Grantchester Season 8 Premiere Ends in Tragedy — Plus, Grade It!
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.
When we last saw English vicar Will Davenport in Season 7 of PBS’ Grantchester, he’d just survived a near fatal stabbing, proposed marriage to widow and single mom Bonnie, said “I do,” and, perhaps more touchingly, exchanged “I love you”s with police detective Geordie Keating, his partner-in-crime-solving and new uncle-in-law. The final shot of the two men, now officially family, left fans with the kind of fuzzy feeling typically reserved for series finales. But praise be, prayers for an eighth season were answered. By the end of Sunday’s return, however, we were reminded that Will and Geordie can’t be happy for too long. Bring the pain!
More from TVLine
<I>Grantchester</I> Season 8 Set for July Premiere on PBS — Watch Trailer
Grantchester Shocker: Tom Brittney to Exit Series - Find Out When
The hour started pleasant enough with Will giving his latest sermon with motorcycles parked at the altar. Cancer survivor Mrs. C was not amused, but Will asked her and anyone else judging the young club members, who’d be participating in his charity race, to remember “another biker who rode in here four years ago full of bravado and not always enough common sense.” Enough time had passed since the wedding for Bonnie to be seven months pregnant and rolling her eyes at the mention of her “mother and baby” group. (She remains the 1960-set show’s most relatable character) After church, Mrs. C and her husband, Jack, presented the couple with a list of potential baby names before Ernie, Bonnie’s 7-year-old son, ran up to show off the drawing that Carl, a deaf biker, had done of him during Will’s service. Carl’s sketch book included other portraits and a logo for the motorcycle club, the Cambridge Crows.
Bonnie and Leonard couldn’t attend the race due to prior commitments, but Geordie and his family made an appearance. Cathy looked fabulous and as empowered as ever when she told Geordie to let their eldest daughter enjoy her new dream of owning a leather jacket. “Loads of girls are into bikes these days. One day, you could be riding ’em,” she whispered. (Foreshadowing!)
Geordie referred to Will as “Brando,” which was funny but not as comical as the trash-talking between Jimmy and rival Tommy, from the Devils of Newmarket MC, ending with Jimmy in a headlock, getting a noogie. The “fight” was broken up by Ron, Jimmy’s father, who runs the local garage. He’d gotten a promoter pal to come watch the race, which included a late entry — a mysterious rider known only as Lightning. Will crashed out over some hale bales to give the crowd a thrill, but it was Carl who got even Mrs. C cheering when he came from behind after a mechanical problem at the start line. He almost took the checkered flag from Lightning.
The next morning, Will couldn’t find the keys to his motorcycle, which Bonnie found in Ernie’s schoolbag. Will just let the boy storm off, which annoyed Bonnie, who wants a true co-parent. The vicar rushed off himself to meet Geordie at the field where the race had been held. Carl was dead, lying on the ground surrounded by beer bottles, his bike and his sketch book. The last drawing was of the field, just before he’d been killed, Will deduced.
Carl had left the garage alone the previous night, Jimmy told Will and Geordie. Ron immediately pointed the finger at the Newmarket lads, who’d gotten in a row with the Crows a couple weeks back and an “argy-bargy” before the race. Cocky Tommy was brought in for questioning and thought he was untouchable because he was from outside of their jurisdiction. The dimwit was actually innocent: He’d been getting handsy with his landlady… playing board games. Cue a classic Geordie headshake.
Geordie’s boss, Elliott Wallace, popped by his office to set in motion a storyline that will no doubt feature heavily in the six-episode season: At the end of the summer, Geordie qualifies for early retirement, which Wallace wants him to take. Detective Keating, who’s not ready to go gentle into that good night, went to find Will to blame him for having an affair with Wallace’s fiancée before she left town.
“Christ on a bike, Will. This is a morgue. It’s not a bloody pit stop,” he barked when he saw Will examining Carl’s ride. Will determined a spark plug had been shorted, which Carl had discovered when he stalled at the start line. Perhaps Carl had gone to confront the saboteur. Was it Ron, Jimmy, or Lightning?
Will went back to the garage to ask Ron some parenting advice and to see if he knew Lightning’s identity. Ron didn’t, but Will stumbled upon a hidden leaderboard. The bikers were keeping score of who did 100mph on different roads and conveniently listed what bikes they used. Lightning’s bike was registered to a man, but — surprise! — it was his daughter, Stephanie, riding it. Women weren’t allowed to compete, but most viewers had probably already guessed it was Stephanie donning that lightning bolt helmet since she’d been seen palling around with Carl and Jimmy. Jimmy was supportive of her riding, she said, but Carl thought females demeaned races. Still, she hadn’t killed Carl because she fancied him.
Going into Season 8, PBS had teased that an accident would rock Will to his core. You had to wonder if the twist might involve buddy Leonard’s post-café plan, a halfway house for men newly released from prison. Leonard had asked Will to write an open letter to the papers in support of the venture, since some of the neighbors had complained about ex-cons loitering in the street. Then, Will had been summoned to the house to defuse a situation with alcoholic Keith, who’d caused a commotion outside before brandishing a broken bottle as a weapon indoors. But with one punch, Will subdued Keith; crisis averted.
Late that night, Will caught Ernie trying to stuff his motorcycle jacket in the garbage can. “I don’t want you to die!” Ernie said, citing Will’s crash at the race and his bruised hand from the bout with Keith. Finally, Will saw what we all had: Ernie doesn’t want to lose another father figure. Will told Ernie the bike was going on holiday and put away the keys. Then, at Bonnie’s urging, he delivered Ernie’s punishment for stealing other people’s things: no more comics this month. “This is what having kids can make you do,” Bonnie said.
That statement made Will think that perhaps Ron, who’d checked all the bikes before the race, had sabotaged Carl’s so the promoter would see his son Jimmy win. There was only one problem with the theory: Ron had called the promoter there to see Carl. Suspicion turned to Jimmy, who, like Will, had a father he could never impress. Jimmy confessed: After the race, Carl had confronted him about the sabotage. Knowing that his dad would find out, Jimmy grabbed a crowbar and struck Carl over the head with it twice. He moved Carl’s body to the field and drew that final sketch to make the authorities believe he’d died there. Clever Geordie had already figured out a different pencil was used for the drawing, which was also the only landscape in Carl’s book.
After arresting Jimmy, Will witnessed the son’s painful confrontation with his father. Will went home to Bonnie to fret about what kind of dad he’d be to Ernie and the baby on the way. His mood didn’t improve when Bonnie, who doesn’t believe in God, thought this was a good time to tell him she wants to quit Tuesday’s Bible group. She appeared to turn things around when she called in Ernie and challenged him to make the adults laugh. He put on the radio and danced. Success! Then the phone rang: It was Bonnie’s father. Her mother had a stroke.
Will was angry that Bonnie agreed to travel to her parents at seven months pregnant. The verbal sparring as she got in the cab escalated quickly. He came off more like a child not getting his way than a concerned husband. Will had told Geordie earlier in the episode that riding his motorcycle clears his head and calms him. Yet when he grabbed his keys, riding again seemed more like a decision he was making to punish Cathy and Ernie for complicating his life — for weighing him down with the worry that he couldn’t be a better father than the abusive one he had. Will sped off on the winding country road and suddenly, he was yelling “No!” as a man ran out into the street. Will struck him, crashed his bike, and ran back to kneel by the unconscious stranger. The vicar begged him to wake up. Will felt no pulse. It’s a good thing Geordie hasn’t been forced to retire yet.
Are you ready to follow Will through more self-flagellation (that may be justified this time)? Was that episode-ending shocker worth it to give actor Tom Brittney a chance to play the spiraling Will to come? And do you feel guilty for wondering if Geordie should retire (as long as it’s his choice)? Grade the premiere below, then join the congregation in the comments to share your thoughts.
Best of TVLine
Get more from TVLine.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
