The episode opens with Daniel O’Toole (Jim Sturgess) remembering the day Peter (Conor Sanchez) told him Alison (Teresa Palmer) left him a note saying she was going away. Shocked, young Daniel O’Toole (Rory Walton-Smith) questions why she would leave home at 17. Peter assures him that she is happier there than at home. Catherine (Siobhan O’Kelly) approaches and lights a cigarette. Daniel tells her that he is Alison’s boyfriend. She sarcastically suggests Alison is shagging a couple of guys. Peter scolds her and demands that she stop. She criticizes him and Alison for being selfish and ungrateful. At The Auld Dubliner pub, young Alison (Florence Hunt) clears a table and works on a letter to Daniel. Mark and another man flirt with her. Young Michael agrees to buy their drinks and offers her a drink as an apology. She declines. He detects her English accent and introduces himself. He rejoins his friends.
In the present, Alison (Teresa Palmer) and Michael (Ben Lawson) have a therapy session with Dr. Anna Chambers (Ana Maria Belo). She explains how his controlling and constant monitoring is suffocating her. He says a tracking app isn’t unusual. Chambers points out that he installed the app without informing Stella (Julia Savage) or Alison. He claims to respect her privacy but feels he is trying to find her because she is so in herself. Alison asks why she can’t accept that she doesn’t want to talk about her past. Chambers feels the love they share. Elsewhere, Daniel has brunch with Marian (Helen Behan), Bill (Mark O’Halloran), and Katja (Sara Soulie). They briefly discuss Alex’s future trip to the Highlands. Bill recalls that Daniel’s moving out was difficult for him and Marian. Daniel finds an excuse to leave and has a flashback about Alison’s 1989 Mix Tape. Outside, Katja asks Marian if she ever felt like giving up on Bill. She questions if they are still on the same page. Confused, Marian tries to reassure her that everything will be fine.
In the past, Marian receives a letter addressed to Daniel from Alison. She stuffs it in her pocket to keep him from seeing it as he is leaving. In the present, Alison is surprised Stella knew about her and Michael’s therapy session. She assures her it is nothing more than them needing help to work through some things. Elsewhere, Katja confronts Daniel about his connection to Alison. He admits to seeing Alison during a stopover in Sydney. He says they dated when they were young, and she abruptly left without an explanation. Katja asks why he kept it from her. Agreeing, he claims to have needed answers and promises to improve things between them. In the past, young Duncan (Sam Reuben) urges Daniel to accompany him to a party. Daniel approaches Peter, in army fatigues, and demands to know where Alison is. Peter informs him of Catherine’s death. Daniel tries to apologize but he walks away. Duncan urges Daniel to let it go. At the Traditional Irish Pub, young Alison receives a call from Peter about Catherine’s death. He tells her the funeral is on Tuesday and offers to pay for her flight. He claims Martin Baxter (Jonathan Harden) was with Catherine when she died and had arranged the funeral before telling him. Weeping, she refuses to attend the funeral.
In the present, Alison tells Cass (Chika Ikogwe) that she has decided to do a book tour. Thrilled, Cass asks if Michael will be accompanying her. Alison promises to let her know soon. Upon arriving home, she sees candles burning and a bottle of her favorite Tasmanian wine. Michael professes to love her and offers to go with her. She expresses her desire to do it alone. He realizes she has changed. Elsewhere, Katja asks Stephen to stop calling her when Daniel arrives home. She tells him that it was a telemarketer. Later, he sees Stephen’s message – “Our night meant a lot to me. You mean a lot to me.” – on her phone. He confronts her. Later, Marian invites Daniel to stay with her and Bill until he sorts things out. He asks Alison ever sent him letters. She admits to keeping the letters from him to protect him. He scolds her and says the letters could have changed his life. She apologizes. He storms out of the house. In the past, young Daniel attends Catherine’s funeral. Peter tells him that Alison is living in Dublin. Later, he informs Bill of his plan to visit Dublin. Bill offers him a loan. Daniel embraces him. In Dublin, Michael tries to discourage Alison from returning to Sheffield. She says he is her only friend there. He suggests his father could get her a job in Sydney where he has an internship at a hospital. Daniel arrives and sees them holding hands and kissing. Distraught, he walks away. Later, she notifies Sheila of her plans. Sheila insists that she stay with her.
In the present, Katja admits to sleeping with Stephen. He criticizes her. She accuses him of being in love with Alison for the past 20 years. He apologizes. She says they have grown apart and fallen out of love. She believes he is overdramatizing his anger. Weeping, he doesn’t want to lose Alex. During a therapy session, Alison says Michael is controlling and always shutting her down. He argues that he had to beg her to go to another session. She tells him that she is done. He accuses her of having sex with Daniel and abandoning her family. She curses him and walks out. A short time later, she visits Peter who is thrilled to see her. They discuss John about Sheila. Peter can’t believe she’s there for three weeks. Before long, John leaves to get back to work. Peter can’t believe Thea is in uni now and Stella is almost ready to leave the nest. He thinks Alison did well with the girls. Alison says Thea has never been any trouble, but Stella tends to have problems. Peter argues they all have them before he begins crying. He believes he should’ve made more of an effort. Alison wishes she’d made him feel more welcome to visit. Peter asks what happened to bring all this on now. Alison admits she isn’t sure. The tension between Alison and Michael has been building. Then, she got a blast from the past and it shook her. When Peter asks what the blast was, Alison says it was someone she used to know. Peter suspects it was Daniel. He admits it took Daniel a long time to get over her.
Peter says Daniel went looking for her the first time so he figured he’d try again. He heard Daniel went to Dublin to look for her. Peter wondered if Daniel ever really got over her. Alison says he never replied to the letter and never said anything. She’s surprised that Daniel followed her. Alison steps out for a bit. Bill sings to Daniel. He tells Daniel that his marriage is over and it’s been coming. Bill doesn’t think Kat was ever really the one. Daniel asks if he knew about the letters Alison wrote back then. He says his mom threw them away before he could see them. Bill insists he didn’t know about them. He admits Marian tends to act before she thinks. Bill says Marian didn’t know he offered her a loan to go to Ireland. He thinks Daniel should put that behind him, but there are some things you can’t move on from. Daniel believes that no one fought for Alison who had such a hard life. Bill thinks it should be telling him something that he’s looking at a divorce but still thinking about his first love. Daniel thinks it’s time to be miserable.
Bill thinks they should go to the pub. Alison goes to Catherine’s burial site. Then, she goes to Daniel’s old house and speaks to Marian. They talk about Alison’s book. Alison tells Marian that she’s married with two girls. Marian thinks it’s crazy that she remembers Daniel after all this time. Alison says he meant a lot to her. Marian claims they were so young. She admits she and Bill got together when they were young but that was different times. Alison says Peter told her that Daniel came looking for her after she left. She thinks you’ll do anything to protect your kids. Marian says she’s sorry about everything. Alison knows there were problems back then and Marian was being a good mother. She’d like to talk to Daniel now though. Bill tells Daniel that you get one shot of love. He says they’re not kids anymore. It’s like his pigeons. They all make their way home eventually. Bill believes Alison is Daniel’s home. Peter calls Alison to say he books something for dinner but they can eat in. Alison has something to do. She’s standing out in front of a club and considering whether she should go in.
Alison explains Daniel is inside, but she’s worried he might be with his wife. Once she goes inside, Daniel decides to unblock her number. Daniel messages her admitting he’s never stopped loving her. He’s surprised to see her nearby. Alison gets the message. They eventually approach each other.
Mix Tape Review
The story is bleak and sincere but the pacing is unbearably slow. The time jumps were abrupt and sporadic which altered the flow. It was at times difficult to differentiate between past and present scenes. It would have been better as a movie.
It felt a bit cliché and implausible for Alison and Daniel to become famous authors. The ending was hurried and not fully satisfying. It is heartbreaking to think that family interference kept them apart for over 20 years. The episode deserves a 5.8 out of 10.
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Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.