As the 3rd episode begins, Alice (Keeley Hawes) plants flowers on top of her husband’s grave. Then, the coroner (Jane Shakespeare) talks about the inquest into Harry’s death and explains they’re limited to four questions. They can only answer who the deceased was, where they died, when they died, and how. Alice and Roger (Nigel Havers) learn that the police want to delay the procedure because they need more time to identify an unknown witness. Alice sends George a text message urging him to call her because she knows he was there. After the intro, Charlotte (Isabella Pappas) tells Alice that the grave looks great and that she wants to go back to school. Alice suggests she isn’t ready, but Charlotte says her mom is the one who isn’t ready.

Charlotte wants to get out of the house because she has missed so much. Alice decides to drive her daughter to work and go inside with her. Charlotte jumps out and refuses to let her mother go in with her though. Alice goes in later and speaks to the head teacher (Shannon Murray) to make sure Charlotte will be looked after. Alice admits she is coping badly and can’t stand being at the house alone. She offers to be a teaching assistant, but the head teacher doesn’t think that is the answer. The conversation continues before they begin talking about George. Alice says she hopes he isn’t a gold digger or psychopath. When that conversation ends, Alice visits Nathan (Rhashan Stone) and obtains a sample for the upcoming DNA test.

Nathan gives her instructions for obtaining a sample from George (George Webster). Nathan asks if she wants George to be Harry’s son, but she argues that George is taking away Harry’s time. She tells Nathan she hopes someone looks after her with the same care as him. She asks more about his job before he refers to himself as an anatomical pathology technologist. He explains he got into the business when his daughter Leonora died from Leukemia. He spent a lot of time with her like this when she died and he didn’t want anyone else to touch her. Alice hugs him before she leaves and begins searching for DNA testing services. She finally gets a message from George and they agree to meet. When Alice returns home, she finds a Dean & Stone vehicle in her driveway so she pushes it into the dumpster pile with her car. She goes inside and finds Minnie (Gemma Jones) and Gerry (Kenneth Cranham) with William the estate agent (Joe Bannister).

Alice immediately tells William that the house isn’t for sale. William promises to get back with them but Alice tells him not to do that. Gerry wants to remove Harry and burying him properly. William tries to leave and notices his vehicle trapped so he takes a picture. Then, Alice tells the couple she wants to buy the house but needs time to get the money. George arrives at the door and Harry’s parents leave. Alice puts the DNA stuff in the fridge while George says he owes her an explanation. She accuses him of being there when Harry died and George doesn’t deny it. He claims he wanted to talk but Harry wanted him to leave before he tripped and fell. He panicked when he heard Alice’s voice so he ran away. Charlotte enters and George says hello. George explains he recently had a health scare and his mother had to admit he wasn’t his father’s son.

She had an affair with Harry soon after she married. It was a huge shock so George wanted to meet his biological father. Harry didn’t know until two weeks ago. He was afraid to meet George because he didn’t want to upset Alice. Charlotte warns her mother that George might want a handout but Alice gives him a hug anyway. She manages to grab one of his hairs for the DNA test before asking George to speak at the inquest. Them, she admits Harry didn’t leave a will and they were not married. She says his kids get everything, but George says he only wants to be Alice’s friend and Charlotte’s brother. Later that night, Alice drinks and prepares to send the samples to the DNA testing service. The following day, she meets with Nathan and the bereavement group. Graham (Graeme Hawley) grabs her a chair while the others sing.

Nathan wants them to introduce themselves and says it is the only time he’ll ask them to define themselves by their bereavement. Zack (Daniel Laurie) says his mother had an aneurysm, Ollie (Robert Lonsdale) got into a vehicle accident and his parents died, and Leanne (Amanda Wilkin) lost her girlfriend Sandy in the jungle. Tina (Mary Roscoe) says her husband Tim had a massive heart attack ten years ago. Graham reveals his wife Toni committed suicide a year ago before Alice says she is an alcoholic. Ollie doesn’t like that and encourages her to leave if she isn’t into this. She tells Nathan she knew it was a bad idea. She heads outside and Graham follows her. He says Ollie was out of order and they discuss crapping all over people because of their loss. Graham gives Alice his card in case she wants to talk one-on-one.

Alice goes to the workplace and tells Tanvi (Ayesha Dharker) it is getting livelier. Alice wants to learn Harry’s business better and asks about putting the flats up for sale right now. Tanvi suggests it isn’t a good time since the market is slow. When asking about coming to the invoice, Tanvi makes it clear she wants her name out of it. She claims Harry wasted a lot of cash on the house and the business was in shambles. She also says she might be able to help with the house since there are investors looking for opportunities. Alice sits down with Yasmina (Dominique Moore) who says she doesn’t like Tanvi. Alice says they don’t have to like her as long as they don’t get shafted by her. Yasmina learns about George and she offers to use his phone number to do some digging around. Next, Alice goes to Roger and asks what he advised Harry about the development. Roger warned him he shouldn’t get a high-risk loan to finish the build.

He encourages Harry to sell his house to finance it and move in with them, but Harry thought it was terrible advice. Alice wants her father’s advice so she tells him about George and the boy being on the CCTV footage. Roger reveals that his wife is having an affair but it is about sex and not love. He believes it is with their neighbor Keith. Roger wants advice but Alice can’t handle it right now before she learns that George might have a claim for the business. When the conversation ends, Sarah (Joanna Lumley) asks what they’ve been talking about. Alice learns that Dan and Raoul split up so Sarah thinks she should stay and support her brother. Alice argues that Dan is fine being gay, but he has a problem with commitment. She rushes out and picks up Charlotte from school. During their drive, Alice tells her daughter that she might inherit everything with George.

Charlotte doesn’t want it but Alice explains they’ll need to transfer it back to her so they can buy the house. Charlotte still isn’t sure that George is Harry’s son. When they return home, Yasmina tells them her mates have found out who George is. They go inside and learn more about George Fellows whose father Frank is a GP. His mother Emily is a therapist. They live fairly close. Alice gets the results and tells Charlotte she has a brother. Alice goes to their place and meets Emily (Emily Woof). Alice tells her about herself before learning that George is out. Emily learns about the DNA test before letting Alice inside. Alice argues this is too big to sweep under the rug. Emily learns about George being on the CCTV footage before she reveals that George isn’t going to attend the inquest. George is happy to give up his inheritance but he doesn’t want to be harassed and questioned endlessly.

Emily wants to pretend this never happened. When Alice leaves, she calls Julia the coroner and we see that George is upstairs. Alice tells her she doesn’t think the man in the CCTV footage is relevant and they should go ahead with the inquest. She returns home and finds two people dealing with environmental services checking out Harry’s gravesite. They have no record of Alice applying for permission for Harry’s home burial. The legal owners have asked them to check it out and arrange for re-internment in a cemetery. Lindsay (Rebecca Root) says the regulations are there to protect everyone. Alice tells Colin (George Eggay) that she applied and he can mess off. She is told that she needed the owner’s permission so Alice believes it is best to begin digging Harry up.

Colin offers to leave if it’ll make Alice stop before Lindsay drops to the ground and comforts Alice. Later, Alice takes a bath and listens to Harry’s voice messages. She drinks and remembers Harry and the things he did. Next, she goes to the school and finds that her daughter isn’t outside. She enters the school and finds Charlotte with the school counselor (Shauna Shim). Charlotte ends up rushing out of the school while her mother stays behind in hopes of explaining everything to the counselor. Alice wants to know what Charlotte has been saying, but the counselor argues it wouldn’t be right to say. Alice leaves and tries to get her daughter to get into the vehicle. Charlotte keeps walking and tries to ignore her mother, but she eventually relents and gets in.

Alice apologizes before Charlotte admits she can’t recognize her mother these days. She recommends getting help. Alice is forced to slam on the brakes to avoid crashing into the vehicle in front of them. She pulls next to the road and tells her daughter she is right. Both admit they’re not the same and they miss Harry so much. She tells Charlotte about George’s mother and his decision not to testify. Alice confesses she doesn’t want to break up a family before Charlotte says she would like to speak to George’s mother. They visit the family’s house immediately. Frank exits and leaves before Emily tries to get them to leave too. Charlotte introduces herself to Emily before turning her attention to the upcoming inquest. Charlotte says it is lovely that George looks so much like dad.

After a break, Alice meets with Nicola (Sharon Rooney), Ed (Mathias Swann), Gerry, and Minnie. Roger and Sarah join them as Roger asks them about the procedure. Dan (Jamie Wilkes) arrives. Then, Nathan enters and Alice apologizes for leaving the group early. Yasmina is surprised to see Alice’s entire family there. Then, the inquest begins and the coroner begins calling witnesses. Nathan Johnston is the first witness to be called. As Nathan walks up to the stand, Nicola tells Alice Nathan can open her up any time he likes. Nathan tells the coroner that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head causing the neck to break. The equivalent of three times the drink driving limit of alcohol was found in Harry’s system. Harry had bruises on both of his upper arms as if he had been gripped.

When questioned, Harry says death would’ve been instant on impact so he doesn’t think Harry would’ve experienced pain. The next witness is Detective Davis (Matthew Flynn) who talks about the investigation into Harry’s death. Gerry learns about the man on the CCTV footage and the police being unable to find him. Gerry believes it should’ve been investigated since he might’ve encouraged his son to fall. The coroner admits she might have to deliver an open verdict in the case. There is a brief argument about banisters and carpet before the coroner learns there is a new witness. Alice looks toward the hallway and sees George standing out there. Sarah asks if Roger knows who the person in the CCTV footage is but he denies it. Nicola talks to Nathan about being the sassy one and Harry being their rock. When the inquest resumes, George takes the stand and confirms he was the figure in the CCTV footage.

Gerry and the others are surprised to learn that George was Harry’s biological son. George explains Harry was ignoring his calls so he stupidly went to his new house. Harry was shocked and asked him to leave, but George refused and went inside. Harry was at the top of the stairs surprised that George had entered the house. He lost his footing and fell to his death. George heard Alice’s voice and knew Harry didn’t want him to meet her like that so he ran away. Gerry and Minnie complain he didn’t call an ambulance before they’re reminded Nathan said he would’ve died instantly. Alice wants to know what George said to Harry. George claims he told his father he wanted to get to know him and his family. Harry says he would tell everyone when he was ready to do so. He said he was a happy man and didn’t want to ruin that with the surprise.

Next, Alice takes the stand and tells the coroner about the night of Harry’s death. She went to the bathroom and Harry told her he was going for water. When she came out, she found Harry at the bottom of the stairs. Alice says she has been looking for something positive ever since Harry died. She talks about George before apologizing to Minnie and Gerry for being selfish. She wants to improve on that. After she finishes, the coroner concludes that the death of Harry Walsh was due to an accident. Alice thanks George for coming before he is properly introduced to Gerry, Minnie, and the others. Sarah hopes George isn’t going to try to profit from the family. Later, Gerry learns that they have an offer on the house and he accepts that offer.

 

Finding Alice Review

Finding Alice isn’t perfect and I doubt it ever will be. Although it hasn’t been my favorite, it had a lot of potential and a few enjoyable moments during each episode. I would likely watch anything with Keeley Hawes but Finding Alice isn’t one of her best roles.

The show attempts to balance humor and the drama of death. Although it hits home on both fronts occasionally, the show would be a lot better if it only focused on one or the other. We know this isn’t going to change now and that is disappointing.

What else do I have to watch? Not much so I will keep watching Finding Alice to see what happens. The episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Previous recaps of Finding Alice are available on Reel Mockery.