Dear Child – Season 1 Episode 2 Recap & Review

Grandfather

Episode 2 of Dear Child begins with Hannah narrating a sweet story about how her parents met and fell in love. At the same time, we see a woman walking on the road while on the phone. A car rolls up behind her and flashes its headlights.

At present, the Becks and Gerd tell Aida that Hannah looks exactly like Lena used to at that age. The woman in the hospital has a scar on her hand, same as Lena did. But she’s not Lena. Aida asks Gerd for the case file and DNA of Lena Beck. She then tells the Becks what they’ve learned about Jonathan and the house.

At the house, we see the man is still on the floor. His head is covered. A flashback shows him unlocking handcuffs that tied Lena to the bed. As he does so, he thanks her and says he had a good time. Aida tells the Becks to go home as they wait for the DNA comparison test. When she asks about their daughter’s blood type, Karin says it’s AB negative.

Aida wonders why Gerd was in charge of the Lena Beck case when he was friends with Matthias. He says he hid the fact at the time, frustrating Aida. Gerd describes how there have been no leads on Lena for 13 years. Aida then gets a phone call and asks Gerd to be with the Becks while she’s away. He promises to update her if the woman wakes up.

Matthias covertly makes his way to the break room and sits by Hannah.  He sees a drawing of the house made by Hannah. He promises to take her home.

Gerd visits the woman’s hospital room and begins to question her despite the fact that she’s unconscious. When he asks what her name is, she wakes up. The doctor rushes to her. In her head, we hear a man’s voice giving her orders, instructing her to lie. The woman says her name is Lena. The voice praises her and she passes out again.

As the voice continues talking, we see her daily schedule. In the morning she must make the kids breakfast — milk and a chocolate bar. When she can’t open the milk can, Hannah helps her out. She looks scared and confused and grabs Hannah’s wrist, begging her for help. She then passes out. Hannah looks into a camera in the room and tells her father that her mother had another attack.

Back to the present, at the hospital. In a haze, the woman sees Matthias tell her that he’ll take care of Hannah now. Near the site of the accident, police forces and their dogs are out looking for the house and for Jonathan. They use Lena’s clothes for scent. A man drives up to the roadblock in a car and asks about the situation. The policewoman questions him but he seems to be regular security personnel.

Gerd calls Aida and tells her about the woman’s brief consciousness. He also tells Aida the scar on the woman’s hand looks new and not decades old, as it should be. Hannah wakes up to breakfast and Doctor Hamstedt in her room. The daylight from the window hurts her eyes. Hannah claims to know that Matthias is her grandfather and remembers meeting him during a trip with her mother. But it’s a secret.

We see a garden filled with flowers. Hannah walks through them and runs into the arms of her grandfather. Benedikt narrates this to Gerd, who is surprised to think that Matthias might have met her before. Gerd then says he needs a DNA sample from Hannah.

Hannah continues telling stories to Ruth about how she and her mother even went to Paris. Ruth gifts her a pair of sunglasses and encourages her to look outside the window. Hannah does so and waves her hands through the rays of sunlight. Gerd goes to see Matthias and Karin and tells them what he heard. He asks Matthias if he’s seen Hannah before but both of them get angry with him.

Ruth collects the DNA sample from Hannah and then tells her she will have to go and stay at Benedikt’s hospital soon. She asks if she can go see her mother. Ruth agrees but says it should be their secret. One of the policemen finds a piece of fabric on a fence. It’s near a decommissioned military field.

Still wearing sunglasses, Hannah visits the woman in the hospital. Secretly, she takes something from her pocket and puts it in Lena’s hand. She whispers, “He is always with you.” After she leaves, the woman opens her eyes and sees a piece of glass in her palm. She hides it under a blanket. Aida and the policewoman observe the military field but aren’t allowed to enter.

Gerd tries speaking to the woman again and asks for her real name. He asks if she knows Lena and shows her a picture. When the woman asks about Lena, Gerd begins to describe her — her talent for drawing and the potential of her future. But after a party one night, she disappeared.

The last phone call from her phone was at 4.10 am. Then she was gone. Everyone was suspected, even her ex. But they never found anything. The woman begins to say something about a man but then her heart rate increases and the doctor sends Gerd out. The woman whispers to the doctor, asking to find out if she’s pregnant.

A flashback shows the woman being told to tell the kids a bedtime story. She looks shocked and beaten up. The kids are behaving like nothing is wrong. The man watches from the sidelines and orders her to get up when the kids can’t select a story. Matthias sees Hannah being put in a car to be taken to Benedikt’s hospital. He runs out of the room.

In the car, Benedikt tells Hannah about the clinic. Matthias seems to be following them. Karin tries calling him but can’t get through. Gerd comes by and apologises for earlier. Karin tells him Matthias had gotten better but now he’s regressing again. They discuss how Gerd is doing and he then tells Karin to go home and wait. Benedikt and Hannah reach the clinic but keep listening to songs in the car. Matthias watches them from afar.

Aida convinces a SWAT team to not wait for official permission and instead break through the fence to the military area. The security guard from earlier suddenly comes by and tells them the area is restricted. Aida has the men go inside anyway. At the house, Jonathan sees through the open front door.

After the men go inside, a blast is heard and Aida runs over. One of the men has had part of his leg blasted off. The place is rigged with mines and Aida finds herself standing right in the middle.

The Episode Review

Episode 2 of Dear Child is still a tad slow but keeps the intrigue going. In terms of plot, we learn about the real Lena and her life but not much else. The focus of this episode lies more on the present. Matthias’s fixation on Hannah, Hannah sliding the woman a piece of glass, the security guard — all of these things serve to heighten the tension. There is a sense of foreboding that the show does really well even at this slow pace.

Once again, the cliffhanger is what makes you want to keep going. Particularly that glimpse of Jonathan by the front door, looking as suspicious as ever. This much is clear, the children have been brainwashed into behaving this way. It’s an interesting concept and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes.