The Missing Season 2 Finale Recap: “The Mountain”

The finale episode of The Missing season 2 was inevitably going to be a tough watch, for there is no universal happy ending to be had. We expected this hour of TV to have us all reaching for the tissues, but we didn’t foresee that in addition to tears of sadness, it would also elicit tears of joy. But surprising viewers is what this Starz series does best. And the investigation into the kidnappings of Lena Garber, Sophie Giroux, and Alice Webster has been a wild, exhilarating and heart-breaking ride.

Straying from the typical whodunit storytelling form, the perpetrator, Adam Gettrick (Derek Riddell), was revealed back in episode 5. Therefore, “The Mountain,” is captivating not for its surprise ending, but for the quaking emotional repercussions of everyone involved. And the lead actors’ impressive performances, most notably from Sam (David Morrissey), Gemma (Keeley Hawes) and Sophie (Abigail Hardingham), give such even more gravitas.

It’s a highly satisfying finale for there’s nary a thread left loose. No longer do we waffle on whether or not Adrian Stone (Roger Allam) was a victim of being in the wrong time and wrong place in Iraq, or if he is just a terrible man. He is unequivocally the latter.

Even though Stone was loving father to his protege daughter Eve (Laura Fraser), a conversation between him and Adam back in 2014 reveal that the former Brigadier also dipped his toes in predatory waters. Adam once secretly recorded their chat about having sex with underage girls, and later used that tape to blackmail Stone into falsifying DNA test results for him. The body police found burned in the Webster’s shed was that of Lena’s, whom we discover was previously killed by Adam for being “too difficult.”.

While it’s never confirmed as to whether Stone also knew Adam murdered Henry Reed (Brian Bovell), it’s safe to assume he did. And it’s hard to ignore that for so long, Stone had both the knowledge and evidence to put an end to Adam’s reign as a sexual pedophilic terrorist. But in fear of his career reputation, he never mentioned anything to anyone.

In present day, Stone seems to be milking his Alzheimer’s diagnosis for all its worth. Even Eve suspects that he’s conveniently hamming up the memory loss and current functional awareness in order to skirt punishment. And even though too much time has passed for him to be fully prosecuted, there’s solace knowing that the only thing Stone truly cared about, dying with the full respect of the army and his daughter, has since been obliterated.

Making sure Adam meets a far worse fate than Stone, Gemma (Keeley Hawes) and Baptiste (Tcheky Karyo) are working together to track him down. Sam remains wary of their seemingly far-fetched assumptions, but after he’s shown the stars drawn all over Adam’s basement ceiling, iridescent shapes that perfectly mirror the tattoo we once saw on their daughter’s wrist, he breaks.

All at once, Sam realizes that his wife’s intuition has been correct this entire time, that the girl who came to their home in 2014 was not their child, and that his real daughter might still be alive out there somewhere. Sam is understandably overcome with crushing emotional pain, but there’s no time for him to wallow in self pity. Not just because three innocent children are being held as hostages, but because Baptiste’s cancerous brain tumor might get the best of him if they delay any longer.

After finding the stash of francs Adam accidentally left behind, the trio quickly flee to Switzerland, but the journey seems like a lost cause. Coming across Adam’s cabin without any leads is needle-in-a-haystack impossible. But as luck would have it, while taking a much needed coffee break at a local outdoor cafe, the young waiter who once boldly asked for Sophie’s number is able to recognizes her picture on Baptiste's phone. And he’s able to point them in the right direction.

In the same reckless fashion Sam jumped into his burning shed back in 2014, he without hesitation, storms off towards Adam’s house. Even though Baptiste insists that they wait for backup, such a request falls on deaf ears. Sam is already halfway up the mountain in pursuit.

Adam hears them coming, and fires at them in defense. He shoots Sam in the chest, but before he can take anyone else out, the Swiss police arrive. Adam is finally arrested. As Sam gets wheeled off in stretcher, he spots a young woman walking towards him. It’s Alice. The real Alice Webster.

Alice is over the moon to be reunited with her family, and finally free from her literally caged life as a sex slave. When she returns home, the way she lets herself be enveloped in a big hug from her big brother Matty, we have hope that she’ll one day be okay. Even after attending her father’s untimely funeral, Alice proves to be one strong woman. Not only will she overcome the past 11 years of abuse, she will thrive moving forward.

Sophie, however, is a different story. She is furious. Without Adam, her beautiful little family is gone. Suicide seems like a better option than the idea of ever living without Lucy. But Baptiste is able to talk her off a ledge. And even though he wasn’t as successful with Sophie’s mother, Baptise is able to convince Sophie that there’s life still worth living.

Season 2 comes to a close with Baptiste finally getting treatment for his tumor. But as to whether or not he survives the brain surgery is not revealed. However, based on the amount of narcotics it takes to knock Baptiste off, and the doctors making note of how impressively strong the aging investigator is, it appears Baptist still has much more life left in him. So, if viewers are wondering if there will be a Season 3 of this mystery series, our best guess it that it’s more than certain.