The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (2023) s01e04 Episode Script

1
Agh!
Alice. Alice!
Oh, my God!
Alice!
Fuck!
- So, was she drunk?
- No, I don't think so.
Try her phone again.
- Ugh, it's switched off.
- Keep trying.
All I remember is seeing her
putting flowers in your room
for your return from the dead.
Yellow bells and violets.
Then she went to town for
supplies to see out the storm.
Oh! Post office.
She was going to grab the mail
from the P.O. box in town.
Where are you?
Look, I don't know
what's going on with you,
but, please, just let me know you're OK.
Bye.
Oi! You just had your uterus out.
You'll be popping your stitches.
Get up, June, come on.
Oh, goodness.
Go into town and ask everyone we know
if they've seen her, heard from her.
Get the police to put
an alert on her truck,
and I'll stay here in case she calls.
This is fun.
Come on.
Ow.
All the test results are good.
Everything's healed up perfectly.
So the other kidney's OK?
Yes. He'll be fine.
Better than fine.
Oh!
So we don't have to come back?
Unless there's a problem, no.
That's what we've been waiting for.
- Thank you.
- My pleasure.
- Hi. You've called
- Sa
Sally Morgan, please leave a message
and I'll get back to
you as soon as I can.
Uh, call me soon as you get this.
It's June.
Hey!
Hey!
Hey! Stop!
Stop it! What are you doing?
Hey, hey. Come here.
Fuck off, dog.
Hey.
Are you lost?
Should a woman just
out of hospital be
Taking those with whiskey?
Should a woman in her 60s
still be smoking weed?
One good thing, if you do have cancer,
we could grow this stuff legitimately
and make a bloody fortune.
Well, then, bring on the cancer.
I'm joking.
June speaking.
Uh, I got your messages.
And, no, I haven't heard from Alice.
You didn't send her a letter?
Or call her?
No. Like I said, I
Alice made it really clear to us
that she didn't want
any further contact,
and we have respected that.
I mean, it's been 14 years.
Do you have any idea where she might be?
I'm sure she's fine.
Alice can take care of herself.
If you do hear from her,
please let me know.
It's Tess.
From the markets.
Ugh.
How could you?
June.
- Agh!
- June, wake up.
Jesus, you're burning up.
Are you in pain?
Oh, God.
Is your medication up here?
Yeah.
Oh, my God, we made it, Pip.
What's happened?
Fuck.
Oh, you poor little thing.
Shit.
It's OK.
Fuck.
Oh, God.
Oh
Oh, you poor little thing.
It's OK. It's going to be OK.
Ugh
Hello.
Sorry, we close at one on Saturday.
Who do we have here?
She won't stop crying and
there's blood in her urine.
Hey, there.
You've been in the wars.
How old is she?
I don't know. I found
her at a truck stop.
You must be new here.
Locals won't touch strays.
Mmm, she's a bit of a mess.
Urinary tract infection, mites.
She's underweight. Poor little thing.
You definitely need some TLC.
Don't worry. I'll take good care of her.
You can wash your hands, if you like.
Just might grab some details
Name, phone, address,
that kind of thing.
Heya.
Um, Alice.
It's all I have right now.
Everyone calls me Moss.
Come on, boys, don't.
What happened?
You fainted.
Here.
Just go slow.
Ugh.
When did you last eat or drink?
Hey, fellas, hang somewhere else.
I'm fine.
I don't think you should drive.
I can give you a lift.
Um, I'm fine.
Maybe you should start your own
car detailing business, 'cause
That's really something.
Hey, Alice
I can drive you to a hotel
Look, I'm perfectly capable of
checking into a hotel by myself.
OK? I'm not some
delicate fucking flower.
Mum wants to go back
to Bulgaria one day.
So when I'm older, I'm going to take her
home to the Valley of the Roses,
where we're from.
She says queens are
buried under the roses,
and that's why the roses smell so sweet.
Actually, I made that last bit up.
- Where else should we go?
- The Bronte house.
I want to sit at the desk
that they wrote at,
and look out over the cemetery.
Uh Bulgakov.
- Mm-hm.
- The Red Square.
- See where Moscow meets the devil.
- Yes.
- Cherry blossoms, Murakami.
- Japan.
Yeah. We have to go there.
I'd go anywhere with you.
You do know, if we leave, though,
I can't come back here, right?
When we left Dad,
he went back to Bulgaria
and Mum and I should have gone too.
We're here illegally.
So if we leave the country,
I can't come back, Alice.
Let's run away together.
How about we elope?
What if What if we got married,
and we had two passports
and then we could live and
work wherever we wanted and
Are you asking me to marry you?
Yeah.
Yes.
It'll be a secret.
Yeah, it's our secret.
..these two things can
never be reunited ever again.
It's a plastic bottle.
If we put it in landfills,
it'll be there for 1,000 years.
I'm so sorry, Alice.
Someone called Immigration
and Oggi's been deported.
Dear Alice,
I know you wrote that you didn't
want to hear from me again.
But for five years now,
I've been writing to you
because I really did
believe that you loved me.
For a long time,
I couldn't accept that you'd end
our relationship like that
By email.
Not after everything that
we'd promised each other.
I'm writing to tell you
I finally did take that
trip that we'd planned.
And I met someone.
Her name is Anna.
We're getting married, Alice.
Oh, dear.
Alice!
Did you know?
Were you part of it?
A part of what?
Getting rid of Oggi,
the letters, all the fucking lies.
What? What are you talking about?
Oggi sent me a letter,
but it's the only one
that's made it to me
because June destroyed the rest.
She blocked his emails,
she sent him an email
pretending to be me, dumping him.
She had him fucking deported!
Oh, I'm so sorry, Alice.
You tell her I fucking
know everything
about all her controlling bullshit.
She took away the only
man I've ever loved.
And now he's getting married.
Where are you?
I can't tell you.
And I'm not coming back.
I hate her.
Hey.
Hey.
Going for a swim?
Yeah.
No water here.
The waterhole's all dried up.
Well, they lied.
Still worth the walk.
May I?
If you do want to swim
this is the place.
Jalngay waterhole.
About an hour's drive.
But you have to get there
right on magic hour: 7:30.
You wait and see.
It's, uh
magic.
Thank you.
Do you like flowers?
Uh, yeah. Yeah, I do.
Well, when it does rain here,
this whole place becomes
a sea of desert flowers.
I'd like to see that.
Yeah.
- Thanks.
- Yeah.
Jalngay.
7:30. About an hour's drive.
Got it.
I'm sorry. I'll pay for it.
Moss rang. Your dog's ready,
but you can't keep it here.
Oh. Um OK.
Oh, you look so good.
Thank you so much.
She looks so much better.
Um
I can't keep her at the pub.
Would it be OK if she just
stays here a few more days
just until I get myself sorted?
I'm sorry I was so rude.
Especially when you've been so nice.
I know we don't know
each other very well
Well, I know you're
shit at car detailing.
You like to smash mirrors.
And you love a minibar.
For a big town, it's, um, pretty small.
Buy me a drink and
I'll take Pip to my place.
More room for her to run around.
So, why did you pick here?
Um, same name as my mum's.
"Agnes".
I kind of took it as a sign.
What's under all the
butterflies on your truck?
A sign.
Um, Alice Hart, Floriographer.
No idea what it means,
but it sounds impressive.
- I grew up on a flower farm.
- A flower farm?
- Mmm.
- Did you milk roses?
The machines must be really fiddly.
We specialise in Australian natives.
Where I'm from, all
flowers have meanings.
My family prefer using
them to real words.
It's how we communicate,
flowers, floriography.
Can I have a look?
Yeah.
"Resurrection."
"My hidden worth."
"By your love I live and die."
"My hidden worth"
Are they all so dramatic?
Is there one for, uh
'it's bin night'?
Or 'your hair looks quite nice'?
Do you need to be somewhere?
No.
No.
So, Miss Floriographer
Yes.
What does moss mean?
I am way too sober to tell you that.
- That bad, huh?
- Well, uh
Another round, then.
Let's do another round.
You want to do shots?
"Courage In The Face Of Fear".
My mum has this.
Not that I want to be
thinking about her right now.
Old-school.
Haven't seen one of these in ages.
Maybe I should go.
Besides, now I'm worried that
moss means "bad breath."
Or "touches slow and creepy".
Thanks for today.
I had fun.
Don't go.
I I want you to stay.
Are you sure?
Why do you have so many buttons?
- How about that?
- OK.
Zip!
Um
You've been going commando all day?
Well, I really
didn't know this was going to happen.
What are you doing, darl?
Alice was right.
What?
You heard from her?
When? Is she alright?
Did you know?
Know what?
That June got rid of Oggi.
Is Alice OK?
- Of course she's not!
- Well, where is she?
Even if I did know,
why the fuck would I tell you?
Alice called Candy.
The letter, it was from Oggi.
Oggi
Oh
Oh, God.
It's not funny.
What is wrong with you?
I thought something
terrible had happened to her.
It has. She knows.
Oh, I should have never
bloody listened to you.
Oh, come on. That was years ago.
We didn't want her to
throw her life away on Oggi
and move to bloody Bulgaria.
We agreed.
So does Candy know where Alice is?
No.
You need to fix this, June.
I am not losing another child.
Uh, hello? John's phone.
Charlie speaking.
Hello?
Is there anyone there?
It's June Hart.
June?
Uh, it's It's me.
It's Charlie.
Hey, you might want to hear my news
Could you put your father
on the phone, please?
He's covered in flour right now.
We're actually having
a bit of a celebration
Put your father on the phone.
I don't have all day.
- You OK?
- Mm-hm.
Uh, June, how can I help?
I need your help finding Alice.
John Morgan's going to help us find
June!
Candy! Candy!
June!
- What happened?
- I don't know.
June!
Woo-hoo!
Yeah!
How did you know about this place?
A friend.
Come on.
Just watch out for, uh
Don't say crocodiles.
Are there crocodiles?!
Are there crocodiles?!
So tell me about your family.
Uh,
I see them, a few times a year.
After a couple of days,
I can't wait to come home.
Don't get me wrong, right?
I love them. It's just
I don't know. I miss the desert.
Miss feeling insignificant.
What about your parents?
Where do they live?
Uh, they died, when I was nine.
- Oh, my God. I'm so sorry.
- It's fine.
Seriously.
- I always stick my foot in it.
- No, no, no, no.
That's why you were brought
up by your grandmother
- Yeah.
- on the farm.
It's OK.
I mean,
now I can't go back there either, but
Why?
She's lying and controlling,
and she's got rid of anyone that's ever
shown any interest in me.
- She'd get rid of you.
- Is that right?
- Mmm.
- How's she going to do that?
Well, she's got her ways.
Well, I
guess you'll just
have to stay here, then.
Just don't look. Honestly
- Who are these people?
- I do not know these people, OK?
No
Margaritas, please. Four jugs.
No, no, no. Make it five.
No, no, no!
- Hey.
- Hi.
I-I'm Lulu.
Alice.
Come and join us.
It's Thugger's birthday drinks tonight.
Let's go!
Thanks, Merle. I got five
Do you think he's alright?
He has hardly spoken all night.
He's a 14-year-old boy.
Pretty non-verbal, as a rule.
We were celebrating, and
June called and fucked it.
So, you know that.
She was worried about Alice.
Are you making excuses for her?
I'm going to bed.
Don't stay up too late.
Love is a burning thing ♪
And it makes a fiery ring ♪
By wild desire ♪
I fell into the ring of fire ♪
I fell into a burning
ring of fire ♪
Dude, I can't believe you
haven't been out to the crater yet.
The national park: it's literally
why everyone comes here.
- It sounds amazing.
- It is.
You know what?
I'm going to put you on the list
for the sunset tour tomorrow.
Oh, I would love
that! I would love that.
You and Moss.
Fuck it.
Goodness.
June's phone.
Oh, yes. May I speak with her,
please? It's urgent.
She's not available,
but maybe I could help.
Oh, yeah, actually, you can.
You could tell her that
if she had bothered
to listen to him today,
she'd know that her grandson
has been given a clean bill of health.
Do you think, would it take too much
to just pretend that she fucking cares?
Uh, I'm sorry. W-W-Who is this?
Sally Morgan. We have done our bit.
We have kept June up to date
with all of Charlie's health issues,
and she can't even
bring herself to say hello.
No wonder Alice has taken off.
Probably couldn't stand
another minute under her roof.
If you do hear from Alice.
Could you let her know that her
brother would love to meet her?
Hello?
Are you there?
Oh, you bitch.
Oh, you bitch.
Bitch.
Oh, you fucking bitch!
Oh, goodness.
Oh, look at you.
Oh
Whoa. You OK?
You are waterhole man.
I didn't pick you for a smoker.
Wow. I must be drunk.
Oh, it's Dylan, by the way.
Alice.
You know, I went to
Jan Janglay waterhole today.
- Uh-huh.
- And it was magic at magic hour.
I went too.
Yesterday.
Sturt Desert Pea.
Beautiful.
Dylan!
When did you get here?
- Just now.
- Did you meet Alice?
She's the best thing about tonight.
Mmm.
Hey, I just bought another round.
Are you coming inside?
Oh, I just need some fresh air.
- OK.
- You OK?
- Yes.
- Sure?
- Mm-hm.
- Mm-hm?
Who messages this early on a Sunday?
It's Lulu. She put me down for
the sunset tour at the crater.
She could only get one ticket.
That's fine. I've been before.
Don't fancy the four-hour round trip.
Those bloody shots
Where's Twig?
Sally called.
Twig knows about Charlie.
We both do.
Hey. Stop. Hey!
No. Hey, no! I'm not
Hey, get down.
June, no, no.
They said he was dying.
The last thing Alice needed was
to lose another family member.
Fuck you, June.
He's 14.
You let Alice blame
herself for his death,
knowing he was alive?
- Her brother!
- I didn't see it that way.
You're a fucking coward.
Yes, I am.
This is Clem's son we're talking about.
I was afraid of what
that child might do.
That's her blood. That's her brother.
Alice could have grown up with Charlie.
When they took my kids
from me, the only thing
The only thing that got me through
was the thought that they were together.
And don't you pretend
you don't know that!
- I know.
- No!
All this time,
you lied to us, lied to Alice.
Controlled who she could see,
who she could love.
How are you any different
to all those men out there
that you hate so much?
I made the best decisions
in the interest of this family.
Bullshit!
- Alice!
- Hey!
You made it!
Where's Moss?
Uh, he he couldn't come.
OK.
Thank you, everyone, for joining us.
We're so excited that
you're here on country.
This country belongs to
the Western Arrarnta people,
which was my grandmother's country,
my mother's country and our country.
And we're very honoured to
have you here and join us today.
The story that we're
going to share with you
is the one that we tell all the kids,
usually sitting round the campfire.
And we do this so that
we keep our culture,
our songs and our stories alive.
One evening, the star women
were dancing on the Milky Way
and a mother put her baby in the Turna,
a shallow wooden dish with curved sides,
while she danced.
The baby rocked from side to side,
and rocked so hard she fell
from the stars to the earth.
The Turna landed on top of
the baby and covered her,
forming a crater.
The baby's mother and
father saw that she was gone.
They searched everywhere.
But they couldn't see
their child under the Turna.
And they cried out in pain.
To this day, the walls of
the crater protect the baby.
We still see the parents,
the evening and morning stars,
moving across the sky,
as they search endlessly
for their precious child.
I'm here, Mum.
I'm here.