The following contains spoilers for Luther: The Fallen Sun, now streaming on Netflix.
After a four-year absence, John Luther has returned to screens in Netflix's Luther: The Fallen Sun. The film picks up where the TV series left off, with Idris Elba's rogue detective being sent to prison after being framed for a series of murders. The film shines a new light on Luther's arrest, with Andy Serkis' sinister David Robey revealed to be the one who dug up dirt on Luther, piling the blame on him for murders he may not have committed but which were an indirect result of his unorthodox methods. Among the bodies on Luther's conscience is Alice Morgan, Ruth Wilson's villain/antihero who had a complex relationship with Luther.
Alice was introduced in the series' first episode, and she was suspected of killing her parents. She was guilty but clever enough to ensure there was no evidence that could lead to a conviction. Alice had been a child prodigy who grew into a criminal genius and a psychopath. While Luther tried to prove Alice's guilt, he admired her capabilities, and a love/hate relationship emerged between the two. The series finale pitted them against each other once more, and their final confrontation ended with Alice falling to her apparent death. Of course, fans expected a character as insidious and relentless as Alice to cheat death and make a swift return, but The Fallen Sun keeps her out of the picture and is better for it.
Alice Morgan's Last Encounter With John Luther
The fifth season of Luther saw Alice in conflict with the crime boss George Cornelius, who had previously stolen diamonds from her. And if fans were expecting to see Alice make a return in The Fallen Sun, her appearance in Season 5 might have set a precedent. She had been believed dead in Season 4, only to appear on Luther's doorstep at the end of Season 5's first episode. While she initially joined forces with Luther this season, the two ended up at odds with one another again when Luther lied about killing George Cornelius. In her anger at Cornelius' survival, Alice killed Luther's partner, DS Halliday.
This act of cold-blooded murder led to Luther chasing Alice down as she fled into a building site. Here, Alice prepared to shoot Luther, forcing him to knock her off the scaffolding they had mounted in self-defense. Before Alice could fall, Luther grabbed her by the arm, but she cut his hand and forced him to drop her. She fell to her death. The moment came as a shock to fans of Luther, apparently signaling the actual end of a character who had been part of the series since the beginning. That was also the last time audiences saw Luther until The Fallen Sun was released, meaning the question of whether Alice had actually survived was up in the air.
Luther: The Fallen Sun Ignores Alice Morgan
Alice is conspicuous by her absence in The Fallen Sun. The criminal genius who captured Luther's heart does not get so much as a single mention in the film. It's understandable -- as far as Luther or anyone else is concerned, Alice is dead. And while it's never made clear how much time has passed since the Season 5 finale, it's reasonable to assume that Luther's showdown with David Robey takes place after a long stretch in prison, meaning Luther has had time to move on from Alice's death. But in any case, Alice in the past grounds the film in the bleak and unforgiving world that Luther built over its original five seasons.
Of course, Alice came back from the dead before, though that was an off-screen death, unlike her more explicit demise in Luther Season 5. Still, there is a chance she could return in future Luther stories. But regardless of her future, Luther: The Fallen Sun did what no fan expected by simply leaving Alice Morgan to rest in peace. It would have been easy for the film to give in to fan pressure and drag Alice back into the limelight. But instead, the blunt finality of her death and the ending of Luther's time with her before he was imprisoned is allowed to hang over the events of The Fallen Sun. The result is far more powerful than her return could ever have been.
To see how the film avoids using Alice Morgan, Luther: The Fallen Sun is now available to stream on Netflix.