Dead Tomorrow – As this episode of Grace begins, we see a group of immigrants on a boat. Babbar (Shamail Ali) gives Sia (Seham Aar) his beanie and promises that everything is going to be okay in broken English. A nearby ship begins blowing its horn as the immigrant ship is illuminated by the light. Later, Layla (Faith Alabi) tells Callie Backhurst (Ellis George) that the taxi is here. A man drives on a motorcycle. Layla tells Callie she can’t believe it is finally happening. Callie believes she has waited long enough though. The man on the motorcycle speeds by their taxi before he crashed. A man on a boat gets a warning. DS Glenn Branson (Richie Campbell) tells DSI Roy Grace (John Simm) that the vessel experienced blockage while out on a routine dredge. They check a man wrapped in a blue trap who is missing his eyes.

They contemplate whether it was natural, a ritual, or something else. Nadiuska is going to be away for a while so she is going to send Cleo Morey (Zoe Tapper) to deal with the body. While Callie waits with her mother, she says she isn’t nervous and is talking to her boyfriend Luke (Ernest Kingsley Junior). Roy tells Cleo that he had been meaning to call, but she wonders if he lost her number. She suggests they just be pros and get on with it. Although Cleo thinks Nadiuska can provide a better estimate, she thinks the man was in the water for a few days. As for the wound, it doesn’t appear to be a regular knife wound. It could’ve occurred postmortem or close to it. Although Roy says he has really missed her, Cleo wouldn’t have known it.

He promises he was going to call her this week to see if they could get something to eat. He thinks there are certain things they should talk about. Glenn interrupts with the chief engineer Marcus Backhurst (Daniel Adegboyega) who wants to know when they can set sail. Marcus tells Roy that the coordinates were recorded when they encountered the problem. They can get those coordinates to them, but Marcus has to go deal with a family thing. As he leaves, he calls Layla who says she shouldn’t have to do this alone. Callie is her daughter after all. Despite what happened between them, they promised to be there for their daughter. Marcus learns that it didn’t go through because it wasn’t suitable.

Saskia Cobb (Lucy Phelps) arrives because her husband was brought here after he was in an accident. She informs the receptionist that his name is Noah Cobb. He is a senior surgical registrar at the hospital. At the station, Roy tells ACC Alison Vosper (Rakie Ayola) about the removal of the eyes and an incision into the chest. It might’ve been a ritualistic murder. The specialist dive unit may be able to tell them where the body went in. He put out a marker for any Mediterranean or Middle Eastern victims. Tania Walsh (Lu Corfield) believes she’ll be able to figure out where he went into the water. She says she can organize a dive by tomorrow. That night, Saskia sits with her husband at the hospital.

Joe Baker (Alec Newman) gambles at a casino when he receives a message from someone asking him to call them. The person on the phone tells him that they might have a problem. In the morning, Janet Telby (Jayne McKenna) tells Jim (Antony Byrne) about the police wanting to go out on the water. He calls her a stupid woman for working with the police, but Janet says he hasn’t been fully booked. Cleo tells Roy that the victim is in his teens or early twenties and is malnourished. Nadiuska (Carolina Valdes) describes the cut and says the victim probably died four or five days ago. She reveals that all major organs have been surgically removed and blood vessels tied with sutures. Nadiuska confirms it was not a ritualistic killing and points out the wound on the back of the hand.

The victim might’ve had an underlying health condition, but they can’t say what because the organs were removed. Roy believes he’d be on a hospital list if he is a donor. Dr. Roger Gunnislake (Stephen Boxer) visits with Saskia to apologize for what she is going through. Noah was a dear student and friend. Roger offers to do everything he can. Tania gives Glenn a coat since it is going to be nippy out there before asking what they’re hoping to find. Glenn says anything that can help them determine how the body got out there. He is introduced to Jim Telby who doesn’t know what a body would be doing out there.

He says it is an awful thing a kid losing his life like that. Joe watches with binoculars as the boat sails away from the dock. At the station, Roy tells Alison and the others that it wasn’t a burial at sea. Nick (Brad Morrison), Bella (Laura Elphinstone), and Norman (Craig Parkinson) discuss whether it could’ve been a family thing. Nick is asked to get his photo out to the ports. Tania comes out of the water to tell Glenn that she found nothing and there is no visibility. She believes he is looking for a needle in a haystack even with the coordinates. Ari (Rebecca Scroggs) calls Roy to schedule a meeting so they can talk about his new girl. Tania tells Glenn that the sonar has picked up a few anomalies on the seabed.

It’ll have to be the last dive of the day because they’re losing light. At the Brighton Palace Pier, Luke tells Callie that she is going to be okay. Although she knows, it is tough since this was the third time it was supposed to happen. She admits she was half wanting it to happen and half not wanting it to happen because they open people up. Callie tells him about her parents constantly fighting. While he says they are just worried about her, Callie thinks that is an excuse. She doesn’t want to be like that when she gets older. Before they go, Callie wants to get some chips. Later that night, Glenn phones Roy to tell him they’ve pulled up two more bodies. Glenn says they look like the prior victim in terms of the way they were wrapped. When the call ends, Roy imagines seeing himself with Sandy (Clare Calbraith) on his birthday.

Cleo interrupts when she joins him. Cleo tells him that her friend broke up with her boyfriend and wants her to go on a girl’s weekend with her. He tells her she is perfect just the way she is when she mentions that the spa offers Botox and such. Roy apologizes for being off radar for a bit and blames Pewe visiting Sandy’s family. He admits that Alison wasn’t as hostile today. Roy hasn’t been here for years and thinks the last time was the night before his 40th birthday. When Callie and Luke go to the shop for chips, a group of men attacks some of the immigrants outside. One man gets stabbed before everyone leaves him alone. Callie calls for an ambulance while Luke tends to the man. In the morning, Sia and another woman talk about whether the man died. She tells her about Babbar who got a job in London as a waiter.

Sia believes he is going to send for her. At the morgue, Roy and Glenn learn that the first body belongs to a Caucasian female between 15 and 20 years old. She has a cut like the first victim and all organs have been removed with medical expertise. Saskia returns to see Noah at the hospital. Sia walks down by the water and remembers Babbar giving her the beanie. She imagines running down into the water with him and Babbar telling her that they’re safe. Roy learns that the second body is an unknown male of Middle Eastern or Mediterranean origin. He has the same wounds and all organs have been removed from his body. Roy tells Bella and the others that they’re likely dealing with a human organ trading operation. Norman mentions the boy who was stabbed outside the restaurant and that they’re likely undocumented migrants.

Glenn believes that means they’re picking people who aren’t going to be missed since they’re from the migrant community. Grace says they need to find them and stop it fast before other young people are gutted. Layla tells Marcus that she stopped responding to antibiotics so she is worried she’ll start going down fast. It is either a transplant or possibly death in a couple of weeks or months. Layla can’t lose her baby. Alison learns about the human organ trafficking operation. Grace tells her that a liver can fetch 200,000 pounds. If there are any more victims out there, Roy believes they’ll find them.

Saskia gets a message asking Noah to meet Wednesday. When Roy meets with Ari, he suspects she didn’t meet just to talk about his love life. Ari explains that she can’t take much more because Glenn hasn’t been the same since he got shot. She complains about the sky diving and the way Glenn drives. He is also really moody at home and even the kids have noticed. Roy promises to talk to him and see what he can do. Moments later, Roy watches CCTV footage from the chip shop stabbing as they find that only Luke stayed with the victim. Glenn says there were a couple of women outside too, but they ran off. He is going to check with the dive unit so he leaves. Roy tells Nick to put in a request to the Home Office for a list of all surgeons who have struck off in the last couple of years.

Nick is told to get closer on the registration plate because they might’ve seen something. After talking to migrants, Bella learns that one victim might be Babbar and he hangs out with a girl who was outside the chip shop. Later that night, Joe visits Jim to complain about the police using his boat to find the two bodies. Jim says he might need more money if he has to get away in a hurry. When Jim turns around, Joe knocks him out. Saskia gets another message from J since she didn’t answer the first one. She calls the woman back and explains that her husband can’t come to the phone. She tells the woman what happened and that Noah won’t be answering her messages anytime soon because he is in a coma.

Bella learns that one of the girls might be called Kuma (Amina Koroma) or something like that. She supposedly left with a white, well-dressed woman in her 30s. Jim finds himself tied up while Joe takes the boat out. He tells Joe that his wife will be expecting him because it is their anniversary. Joe reminds him that he gave him 20 grand to take him to a place where the bodies would never be found. He claimed it was the official site for burials at sea. Joe claims he wanted to bribe him if those bodies were discovered. Jim suggests otherwise and says they can forget about the money. He was just panicked when he said that. Joe says that worries him because he could say anything when he is panicked. Jim says what he is doing is wrong and they were just kids.

Jim promises to say nothing, but Joe likely isn’t willing to take that risk. At the station, Roy and the others discuss the possible identities of the victims and witnesses of the stabbing. They know that Kumba hangs around the arcades and could lead them to their witness who knows Babbar. When Roy learns she was last seen with a well-dressed woman, he suspects she might be the talent spotter. Although Glenn says Kumba might already be another victim, Roy thinks they’d have to take tissue samples and such first. He mentions a list of drugs they’d need and informs his team that they need to look for unusual activity around the coast. Joe meets with Julia Giroux (Josephine de La Baume) who thought she’d be safe here. Joe insists they can’t tie any of this to her and nobody will find Telby.

He offers to close down and go back north, but Julia can’t because a customer is flying in from New York in 72 hours. They’ve also lost their secondary surgeon. Julia says they need to come up with new disposal arrangements since Telby is out of the picture now. Joe suggests dropping what they have from a plane. Julia confirms they have two potential donors. Luke begins researching kidney transplants. Meanwhile, Roy wonders if they’ve been looking at this from the wrong angle. He thinks they should look for patients who were on waiting lists but aren’t anymore. There will be three groups, including those who died, those who got an organ legitimately, and those who got an organ from the red market. Norman and Bella discuss the harsh conditions while looking through one of the refugee camps.

Grace finds that it is legal in Iran to buy and sell organs. Nick interrupts to tell them that Jim Telby’s boat has gone missing. Layla returns home and tells Luke he doesn’t have to stay although he says he would like to help. He tells her how he has found out that you can buy a liver from social media pages and people will get whatever you want. People are wanting to sell their organs all over. Layla asks whether there is anyone in the UK. As Glenn drives Roy to their destination, they argue about his reckless driving. They go back to the dock where Glenn believes he saw the sunlight beaming off of something when he was on the boat. Grace tells him that people who nearly die start believing that they’re untouchable. Glenn believes Ari put him up to this. Glenn finds a cigarette that proves someone was likely watching them go out.

Sia and Kumba argue whether the woman is going to show up. Sia doesn’t think the woman will have a job for her. Julia’s vehicle pulls up moments later. Janet Telby tells Glenn and Roy about her husband going missing. She doesn’t think he got a last-minute charter since they had a restaurant booked for their anniversary. Janet admits money got tight because people didn’t have the money they used to. She confesses that her husband was upset with her for taking a booking from the police. Janet told him to cancel it if he was that bothered, but he thought he should see it through. Jim came home very late the week before last, but he never stayed out overnight. While he said he got a charter for night fishing, it wasn’t in the book. She doesn’t know who booked it.

Jim didn’t seem himself when he came home and he had been drinking. Later, Roy says he’d feel unlucky to dump a body in a dredge channel. Tania asks whether they were sloppy, but Roy doesn’t think so. He wonders if someone put the bodies there because they had a bad conscious. He believes they knew about it and that is why they haven’t been able to find Jim. The last ping from his mobile had it 10 miles out and going in a southwesterly direction. They discuss the possibility of the ship going down or someone scuttling it. Roger visits Saskia and learns that Noah’s blood pressure rose before plummeting. She has seen that happen to enough patients to know that Noah isn’t coming back. Roger asks if there is anyone who could come to give her support.

Steve is coming from New Zealand and she’d like his brother to see him. Roger recommends taking as much time with Noah as she needs. Julia tells Sia that she has to be healthy to work in a hotel so they’re testing her. They’ve finished with Kumba. Julia promises she can get a nice job in London soon if her medical checkup is good. Then, her dreams will come true. That night, Roy contacts an organ matching service. He also finds a website for the Bramber Grange. Roy calls Cleo to ask what could cause kidney failure in someone young. She says PKD and several other issues. They begin talking about Cleo’s weekend with her friend. He apologizes for taking her to the restaurant because it slipped his mind. Cleo admits it is hard to compete with someone who isn’t there, but Roy says it isn’t a competition.

He wanted to say that to her the other night. Grace reveals he has come to the decision to have Sandy declared legally dead. Cleo doesn’t want to bounce him into anything. Roy is willing to go all the way if that is what she wants. She doesn’t want to talk about their relationship over the phone. They say good night before the call ends. The next day, Nick tells Roy that a man walking his dog found a new outboard motor. Roy wants it bagged, brought in, and checked for fingerprints. Glenn says the DNA from the cigarettes should be back tomorrow. Roy reveals he contacted a dozen organ brokers last night and one of them has contacted him back. The message happens to be from an email belonging to Julia. Nick is asked about surgeons.

He tells them about a doctor who was found guilty of illegally procuring organs for patients. Another surgeon named Tomi Yemisi was struck off for lying to get a job. Julia meets with Layla and Callie. They begin discussing Callie’s condition and the fact she’ll die if she doesn’t get a transplant. Julia says she always promises to get a matching organ and complete the transplant in one week. She is confident that there will always be a matching donor somewhere. Glenn finds two patients on a waiting list who were later removed and declined an organ. The surgeon involved was Noah Cobb. Nick remembers the name because he was the subject of a tribunal last year due to his views on commercial organ transplantation.

He managed to avoid dismissal with help from the senior man at the hospital. Roy and Glenn visit Dr. Gunnislake and learn that Noah was brought in about five days ago. Roger says Saskia is losing her husband and the world is losing a brilliant surgeon. When questioned about the tribunal, Roger says Noah only gave one speech asking for an open debate. Once tabloids got the story, they turned him into Doctor Frankenstein. He wasn’t going to let a gifted young surgeon get hung out to dry though. Layla tells Marcus that she secured a loan on the house so the money is in place. She believes the organ will come from a road accident victim, but Marcus worries it could be linked to the boy he saw come out of the water.

Layla doesn’t think that was anything to do with it and she would never do that. Marcus says she would do anything for Callie. He warns her that she doesn’t know these people. Layla asks what he would do to save her. They don’t know if this is linked to that, but Layla knows it could be their only chance to save Callie. When Marcus refuses to be a part of it, Layla asks when he has ever been a part of it. Glenn and Roy talk to Saskia about her husband referring two patients for transplants that got organs elsewhere. Saskia doesn’t think her husband would ever do anything illegal like that. She goes on to say they didn’t have secrets in their marriage. She mentions bringing his mobile in to play music for him and getting a strange message. She tells them about the subsequent phone call with a woman who might’ve been French.

Roy shows Alison information from Interpol about Transplantation Medics. They have no physical footprint on Swiss soil. Local police have had Julia Giroux on their radar for a long time because she might have links to organized crime in Columbia. He has arranged for her to meet with Keith Taylor who doesn’t exist. Roy put feelers out on several of these places and Julia was the first to respond. Alison learns about the text to Noah’s phone that might’ve come from Julia. Glenn suggests the theater might’ve been an operating theater. As for the phone number, it is dead so it might’ve been a burner. They may have up to 48 hours to find them if the operation is on Wednesday. Julia watches Roy and Glenn conduct a press conference to discuss the bodies.

She receives a call from Norman who is pretending to be Taylor. He tells her that his nephew has kidney failure. Julia asks specific questions that he can’t answer although he says he can find out. Norman asks whether she has a clinic nearby. She says it would depend on availability, but they’d made that decision closer to the operation. As for the price, it would be 200,000 sterling. Norman doesn’t think the call went well, but Roy believes it is the right woman. Glenn says she will need a new surgeon. They discuss the possibility of Roger getting involved. Roy and Glenn meet with him at his house moments later. They discuss his house before going inside to discuss Noah and other things.

When he is shown pictures of the victims, Roger cannot identify them. Roger doesn’t think it is possible or that they would do it here when they could go abroad. He admits he has worked in Romania and Columbia. Roger says his daughter Katie died just over 10 years ago at 23 due to liver failure. After that, his marriage broke down and he went abroad. He fell in love with his wife Gabriella. Roger claims he knows nothing about Transplantation Medics or Julia Giroux. He doesn’t believe Roger would’ve been working with Julia.

Julia takes a picture of Norman to Joe and says he is a liar so they need to find who he is. Joe knows he is a cop since they were nosing around after the stabbing. Julia believes they’re getting too close, but Joe says they’ll be gone before they tie anything to them. He doesn’t think the people behind Transplant Medics will be happy if they run now. Julia says nobody will thank them for getting caught. She orders him to have the pilot on standby and move the transplant forward. In the morning, Julia calls Layla to tell her that Callie shouldn’t eat or drink anything this morning. Glenn tells everyone that the DNA on the cigarettes matched Joe Baker who was involved in prostitution and sex trafficking. Nick says the car outside the chip shop was leased to a Joseph Baker.

The fingerprints from the outboard motor match Joe too. Joe retrieves Sia but leaves Kumba because her results weren’t good. Roy believes Roger gave an account of himself that was too polished so there could be more there. Bella says Interpol got a hit on a SIM that Julia used to contact Layla Backhurst. She also got calls from the area close to Roger’s residence. Roy wants him under surveillance. Roger is followed while Layla tells her daughter they’re sending a taxi to pick them up. They’re supposed to leave their phones behind. Before they can leave, Roy, Glenn, and Bella arrive at the door. Once they go inside, Roy tells Layla they suspect she is trying to buy a liver for her daughter. Layla claims she has just been calling around because the system isn’t working.

She has done nothing wrong and they’d do the same if they were in her position. Roy tells her that the new kidney won’t be coming from someone in a car accident. They warn her that Callie’s donor may still be alive, but she will be killed. Callie comes in to tell her mother she doesn’t feel good. Roy encourages Layla to think about what he said before they leave. Roy decides to keep surveillance on them instead of arresting her right now. Sia arrives at the property where Julia greets her and takes her inside. Callie asks her mother whether it is true about her donor still being alive. Layla tells her daughter that the police are lying. Callie keeps coughing as she admits she doesn’t know how much more she can take. At the station, Nick is keeping track of Roger’s car.

Norman says there have been no more calls to Layla. Sia settles in and is instructed to wash while Layla and her daughter get into the taxi outside. While Sia is showering, a nurse goes into her room to drug her orange juice. Norman tells the others that Layla and her daughter are mobile. Layla and Callie follow a man down an alleyway while Julia encourages Sia to finish her orange juice. She finishes the drink and passes out on the bed. The cops lose the Backhurst couple so Roy recommends checking Layla’s mobile phone. Julia and Joe discuss whether they should start removing the kidney now or wait. Julia learns that they’ll be here in 20 minutes. Marcus tries to call Layla who left her phone at home. The other surveillance team learns that it has lost Roger.

It was Roger’s wife who was used as a decoy. Alison believes Roy should’ve arrested Layla when they had the chance, but he argues they didn’t have enough evidence. They would’ve blown any chance they had of catching these people. Alison thinks they’ve lost that chance anyway. Norman goes to the homeless camp where he talks to Kumba to see what she knows. At the Bramber Grange Spa & Hotel, Layla and Callie arrive for the surgery. Callie wants to know where her liver is from. Julia says a girl roughly her age was killed in a car accident. She asks for more information, but Julia can’t tell her anything else. Callie is told to go get changed. Bella confirms to Roy that Norman has found Kumba. She told Norman that Sia went with someone named Joe.

Both girls were taken by Julia for medicals. While Sia passed, Kumba did not. Callie finds Sia’s beanie with pictures of herself and Babbar inside. At the station, Roy wonders what he has missed. While Callie begins looking around, Roy checks with Nick to see if medical supplies were going somewhere they shouldn’t have. They spot the Bramber Grange on the list and suspect it is worth checking out. Roger finds Callie snooping around as they try to work on Sia. He tells her she can’t be in here because it is a sterile environment. Callie bursts into the room, grabs a scalpel, and threatens to cut anyone who comes near her. Her phone begins ringing before she slashes a woman in the face when she tries to grab her. Callie runs out of the room.

Police vehicles arrive outside while Layla searches for her daughter. Callie collapses outside. Joe stabs Glenn in the arm while Julia and the others are trapped in a van by Norman. Once everyone is arrested, Layla finds Sia on the operating table. When she picks up her daughter’s phone, Marcus says they’ve got a liver for her. While the others search for Callie, Roger tells Glenn and Roy that what he does gives the girl on the operating table meaning. He suggests she would die early by a religious group or die in childbirth in her own country. Roy goes on about her being brave by coming here, but Roger isn’t sure about that. They argue about being able to save them all before Bella finds Callie on the ground. Layla is taken to jail instead of getting to go with her daughter.

Saskia is shown with Noah who has likely passed while Callie is rushed in. Roy says she is getting a liver from a motorcyclist. Marcus is there with her. As for her mother, she will likely receive a custodial sentence. Since Roger is telling everything, Roy doesn’t think Joe or Julia will be going anywhere. Sia is waiting for her claim of asylum to be assessed. They also picked up her friend Kumba. Alison tells him she has been appointed assistant commissioner at the Met. Roy says he has never questioned her integrity so he wishes her the best. Later, Roy tells Glenn that they’ve found an anomaly on the seabed related to Jim Telby.

Glenn turns down his offer for a beer tonight since he has decided to go back to counseling. Grace believes that is a good idea. Glenn admits he felt indestructible, but he froze with that man today. He just wants to get well. While waiting for Cleo, Roy gets a call from Dom who says he thinks he saw Sandy. He thinks Sandy might be alive. Roy hangs up to talk to Cleo.

 

Grace Review

This episode of Grace was a tale of two television shows. The first half was a typical crime drama while the second was an infuriating mess. The concept of the organ trafficking operation was interesting enough while the investigation was solid. Things were going well until there were 20 minutes or so left and it got unrealistic from that point forward. This was a highly complex, well-organized operation considering the number of people involved and how quickly Julia sourced organs.

Julia’s people managed to help the Backhurst couple elude the police on their way to Bramber Grange while Dr. Gunnislake outsmarted them using his wife and a wig. Yet, they were incompetent enough to let a patient roam the halls and enter the operating room. Not to mention the way that Roy and the team conveniently picked out the Bramber Grange among a long list of establishments was unrealistic.

It was pretty clear well before this point that Callie was going to get a liver and Sia would survive. This trivialized Callie’s wait for a kidney in the first place. At times, the dialogue felt preachy to the point of eye-rolling. Unfortunately, the writing was too convenient to be realistic because things just don’t work out this easily in real-life. These fairytale endings rarely happen so it was incredibly disappointing to see the writers take this route, especially since viewers will see it coming from a mile away.

More risks and potentially controversial decisions should’ve been taken to make this an unforgettable finale. The episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of Grace can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our work at this link.