S01.E05: Episode 5

[ichbin]

At least it was clear that Ivy was mistreated, abused, and somewhat brainwashed by Mark.  I was worried that it might end with her being the crazy, manipulative one.  It didn't seem to be going that way but some productions love to go with a big twist at the end.  Glad that wasn't the case.

 

Too many things left unanswered!  Among them:

 

-What did Mark do in the past and why did Ivy mention that he was waiting for his mother to forgive him?  I don't remember the age difference but Is it possible that Dylan was actually Mark's son or was he somehow responsible for Dylan's lowered mental capacity?

 

-What happened to Ivy's baby?   I had been waiting for confirmation of at least a pregnancy after Ivy talked about fish in the prenatal diet with the social worker in the first episode, but then after Mark brought it up and the fact that Ivy was depressed following whatever happened...well that was it. 

 

-How did Ivy escape in the first place? Had she been locked up when he went out until that day?  On the one hand it seems like Mark had her convinced that she needed him and that her friends and family had abandoned her because she did not take the opportunity to leave him when he allowed her to be on her own in the shopping mall as was shown in the video.  So what prompted her to leave when she did?  Did it have anything to do with Mark wanting her to get pregnant again?

 

-What was the purpose of the three locks on the door in the house Mark brought Ivy to when she was on the inside of the room  on the side where the locks were?

 

-What was up with names Alison and Leonard?  Was that just to throw someone off if they were overheard speaking to one another?  Was there an Alison in Mark's past?

 

-Did Mark work somewhere?  We know he was a custodian in Ivy's school in the past but what was he doing after that?  Did he target Ivy after seeing her in school?  For that matter, did he target Phoebe? 

 

I would have liked more explanation.  Considering the writer has said she's not interested in doing a second series, it would have been nice to have a few more answers in the end. 

[molshoop]

I thought this show was excellent overall.  Yes, there were questions that weren't fully answered.  I do think that there was a strong

implication that Ivy was pregnant at some point.  And since she had to wear certain clothing to truly be Alison, there must have been

a real Alison in his life.

 

What bothered me the most was that the police mentioned Stockholm Syndrome in the first episode and then acted as if it couldn't

exist in Ivy's case.  If a group of adults that were held captive for only 6 days bonded with their captors, it is ridiculous to think that

a thirteen year old held for 13 years willingly ran off with an older man and is now lying to protect her lover.

[atomationage]

I thought it was good to end the series with a bang before they went the full Norman Bates.

[formerlyfreedom]

This season finale is scheduled to air in the US on Thursday, July 21, on BBC America.

[Cranberry]

Pretty late reply, but I just finished the series today. I think it was pretty clear that Ivy was pregnant but had a miscarriage at some point. Mark claimed that she cried for a long time, and she said that was because she was relieved that she wasn't bringing a child into his home with him as a father. The delusional asshole still wanted to try again, though.

There were some questions left unanswered, but I'm okay with that. We could infer that there was an Alison in Mark's life, and that he had a complicated relationship with his mother. We know that Mark put Ivy in a "softened state" with drugs or alcohol and that he brainwashed her into thinking her family would hate her if she went back to them, so I can believe that a young girl wouldn't run off at the first opportunity (Dylan dying further cemented the idea that a failed attempt to flee would end very badly). I assume that he watched her while at school and made his move when he had the chance; it didn't sound like she knew him beforehand.

Mark may not have worked anywhere; he was renting out his mother's house for many years, so he had income coming in there. It didn't look like he and Ivy lived extravagantly, so he wouldn't need a lot of cash.

There were locks on both sides of the door... I gather that Mark didn't want even a chance of anyone coming in while he was with Ivy, or of her getting out.

[rur]

Reminder: This episode will be shown at 6 p.m. EDT on July 21. Set your DVRs accordingly. 

[Primetimer]

And more questions answered or sparked by the episode.

View the full article

[Valny]

Aw, crap... didn't see the reminder, just like last week! WTF BBCA?! Burned me twice, I could have sworn I double checked  and saw it was on at the regular time.  *bangs head on the table*

Oh well once again, will be watching on Demand tomorrow or whenever.

[ratgirlagogo]

This was not a very good show, but at least that's the end of it. Bless the BBC and their short-form programming. On the other hand is this truly the best of the BBC series that BBC America could give us? It just seems like at this point they only show what PBS has taken a pass on or they can't sell to the pay services like Hulu (season three of Musketeers) or Netflix (Peaky Blinders). Oh well, Ripper Street starts next week.

[meep.meep]

But they give you a chance to catch up on Star Trek TNG.  What if you'd missed an episode 20 years ago?  OMG, they're doing it for Ivy!

I wish they hadn't saved some of the big reveals for this episode. It was also more than a little cliched with every man in her life, other than Mark, suddenly getting the big chance to race into action to save her.

[proserpina65]

You know, I just rewatched the Grey's Anatomy episode involving a girl in a similar situation as Ivy (although for fewer years) and, as ridiculous as GA tended to get, it still handled the subject far better than this show did.

[KaveDweller]

I really wish the episode had an extra 10 minutes in it so we could see things wrapped up. Maybe a time jump to show Ivy moving on in the future? Or a way to see that Lisa and Elliot are recovered. It just felt very abrupt.

[rur]

19 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

This was not a very good show, but at least that's the end of it.

I have to agree. The slower pace didn't bother me, but the utter ineptitude of the police did. Despite the difference in U.S. and British cultures, I can't believe  that any police department in a modern metropolitan city would be as bad as this one was. I was pleased, though, to see Ivy develop some agency at the end and no longer be a victim. 

[Ailianna]

I wasn't sure about this show at first, but it drew me in.  I like that the show didn't end with everything neatly wrapped up, and I thought that the ending was perfect; family reunited for real, finally, and no one sure where they will go from there.  That's how real life is.  I also wasn't bothered by the police behavior, because this wasn't a crime procedural, but rather a psychological exploration.  It was probably inspired by the Ariel Castro story, or some of the similar stories that have been revealed in recent years, and I think was more about the impact on the family, both of the original kidnapping and of the return.  And then the stress of the police handling the case.  Phoebe's kidnapping and Ivy's subsequent re-taking were dramatic tools to explore as much the original crime and it's impact as the current storyline.  I liked it a lot more than I originally thought I would, and am glad I watched it.

[Ms Lark]

That's it then. OK. I, too, would have liked to see things a little more wrapped up or be given some assurance that Ivy got the therapy she clearly needed in order to gain some stability in her life. I hated the cops victim-blaming of an obviously traumatized, fubared girl (although 26, her emotional maturity has hardly progressed past 13) was unconscionable. I guess they were hoping for a 2nd season, but that didn't happen. Oh, well. Moving on.

[ichbin]

On 7/21/2016 at 11:34 PM, ratgirlagogo said:

This was not a very good show, but at least that's the end of it. Bless the BBC and their short-form programming. On the other hand is this truly the best of the BBC series that BBC America could give us? It just seems like at this point they only show what PBS has taken a pass on or they can't sell to the pay services like Hulu (season three of Musketeers) or Netflix (Peaky Blinders). Oh well, Ripper Street starts next week.

BBC America gets shows from other networks too, like ITV (Broadchurch).  It's always been hit or miss.  They'll be showing Undercover in November which is another BBC series.  I cannot wait to see the comments on that series. 

Spoiler

It starts off fine, but is full of serious WTF by the end.

 Hulu seems to get a lot of BBC shows, some of them really quickly after they air in the UK.  Line of Duty is on Hulu and that was good.  Happy Valley is on Netflix and  also very good.  I think there are simply many more outlets vying for the material these days.  I do miss the earlier days of BBC America though without the endless Top Gear, Star Trek, Kitchen Nightmares, etc.  There was a daytime lineup of shows like Changing Rooms, Ground Force, and How Clean is Your House.  Some evenings had a comedy line-up and there were more British series shown.   Wish they would return to that.

[atomationage]

Undercover starts out in Louisiana in the first episode, then goes back to the UK. 

[ratgirlagogo]

16 minutes ago, ichbin said:

there were more British series shown.   Wish they would return to that.

Yes, and BBC specifically.  Can't say I miss How Clean Is Your House and unlike most people on earth  I am indifferent about Top Gear - I'd really like to see more of the scripted series.

[buttercupia]

I liked it overall. I was afraid there would be a tragic end, but Ivy overcame the incompetence of those around her and managed to rescue herself. Mark's motivations and past didn't matter to me. 

[Portia]

On 3/27/2016 at 11:48 PM, ichbin said:

 the writer has said she's not interested in doing a second series

I'm  hoping this decision was the result of her realizing  that she's  not a very good writer and should pursue another line of work. Seriously, SO many problems with the writing.  My husband and I were so excited about this show halfway into episode 1, but by episode 5 we were actually chuckling at all the WTF moments.

[kat165]

Portia, I couldn't agree with you more! The entire police angle was really poorly written. And not researched at all. It was the acting and the direction that kept me watching. I will miss the show, but not for the writing.

[Yolapukka]

I have so much disdain for the ending. Did Ivy actually manage to overpower Mark by biting his lip, then using her toothpick arms to slam his head into the wall? I keep thinking I missed something, like the taking of some sedatives, but I re-watched the scenes and nothing like that happened. What the hell? am I really supposed to believe he was immobilized while she  undid the multiple locks, tottered down the fiery staircase and escaped the smoke-filled hallway after laboriously fumbling at the front door?  I didn't understand why they needed to tie things up with that tribute to Jerry Bruckheimer when the house exploded behind her and her family miraculously swooped in minutes later to surround her in hugs. 

The worst part, other than the final few minutes, was the continuously snowballing incompetence of the police, especially the detectives in charge. The low point being the decision to block a large speeding van with a small car, thus ending any possibility of following him. It was a continuous parade of low points with those two. They were so unprofessional that I expected one or both of them to be pulled off the case early on. It beggared belief that the traumatized little girl would have had anything to do with a hairy injured detective simmering with rage because he spoke in a soft tone, or that her drawing was so useful that the police were able to pull up just in time to see Ivy rescue herself, thus rendering their miraculous pinpointing of her location utterly moot.

There was a great deal throughout the series that was intriguing and drew me in, the performances were good overall, though the writing for the police detectives was so shabby, unlikeable and inconsistent that there was no saving those roles. What little we saw of Mark was disturbing, the manipulation, the gaslighting, the violence and it was believable that he had kept Ivy all those years.

My take on the referencing of Ivy as "Alison" is he regarded Ivy as being so much his possession that she wasn't even allowed to keep her name, he renamed her like a dog he'd picked up at the pound. Ivy didn't exist, Alison was who he wanted her to be,  the clean, good girl in a demure frump-frock who took her clothes off for him and was similarly obedient to his needs and did as she was told. (It was also convenient that she had a new name to answer to when he allowed her out with him.)

Edited September 16, 2018 by yuggapukka