photo showed the "Alice" who returned on a rollercoaster with another girl. Gemma definitively stated that the second girl was her daughter, Alice.

Kalyke

I thought the other "girl" was a fella?

EagererBeaver

Kalyke wrote: »

I thought the "other" girl was a fella?

So did I based on the image but that's what Gemma said. Definitively stated that it was her daughter.

Hands up who doesn't believe the body in the shed is "Alice"/Sophie/the girl who returned.

Marje

Kalyke wrote: »

I thought the other "girl" was a fella?

EagererBeaver wrote: »

So did I based on the image but that's what Gemma said. Definitively stated that it was her daughter.

And that's why we have to keep watching
The bit I saw I thought it was a guy (short hair?)

EagererBeaver wrote: »

Hands up who doesn't believe the body in the shed is "Alice"/Sophie/the girl who returned.

Was thinking this myself.

Kalyke

Would it suffice to gel the names to Sophice?

EagererBeaver

Next thing I want to know is where is Eve's baby, who was the father and where is he? Potential baby factory angle more than paedophile ring?

Daniel Reed went to Iraq chasing this guy his father had made payments to. I wonder if that goes back to 1991 with Henry Reed, Brigadier and Herz's wife. What did they get up to?

Items from the butcher's ended up in the shed along with, what I think might have been Herz's wife's dentures? Who attacked her? Alice and Sophie? Alice and Andreas?

Dr Crayfish

Really enjoying it for the most part, the Iraq part is a bit far fetched though

volchitsa

Marje wrote: »

And that's why we have to keep watching
The bit I saw I thought it was a guy (short hair?)

Was thinking this myself.

1. The roller coaster pic : The two girls looked so different that, even given the long absence, it's hard to see how there could have been any possible confusion between Sophie and Alice when one of the two turned up.

2. The body in the shed - I wondered about that, but I dunno, who else could it be? Has someone else disappeared that we don't know of? Brigadier Roger Allam isn't dead - though that's another question too:

3. Do we know what's wrong with the Brigadier? If it's Alzheimer's how rapid must his decline have been for him to be in the state he's in now? So maybe brain damage from an injury? Did someone attack him? (Maybe everyone else knows this and I missed it? :oops: )

bodyguard1

Marje wrote: »

Now we know why she was looking at the photos.

But I didn't hear what was said at the end who was in the photo as someone decided to start talking - can someone tell me please, thanks.

It was her daughter Alice in the photo from the Theme Park with Sophie :eek:

Dr Crayfish

Yeah I posted this here before. How on earth would the mother/father not know their own daughter, it's not like she disappeared as a newborn.

volchitsa

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

Yeah I posted this here before. How on earth would the mother/father not know their own daughter, it's not like she disappeared as a newborn.

Well initially I thought they could have looked a bit alike, especially as I was thinking the kidnapper might well have gone for girls of a similar "type", and then knowing that she'd gone through years of suffering the parents would put any oddities down to poor nutrition, stress etc etc.

But the girls looked so different that it seemed impossible that on the one hand the mother had ever been fooled or else on the other, having been fooled that she could suddenly be so sure this time - the photo of the other girl wasn't even clear.

EagererBeaver

In 2016, all the major players are in either Iraq or the same town in Germany. Who's driving and respraying the camper van in Switzerland? "Alice", Alice or Sophie? Is there a body inside or what is the dog barking at?

EagererBeaver

bobbyss wrote: »

You seem to suggest that it's not overly difficult to understand. However, I do find it complex and confusing. Do you know where I could find a detailed summary of each episode?
Would you be up to posting one yourself every week, starting with episode 1? Not an analysis just a detailed summary of what happened. I missed part of episode 1. Maybe you could be a reference point for the whole thing? I would be very grateful.

Digital Spy are doing reviews of every episode - check it out.

Spon Farmer

EagererBeaver wrote: »

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

It is pretty complex, to be fair. Are you saying you know exactly what's going on?

No, because the story hasn't been told. That's like asking do you know the plot of a film having seen the first half hour.

I can follow the different threads and the jumps about in the timeline - that's what I don't find complex. Not knowing the full story has nothing to do with the complexity of the show. There are only certain things we're supposed to, and can, know at this stage.

The story is complex, but it is not confusing and is very easy to follow.
Even the "jumps" in between 2014 and present day are very easy to follow because so much effort has gone into making each character look different.
Is Gemma saying that the person in the blue top in the photo is really Alice? I replayed the scene a few times and the second person in the photo looks like a young man.

Spon Farmer

volchitsa wrote: »

Marje wrote: »

And that's why we have to keep watching
The bit I saw I thought it was a guy (short hair?)

Was thinking this myself.

1. The roller coaster pic : The two girls looked so different that, even given the long absence, it's hard to see how there could have been any possible confusion between Sophie and Alice when one of the two turned up.

2. The body in the shed - I wondered about that, but I dunno, who else could it be? Has someone else disappeared that we don't know of? Brigadier Roger Allam isn't dead - though that's another question too:

3. Do we know what's wrong with the Brigadier? If it's Alzheimer's how rapid must his decline have been for him to be in the state he's in now? So maybe brain damage from an injury? Did someone attack him? (Maybe everyone else knows this and I missed it? :oops: )

1. The looked alike as kids, but sometimes people change as they grow. Sophie stayed the same, Alice didn't plus she wasn't being feed properly. That said, however, they could have got someone for the photo who looked like Hardingham or had Hardingham be Alice in the photo - but maybe it is too soon to judge the photo.
2. Way too soon for me to even have a guess.
3. I don't know if it is Alzheimer's but it is dementia and not a brain injury. Dementia can come on at different rates but Brigadier Stone is already on medication in 2014 - the scene where Baptiste visits his office, there are pills in his desk drawer.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

EagererBeaver wrote: »

Items from the butcher's ended up in the shed along with, what I think might have been Herz's wife's dentures? Who attacked her? Alice and Sophie? Alice and Andreas?

I assumed it was Matthew's 2 German friends. That would explain why she looked terrified and ran off in the supermarket car park when they were approaching her. At that point I think we were supposed to assume it was Matthew she was running away from but if I remember correctly the two brothers were behind him.

Spon Farmer

EagererBeaver wrote: »

Items from the butcher's ended up in the shed along with, what I think might have been Herz's wife's dentures? Who attacked her? Alice and Sophie? Alice and Andreas?

I believe Nadia is wearing false teeth in Present Day because of the attack in 2014.

I did take notice that there was a saw in the shed that was similar the missing butcher saw, but I thought the one in the shed had a red handle.

I have been suspecting that Alice and Sophie both escaped/were set free but I don't believe they are the attackers. Sophie wish that Matthew tell Herz she was sorry to accuse him seemed genuine.

Who is Andreas?

Spon Farmer

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I assumed it was Matthew's 2 German friends. That would explain why she looked terrified and ran off in the supermarket car park when they were approaching her. At that point I think we were supposed to assume it was Matthew she was running away from but if I remember correctly the two brothers were behind him.

Nadia seems to be in fear of everyone in Present Day (perhaps because she doesn't know who actually attacked her) so if it wasn't Matthew specifically she was running from, it was the fact they thugs shouting at her.

I don't believe the German twins are high enough up the ladder of this cast of characters to even qualify as red herrings - which is what the two masked guys are I believe.

EagererBeaver

Andreas is the boy with Down's Syndrome who has been working in the butcher's.

If the attackers are the two German skinheads, then I think the attack must be a coincidental red herring. The attack is in 2014 and Matthew doesn't appear to have taken up with them by then. He's still pretty innocent.

volchitsa

EagererBeaver wrote: »

Andreas is the boy with Down's Syndrome who has been working in the butcher's.

If the attackers are the two German skinheads, then I think the attack must be a coincidental red herring. The attack is in 2014 and Matthew doesn't appear to have taken up with them by then. He's still pretty innocent.

Matthew doesn't have to have been behind the attack though, does he? The twins could have carried it out themselves, and maybe that's why he admires them in the present day?

EagererBeaver

volchitsa wrote: »

Matthew doesn't have to have been behind the attack though, does he? The twins could have carried it out themselves, and maybe that's why he admires them in the present day?

That's why I said it would be a coincidental red herring...

volchitsa

I realized that after I posted, but I'm not sure what you mean by a red herring then. How are we being led astray by that version of the SL?

EagererBeaver

volchitsa wrote: »

I realized that after I posted, but I'm not sure what you mean by a red herring then. How are we being led astray by that version of the SL?

By red herring I mean anything the show is throwing at us that may not actually be connected to the primary plot, i.e. the circumstances of the disappearances of the girls and the nature of their escape/release and return.

In 2014, it appears that there's no connection between Matthew and the twins. "Alice's" return and the arrest of Herz have not been made known to the public. The only person Herz told was Andreas. So, to me, that would logically suggest that if the attack on Herz's wife (think her name is Nadia) was not connected to anyone relevant to the primary plot at that stage, it's probably a red herring.

volchitsa

Right, whereas I'm not sure we're meant to believe it was directly related to the disappearance in the first place. It's about the fact that her husband is innocent and that Alice - the victim - caused all this harm.

Also, it could actually be related, because Alice is protecting someone, and the attackers, whether it's the twins or not, could be related to that other group, the paedophile ring or whatever,in fact I suspect they are. Possibly without knowing they're being manipulated by them. Certainly manipulated by Alice, as I said.

EagererBeaver

volchitsa wrote: »

Right, whereas I'm not sure we're meant to believe it was directly related to the disappearance in the first place. It's about the fact that her husband is innocent and that Alice - the victim - caused all this harm.

Also, it could actually be related, because Alice is protecting someone, and the attackers, whether it's the twins or not, could be related to that other group, the paedophile ring or whatever,in fact I suspect they are. Possibly without knowing they're being manipulated by them. Certainly manipulated by Alice, as I said.

It's entirely dependent on who the attackers are. My point is that if it's the German twins (as was suggested) then I think it's coincidental as they have no role (so far) in the story in 2014. For what it's worth, I think an attack on the wife of the accused is too much for pure coincidence, hence I don't think it was the twins.

Ceist_Beag

I see no reason to suspect the twins are involved in the attack - there is no link to them in 2014. Everything so far points to a sex ring inside the army (Henry Reed, Brigadier Stone, Nadia and who knows, maybe even Eve which might explain how she got pregnant) so my guess is that the two who carried out the attack are involved in this ring and are in the army and want to shut Nadia up.
The Iraq scenes were a little bit daft last night I thought. The repainted camper van is yet another angle thrown into the mix too - I've no idea where that angle will link into the story.