This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes. We stand with the SAG-AFTRA. Without them, the movies and television shows we cover would not exist.
The legacy of abuse is a powerful topic to tackle, and the story of Alice Hart has done that from the beginning. That focus sharpened when adult Alice was introduced in the previous episode. Now, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart 1×05 “Part 5: Desert Oak” broadens that theme. It also uses beautiful natural landscapes even more vividly than before.
As a child, Alice and her mother Agnes (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) lived under the constant threat of physical violence from her father Clem (Charlie Vickers). A fire killed her parents so Alice went to live with Clem’s mother, June (Sigourney Weaver), when she was 9. Alice has blamed herself for the death of her parents and her unborn little brother since then. At the same time, June has made her own choices and kept her own secrets. One of those mistakes caused Alice to leave June’s flower farm for good in the last episode, and the reckoning is not over yet. June’s wife Twig (Leah Purcell) also discovered June’s lies and left. Alice’s romantic life took on its own drama as well.
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart 1×05 is a compelling piece of the overall journey for each character, and it amps up the already good cinematography of this series.
“Resurrection”
Alice (Alycia Debnam-Carey) has no intention of going back to her grandmother’s, as she has found a job at a national park and a house. It’s great that she has a new friend, Lulu (Vivienne Awosoga) but not so great that she has ditched the cute, nice veterinarian she hooked up with in the last episode. She tells Lulu that they “just didn’t have that thing.” (Girl, WHAT? You were smiling and laughing in bed with him. What do you call that?)
She is, unfortunately, still exchanging glances with the attractive guy she saw at the park in the last episode, Dylan (Sebastian Zurita). Turns out he works there, too. Alice starts a thing with him but the scenes with the vet were just…nicer. More than that, Lulu warns Alice to be careful when she finds out she is dating Dylan. If a friend is warning you about a guy, chances are you should listen to her.
Alice’s interactions with Dylan take place amid the beautiful natural settings of the park and surrounding desert countryside. It’s very picturesque and works really well as a backdrop for the drama that’s sure to come. Dylan takes Alice to a pretty water hole and when Alice asks if he brought Lulu there, he storms off acting like that was a terrible question for her to ask. That overreaction tells me everything I need to know about this guy. I can guess what’s going to eventually happen.
“I release what I no longer need.”
While this is going on, Twig goes to meet Alice’s little brother Charlie (Jeremy Blewitt) for the first time. He had survived his premature birth after the fire and June had him adopted by Sally and John Morgan (Asher Keddie and Alexander England). June kept this from everyone. John is a cop so he uses his resources to track Alice while Twig gets to know Charlie. Charlie wants to meet Alice right away but Twig assures him she should talk to her first.
Though Twig can’t forgive June, she seems to understand her reasoning. Throughout the series, the viewer has been left with the impression that Clem did something before he and Agnes left the farm, something that made June terrified of his influence. Including any male child of his. We now learn what that thing was. Clem started a sexual relationship with June’s adopted daughter Candy (Frankie Adams) when she was only 13.
Because Clem’s evil keeps getting slowly revealed (will there be more?), it’s understandable why June feels the way she does. Though her actions are still dishonest. She insists to Candy in this episode how much she wanted to protect her, and Weaver makes you believe her. June is also in the last stages of cancer but has let everyone think she’s cured. The resolution of the relationship between Alice and June is just one thing that the viewer is invested in after The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart 1×05. That, and other intriguing drama, is sure to continue to the very end.
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is streaming on Prime Video.
