Discussion
It was an unsatisfying ending.
The way Ollies death happened was a bit poor (granted it is open for debate what actually happened and if he is dead).
One thing I think they got across well throughout the series is was what it must be like to lose a child in that way - and the ultimate point was that without 100% answers Tony will keep on searching forever (and most likely go crazy as he has done).
Overall though - I would have expected a slightly stronger finish to justify the slowness.
The way Ollies death happened was a bit poor (granted it is open for debate what actually happened and if he is dead).
One thing I think they got across well throughout the series is was what it must be like to lose a child in that way - and the ultimate point was that without 100% answers Tony will keep on searching forever (and most likely go crazy as he has done).
Overall though - I would have expected a slightly stronger finish to justify the slowness.
Mojooo said:
It was an unsatisfying ending.
The way Ollies death happened was a bit poor (granted it is open for debate what actually happened and if he is dead).
One thing I think they got across well throughout the series is was what it must be like to lose a child in that way - and the ultimate point was that without 100% answers Tony will keep on searching forever (and most likely go crazy as he has done).
Overall though - I would have expected a slightly stronger finish to justify the slowness.
What sort of ending would have satisfied everyone??The way Ollies death happened was a bit poor (granted it is open for debate what actually happened and if he is dead).
One thing I think they got across well throughout the series is was what it must be like to lose a child in that way - and the ultimate point was that without 100% answers Tony will keep on searching forever (and most likely go crazy as he has done).
Overall though - I would have expected a slightly stronger finish to justify the slowness.
One where Oliver is alive somewhere?
One where the "Romanians" get their comeuppance and Oliver is given a decent burial??
I thought the ending reflected the utter desolation of what losing a child must be like - even though they now know whats happened to him they still have that huge void in their lives.
Edited by Marty Funkhouser on Wednesday 17th December 09:27
Agreed.
I enjoyed it very much. Far better than some recent shonky BBC dramas with appalling endings.
I think the ending reflected the doubt that the main characters, especially Tony would have had.
The Romanian guy killed Ollie, hence the extra blood on the floor, George saw the body.
The statement from Julien about Tony needing to move on otherwise it would consume his life summed this all up for me.
The sketch of the little boy in the ice was obviously done by Tony.
All in all I really enojyed it, the pace, the acting, and the ending.
Additions of side worries like Ian and Vincent Borg were very good. But ultimately had no bearing on the actual cause.
I enjoyed it very much. Far better than some recent shonky BBC dramas with appalling endings.
I think the ending reflected the doubt that the main characters, especially Tony would have had.
The Romanian guy killed Ollie, hence the extra blood on the floor, George saw the body.
The statement from Julien about Tony needing to move on otherwise it would consume his life summed this all up for me.
The sketch of the little boy in the ice was obviously done by Tony.
All in all I really enojyed it, the pace, the acting, and the ending.
Additions of side worries like Ian and Vincent Borg were very good. But ultimately had no bearing on the actual cause.
I thought it was a good ending, and reflected the fact that there really isn't a "good" ending in a lot of these cases - some people are permanently damaged and can't move on.
I'm also not sure what the people complaining about the ending would have preferred instead. Oliver still alive and happy families ever after ? Oliver dead at the hands of paedophiles ? Still alive and imprisoned by paedophiles ? As Baptiste said, the latter two are probably worse than what actually happened.
Dan_1981 said:
Agreed.
I enjoyed it very much. Far better than some recent shonky BBC dramas with appalling endings.
I think the ending reflected the doubt that the main characters, especially Tony would have had.
The Romanian guy killed Ollie, hence the extra blood on the floor, George saw the body.
The statement from Julien about Tony needing to move on otherwise it would consume his life summed this all up for me.
The sketch of the little boy in the ice was obviously done by Tony.
All in all I really enojyed it, the pace, the acting, and the ending.
Additions of side worries like Ian and Vincent Borg were very good. But ultimately had no bearing on the actual cause.
Indeed, Garrett and Bourg and the whole paedophile theme was to throw us off the scent.I enjoyed it very much. Far better than some recent shonky BBC dramas with appalling endings.
I think the ending reflected the doubt that the main characters, especially Tony would have had.
The Romanian guy killed Ollie, hence the extra blood on the floor, George saw the body.
The statement from Julien about Tony needing to move on otherwise it would consume his life summed this all up for me.
The sketch of the little boy in the ice was obviously done by Tony.
All in all I really enojyed it, the pace, the acting, and the ending.
Additions of side worries like Ian and Vincent Borg were very good. But ultimately had no bearing on the actual cause.
I thought it was excellent. I am glad they stuck with a more realistic concept of Oliver being killed, rather than a cop-out happy ending. Not sure what sort of death the poster above wanted to make it less disappointing?
The ending was brilliant - perfectly portraying the sheer devastation and bleakness of Tony's life.
Evil Jack said:
I think the point of the ending was to leave the audience in the same position as Tony (& his wife).
We've been given an answer. We can choose to leave it there or carry on looking for more answers....
Desperately depressing, but there it is.
Agreed. Tony has all the closure he's ever going to get - far more than most parents in his situation will ever have. Why should we, the audience, be entitled to more?We've been given an answer. We can choose to leave it there or carry on looking for more answers....
Desperately depressing, but there it is.
Most of the characters accept the truth and move on as best they can. Tony can't, and is destroyed by his grief and doubts, and ends up wandering around Eastern Europe, drawing matchstick men in the snow and bothering children who look vaguely like Ollie. We have to have that little scintilla of doubt ourselves if we're to understand what's driving him to that.
I thought it was generally satisfying - desperately sad as you say, but anyone who was expecting a happy ending can't have been paying much attention for the last eight weeks.
I thought it was very good, kept me interested through the whole series and if there wasn't a happy ending then it didn't really detract from it. As for Tony not moving on, that wasn't too surprising given that he didn't seem to have moved on in the time since it had happened.
It was well crafted to spend much of the series sending us off towards a major undercover paedo-related scenario when it was nothing more than a drunken accident that escalated - no doubt someone will accuse the BBC of plotting the whole thing to send out anti-drink-drive propaganda just before Christmas.
It seemed a little strange, though, that the hotel owner could keep collecting his sobriety badges when he clearly was still on the bottle to the extent that the guy in the bar in the centre of town knew his 'regular' - it wasn't just a one-off night where something happened and made him have a drink or eight.
It was well crafted to spend much of the series sending us off towards a major undercover paedo-related scenario when it was nothing more than a drunken accident that escalated - no doubt someone will accuse the BBC of plotting the whole thing to send out anti-drink-drive propaganda just before Christmas.
It seemed a little strange, though, that the hotel owner could keep collecting his sobriety badges when he clearly was still on the bottle to the extent that the guy in the bar in the centre of town knew his 'regular' - it wasn't just a one-off night where something happened and made him have a drink or eight.
Enjoyed it and I agree that the ending where we share Tony's disbelief that Ollie is indeed dead makes more sense than an ending where either the boy or a body are found. It is called 'missing' after all.
As I watched the story unfold about the car accident, I kept waiting for it to unravel and the story relating to Garrett to link in, but it never did which helps to support the reason that Tony never accepted the story.
One thing that doesn't make sense is the drawing on the wall under the garage stairs. I know Ollie was supposed to be put there by the Romanian before he was killed, but why would a young boy who has been nearly killed after been hit by a car, battered, bruised and locked in a strange basement in a strange house, in a strange country, away from his father and family draw a picture on a wall. Why would he draw a happy smiley stick man when he would be terrified?
As I watched the story unfold about the car accident, I kept waiting for it to unravel and the story relating to Garrett to link in, but it never did which helps to support the reason that Tony never accepted the story.
One thing that doesn't make sense is the drawing on the wall under the garage stairs. I know Ollie was supposed to be put there by the Romanian before he was killed, but why would a young boy who has been nearly killed after been hit by a car, battered, bruised and locked in a strange basement in a strange house, in a strange country, away from his father and family draw a picture on a wall. Why would he draw a happy smiley stick man when he would be terrified?
droopsnoot said:
...It seemed a little strange, though, that the hotel owner could keep collecting his sobriety badges when he clearly was still on the bottle to the extent that the guy in the bar in the centre of town knew his 'regular' - it wasn't just a one-off night where something happened and made him have a drink or eight.
...
Agreed - if he's celebrating why go so far over the top? It wasn't the final, was it? No other indication that he tends to drink heavily on occasion, apart from his AA membership obvs. Then he goes home without his car - an action that his wife may have noticed and possibly a policeman following up contacts with a missing boy......
And why not show us 'dead Oliver' in the van, so we know? I didn't jump to that conclusion - I'd assumed he was trussed up ready for shipment to who knows where...
Too bluddy slow, too much 'this is my BAFTA face' stuff, too bleak. Just like life.
The Surveyor said:
One thing that doesn't make sense is the drawing on the wall under the garage stairs. I know Ollie was supposed to be put there by the Romanian before he was killed, but why would a young boy who has been nearly killed after been hit by a car, battered, bruised and locked in a strange basement in a strange house, in a strange country, away from his father and family draw a picture on a wall. Why would he draw a happy smiley stick man when he would be terrified?
My thought aswell. If he was free and mentally able to draw a picture he'd probably be trying to get out.Writers license? This was the key link in piecing it all together.
Likewise the accident part, 911 phone call not being checked, Alain being an alcoholic, you'd think this would push him over the edge and his wife would know something. There must of been evidence on the road although that was partly explained by the other cop keeping evidence.
I'll say i really enjoyed it, especially showing the indirect effect this had on the lives of others, thought it was nice to have stories that weren't related and only apparent at the end.
My guess is he was killed as George reaction to the looking into the van would of been different if there was options to save the boy. And when he was found out, from the guilt they showed he had,he would of confessed.
Plus not showing it gives that bit of doubt to feel Tony's plight at the end. We knew as much as they did
Edited by redlancer on Wednesday 17th December 14:56
Really enjoyed this, the end.... well we can alaways want for something different. I was pleased with the ending, yes some plot holes, but overall a well crafted piece of TV. I was desperate for him to find that Ollie was still alive, but was pleased that it also portrayed a man plagued by torment who simply could not move on with his life, possibly because Ollie went missing on his watch. I was intrigued by the different narratives going on due to the timelines. Scores an 8/10 for me.
I guess the picture Tony drew in the frost in Russia is a calling card...something Oliver would recognise if he was alive and living there. He just can't accept he's dead.
I guess the whole Paedo thing was just a side story all along, and something to blame or (incorrectly) focus on.
I guess the whole Paedo thing was just a side story all along, and something to blame or (incorrectly) focus on.
Edited by DrDoofenshmirtz on Wednesday 17th December 16:46
I thought it was the best, intriguing, non-Hollywood ending they could have had really.
It's open to the viewer's interpretation - drives some (on here, clearly) mad but I quite like that.
What are the other options?
1. A schmaltzy "he's alive" reunion
2. They find out that he was run over and died. Bit of an......anti-climax really?
Nesbitt going nuts-beard-man makes the ending intriguing. You can either assume he's lost it and is on a mad chase to nothing, or he's actually found him.
Looking forward to the second series.
Put my "The-English-Copper-was-Ian-Garrett's-Son" theory out of the window anyhow
It's open to the viewer's interpretation - drives some (on here, clearly) mad but I quite like that.
What are the other options?
1. A schmaltzy "he's alive" reunion
2. They find out that he was run over and died. Bit of an......anti-climax really?
Nesbitt going nuts-beard-man makes the ending intriguing. You can either assume he's lost it and is on a mad chase to nothing, or he's actually found him.
Looking forward to the second series.
Put my "The-English-Copper-was-Ian-Garrett's-Son" theory out of the window anyhow
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