Existentialism in a bottle is how I see Alice and Jack, and it might just become one of the most misunderstood series of this year. The titular characters go through a rollercoaster of emotions, mostly heartbreaks. The meaning of life. We’re all looking for it in one way or another. It’s not easy for anyone, but in particular, it’s not easy for Alice and Jack in this poignant slow-burn. Nothing much happens in this series except a flickering romance between two people over a period of 16 years. One might say that it’s a story about life and the emotions that Alice and Jack have for each other in an existence without meaning. The narrative unfolds mostly through Jack’s perspective as he explores the workings of life, depicted as a series of coincidental meetings with Alice. Maybe a bit too tragic, but where’s the lie? Depending on individual beliefs, the culmination of all your labor and meaning comes to nothing in the end, and I suppose that’s what Alice and Jack series is trying to portray.
Spoilers Ahead
What Is The Series About?
In 2007, Alice Long and Jack Caine met on a dating app, subsequently meeting in a bar. This is the first time Jack has been on a dating app, and he isn’t the kind of guy who seems very adept at romance or even life. He works as a biomedical researcher. I have been down this path, and boy do I know why he’s bad at life. Getting to know Jack, she is quite intrigued by why he works as a researcher. I guess this scene in itself says a lot about Jack. He plans to find the cure for Hashimoto’s disease, then move on to another disease and another after that. He confesses that he doesn’t do this for money or glory, but for the sole fact that his work will save someone’s life and that somehow his work will improve the state of the world. Alice, on the other hand, works in finance and quite literally makes money for a living. This explains her disposition in life, and she does live quite an extravagant life, I might add.
The date goes pretty well, and they head to Alice’s apartment. The next morning, she wakes him up and politely asks him to leave. Even though they had a really nice time the previous evening, Alice asks him not to text or call her, as she’d prefer this to be a one-time thing. However, Alice likes him a lot for his kind nature and expects him to text back. But, when he does, she clears his chat instead. They lose contact for 3 months until Jack calls her to tell her that he found the cure for Hashimoto’s disease and wants to share this news with her. Alice and Jack meet again and spend the night together. The next morning, she becomes extremely panicky, being unable to find him as he’d gone to get some breakfast. They visit a local art gallery, where she treats a staff member extremely rudely, which leads to a short argument, making Alice disappear again. The plot follows Alice’s presence in different phases of Jack’s life as their bond grows stronger.
Why Do Jack And Lynn Get Separated?
Jack meets Lynn after watching ‘7 Beauties’ at the theater, initially believing it to be a romantic movie that would help him cope with his heartbreak over Alice. However, their coincidental meeting evolves into a relationship, and things take a significant turn when Lynn becomes pregnant. They make the decision to keep the baby and eventually get married. About one and a half years later, Alice re-enters Jack’s life, but now married, he chooses to ignore her calls. Undeterred, Alice shows up at his workplace instead. When Jack reveals his marital status, Alice realizes the gravity of her actions. Jack opens up about the hurt he felt when Alice left and tells her about Lynn and their daughter, Celia. Alice reciprocates by sharing her own feelings for Jack, but they agree to maintain a platonic friendship moving forward.
However, complications arise when Jack accompanies Alice to her mother’s funeral without informing Lynn. Tragically, Alice’s father passes away from a heart attack during the funeral, which gets featured on the news. Seeing Jack and Alice together on the news, Lynn confronts him, prompting Jack to disclose everything about his feelings for Alice from the beginning. Feeling like a mere replacement for Alice, Lynn suggests they file for divorce and part ways.
Why Is Alice Happy About Her Father’s Passing?
At her mother’s funeral, Alice appears rather aggressive towards her father, hinting at the underlying tension between them. When Jack moves into a new house after his divorce, Alice surprises him while he is looking after Celia. Despite Celia’s calm demeanor around Alice, when Jack startles her from behind, Alice becomes visibly agitated, causing a scene. Later, Alice confides in Jack about the truth regarding her father. Her father had consistently abused her when she was growing up. On one such night, her mother saw him but refrained from intervening. The next day, her mother unjustly blamed her for “stealing” her husband, adding to Alice’s trauma.
Alice’s avoidant behavior stems from her traumatic past, explaining her reaction when she was startled by Jack. Perhaps her relentless drive to accumulate wealth is fueled by a desire to escape her family, believing that only money could afford her such freedom. Her attachment to Jack likely stems from his consistent kindness, a rare quality that she adores despite her own disorganized social behavior.
Why Does Alice End Her Engagement With Danny?
After vanishing for another two years, Jack receives an invitation to Alice’s wedding. Enraged, Jack decides to confront her, expressing his disappointment with her recurring behavior. Alice responds by revealing her love for Danny, acknowledging that she and Jack cannot be together romantically but expressing her desire to maintain a friendship and asking him to be her man of honor. Despite initial hesitation, Jack agrees to attend the wedding with Celia. During the pre-wedding dinner, Jack delivers a heartfelt speech about Alice, evoking her dormant feelings for him. Although she has feelings for Danny, Alice realizes that her attraction to him stems from Jack’s absence, leading her to comprehend what it was like to love someone who understands her and accepts her for who she truly is. This realization prompts her to break off her engagement with Danny and vanish once again.
How Does Celia Connect With Alice?
Three years after the wedding incident, Alice reaches out to Jack, seeking to apologize and make amends. She offers to invest his money in a recent fuel bubble, assuring him of its high profitability. After a remarkably successful investment, Alice returns Jack’s share of the profits, closes down her office, and disappears once more, having amassed a considerable fortune.
Six years later, Celia, now a teenager, stumbles upon a letter left by Alice for Jack at her father’s house, hinting at a future reunion. Intrigued, Celia tracks Alice down to her apartment, hoping to understand why her mother harbors animosity towards Jack. Alice warmly welcomes Celia, and the two bond over conversations, with Alice even offering to teach Celia ballet. Their bond deepens over the next two years as Alice assists Celia in organizing her own ballet recital.
What Happens To Alice And Jack In The End?
Alice had decided to have a baby through artificial insemination because she felt that she needed to have a family. Unexpectedly, on the day of Alice’s artificial insemination procedure, Jack visits her at the clinic, and they end up sleeping together. Shortly after, Alice reveals that she is pregnant. However, a visit to the doctor together brings devastating news: Alice’s reports suggest genetic abnormalities, indicating the presence of cancer. It is revealed that Alice herself has stage 4 bile duct cancer with metastases.
Jack, who now heads his own research division, utilizes his resources to desperately search for an alternate cure while Alice undergoes chemotherapy. However, amidst their efforts, Jack receives his own diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, leading to the development of an aneurysm in his cardiac chamber. His parents’ deaths because of heart attacks is reevaluated as likely being misdiagnosed due to the genetic nature of the syndrome. As Alice loses hope in seeking a cure, Jack makes the difficult decision to call off the research at his lab, instructing his team to return to their previous projects. In their final days together, Alice and Jack reminisce about their shared experiences, acknowledging that they should have spent their time together rather than searching for meaning elsewhere.
Tragically, as Alice passes away beside him in the hospital, Jack remains by her side until morning, when hospital staff come to take her away. Jack informs his daughter of Alice’s passing before stepping outside, where he succumbs to another attack, ultimately dying from a cardiac arrest on a park bench. Even in his last moments, Jack’s thoughts linger on the happiest time he shared with Alice in Cuba.
Alice and Jack ends with Celia sitting solemnly beside the graves of Alice and Jack, nestled together in a cemetery. She visits her father’s locker at a storage facility where all his belongings have been stored. As she sifts through Jack’s research papers, she begins to shred them one by one. Amidst the papers, she discovers a box filled with Jack’s memories of Alice, including the letter that initially led Celia to her.
Throughout Alice and Jack series, we witness Alice’s struggle to confront her emotions, often seeking meaning in trivial matters that ultimately prove inconsequential in the face of her premature death. As she reflects on her journey, Alice comes to regret not fully embracing her time with Jack. Jack, on the other hand, dedicated his life to his work and to Alice, yet in the end, even his life’s work holds little significance. In his final moments, he remained consumed by thoughts of Alice, highlighting his meaning in life.
