Alice & Jack – Season 1 Episode 1 Recap & Review

Episode 1

Episode 1 of Alice and Jack kicks off with Jack and Alice meeting at a bar, both having connected on a dating app. They settle in for drinks and begin sharing snippets of their lives, from career aspirations to personal goals. Jack, a biomedical researcher, dreams of finding a cure for Hashimoto’s disease, while Alice, who works in finance, expresses her desire to amass wealth.

Unlike Jack’s idealism, Alice views life through a more pragmatic lens. After a few drinks, Alice invites Jack back to her apartment, and they spend a passionate night together. However, a few hours later, Alice asks Jack to leave, which he agrees to. As he heads out the door, Alice compliments him, acknowledging his kindness and character. But when Jack offers to call her again, Alice declines, signalling the end of their encounter.

Jack ignores Alice’s reluctance and texts her, but Alice deletes their conversation from her phone. Meanwhile, Alice is seen paying a woman to be her friend.

The story fast-forwards three months, and Jack calls Alice after a breakthrough in his research. Alice suggests they meet up, revealing that neither of them is currently dating anyone.

Once again, they spend the night together, but this time, Alice asks Jack to stay. She proposes they spend the day together as well. That night, Alice falls asleep holding onto Jack. However, she panics when she wakes up to find Jack gone in the morning, unaware that he had only gone to fetch them coffee and croissants. It seems that Alice may be struggling with separation anxiety.

However, things between them take a turn for the worse when Jack asks Alice to rein in her behaviour. Despite Jack’s efforts to mend things later, Alice insists on leaving it as it is. A year passes, and Alice attempts to contact Jack, but he ignores her calls. Undeterred, Alice shows up at Jack’s office. Jack expresses frustration, telling her she can’t just barge into his life whenever she wants and then leave abruptly.

He reveals that after their visit to the museum, he couldn’t sleep or eat for days. Jack also discusses watching a film, meeting Lynn, becoming a father, getting married, and various other events that have occurred in the last year. This breaks Alice’s heart, and she confesses that without Jack, her life just feels stagnant. Despite the pain, Alice communicates happiness for the life Jack has built for himself. After wishing him well, Alice leaves in a taxi.

The Episode Review

The show’s off to a great start, easily shaping up to be one of the standout series of the year, maybe even rivalling “One Day.” It’s got that slow, sympathetic ambiance that keeps you engaged without losing your interest.

Also, the characters are fleshed out beautifully, especially if you’re into those slow-paced dramas. Alice is grappling with social anxiety and separation anxiety, though she hasn’t vocalized it yet. Despite her rough exterior, it’s clear she’s got feelings for Jack, but she’s often brusque with him, yet deep down, she’s terrified of losing him.

It’s what you call a complicated scenario. So, is their love story doomed before it even really starts? We’ll have to tune in to episode 2 to find out!