'Luther' Creator Finally Addresses if Alice Morgan Is Dead after Season 5
When Luther's fifth season ended, fans of the show wondered if that was the last time they would ever see Ruth Wilson's iconic villain Alice Morgan.
The killer had been a staple part of the BBC series since its first season, and she was a worthy adversary to Idris Elba's John Luther over his many years working with the police.
But in the show's shocking Season 5 finale Alice appeared to fall to her death. However the ambiguity of the scene meant fans hoped it wouldn't really be the end of the character. Even Wilson has previously refused to confirm or deny whether Alice had died at the end of Season 5.
Well, original show creator Neil Cross has finally addressed this, as he told Newsweek what Alice's fate was while speaking alongside director Jamie Payne about Netflix film Luther: The Fallen Sun.
Luther Creator Finally Addresses if Alice Morgan Is Dead after Season 5
Luther: The Fallen Sun finds Elba's former detective in prison after the events of Season 5, but he escapes in order to stop a sadistic serial killer named David Robey (Andy Serkis). Alice does not appear in the film nor is she mentioned, nor was it considered by Cross or Payne that she be brought back for the new film.
But the good news for fans of the franchise is that Cross has confirmed Alice is not dead. He also teased that she could potentially return in the future.
"As far as I'm concerned there isn't a world where Ruth Wilson ever went away," Cross said. "Just because she's not in this particular film doesn't mean that she's not there in the broader universe. Alice is a very real person to me and I wouldn't want to live in a world without her."
He went on: "I would love to turn the tables at some point on a conversation like this because Alice sprung from some moist part of the back of my brain fully formed, in a slightly folkloric way.
"I didn't make her up, it felt like she already existed. But, she is not a good person, and it interests me that people respond to her and like her, and—here's the troubling bit— identify with her so profoundly.
"It's an interesting thing, and when you've got a dynamic with the audience, a kind of conversation between character and audience which is that rich, we'd be fools not to want to explore that again, it's fun."
Payne, who directed episodes of Season 5 as well as the new Luther film, added how much he enjoyed hearing that fans want to see Wilson back as Alice in the franchise because it was "a real credit to the creation and to Ruth."
"It's fantastic to hear people wanting more of her for future Luther stories," he said. "It's great that people are calling to their favorite characters. I think that's a credit to the longevity, or potential longevity, of the franchise."
Referencing Cross' comments, Payne went on: "Isn't it exciting that it's a two-way conversation? And isn't that the best? The fact that it isn't Neil going 'oh this is when Alice appears,' he's saying 'we're talking.' She's there, thank God, she's out there somewhere."
Cross added that he felt Alice Morgan is "like a folk song" because she is not "owned by anybody," and "doesn't belong to [him], she doesn't belong to Ruth."
Payne concurred, saying: "Ruth will be the first to say that. And also I can say directing Ruth Wilson was an absolute joy that I'm sure any director feels.
"She's as smart as you hope she is, her passion for Alice is complete, so who wouldn't want the embodiment of a brilliant character to return."
Luther: The Fallen Sun is out on Netflix now.
