The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Review: Part 1: Black Fire Orchid / Part 2: Wattle / Part 3: Lantern Bush (Season 1 Episodes 1-3)
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
The first three episodes of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, written by Sarah Lambert, Kirsten Fisher, and Kim Wilson, and directed by Glendyn Ivin, set the tone for the rest of the show with secrets, lies, domestic abuse, and flowers.
As the episodes go by, we, as viewers, are able to discover that the most important thing is the stories that live within every character and what they do with that. Whether it is finding their voice again, rescuing someone, or making peace with their past, they all have some self-discovery to do.
With what we see in these episodes, Alice seems to be the thread that ties everything together, but also the reason why these characters keep revisiting their past.
As mentioned in the title of the series, flowers become a key element on the show. They become yet another important character to keep our eyes on.
Said flowers as characters take two different forms. On the one hand, the literal flowers that surround everything we see. They are in June’s house, the field, the blankets, the books, and the frames. And they serve as a reminder of every possible human emotion one can experience.
They help Alice connect to her deceased mother as she learns the meaning of her favorite flowers. Every flower means something, represents something, and that is shown on the show through the Hart family book and the subtle lettering that shows up on the screen when a particularly important flower is shown.
Even though we usually connect flowers to life, on The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, we are able to see that flowers can also be a symbol of evil and death. This is shown in the different flower carvings that Clem has done.
But on the other hand, flowers is the name that the women who live in Thornfield have received. A name that creates a bond between them and the land in which they have found safety.
Being called a flower is exactly what has given them a second chance at life because in that new place, in that safe haven, “wildflowers are allowed to bloom.”
One of the show’s biggest themes is physical and emotional healing. It starts very obvious as we discover that Alice and her mother, Agnes, are victims of domestic abuse. The bruises, the screams, and the fear in them are the first signs we have.
But it doesn’t end there. It goes on after the fire and the loss of Agnes as Alice tries to heal from what happened and grieve the loss of her parents (as much as her father has caused her pain). And it is literally represented in Alice’s journey to gaining her voice back.
When she goes home with her grandmother, Alice has no voice and cannot communicate beyond the little notebook and pencil she carries with her. Only towards the end of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Season 1 Episode 3, “Part 3: Lantern Bush,” she begins to speak again.
It seems to be that Alice recovers her voice when she starts to feel safe in this new home and isn’t afraid that someone may hurt her or take her away. She is surrounded by healing.
Thornfield seems to be a sanctuary where women go when they are escaping a terrible situation and need to take time to put their pieces back together. Even though she is much younger, Alice is one of them, recovering from the pain of her father’s abuse and her mother’s death.
Because healing seems to be one of the most important themes on the show, it is necessary to understand why said healing is happening. And the answer for most of the women on the show is due to domestic abuse.
At first, there are only signs of violence. Both Alice and her mom have bruises, and they discuss running away. We see they are isolated and never talk to anyone outside their home.
As the audience, we never see Alice’s father hitting her. We can hear her screaming, and the camera’s point of view is from the little girl so we can see Clem hovering over her, but we never see her laying a hand on her.
However, the violence becomes very obvious when June confronts the ex-husband of one of the women on her farm, and he attacks her. We see the beating, the blood, and the bruises on this woman, but that is exactly what she wanted.
June wants to trigger this man so that he will leave his ex-wife alone, and for that to carry a message as strong as she wants it to, we need to see what he does to her, what he has done to his ex-wife.
Another woman who is navigating her own healing journey is Sally. At first, we sympathize with her because of the loss of her daughter and the way in which she immediately wants to protect Alice.
Her heart seems to be in the right place, but her actions forget that Alice is just a little girl trying to get over what happened to her. She isn’t a doll to drag around to fill the void in her life.
Sally may lose our sympathy when she continues to fight to gain Alice’s custody. She uses the police to harass June, sends gifts without warning, and shows up at their home unannounced.
She tells June that Alice shouldn’t be growing up in a place full of damaged and traumatized people. But doesn’t she realize that is exactly who Alice is?
Alice can begin healing in that place because she has so much in common with the women who have sought refuge there.
At one point, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart has us believe that there will be loose ends and characters that may have been forgotten. However, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Season 1 Episode 3, “Part 3: Lantern Bush,” fixes that by mentioning Alice’s baby brother.
After Alice leaves the hospital with June, we believe we won’t hear from her brother again. We wonder what has happened to him. Does he survive?
Indeed he does. However, June’s reaction makes us wonder if we will ever see him.
This woman seems terrified of bringing another little boy into her home and raising him to end up being just like his father. This isn’t explicitly said on the show, but the audience can question this given June’s reaction.
The moment she hears the baby boy is ready to come home, the soundtrack changes to a tone that makes us, just like her, feel anxious and afraid. Her face says it all. Is this the right decision?
As the episode ends with her calling Sally, we wonder if she has decided to give the boy away.
With a few more episodes still left on The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Season 1, we wonder how many more secrets and lies will come to light. How many more stories hide between the flowers?
Now that Alice has regained her voice and is learning about her parents’ past, anything can happen.
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What did you think of this episode of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart has weekly releases through September 1 on Prime Video.
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Lara Rosales
By day, Lara Rosales (she/her) is a solo mom by choice and a bilingual writer with a BA in Latin-American Literature known as a Media Relations Expert. By night, she is a TV enjoyer who used to host a podcast (Cats, Milfs & Lesbian Things). You can find her work published on Eulalie Magazine, Geek Girl Authority, W Spotlight, Collider, USA Wire, Mentors Collective, Instelite, Noodle, Dear Movies, Nicki Swift, and Flip Screened.