The Missing

Yes, two left.

Dec 3, 2014 -- 3:54PM, Makybe_Diva wrote:

I have just watched last night's missing.Great episode.

agreed

did n't we see the Moroccan cop discover something and pick it up just after he smashed phone when at the crime scene in one of the earlier episodes?

  The CCDA's reputation plumbs new depths!

Great crime last nite, Sarge.  Yeah, triffic!

2.  He looked like a man wearing a balaclava.
3.  It looked the same as the one worn by the Moroccan. (probably available from Challons du Bois, Army Surplus Store)
4.  The envelope handed in by the journalist was a half or inch thick, the other envelope just contained something small in the bottom.
5.  English cop - he is always there in the background.  Not convinced he is a copper at all.  Spent the first few days of the case wearing a pyjama top.
6.  Le Judge defo involved.

A couple of observations.

1.  If you bury a shirt in concrete, it won't come out loose in one piece
2.  That dark hair on Emily doesn't suit her at all.
3.   I am starting an Ian Garrett is innocent campaign.
4.  What was the embargo about?  What could or couldn't be done before or after?  And by whom?
5.  Bound to be a shedload of forensic evidence on the boat relating to Nesbitt.  At the very least, fingerprints.  He should have set it alight.

how many shirts have you buried in concrete jack? 

oh, err….umm..

got to be a bit like sh1t to a blanket though hasn't it….

…….not that I have ever sh@t in a blanket….either…

oh, dear...

bigH

lots of loose ends, red herrings, deceit, skullduggery.

I think the hotel owners wife knows what happened

hotel owner/garrett/le judge in the frame

lots of loose ends, red herrings, deceit, skullduggery.



Imitating real life.

was that coin in the envelope the same thing that the hotel owners wife gave to Nesbitt to remind him of his son?

who arranged the silencing of Zian??

Frankie Fraser.

Ozy's theory just gone odds on.

Wish they would be consistent when titling the year.  It is difficult to keep track.  Sometimes they say and other times not.  Have to keep remembering…

Nesbitt.  Dyed hair 2006.  Grey haired tramp present day.
Emily.  Long light hair 2006.  Dark hair present day
Baptiste.  Short hair, normal gait 2006.  Limpy beard present day.
Liaison officer.  Miserably concerned 2006.  Sickeningly attentive present day.

Now they chuck 2009 into the mix.  (Excellent twist btw)  Emily shorter hair.  If it wasn't for changing hair styles I dont think I would have a clue.

When they all four of them rocked up at the prison and neatly sat down, I said to Mrs H, 'He's dead'

bigH
     09 Dec 14 22:10

was that coin in the envelope the same thing that the hotel owners wife gave to Nesbitt to remind him of his son?

who arranged the silencing of Zian??


There seemed to be a lot of focus on other cons earwigging that he was talking to Plod and then going to spill the beans if and when he saw his son. Could be they just didn't like a grass (but I bet there's some high powered corrupt official - like a mayor running for re-election say - who is pulling the strings here!)

I wonder if the McCanns are watching?

Was good last night.

I wasn't sure this would keep our interest over 8 episodes but it seems to have succeeded in doing so.

Brilliant series imo, they've now even managed to work journalist phone hacking into it, a superb reflection of the way things really work... although the slimy malik's evidence is only hearsay, so for tony hughes to confess to the killing of rebus would be a huge mistake

What a wonderful series, delighted to see it being nominated for a Golden Globe this week.

Had Alain the hotel owner down as the prime suspect prior to this week’s episode.  And lo and behold the coin turns up putting him firmly in the frame.  However, this week, given that he featured on a number of occasions acting in an overly furtive manner, we may have jumped the gun slightly where he is concerned.

* I trust the CCDA glitterati noticed the song played over the closing credits was ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ which suggests that the Hotel might be central to the solution.

* The fact that the TV in Room 7 has not been working for 8 years is highly suspicious.   Perhaps it is more a recording/filming device than a television?

* Baptiste tinkering with bee keeping is a repeated analogy and highly suggestive.  I suspect it may be all about the Queen Bee…..Sylvie rather than Alain????

* Is the fact that the hotel is named the Hotel d’Eden significant?  Was it not in the Garden of Eden that all innocence was lost? And was it not the female that lured the male into eating the forbidden fruit? All of which ties in nicely with the Queen Bee theory.

* Clearly there are other female characters that could fit the role.  A daughter of Sylive has been mentioned, not seen, unless she was the street painter in Paris that Nesbitt slept with.  She had rather arresting art work focused on children.

Anther lingering theory since the very beginning is that Olly was mistakenly taken and that Marks  (English Police liason offer) son James was the intended target.

Good work, Ozy.

I just hope the perpetrator isn't a character that we are only introduced to in part 8.

nah, it wont be.  The writers have said something along the lines of it being tied back to Ep 1.  Plus it will be resolved so no Series 2 (relating to this crime at least)

Big pressure on the ending..so many well-liked series have disappointed of late in this respect, in many ways it's the most difficult part to get right..  How do you play it as a writer...happy/sad/credible/shocking/controversial...?

If they had any belief in the series being successful, an ending that would allow for The Missing 2!

I would be settle for  'credible'.  In fact, if it weren't, I would be gutted.

What I really want is a 'fool's denouement' with explanatory flashbacks.

Decent summary f the various theories from the Mail with a list of the runners and riders. 14 suspects in the frame!


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2872459/Whodunit-Missing-prepares-thrilling-climax-CHRISTOPHER-STEVENS-turns-detective-try-bottom-smash-hit-kidnap-TV-series-gripped-nation.html

Cheers Ozy - thats a good primer for the final episode.

Hills have genuine odds up ow on their site;

Selection    Odds
5/2
Georges Deloix
11/4
Ian Garrett
3/1
Alain Deloix
5/1
Karl Sieg
10/1
Khalid Zane
10/1
Vincent Bourg
11/1
Slyvie Deloix
12/1
Greg Halpern
12/1
Laurence Relaud
12/1
Malik Suri
12/1
Mark Walsh
14/1
Tony Hughes
25/1
Julien Baptiste
33/1
Emily Hughes


Dead heat rules apply if multiple abductors!

I need new glasses, I thought the last one said Emlyn Hughes

Crazy scenes round the country at William Hill offices.

Alain Deloix and Mark Walsh being smashed into.

More money for Mark this morning with Alain still the jolly.  Can't see Alain has capable of working alone so you would be in a dead heat suituation.

No interest in Queen Bee, Sylvie.

Settlement of bets may be interesting.

Phrasing used is who 'kidnapped' and multiple 'abductors'.

So it would be the person or person/s who took physically took the child away rather than any mastermind/s behind the idea??

Interesting to know others views on the images in the title sequences.  Some of it appears to be through the eyes of a child (Oliver?).  Towards the end of the sequence they appear to go into a wooded area.  I wonder if there are some clues in there.

Agreed, Jack, settlement could be interesting.

Re the woods, we are in 'Chalons du Bois' and the bois have yet to feature.  And guess what the latin word for Forest is, Jack?  Silva/Silvia/Sylvia

Re the opening titles, I see flashes of yellow.  I fact every where I turn I see bee imagery.  Look at the inside of Ollie's hood when he goes missing (yellow and black hoops), look at the colour of the football in the pool before he goes missing (yellow and black), the scarf etc etc.

Analysis paralysis has set in, I need a denouement.

Agreed, Jack, settlement could be interesting.

Re the woods, we are in 'Chalons du Bois' and the bois have yet to feature.  And guess what the latin word for Forest is, Jack?  Silva/Silvia/Sylvia

Re the opening titles, I see flashes of yellow.  I fact every where I turn I see bee imagery.  Look at the inside of Ollie's hood when he goes missing (yellow and black hoops), look at the colour of the football in the pool before he goes missing (yellow and black), the scarf etc etc.

Analysis paralysis has set in, I need a denouement.


Late market springer!

The Wasps Rugby Union Football Team - 10/1 and shortening!

Market only wants to know about one man, Mark.  Unless Hills are pulling a fast one!

I had the same thought about the bois.

In the opening sequence there are views from the back seat of a car looking upwards.  An apparent reflection of a man in the windows of a multi-storey building.  A yellow rubber ring in a swimming pool.  A view down at someones feet underwater in a pool.  Back of Oliver in crowd.  Drinks at bar.  A hand against the sun (twice?).  A car in traffic (possibly viewed from back seat).  Then a fairly remote location and trees overhead.  All split second images.

So much goes on in each episode.  We have watched everyone twice and last night watched the 7th for a third time and still noticed new 'stuff'.

Wondered if there was a theme about drinking and smoking also.  Drink - Tony, Alain (alcoholic/token?)  Baptiste, Alain, Malik smoking.

Lots of yellow.  Not so much red.  Apart from the herrings.

Was there ever a market on here for this?

To be honest it could be one of several people, as they filmed multiple endings its all down to which one they choose, the producer could have got out of bed the wrong way the morning he made a decision & changed his mind, imo the way the story has developed any theory is possible, I do hope its not the usual disappointing end to another good drama series.

Ozymandius   
16 Dec 14 11:34 
Market only wants to know about one man, Mark.  Unless Hills are pulling a fast one!

The BBC have said that they have filmed several endings, so that the real answer can't be leaked.

Whoever started the plunge on Mark may have it wrong.

note to self

read the post before yours before you post it.

I have told you NEWEST POSTS FIRST

Emily into 5/1

standard practice to film several endings in such shows, doesn't mean it cannot be leaked.

Interesting thing about Emily is that she is the one who got the Golden Globe nod.  Perhaps she gives a tour de force performance tonight?

MArket now up on Sportsbook...Emily 25s here versus 5s at Hills.   Max bet allowed zero for me.

Max £1.  Ta Ozy

pumphol.   
16 Dec 14 15:50 
I have told you NEWEST POSTS FIRST

Do you read yous newspapers and books from thde bottom of the page upwards?

No but I don't want to scroll down & read stuff I have already seen either & that doesn't happen when what I want to read it at the top of the page

I reckon its 80% 20%  people read oldest posts first but I could be wrong it could be a lot closer than that

After espousing dozens of theories, I have now come down to the following;

Karl Sieg (in cahoots with Mark) was supposed to kidnap James (Mark's son) that night at the pool.  Reasons
unclear.  He made a mistake and grabbed Ollie.  Sieg later plants the coin evidence to muddy the trail.

The main reason I think Sieg is working with Mark is because he asks for 15K .,,which is exactly the amount saved by Emily for wedding to Mark.  Too much of a coincidence....Mark told him how much to ask for.

Also don't think Sieg would risk incriminating the Romanian gang for 15K...he wanted to get the coin back into play.  Also left the drawing in a moment of weakness, a monument to the fact that Ollie was killed when they realised he wasn't James.

My Queen Bee theory is purer but farther fetched.

How would Sieg know Alain had these coins? And how would he have got hold of one?

Good questions!

Roger if you look at 44.32 here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M25vw-06uzY 

you can see the coin in the basement during the flashback of Siegs cleaning.  It is on top of a blue coat.

So that is how he got the coin.

After that, speculation...who's is it?  Not nexcessarily Alains, though probably.  Suggest he was in the basement, or coin left there deliberately with instructions for Sieg to plant it in the drain.

Very well thought out Ozy.
My mrs has blamed someone different each episode

Poor finish imo.

All explained in the first 15 minutes and no final twist.

Another CCDA fail clocked up.

Not too disappointed with that.  As ever all about the journey rather than the destination.

A powerful, sad last epsode, a simple solution.  The big clue turned out to be Ollie liked foxes

Hills haven't settled yet, will they go 50/50 Alain/George or just Alain?

1.01 he's not dead.

Enjoyed this series but I'm not reading all the way through this thread to solve my remaining query.

Is Ian Garrett dead or not?  Tony Hughes supposedly buried him at sea in 2006 after kicking the living carp out of him beforehand(?), but didn't we see Garrett and a woman who I assume was his wife in the Indian Ocean in 2008/09, being visited by Vincent Bourg ???

Anyone???

I think he is dead.  So much blood, George saw him, guessing he looked dead then.

Tony drew that figure on the window in Russia.

The Missing 2 will be a completely new case imo.

Alun, Garret is dead, the scene on the Indian ocean was his senile wife imagining things.

Blimey, that certainly fooled me then. Did everyone else figure that out?

yes, it's covered earlier in the thread

Cheers all. I'll get me coat.

I guess we'll never know but I don't buy that the Romanian would have killed him just because he saw his face when he could have faked the death and then sold him on through their criminal networks. Especially as the guy at the top of the investigation believes he is dead and is himself implicated there is little chance of the boy ever being found so there is no reason to kill him.

we don't know for sure Jack, but for me the blood tilts it towards ..dead.  Plus George saw the corpse..ok, he didn't check a pulse or anything.

It's very easy to fake the blood. They have left it open-ended so that the viewers can draw their own conclusions and it also provides them with a possible future narrative twist where he is discovered alive.

never give up

I don't think they are returning to this case.  The trailer clearly stated.... 'In a new case'.

The series was initially titled 'Breakdown', apt given the final scenes.

Good series - turns out it was all about Tony's descent into some kind of madness, with the 'whodunnit' as the hook to hang his story on.

Now though, it looks like we're going to get the Eurovision version of 'Lost' (which is not a good thing)

hey roger - your next post will be your 10,000th

The next series will be a new case but that doesn't mean that he can't be discovered alive at some point in future. The next series might uncover a paedo network Garrett was involved in for example. They chose not to conclude the story beyond all doubt by discovering the body. Considering the next series will feature a new case I see no reason why they would leave it open-ended unless there is a fair chance the boy is not dead.

Jack, secure the perimeter

https://twitter.com/oliverwpk/status/544988871315165184

A quote I liked on twitter;

the whole story indulged us in our own state of paedo-hysteria, whilst delivering an ending that is grounded in the simple reality that a child is hundreds of times more likely to be run over than be abducted by a nonce.

Observations and Questions

1.  University Challenge last night answer to the very first question…'Ozymandius'
2.  Opening sequences (again)….there was a fox, but it looked like a bigger mammal to us….snow on swing in opening sequence (Russia)..man reflected in multi stored building is Tony in Russia…I think…So the conclusion is that the opening sequences were images drawn fairly sequentially throughout the story…
3.  Vincent Bourg has got quite big ears.
4. Did police ever say they found the body of Garrett?  What happened to forensic investigation of crime scene with Tony's prints everywhere?
5.  Olivers body 20 yards in front of car.  Why?
6.  Alain's version of events is uncorroborated.
7.  Denoument score 7/10

BBC confirms The Missing will return for a second series.

New case, new cast, new location.

Lets hope they keep the same writers!

8.  Do we know Tony drew the snow?

Sorry if some obvious questions, and will watch again tonight.

Don't quite understand the Russia angle unless there are either some leads for such we haven't seen led him there or was it just to emphasise Tony's ever increasing madness that he ended up looking there for some reason?

Really powerful final episode. Nice how they could get us all wrapped up in conspiracies of this, that and the other and in the end it was a senseless, pointless death that could have easily been avoided.

5.  Olivers body 20 yards in front of car.  Why?

that's where it ended after after the car hit him

Big_Issue    Joined: 16 Jun 04
Replies: 2846 17 Dec 14 08:41 
Don't quite understand the Russia angle unless there are either some leads for such we haven't seen led him there or was it just to emphasise Tony's ever increasing madness that he ended up looking there for some reason?

That's the open endedness of it. George saw what he thought was Ollie but could have been someone else who was heavily bloodied or face partially covered and then Ollie was sold on.  The fact that he'd been harassing kids all over points to the mad angle but the boys reaction wasn't to shout for anyone or shut the door which leaves a chance that it was Ollie.

Any Russian speakers here?  Be interesting to know what the kid said after he handed him the drawing

5.  Olivers body 20 yards in front of car.  Why?

that's where it ended after after the car hit him

Pedestrians hit by cars usually go over the bonnet.  Even if he had been hit and somehow knocked forward, there is no way that he would have gone 20 yards in front of the car and even that doesn't allow for the car to subsequently brake and stop.

Any Russian speakers here?  Be interesting to know what the kid said after he handed him the drawing

yes, he intimated that he did not  understand

it is not feasible that the Russian boy is Olly. Would he really have forgotten how to speak English and also speak fluent Russian?

To be honest, I thought that the Russian scene was just Tony dreaming.

It was a good episode. The ending was ok.

I will miss having this to watch each week.

I've really enjoyed reading all your posts on this thread.

Broadchurch returns on January 5th. I'm looking forward to it.

Personally I liked the ending. Don't understand people saying it was 'open ended', the kid is dead and as the writers confirmed they wanted an ending with closure rather than having viewers guessing.

Thought the use of the Russian thing at the start was a nice little twist to keep people wondering.

Good series overall.

Russian scene was implausible for me, for a start you need a visa to travel there, I s'pose he might have got one, or entered illegally, but if he'd been hassling kids in all the places the cops mentioned at the end he'd have well outstayed his welcome, it's inconceivable that the Russians would n't have known who he was and why he was there from the media coverage of the case - they would've deported him surely.

Sylvie not finding out about Alain's involvement stretches credibility as well - even if there was a media blackout on Alain and Georges involvement by the French police - and why would there be? - a new version of Malik would've found out what happened and reported it.

I think Olly's dead - let's not forget that he was left alone in the house with the Romanian psychopath who slashed Rene's throat in a public place, he would have thought nothing of killing the kid on the basis that Ollie had seen his face and the fact that he was the murderer would also explain his attack on Rene.

I appreciate my first two paragraphs are a bit literal, really enjoyed the series but thought they could've found a different way to illustrate Tony's breakdown, his beard was n't very convincing either.

I hope it wins one or both of the Golden Globes it has nominations for - I though Nesbitt was excellent too, not normally a fan of his acting (smug is the default setting) but he grew on me in this.

Good post, Rease.

Pedestrians hit by cars usually go over the bonnet.  Even if he had been hit and somehow knocked forward, there is no way that he would have gone 20 yards in front of the car and even that doesn't allow for the car to subsequently brake and stop.

Don't know how that works with an 8 year old, but fair point - although it's irrelevant in terms of a conspiracy/plot twist imo

I appreciate my first two paragraphs are a bit literal, really enjoyed the series but thought they could've found a different way to illustrate Tony's breakdown, his beard was n't very convincing either.

the whole russian episode with snow, descent into madness and crap beard were all very reminiscent of the shining imo 

The facts are we don't know for certain that the boy was murdered as we did not see him being killed and a body has not been discovered. All we have is the word of the Romanian gangster who could easily have faked the death for his own benefit, after all the boy is a commodity that has value.

That is why it is open-ended. You can choose to believe the Romanian's claim that he killed him or you can have your doubts. The writers also have the option to return back to this plot at some future point. If we had seen the murder or a body had been discovered they would not have this option. The likelihood is that they will just leave it at that and this story is finished but they can decide to play it anyway they like.

From a practical pov, you don't traffic a kid that the whole world is looking for.  Much easier to source kids from the street or Eastern Eurpoean orphanage or wherever.  We have seen the guy split throats before, that ties in with the amount of blood at the scene.  There is no need to fake death for the Mayor's benefit, suffice to say the Romanian is calling the tune at that point.  They gang had come prepared to  deal with a dead body and that is what they did imo.

The ambiguity is there as a plot device so that we can contrast Emily and Tonys ability to accept the situation and move on, or not in Tony's case.  The viewers can choose from the two alernative perspectives, both are viable, given the fact we haven't actually seen the body.  Personally, I don't think we will be revisiting the story of Ollie Hughes in future series, though you never know!

Who did Hills and Betfair sports book pay out on?  Anyone know?

Ozymandius   
18 Dec 14 10:44 
From a practical pov, you don't traffic a kid that the whole world is looking for.

Bad news for the McCann girl then.

Betfair paid out on Alain only, WH paid out as a dead-heat between Alain and Georges.  Views?

Betfair paid out on Alain only, WH paid out as a dead-heat between Alain and Georges.  Views?

I dont know how Betfair phrased their market, but Hills were angling towards paying out on more than one when they stated 'multiple abductors'.

Alain & Georges seems a reasonable interpretation.  Anyone placing a bet knew that it might come down to bookmaker interpretation. 

Georges backers at Betfair can feel hard done by.  As for Alain's backers at Hills the consensus pre-denoument was that he didn't have the wherewithal to do it singlehandedly and that you would be subject to dead heat rules.  They could also have thrown Caid de Cite into the mix, I think they were priced up.

This thread was supposed to die as the OP is 'missing' and has been for some time.

Got a lot to live up to but a promising start. Begs the question why most tv dramas can't do production, direction and story telling this well.

BBC 1 now.

call me a taxi    07 Jan 15 12:27 
This thread was supposed to die as the OP is 'missing' and has been for some time.


Oh the irony !!!

Yep. Good start.Lots of time jumps again. Need to keep your wits about you.

Agreed, decent start. Like the jolt in the very last few seconds of the episode twisting it already.