Flowers in the Attic: The Origin - Episode Four Review

After losing all of her children to tragedy and tension, Olivia develops a desire to wreak vengeance on those around her, soon becoming the most notorious and terrifying version of herself.

The final episode - written by Paul Sciarrotta - bridges the gap between the conclusion of the Garden of Shadows and the beginning of the Flowers in the Attic. I was surprised by the title of the finale, Martyr (a person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs) and the meaning behind this does actually break the canon of the book and film universe.

With the revelation that Corrine and Christopher are in an incestuous relationship, Olivia frantically tries to put an end to their relationship. When the young lovers try to justify their affections and point out that some states will allow them to marry as they are distantly related. Olivia wastes no time in revealing the actual nature of their relationship. Corrine’s world is turned upside down. While Olivia reassures her that she loves Corrine no different than Mal or Joel, her daughter is horrified that her conception resulted from her father attacking her biological mother.

Both Christopher and Corrine are reeling from the revelation they are siblings, but shockingly this doesn’t damper their feelings for each other. As Olivia believes she’s stopped the incestuous couple in their tracks, Corrine has snuck into Malcolm’s study to steal some money to run off with her brother-lover.

Malcolm is in surprisingly good spirits after murdering his former housekeeper and burying her on the grounds. That takes a rapid turn when he discovers Corrine in his vault and learns what’s been going on.

Max Irons really commits to this scene, relishing in the evilness of his character. Not only does he slap his once beloved daughter so hard that she is practically thrown across the staircase, but it is also revealed that Christopher was entitled to half of the Foxworth estate from Garland. Of course, Malcolm throws this vital piece of evidence into the fireplace and banishes his half-brother and daughter from his house of horrors.

Here, we gradually start to see the crossover between Garden of Shadows and Flowers in the Attic. Corrine and Christopher elope and, although they have nowhere near the amount of money Corrine is accustomed to, live a somewhat happy and stable life - Christopher's desire to lavish Corrine with gifts is a bit more unusual here, especially as he has learnt the hard way about the value of money.

Meanwhile, at Foxworth Hall, Olivia is devastated by the loss of her only living child but is more guarded around Malcolm. When it becomes clear that he has set his sights on Nella's granddaughter, Olivia devises a plan to stop her abusive husband without putting herself or the staff under suspicion. Instead of poison or tampering with his car, Olivia saws a bannister just enough for her leering husband to fall down two floors and face plant into the entrance hall. Admittedly, I laughed out loud at this scene, especially when Olivia casually took her time to call an ambulance.

Now paralysed, Malcolm is forced to watch as Olivia thrives as the true mistress of Foxworth and its businesses. Olivia demonstrates her business ethics outshine her husband's employees and even builds healthier relationships with the household staff - Olivia throws a going away party for Nella (who is headed to New York to pursue her singing ambitions). We get a beautiful musical moment where T'Shan Williams demonstrates her vocal skills. The two friends part on good terms, and the audience finally sees Olivia - happy!

That does not last. We see Olivia destroying the infamous swan bedroom in retaliation to Malcolm's refusal to sign the business over to her. This quickly escalates to a full-on fistfight, with Malcolm nearly choking his wife to death and Olivia breaking his one good hand - after he reluctantly signs the deeds.

With nearly two decades passing, the cast has a surprisingly talented makeup team to age up the characters. Olivia succumbs to her loneliness by reaching out to her cousin John Amos - played by The Vampire Diaries star Paul Wesley - who reprises the role and embraces the creep factor of the character. Here is where the episode started to lose me a bit. Without going into spoilers, Amos is supposed to be in the series until If There Be Thorns, but he becomes Origins' Martyr.

Amos converts Olivia to Christianity, which helps her find comfort and she even considers reconnecting with Corrine. Amos quickly dismisses this and, using her newfound faith against her, he begins to try to take on the role of the man of the house. When Nella points out that Olivia has swapped one abusive man for another, which has impacted both of her relationships with Joel, who is happily touring the world with his lover Harry. Another example that this is the healthiest relationship in the VCA universe. Unlike her brother, Corrine's love story has turned tragic. She has given birth to her notorious Dollanganger children, lost her husband in a car crash and is now bankrupt with no means to support herself.

When Amos encourages Olivia to wait until her daughter is at rock bottom before reaching out to aid her and her grandchildren, this breaks the bond between Nella and Olivia. Nella sees the woman her former friend has become and wants nothing more to do with Mrs Foxworth. When Corrine finally does get in touch, Amos starts snooping and learns from Malcolm that Olivia is a "murderer" - he omitted some key points.

When Amos confronts Olivia in the family church, Olivia confesses the whole truth about Corrine's birth, the former housekeeper's death and the extent of Malcolm's abuse. Shockingly, Amos finds her vulnerability and trauma quite attractive and attempts to kiss her - a reminder: these two ARE COUSINS - and when he is rejected, she berates his twisted logic and orders him to leave.

The finale deviates massively from the canon of the book - and even Lifetime's film adaptations. Amos attacks Olivia in a jealous rage, and in self-defence, she stabs him in the neck with a letter opener in one bloody and quite graphic scene. This was foreshadowed in episode one, but I would have written that as a nightmare sequence instead. As readers or viewers know, John Amos appears in at least two stories - killing him off presents a huge continuity issue if Lifetime wanted to do a series two.

Personally, I would have written Amos ensuring his place at Foxworth by threatening to reveal all their sins. Olivia could retaliate by agreeing but promising she'll no longer consider him family and he will be treated as any other servant. Instead, Olivia buries her creepy cousin outside in the dead of night, still covered in his blood.

Rooper delves into the Grandmother persona in the final scenes and although we catch a glimpse of Hannah Dodd's older Corrine, we conclude the series where Flowers in the Attic begins. Although, Flowers in the Attic: The Origin has to be my favourite adaptation of a Virginia Andrews adaptation to date, this finale leant a bit too much into the shock factors for me, and I feel there would be narrative issues if a second season were commissioned.

My rating for Flowers in the Attic: The Origin - Episode Four “Martyr” is ★★★½.