After rewatching the end of the most recent episode, I think the ginger child is Garrett himself with the smile that appears across Garrett's wife's face at the sight of the photo being the biggest giveaway (I believe Bourg was talking about Garrett at the same time). Garrett told Tony that he had been abused by his grandfather so perhaps he liked painting himself as he was before the abuse began. It might have been one of his ways of coping with it.
That a lot of people presumed it was Molly was very possibly the writers' intention.
EDIT: Ah, I've just remembered a scene involving Tony and Garrett in which I think Tony asked about the painting (and I think Garrett said it was his daughter). If I've remembered correctly, that probably puts my theory to bed but it's late, so I have an excuse.
I could be wrong, but I thought there were two pictures - one of a red-haired little girl and one of a boy with shorter red hair.
The picture of the girl was the one Garrett was talking to Tony about.
The picture of the boy appears later.
Very idle speculation number 1 - could Greg have abducted Oliver??
As Tony's assault on him was a tad extreme for just a 'kiss' and as others have mentioned could Oliver be Gregs and not Tonys son. Or speculation here, Emily falling pregnant by Greg then getting rid either before Oliver was born or after.
Greg then follows the family and takes Oliver as his own son or in retaliation for Emily getting rid of his own baby.
Would explain Emilys dad mistaking Marks son for Oliver at the hospice - might have seen 'Oliver' with Greg there at some time.
Realise a lot to discount this - Oliver not saying anything when taken, Greg suddenly having a 4 yr old son etc ..
Where do you hide the bodies of (potentially) 53 children? Under the foundations of your house in audreselle??
Are we supposed to think that Garrett was personally involved in the abduction, abuse and murder of 53 children, or just that he had a large collection of sick video tapes?
Seems to me that Ollie's abduction was not by anyone known to the family. They had broken down on holiday, so were in a town where no-one could have predicted they would be. Also, the decision to go swimming was taken on the spur of the moment in the café, so no-one they had met up to that point would have known they would be there.
Regarding Monique (the woman Tony slept with), I think she will have nothing to do with the disappearance of Ollie, but rather, everything to do with the breakdown of Tony and Emily's marriage.
I have no idea now who did abduct Ollie - don't think it will be Karl Sieg and beginning to doubt Mark as well. 3 more weeks to go! The suspense, can't stand it lol
This is what I felt too however, it did occur to me that Tony could have possibly coerced Ollie into going swimming. Tony said that he would be able to go swimming tomorrow after hearing the car was fixed and Ollie was adamant he wanted to go swimming now. Any parent would know not to say the word that is going to get that reaction :cool:
What if Tony is suffering from some kind of mental disorder as a result of the trauma of his missing son. So some of the scenes in the past and present are real while others are a figment of his imagination.
If that is the case then it will just be a tool to make the drama look clever whilst actually not having much depth at all. I sincerely do not believe this drama is that lacking.
Yes, there are more and more layers being added all the time, as if more were needed!
LOVED the 'dream' sequence! I was kicking myself though, as the way it was filmed seemed clumsy and different in style to rest of the drama - and I kept thinking why don't they show the whole boat - it could be anywhere? But I was so convinced that Garret had escaped I thought it was for real - its been done before of course many times, but rarely this well.
Been a few other good dramas this year, but TM is just smashing everything else out of the park!
I only just caught up with Ep 5 and I am gobsmacked. Jesus this is getting dark. Very dark.
The dream sequence (an old trick indeed) is one of the best I've ever seen.
But for you RichmondBlue here is my version of The Missing:
‘FOURTH PERSON MISSING’ shouts the headline. I turn to the quiet pages of the Classifieds. ‘Room to let in shared house’.
The landlord’s more interested in getting a deposit than a reference; I call myself Joe Stone. The basement room is lit by a naked red bulb. “It was a darkroom,” he explains. Days later I find proof; a photograph once lost behind the warped skirting-board.
I doze the days away in a red glow and after dark I pace the North London streets. I scan the photograph onto my computer and zoom in on the fair-haired girl as she lies bathed in sunlight.
I’m in the local shop buying milk; the missing person total is up to five.
I zoom in again on the girl’s profile, offered up, as it is, to the sun. The pixels distort but I see violet veins on her eyelids. Beside her head an ant, a dandelion seed. I zoom out and search for landmarks.
Standing on Hampstead Heath I hold the photograph at arm’s length. I find a bench, the angle is not quite right. The city shimmers under the weight of a heat-wave and I stretch out, copying the pose of the fair-haired girl.
Turning my head and squinting, I find the right angle. The photograph is in my hand. In my eye-line is a rectangle of black. A void. I scramble upright, it’s the fastest movement I’ve made in weeks but I find all is as it should be. The view is complete.
I spend countless hours on the Heath but I never see the black hole again. The photograph taunts me so I burn it.
By the time I start looking at the Classifieds again, the tally is up to six.
Terrific stuff, I'm hooked. If you sell the film rights, who's going to play Joe Stone ?
Are we supposed to think that Garrett was personally involved in the abduction, abuse and murder of 53 children, or just that he had a large collection of sick video tapes?
I'm pretty sure it's the latter. As he said. There's 53 of them i.e tapes, not children. Can you imagine the kind of furore and police hunt that would involve 53 children?
Having been watching "The Fall", I just hope this doesn't give birth to a second series. That was originally a stylish, well crafted thriller, but it's now just turned into a dumb parody of itself. Please let this come to some kind of conclusion.
The Fall has always been basically a cat and mouse game between Gillian Anderson's cop and psychopath social worker Paul/Peter. The first series would have been sufficient to wrap things up one way or another. With S2 they are just trying to drag out the plot for the sake of it so it's become a bit pointless.
The Missing although multi-layered, and a lot more complex than The Fall, by its very nature should only be a one-off series. Trying to get a second series out of it with Tony still searching for his son would just be absurd. But I think the ending of this series will not be a happy one so no doubt we'll get people moaning cop-out just because it didn't turn out the way they wanted it to.
I'm pretty sure it's the latter. As he said. There's 53 of them i.e tapes, not children. Can you imagine the kind of furore and police hunt that would involve 53 children?
That was what I thought when I saw it. That he had 53 child porn tapes hidden on his boat. Which while incredibly disturbing seems more believable than him having personally murdered and disposed of 53 children. That's what some people on here seem to be implying though?
I'm pretty sure it's the latter. As he said. There's 53 of them i.e tapes, not children. Can you imagine the kind of furore and police hunt that would involve 53 children?
I agree. It could be that they are all tapes involving the abuse of Molly, perhaps over several years. The final one, left in the recorder, was when Garrett ended up killing her.
Perhaps Vincent had been abused by Garrett, until he grew older and was no longer of interest, and then he was forced to film the action.
I had thought Garrett must be part of a paedophile ring operating in the town, but perhaps he acted alone. This would maybe explain why Tony is not too bothered about getting rid of the tapes. There would be nothing to help lead him to Ollie and Garrett is dead. The fate of poor Molly and Garrett's dreadful secret died with him..apart from Vincent's knowledge which he daren't share because of his own involvement.
That was what I thought when I saw it. That he had 53 child porn tapes hidden on his boat. Which while incredibly disturbing seems more believable than him having personally murdered and disposed of 53 children. That's what some people on here seem to be implying though?
He might not have personally murdered/raped all those children (I think he was telling the truth when he said he hadn't touched Ollie) but due to his wealth (and the influence that surely comes with it), I believe he had some involvement in all of the 53, even if it was only paying the abductors.
I agree. It could be that they are all tapes involving the abuse of Molly, perhaps over several years. The final one, left in the recorder, was when Garrett ended up killing her.
Perhaps Vincent had been abused by Garrett, until he grew older and was no longer of interest, and then he was forced to film the action.
I had thought Garrett must be part of a paedophile ring operating in the town, but perhaps he acted alone. This would maybe explain why Tony is not too bothered about getting rid of the tapes. There would be nothing to help lead him to Ollie and Garrett is dead. The fate of poor Molly and Garrett's dreadful secret died with him..apart from Vincent's knowledge which he daren't share because of his own involvement.
Garrett got a CEO of a top cancer charity and a teacher at Lille University to give Bourg an alibi. The alibi seems to just be taken at face value as well. If Police had pressed Bourg it would have fallen apart quickly. Garett was great friends with Mayor. Strikes we he was no lone wolf.
Garrett got a CEO of a top cancer charity and a teacher at Lille University to give Bourg an alibi. The alibi seems to just be taken at face value as well. If Police had pressed Bourg it would have fallen apart quickly. Garett was great friends with Mayor. Strikes we he was no lone wolf.
Agreed, the ease in which he found an appafently respectable couple to give an alibi for Bourg was very strange. But something appears to have satisfied Tony that pursuing that line of inquiry will lead nowhere. We are led to believe that Tony has been obsessed with finding his son for the past eight years, but he appears to have dismissed the idea that Garrett, Bourg or the Mayor were involved.
There's also something a poster mentioned earlier. Garrett appeared resigned to his fate, it really looked as if he was almost asking to be killed. Perhaps the story he told Tony about the dog referred to himself, he needed to be put down. He was a complex character, that's what made him so riveting to watch. Ken Stott managed to brilliantly convey that beneath all the evil there was still a spark of decency struggling to get out. I think he told the truth about having nothing to do with Ollie's disappearance.
Terrific stuff, I'm hooked. If you sell the film rights, who's going to play Joe Stone ?
Glad you liked it. It's dark so maybe Ben Whishaw?
Back on topic, I'm struggling to empathise with someone as violent as Tony and I agree that Ian knew which buttons to press knowing they would lead to Tony killing him in a red mist of anger.
Ken Stott has always been a favourite of mine. Such efficient acting.
I'm pretty sure it's the latter. As he said. There's 53 of them i.e tapes, not children. Can you imagine the kind of furore and police hunt that would involve 53 children?
That was what I thought when I saw it. That he had 53 child porn tapes hidden on his boat. Which while incredibly disturbing seems more believable than him having personally murdered and disposed of 53 children. That's what some people on here seem to be implying though?
It's funny I thought just the opposite, the way he knew the number and the way he said it made me think he had personal involvement in all of them. Also he actually had tapes and one in the camcorder as if he had actually done the recording as opposed to downloading from the internet. That's what so gripping about The Missing we all see the same programme and see different things and have different ideas.
I fear the plot might be starting to strain now. Given some of the things that the journalist and the French detective have said in the present day it seems that Tony and Emily are going to cover up Garrett's death, but there's no way in hell Tony could believe that Garrett wasn't involved in Oliver's disappearance now. In his mind covering it up should be akin to throwing away any hope of finding out what happened to his son.
I fear the plot might be starting to strain now. Given some of the things that the journalist and the French detective have said in the present day it seems that Tony and Emily are going to cover up Garrett's death, but there's no way in hell Tony could believe that Garrett wasn't involved in Oliver's disappearance now. In his mind covering it up should be akin to throwing away any hope of finding out what happened to his son.
My guess is that Tony was finally convinced that Garrett was not involved. When Garrett told him he had nothing to do with Ollie's disappearance when Tony was threatening him he finally believed him. Otherwise killing him would have been an extremely stupid thing to do if he wanted to stand a chance of ever finding his son, let alone being charged for murder if discovered at some future stage.
My guess is that Tony was finally convinced that Garrett was not involved. When Garrett told him he had nothing to do with Ollie's disappearance Tony finally believed him. Otherwise killing him would have been an extremely stupid thing to do if he wanted to stand a chance of ever finding his son, let alone being charged for murder if discovered at some future stage.
Well killing him was a stupid thing to do in any case, it was based on rage not rational thinking. I find that believable of course. But after having your suspicions about Garrett finally confirmed and coming face to face with the extent of the sick things he has done, I just don't see how anyone in Tony's position could believe Garrett when he says he didn't do it.
There's been many posts wishing for a happy ending but in this type of situation that can never be. I assume that they mean that Olie will be found alive. OK maybe Olie will be found but he will have lived twice as long with his new 'parents' as he did with his real ones. He may not even have much memory of Tony and Emily. He will be taken away from people he could be very attached to for the second time in his short life. Hardly a happy ending.
I really am loving this series. Initially hesitant due to not being a Nesbit fan but have to admit he is doing a good job.
Regarding the dream sequence; how can anyone not see what a wonderful and well executed twist it was? Loved the way it was done so seamlessly drifting from the boat in the ocean to the bedroom in the care home. A beautiful way of showing the blissful confusion in the mind of a sick woman.
Anyone feeling cheated by the 'dream' really should give up and watch the zelebs in the jungle - probably more suited to you.
I am enjoying this, but not on the level of "The Killing", "Broadchurch" or a few others. Not liking the acting of either parent, or liking their characters much. It feels overacted to me. But I am curious to see how they end this thing.
I'm finding The Missing far more compelling than Broadchurch. The KIlling was compelling too, but in a more detached way.
Regarding the acting, there's been a fair amount of criticism on this thread about Frances O'Connor's lack of emotion, but I find her portrayal of buried just below the surface grief. thoroughly convincing, as is James Nesbitt's haunted desperation.
Comments
The picture of the girl was the one Garrett was talking to Tony about.
The picture of the boy appears later.
As Tony's assault on him was a tad extreme for just a 'kiss' and as others have mentioned could Oliver be Gregs and not Tonys son. Or speculation here, Emily falling pregnant by Greg then getting rid either before Oliver was born or after.
Greg then follows the family and takes Oliver as his own son or in retaliation for Emily getting rid of his own baby.
Would explain Emilys dad mistaking Marks son for Oliver at the hospice - might have seen 'Oliver' with Greg there at some time.
Realise a lot to discount this - Oliver not saying anything when taken, Greg suddenly having a 4 yr old son etc ..
Are we supposed to think that Garrett was personally involved in the abduction, abuse and murder of 53 children, or just that he had a large collection of sick video tapes?
Did Ian abduct / reach monetary agreement with Vincent's mother to take him as a replacement for Molly??
He then dressed a young Vincent as 'Molly' to continue his family set up :eek::eek::eek:
Would then explain Vincent's future 'problems'.
Would also explain the comment Mary made while on the boat to Ian re their daughter and that poor boy, meaning Vincent.
This is what I felt too however, it did occur to me that Tony could have possibly coerced Ollie into going swimming. Tony said that he would be able to go swimming tomorrow after hearing the car was fixed and Ollie was adamant he wanted to go swimming now. Any parent would know not to say the word that is going to get that reaction :cool:
If that is the case then it will just be a tool to make the drama look clever whilst actually not having much depth at all. I sincerely do not believe this drama is that lacking.
Are all the children dead / murdered? One of them may have been Vincent after all.
I don't think all the children are dead.
I think Vincent is one of them.
I only just caught up with Ep 5 and I am gobsmacked. Jesus this is getting dark. Very dark.
The dream sequence (an old trick indeed) is one of the best I've ever seen.
Terrific stuff, I'm hooked. If you sell the film rights, who's going to play Joe Stone ?
I'm pretty sure it's the latter. As he said. There's 53 of them i.e tapes, not children. Can you imagine the kind of furore and police hunt that would involve 53 children?
The Missing although multi-layered, and a lot more complex than The Fall, by its very nature should only be a one-off series. Trying to get a second series out of it with Tony still searching for his son would just be absurd. But I think the ending of this series will not be a happy one so no doubt we'll get people moaning cop-out just because it didn't turn out the way they wanted it to.
That was what I thought when I saw it. That he had 53 child porn tapes hidden on his boat. Which while incredibly disturbing seems more believable than him having personally murdered and disposed of 53 children. That's what some people on here seem to be implying though?
The conclusion won't be a happy one to say the least, but I can't see it going any further.
I agree. It could be that they are all tapes involving the abuse of Molly, perhaps over several years. The final one, left in the recorder, was when Garrett ended up killing her.
Perhaps Vincent had been abused by Garrett, until he grew older and was no longer of interest, and then he was forced to film the action.
I had thought Garrett must be part of a paedophile ring operating in the town, but perhaps he acted alone. This would maybe explain why Tony is not too bothered about getting rid of the tapes. There would be nothing to help lead him to Ollie and Garrett is dead. The fate of poor Molly and Garrett's dreadful secret died with him..apart from Vincent's knowledge which he daren't share because of his own involvement.
He might not have personally murdered/raped all those children (I think he was telling the truth when he said he hadn't touched Ollie) but due to his wealth (and the influence that surely comes with it), I believe he had some involvement in all of the 53, even if it was only paying the abductors.
Garrett got a CEO of a top cancer charity and a teacher at Lille University to give Bourg an alibi. The alibi seems to just be taken at face value as well. If Police had pressed Bourg it would have fallen apart quickly. Garett was great friends with Mayor. Strikes we he was no lone wolf.
I may be rushing ahead too far here but I have little hope of a happy ending for Tony. Which is looking quite slim as it stands anyway.
Agreed, the ease in which he found an appafently respectable couple to give an alibi for Bourg was very strange. But something appears to have satisfied Tony that pursuing that line of inquiry will lead nowhere. We are led to believe that Tony has been obsessed with finding his son for the past eight years, but he appears to have dismissed the idea that Garrett, Bourg or the Mayor were involved.
There's also something a poster mentioned earlier. Garrett appeared resigned to his fate, it really looked as if he was almost asking to be killed. Perhaps the story he told Tony about the dog referred to himself, he needed to be put down. He was a complex character, that's what made him so riveting to watch. Ken Stott managed to brilliantly convey that beneath all the evil there was still a spark of decency struggling to get out. I think he told the truth about having nothing to do with Ollie's disappearance.
But I'm actually wondering whether not knowing would be more realistic...
Glad you liked it. It's dark so maybe Ben Whishaw?
Back on topic, I'm struggling to empathise with someone as violent as Tony and I agree that Ian knew which buttons to press knowing they would lead to Tony killing him in a red mist of anger.
Ken Stott has always been a favourite of mine. Such efficient acting.
It's funny I thought just the opposite, the way he knew the number and the way he said it made me think he had personal involvement in all of them. Also he actually had tapes and one in the camcorder as if he had actually done the recording as opposed to downloading from the internet. That's what so gripping about The Missing we all see the same programme and see different things and have different ideas.
Well killing him was a stupid thing to do in any case, it was based on rage not rational thinking. I find that believable of course. But after having your suspicions about Garrett finally confirmed and coming face to face with the extent of the sick things he has done, I just don't see how anyone in Tony's position could believe Garrett when he says he didn't do it.
I really am loving this series. Initially hesitant due to not being a Nesbit fan but have to admit he is doing a good job.
Regarding the dream sequence; how can anyone not see what a wonderful and well executed twist it was? Loved the way it was done so seamlessly drifting from the boat in the ocean to the bedroom in the care home. A beautiful way of showing the blissful confusion in the mind of a sick woman.
Anyone feeling cheated by the 'dream' really should give up and watch the zelebs in the jungle - probably more suited to you.
I'm finding The Missing far more compelling than Broadchurch. The KIlling was compelling too, but in a more detached way.
Regarding the acting, there's been a fair amount of criticism on this thread about Frances O'Connor's lack of emotion, but I find her portrayal of buried just below the surface grief. thoroughly convincing, as is James Nesbitt's haunted desperation.
And I'm loving Tcheky Kario :cool: