Grantchester Recap: A Topless Protest, Art Theft and Murder, Oh My!
After last week’s drama with Geordie clearing Will of reckless driving in a fatal motorcycle accident, the Grantchester writers knew we needed a laugh. Or, at the very least, a reason for Geordie to repeatedly roll his eyes before Will’s brooding continued. Season 8’s third episode delivered with help from an unlikely source: Painter Amedeo Modigliani’s Reclining Nude series.
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Cathy, in her best (and genuinely fabulous) smock, interrupted Will bathing in the light cascading through the church’s stained-glass windows so they could go see a painting on loan from Italy.
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“Fantastico,” he said.
“I love a man with an accent,” she cooed.
They met up with Geordie, who only agreed to spend his day off looking at art because he and Cathy are worried about how Will is — or isn’t — dealing with causing a death. A snobbish professor, Dr. Abbot, told them about this particular 1917 Reclining Nude: When she was first displayed for sale in a Milan window, the police closed the gallery. “I think they did everyone a favor,” Geordie said. “I mean, you get this sort of thing in every dirty magazine I’ve ever seen…through my work.”
Will, of course, thought the painting was a beautiful celebration of the female form. Cathy liked it for the woman’s self-confidence. Dr. Abbot, who wished he could keep the painting to himself for the next week, said he’s been writing a “groundbreaking paper” on the series for the last seven years and hopes to finish it before he retires next year. Truly, the Grantchester drinking game should be take a sip every time Geordie rolls his eyes.
At the outdoor reception, a group of young co-eds came to protest the hypocrisy toward women. They asked why it’s considered perfectly acceptable to gaze on the female naked body in art, but in real life women are expected to wear modest clothing. “She’s got a fair point,” Cathy said, glass of champagne in hand. Then she realized the young women were all undressing down to their undergarments. The co-eds said it’s men who get to decide what is appropriately modest clothing — men who don’t ask what they think or feel but believe it’s their right to decide for women. (How timely.) Men began throwing crumpled paper at the women, at which point Will urged Geordie to step in. Most of the women scattered when the campus porters finally arrived, and one knocked Geordie to the ground. The leader remained and took off her bra to make a statement. While Cathy and Geordie covered her, Dr. Abbot discovered the painting was missing from its frame.
Back at the station, Geordie’s colleagues laughed at him for not being able to keep up with a few young ladies (as if any of them looked capable!). He sent Larry to the university to interview the porters, who Abbot said had keys to his office. Then Geordie and Will questioned the protester, who, to their surprise and discomfort, was once again topless in the interrogation room. She seemed surprised to hear that the painting had been stolen, but she still refused to tell them her name or who may have known about the protest in time to use it as a distraction.
Larry called them to the college: A porter named Peter had been found dead in a corridor. At the sight of the body, Will began to have a panic attack. Peter had been bludgeoned in the back of the head with a candlestick. Larry told the bedder (aka cleaning lady) — who Will, Geordie and Cathy had seen leaving the building on their way into the exhibition (suspicious!) — that the porter was probably collateral damage if he happened upon the art thief. But Geordie wisely wanted to make sure no one else had wanted Peter dead. Abbot couldn’t help; he hadn’t bothered to learn anything about him.
Geordie and Will searched Peter’s small room on campus, which Geordie would be shocked to hear was a tad larger than the single I had during my junior year. We learned Peter had been a porter for a few months, and was very proud of the position. The college doesn’t hire married porters, which became interesting when Geordie found a letter from a woman named Sheila asking Peter to meet her because she believes they love each other and their baby will need a father. Will was surprised that Geordie abruptly suggested he quit for the day, but it was a ruse to get him home: Bonnie had come back for a couple days, taking a break from tending to her stroke-stricken mother to check on Will. The couple took a walk, and while Bonnie wanted to discuss how he was processing the accident, Will preferred to distract her with kisses and outdoor sex. (Pause to remember the steamy alley scene between Will and reporter Ellie in Season 5… and we’re back.)
Geordie went to see Sheila on his own and discovered she was actually Peter’s wife of two years. She laughed when he asked if she could think of anyone who wanted to hurt Peter. Maybe her, since he was pretending he was single for the job and only communicating through letters?
Bonnie and Will’s afterglow came to a quick end when she tried again to get him to open up about the accident. He was offended that Cathy and others were “gossiping” about how he was withdrawn and not himself. Will insisted Bonnie would never understand: he has his faith and talks to God, she doesn’t. The next morning, Will took Dickens for a walk and came in the door to find Bonnie discussing his demeanor with Mrs. C and Leonard. He shouted at the latter two for meddling and asked them to leave. I do love that Bonnie didn’t cave to Will. She scolded him for his behavior, but she wants to believe that he is as “fine” as he says he is. Will held her close enough that she couldn’t see how his face changed. He can only pretend for so long.
At the station, the men did something right! They sent Miss Scott in to talk to the protester. She earned her respect and got the co-ed’s name: Marianne Robertson. Over tea and cookies, Marianne stated that she knew nothing about the dead porter, nor did she and the other young ladies scheme to steal the painting. She refused to give the names of the other girls and get them arrested. Eventually, Geordie came to release Marianne, who was thrilled to see she had made the paper.
Cathy popped by to bring Geordie lunch. She was nervous because her boss had called her in to have a word. What will they do if she loses her job and Geordie is forced to retire, she asked. No need to worry, Cathy! She later came to the vicarage to celebrate her new promotion with Bonnie, even if the boss didn’t want to give her equal play to the bloke doing the same job. A sign of the times, pregnant Bonnie had a nip of sherry. She’s worried Will will never get back to himself. Cathy told her niece it took Geordie 20 years to get over the war. With Geordie being asked to retire, Cathy doesn’t want to tell him about her promotion. “Bloody men!” the women toasted.
After Geordie and Will finally questioned whether Dr. Abbot was obsessed enough with the painting to steal it for himself, they went to see Sheila. She admitted Peter hadn’t told her he’d have to pretend he was single until he’d already moved for the job. He said he’d send for her when he was settled, but he never did. She last saw him on the day he died. Her friend, bedder Josephine, had told her everyone would be busy with the exhibition so she should go see Peter then. Peter informed Sheila that their marriage was over. Sure, Sheila was angry enough to kill him but claimed she didn’t. Josephine confirmed Peter was alive when broken Sheila left him before the theft.
Over chips at the office, Miss Scott weighed in on the case. She reminded Geordie and Will that as an abandoned woman with a child, Sheila’s life was ruined. But as a woman whose husband died tragically, Sheila could start again. So perhaps she killed him and took the painting to make it look like a theft. They searched Sheila’s apartment and found the painting in her alley trashcan. She seemed too smart for that. At the station, she insisted again that Peter had been alive when she left him and told them to ask Josephine. At that point, I was convinced Josephine had killed him — because she’d been sleeping with Peter, who hadn’t told her he was married? — and she framed Sheila. I was only half right.
Will and Geordie assumed Josephine was covering for Sheila and wanted her to tell them what happened and trust that a barrister could make the court see Sheila’s side. Josephine believed a male barrister wouldn’t know the full story. Will related to everyone trying to make a decision for Sheila and how invisible she must feel. Then he remembered what Mrs. C had said to him: When someone you love needs support, you’ll do anything, even if it’s something they might not want you to do. They questioned Josephine again and pieced it together: She had seen how upset Sheila was and went to talk to Peter herself. He blew her off, so she snapped and grabbed the candlestick. She had the key to Dr. Abbot’s office since she cleans it and stole the painting to make it look like a theft. She had gone to check on Sheila, and still had the painting on her, when she saw Geordie there. She didn’t mean to frame Sheila, she had just panicked and shoved it in the bin. “I’m just so tired,” she said.
Seeing Dr. Abbot’s face on his board, Geordie went to the professor’s office to chide him again for caring more about the painting than he did the dead man — and for not bothering to tell them that the bedder would have a key as well. (Shouldn’t Will and Geordie have thought of that on their own though?) Abbot barely listened to him, staring at the returned painting like he was Gollum with his precious. How was he supposed to remember the name of a bedder, he asked. Abbot just wanted to know if the protesters had been charged with wasting police time. No, Geordie said, but Abbot was very close to it.
Will made Bonnie breakfast before she left to return to her parents. The gesture was ruined by him telling her to “listen to the man of the house and eat up” (even if he was being cheeky). She’s taking Ernie this time, which leaves Will on his own. Uh oh. They had a better taxi parting than before: No fight, just Will telling Ernie to write him twice a day and kissing Bonnie goodbye. But as soon as the car pulled away, Will’s face dropped and he lit a cigarette. Countdown to spiral in 3, 2, 1…
Elsewhere in the episode, the dishes and laundry were piling up at Leonard’s halfway house. Daniel wanted to hire a housekeeper, but Leonard refused. Later, Leonard felt betrayed when a woman showed up to apply for the job that Daniel had listed behind his back. He was being as stubborn as Will when it came to asking for help. But in the end, they worked it out: Leonard had been afraid that Daniel thought the halfway house was a phase, but it’s because Daniel understands that Leonard has found his calling that he wants them to hire someone to make it a success. So they’ll be calling Martha and praying she hasn’t taken another job.
I assume we needed to know that Leonard is this busy so we’re not questioning why he’s not trying harder to speak with Will — who’d opened up to him in the cell last episode and also shares his faith. Leonard’s limited screen time in this hour also gave actor Al Weaver an opportunity to direct the episode (well done, sir).
With three episodes left in the season, do we have enough time for Will to work through his issues before the baby arrives? Join the congregation in the comments and share your thoughts.
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