The Missing Season 2 Episode 5 Recap: “Das Vergessen”

Sunday night’s (March 12) episode of The Missing is quite a ride. We’re now far enough along in season 2 that the twists and turns are happening in present time. In the episode entitled “Das Vergessen,” we actually find out who kidnapped Sophie Giroux, Alice Webster, and the third mystery girl.

“Alice” aka real Sophie (Abigail Hardingham) is currently hiding out in Switzerland in a less than desirable shack in the middle of the woods. While taking notice the of paint chipping on the campervan parked nearby, she spots a pair of red-rimmed reading glasses for which she then tosses into the fireplace.

We recognize those red spectacles as belonging to the third missing girl, Lena Gerber. German detective Jorn Lenhart (Florian Bartholomai) is easily able to track down her identity after Eve gives him the roller coaster picture that Gemma (Keeley Hawes) found. And it’s a wonder how this connection between Lena’s disappearance and the other missing girls wasn’t made long ago.

After a brief conversation with Lena’s mother, Lenhart learns that her daughter has been missing for over five years, and any hope that she’d one day return home is long gone. To gather more information, Lenhart heads to the house of a close family friend of the Gerber’s, former military press officer, Adam Gettrick (Derek Riddell).

In what begins as an innocent conversation, Lenhart’s questioning is soon interrupted by an adorable little girl. With a little too much force in his voice, Gettrick reminds his daughter that he had told her to stay upstairs. But the sweet child, who looks extraordinarily like a mini Sophie, and suspiciously the same age of what Sophie’s daughter would’ve been if she was still alive, proudly shows off her drawing before retreating up the stairwell. “That’s me and mummy,” she says. “In the basement.”

And then it all clicks. Lenhart, who tagged along with Jean Baptiste (Tcheky Karyo) back in 2014, knows the case of these missing girls inside and out. It’s obvious to Gettrick that all these dots are connecting for Lenhart, and before he can even pull out his cell phone, Gettrick grabs a power tool and drills it right into Lenhart’s skull.

Now, we first met Gettrick back in episode 4. He was the officer who told Sam and Gemma that they needed to talk to that reporter in the hospital right after “Alice” died in 2014. Did Gettrick leak the story about Matty (Jake Davies) in order to revert any attention that could’ve lead investigators towards himself? And was he black-mailing Stone and Henry Reed to help cover up his actions?

Perhaps, the little girl’s murder in Iraq was a tragic accident that fell on Stone’s shoulders. And let’s say Gettrick knew of Reed’s continuous affair with Ilsa (Lena Lauzemis), the male prostitute. Maybe he used this information as leverage. But could two such highly regarded military officers lower themselves to assisting a child molester in order to uphold their jobs and reputation?

Maybe that’s what “Alice” was referring to during her chat with Stone back in 2014. Maybe Reed had a change of heart, so Gettrick staged his suicide to keep him from talking. This could maybe explain why “Alice” put those statice flowers on Reed’s grave.

Hopefully, Eve (Laura Fraser) will check Lenhart’s internet search history after realizing he’s gone missing, and can figure out what happened. Because right now there’s a young child in the care of a psycho killer, and a fine officer/aspiring songwriter who adorably had a schoolboy crush on her, lying dead somewhere.

Also unaware of Lenhart’s murder is Baptist, whose life is currently hanging by a thread. He’s still ignoring getting treatment in order to follow yet another new lead. Disregarding Eve’s warning to stay away, Baptiste pays a visit to the Alzheimer-riddled Brigadier Stone (Roger Allam). While the conversation is shaky at best, in a rare moment of clarity, Stone admits that what all three of them did while overseas was horrible.

While we know he’s referring to Reed, who’s this third person? Nadia (Lia Williams), Kristian Herz’s wife? Or Gettrick? And how does what they did in 1991 link to the subsequent kidnapping of Alice, Lena, and Sophie?

One storyline we do get clarification on is Eve’s pregnancy. She did not have a miscarriage in 2014. In fact, she gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby, but was acting as a surrogate for her sister. The child is immediately whisked from Eve’s grasp and put in Anna’s (Laura Pyper) arms. Overseeing this handoff is their father, Brigadier Stone. While he commends Eve for giving Anna such a tremendous gift, he’s anticipating her inevitable postpartum depression. And for the first time, we see this menacing army official in a whole new light. Unasked, he stands by Eve’s bedside. For he knows that once the pain meds wear off, and the gravity of what just happened sets in, Eve will need moral support. And he’ll be right there to wipe away her tears.

Flash forward to present day, and we get one last surprise. Eve is again pregnant. And Sam Webster (David Morrissey) is the baby’s daddy. Sam, desperate to make things right with his wife, and wanting to move his family to London for a fresh start, had made it clear that their affair was over. When he said he couldn’t give Eve what she wanted, this was exactly what he was talking about.

But Eve is not going to want an abortion. Numerous hints have dropped that she’s been yearning to have a child of her own for quite some time. This pregnancy is like a Christmas miracle for her. However, one person’s dream is another’s nightmare. And this news might be the final straw in ensuring that the Webster family will never ever mend back together.