As episode four begins, Grace Marks (Sarah Gadon) watches as one of the other prisoners is whipped in the cafeteria. She is promptly taken to the Governor’s mansion. There, Dr. Simon Jordan (Edward Holcroft) dreams of himself cuddling with Grace. Simon is awoken when Grace enters the room. Simon explains that he has been reading James McDermott’s (Kerr Logan) confession. James claimed that Grace was very jealous of Nancy. Simon admits the tale is different from the one Grace told. Grace changes the subject and returns to where she left off previously. Grace brushes Nancy’s (Anna Paquin) hair. Grace is told that they’ll be having chicken for dinner, since friends are coming over. Nancy recommends that McDermott kill a chicken. Grace goes on the hunt for James. Instead, she finds Jamie (Stephen Joffe).

When Grace returns to Nancy, she is harassed and ordered to kill the chicken herself. When Grace insists she cannot, she is slapped across the face and sent on her way. Grace gets lucky when Jamie agrees to help her. Before too long, Nancy is ordering Grace to get wine from the cellar. Grace does as she is ordered. During the dinner, Thomas (Paul Gross) speaks to his friends about Nancy. They turn their attention to Grace and the other men compliment her. Later, Grace is dragged to church with Thomas and Nancy. They trio receives dirty glances from the local. They leave early. Grace calls the church goers hypocrites. When they return home, Nancy belittles James for being away. When alone, James tells Grace that Nancy sleeps with Thomas. Grace refuses to believe it. Grace quickly begins finding signs of their relationship as well. She admits this caused her to lose respect for Nancy.

It also appears that Nancy is growing jealous of Grace and her relationship with Thomas. Later, James tells Grace that they need to stand together and demand their rights. He ridicules all of the Englishman. He explains that they all need to have their heads crushed and their bodies thrown in the cellar. Grace tells Simon that he did not believe his threats. Simon asks about James’ confession again. Grace insists it is silly. She explains that she could have poisoned Nancy without James helping. She claims that James was lonely and did not want to hang alone. Then, Grace tells Simon about the prison punishments. She explains that the doctors and orderlies in the asylum often took liberties for themselves. On her birthday, Nancy gives Grace a gift and the evening off. Grace decides to go for a stroll.

Grace becomes sad when she realizes that she doesn’t have any friends. Eventually, Jamie Walsh arrives and keeps her company. He offers to marry her. Grace refuses and then agrees to think about it. Jamie makes her a daisy crown. Thomas asks Grace about her male friend when she returns. She insists it was nothing and nobody, but Jamie. Nancy is far more critical. She ridicules Grace. James has fun at Grace’s expense as well. It becomes clear the Nancy is most likely pregnant. Moments later, Jeremiah (Zachary Levi) arrives. He tells Grace that he is going to become a hypnotist. He invites Grace to come with him. She asks whether or not he would marry her. When Jeremiah shows no interest in marriage, Grace turns down the offer. Eventually, James enters and runs Jeremiah off. A doctor visits Nancy. Grace begins to believe that someone is going to die.

Thomas meets Grace in the kitchen and requests a cup of tea. Grace obliges and starts a new fire. Nancy emerges and claims that she is fine now. Nancy orders Grace to clean up the floor, before vomiting. Grace cleans up the floor. She believes that James is behind her, so she orders him not to enter with his shoes on. She turns around and is surprised to see Thomas. Nancy enters seconds later and tells Grace to stop and get cleaned up. Nancy needs a new dress, because her old ones no longer fit. At this point, Grace realizes that Nancy is pregnant. She admits she was torn. She didn’t want Nancy to die like Mary, but it would not be fair for her to get married and end up a respectable lady. Later, Grace is frightened by the storm. James continues complaining about their treatment. Grace listens in as Nancy speaks to Thomas. Nancy tells Thomas that she believes James and Grace should be given notice and fired.

That night, Grace hears another whisper. Then, she has a strange dream of walking outside and being hugged by several men. She looks in a nearby tree and believes she sees headless ghosts. In the morning, it appears that Grace’s feet are dirty. She goes outside and sees white sheets hanging in the tree. She cannot believe that she left the laundry hanging outside. She admits she would have ran off with Jeremiah at that point in time. However, she didn’t know where he had gone. Grace speaks in a future tense. She admits she looked at Simon after telling the story and it did her heart good. She explains she thought she might be able to bring happiness into a follow being’s life. She ponders what Simon will make of it all.

 

Alias Grace Review

It seems that Alias Grace is getting better with each episode. I find myself more and more intrigued with the story and increasingly eager to find out what happens next. Truthfully, very little has happened in terms of action. The story is gripping nevertheless. I am still uncertain about Grace’s guilt. Watching it all unfold has been enthralling. This episode was good. It scores a 7.5 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of Alias Grace now!