Looking back at when Tony and Julien first visit the house where Ollie was kept at the end of Episode 1 / beginning of Episode 2. That is some awesome detective work...
We have a strong suspicion that Ollie was kept there but that the owners were on holiday at the time. Julien - How about asking the owner the question 'Who had/has a key?'
I think it was just that, having had a affair with the owner, the mayor knew where she kept a key hidden outside.
THIS is what the writers let happen to Olly? Thank you, Richmond Blue, I'm done with the series, and have no wish to watch the last two episodes.
What do you mean this is what they let happen to Olly. Sadly these things happen in real life. You may not like it but drama sometimes mirrors real life.
Excellent point. Not the sort of thing you would forget after that boy disappears even 8 yrs later when the scarf becomes vital evidence.
You would think Sylive would at least mention it in conversation to Alain or even the Hughes when it first became a clue.
No not an excellent point at all.Sylvie didn't know where Alain was going because she was on the phone to her daughter at the time and didn't hear what Alain said.
People are now just trying to find fault with the programme where there isn't any just because they didn't get the ending they wanted.
We were seeing the Russian boy through Tony's crazed eyes. The resemblance was all in his tortured mind......IMO, of course
The main thing that stretched my credulity was Emily giving away her son's toy fox. No mother, in those terrible circumstances, would ever have parted with it.
There was never going to be a happy ending for Tony. He was consumed with guilt at his part in the loss of Ollie - even, committing murder in his relentless pursuit of the truth.
I was left hanging at the fate of the murdering Romanian ? Presumably, he was beyond capture - else, the location of the child's body would have been discovered !!
There was never going to a happy ending for Ollie either, but as Baptiste said, at least it was a quick death, not some crazy pedophile ring.
The writing was just so clever it kept you guessing all the time, and I really like the fact they did not answer all the questions.
I found the reaction of Alain and his brother perfectly acceptable for example - one was blind drunk and didn't know what the hell he was doing, the other was clearly used to "eliminating" problems in the way of his career. He just didn't know the boy was still alive at that stage as he didn't check in all his panic.
Let viewers use their intelligence/imagination for a change - very refreshing.
Another vote here for a sublime performance by Nesbitt. I never realised he was this good.
I haven't seen anything this good since the last Line of Duty.
I have to agree totally with your post. It is the beginning (in fact the whole timeline re: Ollie) that is the problem. I have no problem with the ending. I didn't expect Ollie to be alive after 8 years. It would have been unrealistic to have him living happily with another family. He could have been trafficked but that would have meant that he would most likely be with paedophiles. BBC weren't going there. The whole series has been about Tony and his obsession and leaving it with him still obsessed was fairly predictable. So in terms of the story arc for Tony it was well done.
BUT...... the effort has been put into the whole story arc of the family and little attention paid the actual detail of 'how' Ollie went missing and particularly the basic police investigation. I remember a writer once saying when pulling together a storyline involving a crime you have to ensure that the procedurals 'make sense' at a basic level. In this they didn't. The whole Ollie walking away and how he ended up in the house being murdered by Romanians was just a cobbled together timeline to fulfil the storyline that the writers wanted in terms of Tony / Emily.
No matter how much parents may drill that sort of thing into kids they can still so easily forget when something grabs their attention, also some kids are better at following guidance from their parents than others.
I'm firmly in the Emily camp, Ollie was killed by a member of the Romanian gang because he saw the man's face. At the wedding Emily was quite naturally sad at the loss of her young son but she found solace in imagining him as he had been when she last say him, a sweet 5 year old.
Tony, however, is unable to accept the facts - partly because that's his nature, partly because he feels responsible as Ollie was in his care at the time he went missing, and partly because the 'search' for his son has become his whole reason for living and he's lost the ability to do anything else with his life. He also carries the burden of being a murderer, he admitted to Emily that it wasn't an 'accident' and he appears in the last scene to be a man who has a lot on his conscience, driven to the edge of madness.
Emily has her 5 year old in her heart and mind but Tony is searching for a 13 year old who doesn't exist.
I too had to take time to reflect on the ending of The Missing and I feel more than satisfied. The whole series captured my imagination and this thread has been a joy to read and contribute to.
Great post! The more I think about it, TM has one of the best endings I can remember in drama serial - it has as many facets to it as the plot itself.
You started this thread and in some ways have concluded it too!
...I was left hanging at the fate of the murdering Romanian ? Presumably, he was beyond capture - else, the location of the child's body would have been discovered !!
Not having found the body gave Tony the mis-placed hope that his son was still alive and hence his continued searching. So as a story device it enabled the writers to show how the Mother had accepted Ollie's fate and Tony was not able to. The Romanian had long disappeared years previous but even if he was captured that doesn't necessarly mean that he would volunteer the information of where the body was dumped.
Great post! The more I think about it, TM has one of the best endings I can remember in drama serial - it has as many facets to it as the plot itself.
You started this thread and in some ways have concluded it too!
Aww, thanks Mr Macavity
I had absolutely no idea when I opened the thread back then at the end of October that we were going to be in for such a treat, full of human insight, tragedy, drama, uplifting moments, cliff-hangers, shocks and great characterisation. My TV Christmas present did indeed come early this year
And the stars on top of the Christmas tree were supplied by all you wonderful posters - regardless of your differing opinions - thank you to everyone.
No not an excellent point at all.Sylvie didn't know where Alain was going because she was on the phone to her daughter at the time and didn't hear what Alain said.
People are now just trying to find fault with the programme where there isn't any just because they didn't get the ending they wanted.
Are you serious, Alain waves the scarf right in front of her face and tells her the boy may get cold so he is taking it to him. Sylvie knew Alain took it out of the hotel. it's irrelevant if she knows where he is going only that he took the scarf out to the Hughes. if that's ever raised in conversation then the Hughes would know Alain never gave it to them and know it turned up at the cellar Ollie was taken.
Maybe he did and she didn't say. It was an affair after all, would she want to risk her husband finding out? She probably thought it's okay to lie, he's the mayor, he wouldn't have anything to do with it
Are you serious, Alain waves the scarf right in front of her face and tells her the boy may get cold so he is taking it to him. Sylvie knew Alain took it out of the hotel. it's irrelevant if she knows where he is going only that he took the scarf out to the Hughes. if that's ever raised in conversation then the Hughes would know Alain never gave it to them and know it turned up at the cellar Ollie was taken.
That's assuming it came up as an issue. The parents always thought he had it. Leaves it open that Sylvie never asked Alain if he caught up with them as it kind of spoke for itself in a way.
Can someone watch the scene where the Rumanian puts Ollie at the bottom of the stairs and tell me if you think it is a yellow scarf in front of Ollie's legs. Watch from about 26 mins in. I've freeze framed and now I'm not sure
The reason I ask was that I thought on first watch it was the scarf and it confused me as surely would be removed as part of clean up.
But on second viewing I notice that the scarf is seen hanging out of a box that the Rumanian walks past when he first enters the basement. Which makes more sense that it was left behind. I'm just not sure what it was by Ollie's legs, maybe just more use of yellow in the program!
Can someone watch the scene where the Rumanian puts Ollie at the bottom of the stairs and tell me if you think it is a yellow scarf in front of Ollie's legs. Watch from about 26 mins in. I've freeze framed and now I'm not sure
The reason I ask was that I thought on first watch it was the scarf and it confused me as surely would be removed as part of clean up.
But on second viewing I notice that the scarf is seen hanging out of a box that the Rumanian walks past when he first enters the basement. Which makes more sense that it was left behind. I'm just not sure what it was by Ollie's legs, maybe just more use of yellow in the program!
The scarf must have been left behind after the clean up as years later the lady who owns the house sent it to the second hand shop. It was in a box with other things (lamp/picture frames)
The scarf must have been left behind after the clean up as years later the lady who owns the house sent it to the second hand shop. It was in a box with other things (lamp/picture frames)
I know that (as mentioned in my 3rd paragraph) but I'm curious what fabric/item it was in front of Ollie's legs as it looked like scarf but can't have been.
That's assuming it came up as an issue. The parents always thought he had it. Leaves it open that Sylvie never asked Alain if he caught up with them as it kind of spoke for itself in a way.
I think were jumping too far ahead here, the point was it's logical to assume that Syvlie could have easily mentioned "what happened to the scarf after Alain gave it back to you" in conversation with the Hughes when it became vital evidence in 2014, it didnt happen,
I'm firmly in the Emily camp, Ollie was killed by a member of the Romanian gang because he saw the man's face. At the wedding Emily was quite naturally sad at the loss of her young son but she found solace in imagining him as he had been when she last say him, a sweet 5 year old.
Tony, however, is unable to accept the facts - partly because that's his nature, partly because he feels responsible as Ollie was in his care at the time he went missing, and partly because the 'search' for his son has become his whole reason for living and he's lost the ability to do anything else with his life. He also carries the burden of being a murderer, he admitted to Emily that it wasn't an 'accident' and he appears in the last scene to be a man who has a lot on his conscience, driven to the edge of madness.
Emily has her 5 year old in her heart and mind but Tony is searching for a 13 year old who doesn't exist.
I too had to take time to reflect on the ending of The Missing and I feel more than satisfied. The whole series captured my imagination and this thread has been a joy to read and contribute to.
That is exactly how I see it. It was a program/drama that dealt with the fallout and the knock on effect in everyone's life when a child goes missing. The conclusion was a bit twee in parts but to be honest that's what happens, some people move on for their own survival and some people don't because of their need to know and that keeps them going so in some way that is survival too.
It was a brilliant piece of drama. I am not keen on James Nesbitt as an actor because of his style and the constant anguished look he has but it fit perfectly for this role.
Can someone watch the scene where the Rumanian puts Ollie at the bottom of the stairs and tell me if you think it is a yellow scarf in front of Ollie's legs. Watch from about 26 mins in. I've freeze framed and now I'm not sure
The reason I ask was that I thought on first watch it was the scarf and it confused me as surely would be removed as part of clean up.
But on second viewing I notice that the scarf is seen hanging out of a box that the Rumanian walks past when he first enters the basement. Which makes more sense that it was left behind. I'm just not sure what it was by Ollie's legs, maybe just more use of yellow in the program!
I know that (as mentioned in my 3rd paragraph) but I'm curious what fabric/item it was in front of Ollie's legs as it looked like scarf but can't have been.
...it wasn't a scarf. I just re-watched that clip on iPlayer. When he sees Ollie looking out the window, he grabs him away and puts him on a rug on the side of the staircase - its not the scarf.
...it wasn't a scarf. I just re-watched that clip on iPlayer. When he sees Ollie looking out the window, he grabs him away and puts him on a rug on the side of the staircase - its not the scarf.
I think were jumping too far ahead here, the point was it's logical to assume that Syvlie could have easily mentioned "what happened to the scarf after Alain gave it back to you" in conversation with the Hughes when it became vital evidence in 2014, it didnt happen,
but that's 8 years later .
plus she doesn't really register what Alain is saying at the time , I think she says to her friend on the phone - "oh , just Alain mumbling about something"
Are you serious, Alain waves the scarf right in front of her face and tells her the boy may get cold so he is taking it to him. Sylvie knew Alain took it out of the hotel. it's irrelevant if she knows where he is going only that he took the scarf out to the Hughes. if that's ever raised in conversation then the Hughes would know Alain never gave it to them and know it turned up at the cellar Ollie was taken.
No he didn't, she had her back to him and was on the phone, her daughter said something like "what was that" and Sylvie said something along the lines of "it's just your dad muttering on". She never knew he had the scarf.
No he didn't, she had her back to him and was on the phone, her daughter said something like "what was that" and Sylvie said something along the lines of "it's just your dad muttering on". She never knew he had the scarf.
Thank you, that's exactly as I saw it. Unfortunately people that didn't like the ending are starting to nit pick and imagine faults in the conclusion.
I for one am in the Emily camp. So I shall leave this brilliant programme behind and go off and get prepared for Christmas and leave this thread to those in the Tony camp who can't accept the ending for what it was and continue to pick at it and find fault with the ending. May you eventually find peace with the ending;-)
Thank you, that's exactly as I saw it. Unfortunately people that didn't like the ending are starting to nit pick and imagine faults in the conclusion.
I for one am in the Emily camp. So I shall leave this brilliant programme behind and go off and get prepared for Christmas and leave this thread to those in the Tony camp who can't accept the ending for what it was and continue to pick at it and find fault with the ending. May you eventually find peace with the ending;-)
See you all sometime next year for The Missing 2.
BIB - They'll all grow long grizzly beards and join the local George Clooney convention!!
Thank you, that's exactly as I saw it. Unfortunately people that didn't like the ending are starting to nit pick and imagine faults in the conclusion.
I for one am in the Emily camp. So I shall leave this brilliant programme behind and go off and get prepared for Christmas and leave this thread to those in the Tony camp who can't accept the ending for what it was and continue to pick at it and find fault with the ending. May you eventually find peace with the ending;-)
See you all sometime next year for The Missing 2.
not sure what camp I'm in 'cos I liked the ending but I also tend to think Ollie's alive and that the Russia scene was real .
Comments
I think it was just that, having had a affair with the owner, the mayor knew where she kept a key hidden outside.
What do you mean this is what they let happen to Olly. Sadly these things happen in real life. You may not like it but drama sometimes mirrors real life.
No not an excellent point at all.Sylvie didn't know where Alain was going because she was on the phone to her daughter at the time and didn't hear what Alain said.
People are now just trying to find fault with the programme where there isn't any just because they didn't get the ending they wanted.
There was never going to a happy ending for Ollie either, but as Baptiste said, at least it was a quick death, not some crazy pedophile ring.
The writing was just so clever it kept you guessing all the time, and I really like the fact they did not answer all the questions.
I found the reaction of Alain and his brother perfectly acceptable for example - one was blind drunk and didn't know what the hell he was doing, the other was clearly used to "eliminating" problems in the way of his career. He just didn't know the boy was still alive at that stage as he didn't check in all his panic.
Let viewers use their intelligence/imagination for a change - very refreshing.
Another vote here for a sublime performance by Nesbitt. I never realised he was this good.
I haven't seen anything this good since the last Line of Duty.
Quite! Even if they'd found a body evil would have been done BL3H;76078241 couldn't pretend it hadn't
No matter how much parents may drill that sort of thing into kids they can still so easily forget when something grabs their attention, also some kids are better at following guidance from their parents than others.
Great post! The more I think about it, TM has one of the best endings I can remember in drama serial - it has as many facets to it as the plot itself.
You started this thread and in some ways have concluded it too!
Aww, thanks Mr Macavity
I had absolutely no idea when I opened the thread back then at the end of October that we were going to be in for such a treat, full of human insight, tragedy, drama, uplifting moments, cliff-hangers, shocks and great characterisation. My TV Christmas present did indeed come early this year
And the stars on top of the Christmas tree were supplied by all you wonderful posters - regardless of your differing opinions - thank you to everyone.
Maybe he did and she didn't say. It was an affair after all, would she want to risk her husband finding out? She probably thought it's okay to lie, he's the mayor, he wouldn't have anything to do with it
That's assuming it came up as an issue. The parents always thought he had it. Leaves it open that Sylvie never asked Alain if he caught up with them as it kind of spoke for itself in a way.
Can someone watch the scene where the Rumanian puts Ollie at the bottom of the stairs and tell me if you think it is a yellow scarf in front of Ollie's legs. Watch from about 26 mins in. I've freeze framed and now I'm not sure
The reason I ask was that I thought on first watch it was the scarf and it confused me as surely would be removed as part of clean up.
But on second viewing I notice that the scarf is seen hanging out of a box that the Rumanian walks past when he first enters the basement. Which makes more sense that it was left behind. I'm just not sure what it was by Ollie's legs, maybe just more use of yellow in the program!
The scarf must have been left behind after the clean up as years later the lady who owns the house sent it to the second hand shop. It was in a box with other things (lamp/picture frames)
I know that (as mentioned in my 3rd paragraph) but I'm curious what fabric/item it was in front of Ollie's legs as it looked like scarf but can't have been.
That is exactly how I see it. It was a program/drama that dealt with the fallout and the knock on effect in everyone's life when a child goes missing. The conclusion was a bit twee in parts but to be honest that's what happens, some people move on for their own survival and some people don't because of their need to know and that keeps them going so in some way that is survival too.
It was a brilliant piece of drama. I am not keen on James Nesbitt as an actor because of his style and the constant anguished look he has but it fit perfectly for this role.
...it wasn't a scarf. I just re-watched that clip on iPlayer. When he sees Ollie looking out the window, he grabs him away and puts him on a rug on the side of the staircase - its not the scarf.
Thanks
the only thing I really had a problem with is the idea of keeping Alain's involvement a secrret from Sylvie ?
HOW? ?? I mean the police heard him confess , they then chase George with other coppers , are they all keeping quiet ?
.
but that's 8 years later .
plus she doesn't really register what Alain is saying at the time , I think she says to her friend on the phone - "oh , just Alain mumbling about something"
.
No he didn't, she had her back to him and was on the phone, her daughter said something like "what was that" and Sylvie said something along the lines of "it's just your dad muttering on". She never knew he had the scarf.
Thank you, that's exactly as I saw it. Unfortunately people that didn't like the ending are starting to nit pick and imagine faults in the conclusion.
I for one am in the Emily camp. So I shall leave this brilliant programme behind and go off and get prepared for Christmas and leave this thread to those in the Tony camp who can't accept the ending for what it was and continue to pick at it and find fault with the ending. May you eventually find peace with the ending;-)
See you all sometime next year for The Missing 2.
BIB - They'll all grow long grizzly beards and join the local George Clooney convention!!
not sure what camp I'm in 'cos I liked the ending but I also tend to think Ollie's alive and that the Russia scene was real .