Is there one way to grieve? Has society quietly transformed us into people who judge other people for how they cope the loss of someone they love? I feel like that "Finding Alice" poses those questions to the audience by giving us one answer, which is a possible answer, not the universal truth. It's your first night in your brand new smart house and your husband tragically falls down the stairs. What do you do? How do you feel the tragedy of the situation after experiencing peak joy? Alice may seem like she's not grieving the loss of her husband, she seems to be disorientated by how hard it is to find the fridge in the house. Kudos for that first line, it's a great opener for the show.
But Alice is indeed grieving. She is trying to wrap her head around what happened to her partner, the love of her life, the father of her daughter. She is trying to pick up the pieces of a life together, while adjusting into a new home she doesn't know how to manage. There is some kind of joy when it comes to death; you can't stand your relatives; you don't want your parents telling you that they are sorry, because of course you are; you don't need the police to be suspicious of you, because "people just don't fall off the stairs". What you need to do is to feel. Simple as that. And that's what Alice does, almost like forgetting that there are other people who are suffering. But she doesn't do that because she doesn't care; she acts like that because that is how she wants to act. There shouldn't be a reasonable explaination when it comes to grief; reason comes after denial and anger.
Alice has a daughter, Charlotte, whom I believe to be the soul of the show. Alice truly is the beating heart, the driving, unapologetic force, but Charlotte gives her structure. Charlotte is reason, the one that should manifest itself after being angry. I love Isabella Pappas' portrayal, because she is so subtle, yet her presence is gigantic. She's this quiet, kind human being that keeps her mother focused and tries to have it all figured out because she doesn't want to fall apart in front of her mom. Her calm is comforting and beautiful to watch.
Keeley Hawes is outstanding as Alice. It comes with no surprise, of course. We are used to seeing her knock it out of the park in every performance. But here, she's something more; she's strong, yet unafraid to show her true feelings to anyone, she's outspoken, brave, beautifully messy. She is pure feelings.
Alice's parents, played by Nigel Havers and Queen Joanna Lumley, are perfectly imperfect in their way of emotionally comforting their daughter. Roger seems to be even sadder than Alice herself, which adds to the humor of the show. And I have to give a special shoutout to Rhashan Stone playing Nathan, the morgue supervisor/death guru. I love his character, I love his perspective on death and how he helps Alice get through her pain.
And no, I haven't forgotten about that HUGE cliffhanger at the end of the episode. I honestly did not see that coming. I'm curious to see how it plays out in the following episodes. And let's not forget about the person we see on the CCTV talking to Harry moments before Alice finds him at the bottom of the stairs. This show isn't just about grief, it's a mystery too and I'm here for it.
What did you guys think about the first episode? Are you curious to see how the mystery will unfold? Let me know in the comments below!
