Desert Oak – As this episode of The Lost Flowers Of Alice Hart begins, Alice Hart (Alycia Debnam-Carey) talks to a worker at a park. Alice makes it clear that she doesn’t have any of her documents because she wasn’t planning on getting a job. She also tells Sarah (Catherine McClements) that she doesn’t have references. Sarah realizes that Alice knows her stuff. Plus, Lulu and Dylan have put in good words for her. Sarah wants to get her a uniform. Candy (Frankie Adams) asks Twig (Leah Purcell) if they should wait to say goodbye.
Twig can’t bear the idea of Alice being out there another minute still blaming herself for Charlie’s death when he’s alive. There is so much Alice needs to be told and Twig believes they both need to get away from there. They’ll meet Charlie before going to get Alice. June Hart (Sigourney Weaver) is told that her cancer has spread so her options are limited. They do have an experimental drug trial though. June doesn’t want any treatment. Ruby (Shareena Clanton) tells Alice about the stories they tell to keep their culture and knowledge strong. Alice has a responsibility to protect the story of this place and this country as a ranger.
Part of her job is to stop people from getting into the heart garden. Ruby thinks they’re getting sick with all the people coming there, but Alice says they’re vulnerable to root rot. She learned that from her grandmother. June makes it home where she learns that some men are doing repairs. Alice speaks to Lulu (Vivienne Awosoga) about having a house of her own when she has never lived alone before. Lulu reminds her that she isn’t alone because she and Aiden live nearby. Dylan lives in the house over the ridge. Lulu suspects Alice has a thing for him. Alice admits she ended it with Moss because they didn’t have that thing together.
At home, June tells the others that the doctors think they got it all so she won’t any further treatment. They don’t have any news on Alice although Twig should be there by now with Charlie. In private, June reminds Candy that they don’t discuss family matters in front of the flowers. Candy doesn’t know why because Charlie isn’t a secret anymore. She urges June to get some rest. Twig visits Sally (Asher Keddie) and John Morgan (Alexander England). She is introduced to Charlie (Jeremy Blewitt). In the morning, Alice introduces Dylan (Sebastian Zurita) to her dog named Pip. They walk together briefly before going in separate directions.
Charlie has letters he believes Alice wrote, but Twig says she didn’t write any of them. Instead, they were written by June. Alice was told he died in the fire that killed his parents. Twig believes June would claim she said that to try to protect Alice. Charlie learns that Alice has no idea about him. Ruby tells Alice how people take things despite the signs. Then, they send apology letters because they know they shouldn’t have taken them. Later, they hang out in the water and Alice keeps an eye on Dylan. When he asks Alice about her scar, she says she was in a car accident when she was nine. Her grandma was driving drunk and ended up dying.
Candy finally finds June after looking for her everywhere. She sees that June has been looking at pictures of Charlie, but June doesn’t want her to see them. Candy spokes to June’s doctors so she knows she is dying. She tells June to stop treating her like a child. Candy is all June has left because everyone else is gone. June doesn’t look at Candy because she doesn’t know what this is. She knows about Candy sneaking around and having sex with strangers. Candy remembers Clem chasing her around the greenhouse. Candy removes the makeup from her face before asking June if she can look at her now.
Candy doubts she is enough since she hasn’t been after what happened. She accuses June of replacing her with Agnes. Candy knows what happened was messed up, but she insists she loved him. What screwed them was the lies and not talking about it. June remembers catching Clem having sex with June. Clem tells June that he loves her and would never hurt her. June reminds him that she is 13. She accuses Clem of raping Candy. Lulu shows up at Alice’s house with a housewarming gift. Dylan shows up moments later. While sitting down, Dylan touches Alice’s leg. He tells Alice he thinks he has been away for seven and a half years.
Everywhere feels special to Alice because she hasn’t traveled much. Lulu tells her about a gorge that is about a day’s drive away. Dylan and Alice end up having sex later. Twig tells Sally she has done a great job with Charlie. She thinks he is better off being raised there. Sally reveals that June has paid for everything. She confirms that Charlie has always known everything from the start. When he was 14, they let him read the coroner’s report so he could understand the truth. Sally asks Twig if she read the report findings. June welcomes Agnes (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) to Thornfield. June says her mother was a good friend.
June shows her something Clem made and gives her a gift. In the present, June tells Candy that Agnes never replaced her. Instead, she did it to keep Clem away from her. Candy was just a child while Agnes was older and needed love. June confesses that she encouraged it to protect Candy. Alice goes out for a drink with Dylan. She tells Lulu that she feels like she is avoiding them. Lulu has never seen him out in public with a girl before. She urges Alice to be careful because Dylan can be a lot. John tells Twig they think she is at Agnes Bluff because that is where she last used her credit card. Twig promises to tell Alice all about Charlie.
Dylan decides to take Alice somewhere special. They lay together and look at the sky. Dylan gets upset when she asks whether he brought Lulu there. She tries to calm him down, but Dylan leaves her alone. Dylan comes back later and asks if there is any food left. Later, Candy tells June that Twig found Alice who is in Agnes Bluff. June tells her to dye her hair back because she misses Candy Blue. Dylan confesses to bringing Lulu there although they were never a thing. He has never felt like this about someone. Alice tells him that she used to dream about setting her dad on fire when she was little. One day, she did. He used to hurt Alice and her mom.
Alice stole the kerosene. Everything went up in flames and they died. Dylan tells her it is okay because she was just a kid. He says there is no crappy past because it is just them now. Dylan says they’re the same.
The Lost Flowers Of Alice Hart Review
The core story of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is gripping and sometimes emotionally devastating. When the series is at its best, it is moody enough for viewers to experience what the characters are. Unfortunately, the story has moved at a snail’s pace through five episodes and this one was particularly tedious.
Truthfully, the episode did so little to move the story forward and many of the scenes were filler. The most impactful story is Alice’s tumultuous childhood, but that has become a footnote in the last few episodes. June isn’t always likeable while Candy’s story is only marginally interesting. Again, the series is at its best when it explores Alice’s trauma but it has only done that halfheartedly.
Besides setting up Alice with Dylan, nearly everything that happened in this episode could’ve been covered so much faster. Twig could’ve already made contact with Alice in Agnes Bluff and the story could’ve progressed at a more effective pace. Once Alice learns about Charlie, she is probably going to leave Dylan and this whole episode will be for naught.
At this point, the series could’ve been cut in half and viewers wouldn’t have missed anything. Instead, it would’ve been harder-hitting and more emotional. This episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of The Lost Flowers Of Alice Hart can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.
