The third episode of The Lost Flowers Of Alice Hart put us a bit at ease, not only because of the positive result at the end of it but also because of the clarification of a few things that lent some dignity to the characters. While the eerie tone has remained consistent, we are ready for some more action to happen, and here is the recap of the episode.
Spoilers Alert
How Does Alice React To The Truth About Agnes?
First off, we got some important clarifications in this episode regarding the dubious state of the past that had been cast into a suspicious light in episode 2. As Sally is talking to John, we understand that her affair with Clen was a fling that ended when she came to know that he was married. Sally met John soon after, and she came to know that she was pregnant. Sally says that she did not think the child was Clen’s and honestly believed it to be John’s. But when, years later, Gemma fell sick, and neither of her parents’ samples matched her for surgery, Sally started connecting the dots that Clen might be the father and wrote to him about it. When she didn’t get a response, she met him, and that was the day she saw Alice.
The reason Sally seems to be so attached to the girl is that she reminds her of Gemma, and the reason Agnes trusted Sally is that she understands this after she heard Sally talking to Clen that day and subsequently sees how kind she is to Alice. Since Clen did not help Gemma, the little girl passed away, and it seems like that is when sense was knocked into his head. He made that wood carving of Gemma and sent it to Sally, which she had trouble accepting for a while. But it was a beautiful likeness of her daughter, and as we have seen before, Clen has a gift with wood carvings that makes them seem like real people coming to life. Basically, Clen was an idiot, and Sally never betrayed her husband. Right now, she is just a hurting mother who needs to fill the Gemma-shaped hole in her life. As for John, he decides to separate from her, unable to stomach the lie.
Back on the farm, Alice is angry with her grandmother and tries to run away, as most kids do during their tantrums, but is simply found in a different room. June decides to tell Alice some of the truth until the girl gets better. Contrary to what we thought, Agnes did not come to Thornfield after escaping from an abusive marriage. She went there when her parents passed away in a car accident, and she grew up on the farm. After she and Clem fell in love and got married, they left the place. June promises to give Alice more answers once she starts speaking.
While all this is fine, there is one revelation that we can only describe as “yucky.” Candy and Clem grew up as siblings, but maybe they were more deeply involved than that. The cuts on their hands were made by Clem, saying that this was how they were connected. We are curious whether Clem and Candy were together even when he was with Agnes. He certainly seemed to have a way with words, which he gladly used to his benefit.
In the meantime, Alice explores the place, and it is almost as if she can sense her mother’s presence around the place. June shows her how they harvest the honey from the bees, and though she calls it medicine, Alice is going to grow up and use it for skincare (just one joke in a rather sentimental article).
That day, another woman comes to the farm with her baby, seeking refuge. Alice sees the marks on her neck that tell her what must have happened to her. But when Alice is talking to Twig, and she comes to know that her brother has likely passed away and June has planted a tree in his memory, Alice breaks down. She had been attached to her baby brother in her mother’s womb, and the news of his passing hit her hard.
Elsewhere, Sally is scrambling to be a part of Alice’s life in some way. She files for visiting rights if she can’t get custody, and June chooses to ignore it. She doesn’t want Sally to be involved with Alice in any shape or form, and the reason for it is not some pettiness but a legitimate fear for the safety of the place. Sally comes to her town to meet her, and when she is at the diner, Oggy’s mother, who was once a flower, tells her that the place is closed. Yet, Sally decides to go to the field, and June lets her in and tells her the truth about Thornfield. She also tells her how her meddling with the legal process puts all the women in danger. While Sally realizes the situation, she wonders whether this is a good environment for a child to grow up in, and it also remains that she herself wants access to Alice in some shape or form, but June tells her to get over it. On her way back, Sally breaks down on the phone with John, and he asks her to come back to start their relationship afresh.
Does Alice Get Her Voice Back?
Alice had grown quite attached to Dina and her baby. It could be because the child reminded her of what her brother could have been, or maybe because she saw the woman get the care and protection that were denied to her own mother. This is why, when she finds that the woman has left and gone back to the man, she breaks down and lets out a loud scream. The frustration of the situation opens up her voice. Oggy is the first one to hear it when he brings her a drink that he says adults love but which Alice ends up hating.
Back at home, June gets the news that Agnes’ son has survived and can come back home. June doesn’t take the news well, and when she sees the vision of a young Clen in front of her eyes, we know that she fears the men of the Hart family. While she had told Alice and the others a fairy tale of how she had fallen in love with a Robin Hood-like robber, there must have been someone else who she thinks is responsible for Clen turning out the way he did.
At the end of episode 3 of The Lost Flowers Of Alice Hart, Alice starts asking June the questions that she has always wanted to know about. June lets her know that Clem left the farm when June told him that only women could inherit the place. That is because the farm was a refuge, but Clem did not like that idea, so he left with Agnes. He only contacted his mother once again when Alice was born, and he sent a carving of her as a baby to June. June did not know that Clem had turned into an abusive man, and she had no way of contacting Agnes or rescuing her. While this explanation is enough for Alice for now, there is more to the story that June promises Twig to tell Alice later. As the episode closes, we see June making a call to John Morgan, likely to discuss Agnes’ child.
Final Thoughts
Until we know what actually went down in the past, each episode is going to be full of eerie visuals that we will struggle to make sense of. We can also consider this to be the end of the first chapter of the story, with the next one likely to begin with a grown-up Alice and her journey. The Lost Flowers Of Alice Hart is doing a good job of frustrating us with the questions. As long as that is kept up, we will be looking forward to what’s next.
