When the episode begins, Alice (Keeley Hawes) asks Charlotte (Isabella Pappas) and Yasmina (Dominique Moore) what Harry would do about Tanvi’s deal. Yasmina suggests Alice is smart and doesn’t need Harry anymore, but Alice argues she’ll always need him. Nicola (Sharon Rooney) approaches with her belongings and asks if she can stay with them. Alice walks inside without giving her an answer and admits it is too much. She turns on the security system and curses as she walks up the stairs. The others soon find out that they’re stuck outside and plead with Alice to let them in. Alice talks to Harry and claims she is hopeless without him. She turns on her computer and looks through pictures of the family during happier times. After the intro, Alice opens the door and finds the rest of her family waiting for her as well.

Roger and the others heard she was having a meltdown so they decided to join in on the fun. Seconds later, Alice uses her phone to contact Tanvi and tell her she decided that Harry would’ve wanted her to keep his business going and develop the land. Tanvi (Ayesha Dharker) believes Harry would’ve wanted her to secure her future and move on with her life, but Alice says his life’s work is worth more than that. Furthermore, she believes Tanvi will make lots of money from the deal and it should be theirs. Tanvi says okay before the call ends. Sarah (Joanna Lumley) is concerned Alice is setting herself up for a nervous breakdown by biting off more than she can chew and Roger (Nigel Havers) admits she doesn’t know what she is doing. Alice goes on to say Harry belonged to all of them and didn’t build to make money. She believes he built to make the world a better place.

She believes they can do it together before telling everyone about their respective skills. Nicola lets it slip that Harry left frozen sperm for Alice and that surprises everyone. Alice explains that she didn’t want another kid but Harry did so he froze some of his sperm. Sarah and Alice argue about whether or not she can use it. After the family meeting ends, Nicola apologizes and says letting her stay is a lifesaver. During this time, Charlotte talks to George (George Webster) on her computer and reminds him about tea with the new grandparents tomorrow. Then, she reveals that Alice is planning on having Harry’s baby and George believes he just lost his inheritance. Charlotte admits she is a bit scared because her mom has already been frenzied, but George says his dad wanted it. Later that night, Alice and Charlotte look through the project pictures before Alice wonders why she didn’t get involved earlier.

Next, they discuss the reason why Alice decided to let Nicola stay with them. Alice says she is going to have dad’s baby and it won’t mean she loves Charlotte any less. The following day, Alice meets with the administrator (Jacqueline Boatswain) to talk about using the sperm and learns Harry will need to sign the paperwork before it can happen. The system was abused so they can no longer send the paper via email. Alice confesses that her husband is dead but says it is hard to say. The problem is that they won’t be able to release the sperm to anyone else including Alice. Later that night, Alice discusses it with Charlotte and Nicola who says Ed can pretend to be Harry. Alice turns down that idea though. Then, Nicola pitches the idea of stealing the sperm but Alice believes her dad can find a legal loophole. Charlotte reminds her that she is there for her but Alice alludes to the fact that they want more.

Alice tries to apologize but Charlotte rushes from the table. In the morning, Nicola wakes Alice and tells her they’re going for a run. She says Harry wouldn’t have died in vain if he got her to turn her life around. She also admits she has to keep fit to have a baby one day. Moments later, Alice invites Charlotte but her offer is refused. After the run, Nicola has had too much and has to be taken away by an ambulance. Alice calls her parents and tells her that Nicola collapsed after a run. Gerry (Kenneth Cranham) isn’t sure they’ll be able to visit her in the hospital because Minnie is feeling bad as well. Alice goes downstairs to speak to Nathan (Rhashan Stone) about the development project. When asked, Nathan admits he is getting used to the idea of death.

They discuss Nathan having another baby with his wife and Harry’s sperm. Nathan asks Alice if she wants some fun because the bereavement group is going out for the night. Alice turns down his offer to go bowling with the group before making other arrangements. Nathan believes she is trying to discover who she is on her own. Then, Alice meets with Roger and tries to find a loophole so she can obtain Harry’s sperm. Roger has to clean up Dudley’s mess and ends up getting some of it on his fingers. He promises to see what he can do as long as Alice doesn’t tell her mother but Alice wants him to confront his wife about her affair. Roger tells her why she shouldn’t lecture him before she gets a call confirming they got all the gear.

She meets with Yasmina seconds later at Harry’s plot of land. Alice tells her about her spat with her father which prevented her from asking him about the land. Meanwhile, Nicola tries to contact her mother but Gerry picks up the phone. She says it is nothing serious but argues it should’ve been her instead of Harry. She believes she is a loser because of the way Gerry reacted when Harry entered the room compared to her. Alice takes George back to her place and he promises to help her deal with some of her battles. They join Charlotte for cake. George realizes his new grandparents aren’t coming so Alice changes to subject to what George can do for a job. Later that night, Nicola returns and says she felt better so she left. She learns that George’s grandparents didn’t come to see him. She says it is messed up of them not to let her use Harry’s sperm.

Nicola wonders if they would release it to the family if they needed it for something like a DNA test. It takes a second but Alice catches on and likes the idea. The following day, Nicola tries to deal with that while Alice gets a message from Emily (Emily Woof) who wants to tell her something about Harry. Later, Alice tells her father that they’ll consider the request since it is coming from Harry’s family. He suggests she needs specialized legal advice but she says she can’t afford it. They discuss Graham buying the kitchen and still owing money for it. Roger admits Sarah is also fed up because he hasn’t earned enough money. Sarah interrupts and asks to speak to Alice so Roger steps out of the room. Sarah promises she only wants the best for her daughter before pleading with her not to try to have Harry’s baby. Sarah is concerned that having a baby will prevent Alice from finding another man.

Alice promises to give it some serious thought as long as she thinks about Roger who is really unhappy with her. Alice tells her mother Roger knows she is cheating on him and says she should try to make their marriage work. When Alice makes it home, she finds Charlotte walking up the street and learns about her day at school. She tells her about Sarah begging her not to have Harry’s baby. They go inside where Nicola has been preparing food for them. She opens the fridge and finds the soil samples from Harry’s plot. Then, Nicola tells Alice she is between jobs and would like to help with Harry’s paperwork. Alice checks her phone and tells Nicola about the bowling party. Nicola convinces her to attend the bowling party so they get dressed and leave Charlotte at home. They head to the bowling alley where Nicola is introduced to the group as Harry’s sister.

Nathan introduces Allie to his wife Sally before Graham says his wife hated blowing because she blamed the shoes for her verrucas. Alice tells everyone she loves bowling before she talks to Nathan about Nicola and Ollie who seem to be having a good time hanging out. Nicola is surprisingly good and Alice isn’t. During the game, Sally and Graham seem a little jealous of Nathan’s relationship with Alice. With Graham’s help, Alice does better but she still throws a gutter ball. Then, she talks to Sally about being short on fun lately. Sally tells Alice to stay away from her husband but Alice can’t understand that. Later, Nathan gives them the rules to eat, drink, and be merry. They share a toast to their missed loved ones and themselves. Later, Graham sits with Alice and gets flirty with her. She has been drinking and decides to be blunt about asking Graham for the 15 grand.

He offers to give some of it in the form of financial management and advice because he is an awesome accountant. She argues that she can’t spend financial advice but he believes she needs it. Nathan interrupts and tells them they’re leaving. Nathan offers to give her a ride home but Alice tells him that Sally wouldn’t like that. She ends up spending longer with Graham who gives her a kiss before Nicola interrupts and whisks her away. Both are in a terrible state when they make it back home. Alice imagines she sees Harry before Charlotte enters and tells her about Nicola’s noisy vomiting upstairs. Alice tells her daughter that it was bad, good, and then bad again. In the morning, she rushes outside in time for Nicola to get the news that they’re going to release the sperm sample to her.

Next, Nicola begins working to file the paperwork. Alice goes outside and calls her father to tell him about the sperm. The call ends and she meets with Emily who admits it hasn’t been easy. She explains that George invested money he didn’t have and that is why he is stuck at home. Now, they’re in debt too. Emily argues that signing the inheritance away is up to George before they discuss his odd behaviors including recording conversations. She wonders if George meeting Alice and her family could straighten him out. Alice agrees to send Emily a photo of Harry. Later, she gets a call from William the Estate Agent who complains that the Heptons have already sold most of the property. He threatens to put Alice’s house back on the market. A call from Yasmina interrupts and Alice learns that her soil nerd says it is good and clean.

Alice asks for her to email her the findings before she goes to the city hall to get permission from one of the planning officers. She believes one of them was bribed to sabotage her husband’s develop and she thinks she knows who was responsible. She leaves the evidence and says she expects the planning permission to be reinstated tomorrow. Alice returns home and tries to get a photo for Emily but finds the folders empty. She accuses Nicola of mucking things up before Charlotte returns home and gets the sperm from the delivery man. Charlotte is surprised that her mother didn’t back up the pictures. Sarah gets upset with Roger but he says he helped his child like any good parent would. Roger gets upset and tells Sarah to treat him better and stop sleeping with Keith. Otherwise, they’re going to get divorced. Then, he’ll show her what a good solicitor he is by keeping the house and putting her in a crappy flat in Reading.

Meanwhile, Charlotte tries to help Alice find the photographs and videos of Harry. Sarah arrives and tells Alice about Roger’s ultimatum. Sarah says she doesn’t want a divorce but it wouldn’t be the end of the world either. Sarah takes the sperm and throws it into the garbage. Charlotte arrives and Alice gets her help. Alice manages to scoop it up and save it before telling Sarah to get out of her life. Later that night, Charlotte and Alice sit around Harry’s gravesite. Charlotte says George will try to help them dig up the photos of Harry. Alice admits she is worried that George might be a gold digger and says they just have to handle him. Charlotte reveals she looked at the CCTV from when Harry fell and George had his phone in his hand. She wonders if George recorded the conversation with her dad. She believes Harry’s last words would explain a lot.

 

Finding Alice Review

Although Finding Alice has some likable traits and scenes, it could’ve been a lot better. There is a bit too much going on at once and this makes it too difficult to focus on the moral of the story. Why couldn’t we have just focused on Alice, her family, and the bereavement group?

Instead, the viewer is constantly being burdened with too much and little of this will matter in the long run. We have Dan and Ed who are barely mentioned. Each member of the bereavement group could’ve been compelling, but the show didn’t give the characters enough time to develop and thrive.

Even George has become a minor factor in the last two episodes or whatever. The series isn’t terrible, but it could’ve been significantly better. It just needed to narrow down the story and focus more on the things that will really matter in the long run. Since there is only one episode left, there is no reason to not finish it now.

This episode scores a 7 out of 10. Previous recaps of Finding Alice are available on Reel Mockery.