At the beginning of the 3rd episode, we see a family driving down the road in Switzerland. A young boy in the vehicle spots a van on the side of the road. The van used to be yellow, but has now been painted red. After the intro, Alice Webster (Abigail Hardingham) meets with her shrink. Alice admits she feels sorry for the man, who held her captive. Then, she shuts down and insists she no longer wants to talk about him. Next, we see Kristian Herz (Filip Peeters) waiting in an interrogation room. Jorn Lenhart (Florian Bartholomai) brings him a drink. Jorn tells the man Alice has identified him, so he will likely be forced to stay in police custody for a bit longer.

Kristian seems dumbfounded and admits nothing makes sense. He confirms he doesn’t have an alibi, since the event took place so many years ago. At the shop, Nadia Herz (Lia Williams) speaks with her employee Andreas (Sebastian Urbanski). She tells the boy about Kristian’s situation. Andreas is told to go home and to carry on, as if nothing has happened. When Andreas leaves, Nadia looks at a naughty picture on her phone. It shows herself and Kristian involved in bondage. Seconds later, Julien Baptiste (Tcheky Karyo) visits the Webster family. He is invited inside and given the opportunity to speak with Alice. He asks her about Sophie, before referring to her as Sophie in a different language. Sam (David Morrissey) is unable to comprehend what is going on, but becomes enraged when Alice loses her cool.

Sam tells Julien to leave, before rushing upstairs to comfort Alice. Downstairs, Julien confers with Gemma (Keeley Hawes) about Alice’s true identity. Julien tries to convince her to get a DNA test. Then, we jump to the present. Gemma waits outside and fiddles on her phone, while Matthew (Jake Davies) stands outside of the prison. Matthew receives a call from his mother, who tries to convince him to stop hanging out with the Adler twins. Matthew becomes angry and hangs up, before leaving the prison without going inside. Inside the motel, Eve (Laura Fraser) complains to Sam about her father’s nurse not showing up. She quickly rushes outside with Sam following closely behind. Gemma watches as her husband offers to help Eve in any way he can.

Next, we jump over to Al Mazraa, Iraq. Julien and Stefan (Olafur Darri Olafsson) are transported to a military base of sorts. Stefan notices Julien’s good luck charm. Julien admits the verdict is still out on its effectiveness. Seconds later, they are introduced to Daniel Reed (Daniel Ezra). We jump back to 2014 and see Daniel shortly after the death of his father. Daniel is stopped by friend. Daniel tells her about finding something in his father’s financial records. He also complains about the army not caring and not providing him with answers. He lashes out at his friend and tells her he doesn’t know anymore. Back at home, Gemma tells Sam about Julien referring to Alice as Sophie. Gemma admits she doesn’t feel like Alice is really Alice. Sam lashes out and tells her to never say that again. He also doesn’t like the ideal of getting a DNA test.

Sam heads up stairs and is forced to break into Alice’s room. He discovers that she has escaped through the window. They immediately call the police. Adrian Stone (Roger Allam) gets a visit from Julien. Julien cuts to the chase and requests to speak with their primary suspect. Adrian does his best to prevent that from happening. Julien also inquires about the DNA test. Adrian insists Alice’s parents know whether or not it is their daughter. Julien is forced to leave empty handed. On the way out, he runs into Daniel Reed. Sam and Gemma continue worrying about Alice, while Gemma contemplates why she would run away. Sam blames his wife. The police begin hunting everywhere for Alice. Nadia gets a visit from Eve. Nadia is asked whether or not her husband took trips.

Nadia doesn’t provide Eve with anything helpful. Adrian barges in and puts an end to the interrogation. Adrian tells Eve he knew Nadia and that she was a mess back in Iraq. We jump to the future and see that Nadia has aged terribly. She puts in her dentures and prepares for the day. When she closes her building’s shutters, we see that it has been sprayed with graffiti. We jump back to Iraq. Daniel admits he went AWOL. Julien asks about Daniel’s father. The boy admits his father is better off dead and the world is a better place for it. Eve finally arrives at her father’s home and finds him sitting on the floor. Sam watches the soldiers through his window, before meeting with his shrink. He lashes out, before being given the opportunity to return to England. He agrees to speak with Gemma about it.

Meanwhile, Matthew hangs out with the Adler twins. He tells them about his inability to fulfill his promise, which involves going into the prison. The twins give him a pep talk. Eve calls around and tries to find her father a suitable caretaker. She heads outside and her father tells her she is a lovely girl. He insists he once knew a girl jump like her. Eve asks if he is speaking about her mother. Adrian shakes his head. Julien continues trying to pry information from Daniel. He admits he came to Iraq to learn why his father was transferring money to a man called Mirza Barzani in Erbil. Daniel confirms he eventually found out why and it made him sick to his stomach. Julien asks whether or not it had to do with Alice and Sophie. Daniel simply replies that Julien has wasted his time. Stefan and Julien are forced to retreat.

The pair escape to a safe location. Stefan insists there must be a connection between those girls and Daniel’s father. Julien apologizes for dragging Stefan into it. We jump back to the past. Julien makes contact with his wife and tells her about his plan to meet with Sophie’s father. He heads into a hardware store and confronts Remy Giroux. Julien is forced to confront the past and convince Remy to listen for a few minutes. Alice heads to the gas station and obtains a bucket of gas. She returns home and stays the gas in the shed, before heading inside. Alice freaks out and tells her parents that this is not her life. She tells them to leave her alone, before heading to her room. Meanwhile, Julien tries to convince Remy to come to Germany to see Alice for himself. Remy remains adamant that he will forgive Julien, before rushing off. That night at dinner, Alice tells her new family about her time at an amusement park with her captor. She admits she was happy sometimes with the man.

Alice also confirms she once had a baby, but it died. Gemma tries to obtain more information, but potentially makes the situation worse. Alice expresses her true feelings and admits she doesn’t feel free. Nadia returns home. She gets a phone call from her husband, who insists everything will be fine and it should be straightened out soon. That night, Alice convinces Matthew to lock her in the shed again. She also forces him to make her a promise. Nadia receives a package. She sits the package down, before being startled by a noise. The meat grinder has been turned on. She shuts it off. When she turns around, she is attacked by two people in masks. Gemma is unable to sleep. She contemplates whether or not they should put Gemma in a home, where she’ll be looked after. They discover the shed is in flames. They rush downstairs and Sam busts out the window. He is covered in flames.

We jump back to the present and see Matthew has finally built up enough courage to enter the prison. He meets with Kristian and tells him about the promise he made to Alice. Alice wanted Matthew to tell Kristian she was sorry. Nonetheless, Matthew lashes out at Kristian, before departing. At the school, Sam confronts Gemma and tells her about his opportunity in England. She admits she isn’t interested in moving. She continues looking at pictures on her computer. She finds something that gives her a shock. She quickly rushes over to Eve’s place and shows her the picture. Adrian listens as Gemma shows Eve the picture of Sophie and Alice on the roller coaster together.

 

The Missing Review

The Missing continues to intrigue. This episode opened the door to many possible scenarios. Gemma has finally come to the realization that Alice wasn’t Alice after all. Matthew’s promise to Alice was finally revealed and fulfilled. It also leads one to believe that Kristian Herz was likely innocent all along. What is Adrian’s involvement? Did he convince Alice to squeal on an innocent man to protect himself?

Julien finally made contact with Daniel, but he was left with more questions. Who is Mirza and what was Daniel’s father up to? Although David Morrissey is somewhat of a put-off, The Missing’s 2nd season was been pretty good. This episode scores an 8 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of The Missing right now!