Absentia wer ist der killer

Amazon’s Absentia returned on July 17th but what happened to Alice Durand at the end of season 2 and what does it mean for season 3?

A year can be a long time in the world of TV and between seasons of a show, it can be easy to forget all the events of the previous season.

For viewers of Amazon Prime’s Absentia, a lot has changed since we last met Emily Byrne and co in the thrilling crime drama.

The events of season 2 and its finale, in particular, were seismic and meant that a number of characters wouldn’t be returning when season 3 arrived.

Chief among them is the character of Alice Durand, who has been a key figure in the series since season 1 but just what happened to her in season 2 of Absentia and what does it mean for her in season 3?

• FILMING LOCATIONS: Absentia season 3 trades Boston for Bulgaria

Absentia – Season 3 Official Trailer | Prime Video

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Absentia – Season 3 Official Trailer | Prime Video

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Absentia season 3 on Amazon Prime Video

Season 3 of Absentia arrived on Amazon Prime Video on July 17th.

While fans have had to wait just over a year for the new season to arrive, there has also been a time jump in the series itself as three months have passed since the events of season 2.

Emily’s FBI suspension is almost over but the events of the past two seasons and the people who have been lost along the way weigh heavily on her mind, throwing up plenty of suspicion and distrust.

What happened to Alice at the end of season 2?

• Alice Durand was shot and killed at the end of season 2.

Alice has been constant figure throughout Absentia and married Emily’s husband, Nick, in Emily’s absence.

At the end of season 2, it is revealed that she was the assailant in the murder of Dr Semo Oduwale, her very own teacher and mentor.

This leads to a climactic showdown between herself and Emily.

It looks as though Emily will allow Alice to escape after she claims to have loved and looked after Emily’s family since her disappearance.

However, just before she’s allowed to leave, Alice is shot and killed by Special Agent Gunnarsen and that is the last we see of her.

Or so we thought.

Alice in season 3

Spoilers ahead for season 3 episode 4.

In season 3 of Absentia, Nick is taken prisoner and is held inside a mental institution of sorts where he is repeatedly drugged.

During one of these scenes in episode 4 of the new season, Nick sees Alice in the room with him, smugly smoking in the corner.

Luckily, it’s just a hallucination thanks to the copeous amounts of drugs in his system.

Although given how many twists and turns there have been in Absentia so far, we wouldn’t put it past Alice to return for real later down the line.

In other news, What breed is the dog in Spy x Family and what powers does Bond have?

Stana Katic executive produces and stars in Amazon’s newest thriller series, Absentia. Katic plays Emily Byrne, an FBI agent who was declared dead in absentia after she went missing while investigating a serial killer. Six years after her murderer’s conviction, Emily is found alive in a cabin in the woods with no memory of what’s happened since her disappearance.

Emily returns to a world deeply changed by her loss. Her husband, Nick (Patrick Heusinger), a fellow FBI agent, has remarried, and her son, Flynn (Patrick McAuley), has been raised by his new wife, Alice (Cara Theobold). Also, now that she’s been found alive, her convicted murderer, Conrad Harlow (Richard Brake), is released from prison. Emily believes that Harlow was involved in her abduction and torture, but without her memories, she can’t prove it.

Absentia is full of twists and turns. Despite Emily and Nick’s certainty about who’s to blame, suspects rise and fall rapidly throughout the first four episodes. The show’s central mystery extends beyond the question of who captured Emily, but also encompasses questions regarding the identity of the original serial killer she was investigating, who the corrupt FBI agent is, and who killed a body found in the Charles River during the pilot episode.

What’s far more interesting than all of these “whodunits” is the questions Absentia raises about human interaction, family, and love. Emily’s return throws the emotional lives of everyone around her into chaos. Nick is torn between the wife he lost, and the one he’s made a life with. He clearly loves both women, and doesn’t know how to reconcile his divided loyalties. Alice worries about losing her husband and the child she’s raised as her own. She doesn’t trust Emily, who is prone to sometimes violent panic attacks due to her years-long trauma, and she fears for Flynn’s safety.

Emily struggles to connect with her son, who only knows her from photographs and stories. As far as he’s concerned, Alice is his mother. Meanwhile, Emily’s brother struggles with maintaining his sobriety when he’s inundated by reporters wanting to know what happened to his sister.

It is all of these emotions and complexities that make Absentia interesting. Each character is the hero of his or her own story, and they are all clearly caught up in their own emotions, and how Emily’s return affects them individually.

However, this was one of the shows where I really wished the characters would just talk to each other. How difficult would it really be for Nick and Alice to have an honest conversation about how Emily’s return obviously complicates their life, and all of the mixed and messy emotions they’re having? They’re presented as a happy couple, so they must have some communication skills. I admit to being particularly bothered by this trope of characters withholding information, or simply not speaking to each other, to heighten the drama. Emily’s return is plenty complicated without making characters suddenly incapable of communicating with their loved ones.

Katic is eminently watchable, but Heusinger and Angel Bonnani, who plays Boston Police Detective Tommy Gibbs, are unfortunately generic. Neither actor is particularly compelling, and it even took me a moment at the beginning to realize they were separate people. At first, I thought Gibbs was the six-years-later, sad, scruffy version of post-Emily Nick.

Also, for a show featuring a female lead, there is a distinct lack of women within the rest of the cast. Aside from Emily and Alice, there are only a few women in the FBI and BPD offices, and none appear to have roles of much consequence. It’s frankly even worse for the very few POC in the show. Not every story needs to check every diversity box, and frankly the Boston Police Department is heavily white (Trust me. I once spent four months sitting on a Suffolk County grand jury.), but it would be nice to see shows that at least make an attempt at inclusion.

Visually, while it is used to great effect at certain moments, Absentia is one of those shows that often suffers from being literally too dark. Granted, I was watching the screeners on my computer, and it may have played better on my larger TV, but many people now consume content via their phones, tablets, and laptops, and creators need to keep that in mind when they consider the visual impacts of their shows.

On a small, logistical note, I spent far too much time wondering how FBI agents could afford such large houses in the Boston metro area. I lived in Boston for years. The housing costs are astronomical, and yet Nick is close enough to commute to the Boston field office daily, has a large house, a ton of property, and Alice appears to be a stay-at-home mother. Even Emily’s alcoholic brother who admittedly lost his medical license, lives in a two-story apartment in the city. Where’s that rent money coming from? I know TV asks us to suspend our disbelief, but that is a stretch.

Overall, the pacing of Absentia feels a bit slow. The episodes felt longer than their 50 minute run times. The pacing did pick up a bit towards the end of Episode 4, which was the last one made available to reviewers. I’m curious to see how the final six episodes pace themselves. I can’t speak to whether the ending will satisfy viewers because I haven’t seen it, but the first four episodes each end on a twist that intrigued me enough to keep watching. Absentia’s ultimate success or failure will depend on how it ties up loose ends, and whether or not it leaves enough story to be told in future season. After four episodes, I’m doubtful that we’ll see a second season.

Season 1, Episode 1-10 (S01E01-10)
Absentia debuts on Amazon Prime on February 1st

Read all of our reviews of Absentia here.
Read our reviews of more of your favorite shows here.

A.R. reads and writes YA, watches too much TV, and serves at the pleasure of her cat.
Follow A.R. on Twitter: @ARWasserman
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A.R. Wasserman | Contributor