Love You Dead – The episode opens in Chateau Basque, France with Pierre Lucca (Jake Canuso) assisting a shocked Cassie Klein (Laura Haddock) to a chair. After clearing the room, Pierre intervenes when a man asks Cassie to sign her statement. She has a flashback of insisting Eric Klein (John Schwab) not discuss his work while they are on vacation. While walking through a vineyard, Eric collapses. Believing he may have been stung by a bee, she frantically searches for his EpiPen and yells for help.
Munich, Germany – Cleo Morey (Zoe Tapper) waits in the hospital lobby while DSI Roy Grace (John Simm) visits the room of an unidentified woman believed to be Sandy (Clare Calbraith). He finds the woman sleeping and realizes she is really Sandy. He calls her name and identifies himself. Terrified, she starts to call for the nurse but he pleads with her to not do it. Back in France, Cassie is preparing to leave the hotel when Pierre approaches and gives her an envelope from the safe.
Munich, Germany – Sandy claims to have been depressed when she left Grace. He assures her that there were better ways to deal with it than to disappear. He suggests her living under an alias was to make him believe she was dead before handing her Declaration of Death. As he prepares to leave, she says being lonely and alone is difficult. He tells her that he was accused of killing her and demands to know where she has been. Severely depressed, she left Brighton and ended up in Munich where she “broke down.” She says their marriage was over. Angry, she never told him, he returns to the lobby where Cleo is waiting. He tells her that Sandy wanted him to believe she was dead and they are leaving. Cleo is upset because she feels Sandy is haunting her. Back in France, Shelby Stoner (Daniel Fearn) takes note of security cameras at a home in an elite neighborhood.
Munich, Germany – Cleo tells Sandy about her engagement to Grace. Seeing she is pregnant, Sandy says don’t let Grace’s hectic work schedule get to her down when she is home caring for a crying baby. Grace is thankful they never had children. Sandy assures her that Grace is a good man and he didn’t deserve how she treated him. She tells them that she was broken. Grace apologizes if he failed her when he sees their house key on the bedside table. He says the house is no longer hers. Sandy extends her hand to him but he refuses to take it. She apologizes and hopes he will someday forgive her.
France – Shelby breaks into a house and shatters a glass on the floor. At 2am, he tells Angi Stoner (Marcie Lecky) that he is home. In the bathroom, he sees his mouth is full of blood and his nose is bleeding. The next day, Angi finds Shelby gone. A woman finds Shelby unconscious in his car. In Brighton, Grace and Cleo arrive home. They put away their ghosts. Back in France, Cassie removes a USB flash drive from the envelope previously stored in the hotel safe. Pierre is beaten because he has no information on Cassie’s whereabouts. Upon returning home, Cassie inserts the flash drive into the USB port on her laptop but it is password-protected. Scanning through Eric’s phone, she discovers a threatening voicemail from Marco, demanding he return the flash drive in 24 hours. Marco threatens Eric and Cassie.
Grace tells DI Glenn Branson (Richie Campbell) that Shelby has a history of breaking into the homes of wealthy Londoners. Cleo rules out a drug overdose as the cause of death. She points out a tiny puncture mark on his ankle. Glenn says Angi claimed Shelby worked last night as a security guard at Move and Groove on Platemere Road but not according to CCTV. At the police station, DS Norman Potting (Craig Parkinson) assures DS Bella Moy (Laura Elphinstone) that he has his condition under control. Elsewhere, Branson shows Angi CCTV footage of Shelby outside the pavilion at 1:14am. She believes he was at work. A short time later, ACC Cassian Pewe (Sam Hoare) urges Grace to focus on finding Crisp. Grace tells him about Sandy. After leaving Pewe’s office, Grace receives a call from Amos asking for his help in locating Cassie. He later tells DC Nick Nicholl (Brad Morrison), Bella, and Branson that Cassie’s husband, Eric died of anaphylactic shock in France. She never accompanied Eric’s body back to New York. Eric’s housekeeper, Nicole Depledge, and Pierre have since been murdered. They watch CCTV footage of Pierre giving Cassie an envelope.
Cassie cracks the passcode to Eric’s USB flash drive. Albert Cuccini, head of the Cuccini crime syndicate, and Anton “The Skewer” Romanov profiles pop up on her screen. Tooth sends a message to someone telling them that she is en route to a Brighton mailbox. At the morgue, Nadiuska De Sancha (Carolina Valdes) tells Branson and Grace that Shelby died after being injected with snake venom. Elsewhere, Cassie receives a call from Eric’s lawyer, Parker (Dana Watkins), warning her that she may be in danger.
Studying a photo from Shelby’s phone, Grace sees a vivarium, a snake enclosure, in the background. He suggests Shelby was trying to steal a rare snake. Norman shows Grace a newspaper article about Eric’s possible connection to the Cuccini crime syndicate. Eric’s olive oil investment was draining his bank account and he desperately wanted out. Bella shows Grace a photo of a man (Tooth) who was asking questions about Cassie at Brighton a mailbox. Elsewhere, Cassie plans a private event. At the police station, the man from the mailbox is identified as James John “Tooth” Robertson who is affiliated with the mafia.
Rowley assures Cassie that their wedding will be perfect. Elsewhere, Morgan and Branson go door-to-door to see if anyone has seen Tooth. In the meantime, Tooth finds Cassie with Rowley at a local restaurant. When Cassie leaves her seat, Tooth drops something in her bag. At the police station, Nick
Norman tells Roy he’s got some news from France. On the night Cassie likely left Paris, a taxi driver says he picked up a woman outside Eric and Cassie’s place. He dropped her at the station for a train to London. French police haven’t spotted Cassie on CCTV footage yet. Roy wants the footage. Cassie leaves with Rowley and notices Tooth watching her. She says goodbye to Rowley and leaves. Norman and the team go over Cassie’s movements. Two women were on the train alone. One was named Patti McGuinness and the other was named Gemma Stokes. There is no Cassie Klein. Glenn says she got into the country somehow. Roy wants to check the records of the card used to book the train tickets and scans of the passports. Cassie returns home and gets spooked by the seagulls outside.
Tooth arrives and observes the residence when Cleo leaves in her vehicle. Nick tells Roy there is no dark web activity to suggest a black market for snakes down there. Roy tells him to go nationwide since a buyer might travel for something rare. The autopsy confirmed Eric died from anaphylaxis. Swelling indicates he may have been stung on the inside of his throat, but there is no sting point in there. There is no clear sting on the outside of his body either. That night, Tooth breaks into the residence. He manages to find out that Cassie has a reservation for the Laineway Hotel for three nights. Tooth is also tracking her car via GPS. He finds the keys to the house and looks around more. Tooth eventually discovers a hidden room that contains many reptiles. Cleo and Roy talk about Eric’s death and the possibility that he swallowed a wasp.
Cleo tells Roy they’ve learned more about the type of snake venom used to kill Stonor. It’s called the saw-scaled viper. Tooth looks at the animals in the cages. Cassie and Rowley talk about her being Mrs. Carmichael. She explains this is what she wants to do on her first day as Mrs. Carmichael. Roy and Glenn learn that Tooth might be back in Brighton. Cassie finds something while looking through a bag and remembers Tooth. She checks the USB drive and finds information about criminals. She finds information about Tooth. Roy learns that Tooth is swapping cars. A man calls Tooth to see if he has any news for him. Tooth tells him there’s been a little hiccup. He says it’s time for plan B.
Cassie Klein rides with Rowley. He shows off one of the cars from his early collection. They go to the zoo where they look at the saw-scaled viper. Rowley (Jay Villiers) asks Cassie how she knows the snake is a female. Cassie explains how she knows and reveals she’s been obsessed with them since she was little. Tooth (James Corrigan) breaks into a residence. Cassie believes she saw something on the floor. She believes it was a small snake so she tells Rowley they should leave. Tooth seems to place something behind the television. Rowley tells Cassie they’re checking for snakes. DI Glenn Branson tells DSI Roy Grace that he heard back from the vineyard Cassie and Eric Klein visited.
Insect pulp can contaminate wine during the process. If venom got into the wine, the entire batch would show traces of it. It’s clear. Roy asks how it got into Eric’s glass. Cassie makes sure Rowley takes his insulin before he drinks wine. Nick tells Roy that six people purchased a brand-new vivarium in the days after Shelby Sonor was bitten. The names include Charlotte Fenton, Claire Pegg, Mike Budmani, Thomas Ledge, Kenneth Paterson, and Benjamin Southern. Roy wants to find out which one owned a saw-scaled viper. Tooth finds frozen mice and wasps in the freezer. Cassie checks Rowley’s pulse. She takes out a fang and uses it to create bite marks on his wrist. Cassie makes a scene and pretends she’s innocent. Roy and the others learn about Rowley Carmichael who was visiting the Tatewell Zoo in the New Forest with his wife.
Nick points out that Rowley was a multi-millionaire. Tooth finds a hidden room with a snake and reptiles. He possibly plants a camera and tries to escape before Cassie enters. Tooth drops something on his way out. Cassie finds the circular sticker on the floor. In the morning, Cassie checks Rowley’s accounts and finds them empty. She has a flashback to her childhood before rushing outside onto the balcony. Christian Muller (Craig Blake) tells Roy and the others that they found the bite but haven’t confirmed the venom type yet. Cleo points out that the bite marks are not inflamed and he was a diabetic. Roy learns that Rowley’s wife was named Charlotte Carmichael. South Hampshire police say they were on their honeymoon. Roy suggests Charlotte Carmichael is Cassie Klein and the owner of the house Stonor broke into.
He argues that she could’ve tampered with Rowley’s insulin and put wasp venom in Eric’s drink. Cleo remembers that an adrenaline shot was administered to Eric by his wife Cassie before his death. Roy thinks Cassie made sure there was no adrenaline in the pen. As they leave, Roy tells Glenn that Cassie is a black widow, living a double life. Glenn wonders if she killed Rowley because Eric had no money. Roy says Tooth may have met his match. Roy worries there could be other victims. Tim Skevington (Ian Gelder) returns home and finds his daughter in his house. They argue about what Cassie and done to herself. Tim believes her mother would be turning over in her grave. She finds a letter to Heidi Powell and says that’s her.
Bella tells Roy that Cassie bought the snake tank using the name Charlotte Fenton. She has found evidence that Cassie was Gemma Stokes. Nick found a reptile house owner from Manchester named Christopher Doody who died from a snake bite in India. He died about eight years and was married to Cassie Doody. They learn that Cassie contacted Rowley’s lawyers because she was trying to access his bank accounts. The lawyer had advised Rowley to move his money into trust just before the wedding. Nick finds out about her father, Tim Skevington. When Roy and Glenn visit Tim, he tells them that Cassie died. Tim shows them where she fell to her death. Roy asks him about the girl in the photo. Tim says it’s Cassie’s sister Jodie.
His wife had an affair so Jodie isn’t his daughter. Tim admits they really don’t know how Cassie died since Jodie was the only one there. Glenn shows him a picture of Jodie now. Tim says that’s what Jodie would’ve looked like if she had grown up. Jodie always wanted what Cassie had. She’s had plastic surgery to look more like Cassie. Tim admits she was there. Meanwhile, Jodie keeps thinking of the accident while doing yoga. Roy tells Glenn that this is about Jodie’s father. Tooth watches security footage as Jodie feeds her snake. She hides something in the tank. Roy tells Cassian Pewe (Sam Hoare) that they’ll find Tooth if they can find Jodie. He begins telling Cassian about Jodie’s victims. She disappeared previously, but she didn’t make money from the last two kills.
Roy thinks they should lure Jodie or Cassie out of hiding. Together, Roy and Cassian tell Norman about an annual Brighton charity event coming up. They want Norman to go undercover and pretend to be a multimillionaire. Roy is confident the money will draw Cassie in. After Norman agrees to do it, he speaks to Bella about the job. He thinks their relationship should probably end because of the issues Norman will face from here on out. Bella insists she isn’t going anywhere. Next, Norman gets ready to go undercover as J. Paul Cornel. Roy says they need to plan for the possibility that Tooth will follow Cassie. Cassie finds out about J. Cornel and possibly sets her sights on him. Next, Norman goes to the event while Cassie gets dressed up.
Tooth speaks to a man on the phone about the USB drive. He believes it’s intact and he gave her the password. Tooth is told to get rid of her. He sneaks into her house just after she leaves. Nick and Bella watch as Norman attends the event. Glenn sees Cassie walking toward the event from outside. When she speaks to Norman, she calls herself Heidi. Tooth tries to retrieve the USB stick from the snake’s tank. He manages to get it and get away, but he may have been bitten on the hand. Norman and Cassie continue speaking at the bar. Cassie invites him back to her place for whisky. Once they arrive, Cassie leaves Norman alone to freshen up. Norman unlocks the back door before Cassie yells at him to get whisky.
Outside, Bella and the others notice a rental car. Bella learns the car was rented by someone named Mark Maker. Nick believes it’s Tooth. Norman and Cassie talk about his yacht. Cassie wants to show him something. Tooth checks his hand and confirms he’s bleeding. Cassie takes Norman into the room with the snake. Tooth checks the USB stick. He finds a video of Cassie asking him to ask for permission to film or there will be payback. She tells him that the glove had a hole in it. Cassie admits she knows that Norman isn’t telling the truth. She knocks over the snake tank and leaves the room. The other officers try to get in there and help him. Tooth confronts Cassie who realizes he’s been bit. She flees. Norman tries to help the others find the button to free him.
Tooth grabs Cassie and pushes her into the water. Norman manages to trap the snake. Tooth holds Cassie’s head under the water until Glenn and Roy arrive to help. Glenn arrests Tooth while Roy tries to save Cassie. Glenn notices that Tooth has been bitten so they call for a medic. Cassie tries to flee only to be stopped by Norman. The USB stick is left on the ground. Cassie is interviewed by Roy and Glenn. She says she’s different and will always be a reminder of her mother’s deviance. Cassie tries to end the interview because she’s cold and hungry. She likes snakes because they command attention. Roy tells Pat Amos (Janis Ahern) that they found the USB stick and it had some key mafia contracts including Tooth. Cassian tells the team they should be commended.
Marcel gets in touch with Roy to tell him it is Sandy. Roy finds a letter from Sandy in his inbox. She says she’s gone. She tried to see some kind of future for herself but couldn’t. Sandy has been in a dark place for a while. She admits the way she left him was unforgivable. Sandy calls herself unfaithful and a crowd. She tells Roy about her boy named Bruno who is eight now. Roy finds out that he is Bruno’s father. He gets the paternity results with the letter. Cleo hugs Roy at home. Sandy asks Roy to keep an eye on her son.
Grace Review
The finale of Grace’s fourth season was a little better than the third episode although they shared some of the same problems. Since the episodes are an hour and a half, the writers are forced to come up with these overly complex stories to fill that time slot. Along the way, they’re trying too hard to stay factual while creating more mistakes that hurt the overall credibility of the story.
For starters, there are way too many side stories and red herrings thrown into the mix. These things only serve to drag the story out and make it more tedious while simultaneously making everything annoyingly complicated. In this episode, one character was linked to a crime syndicate and another had already committed murder multiple times. Every cliché imaginable is being crammed into each episode in various ways to try to come up with something a little different.
In reality, it’s the same old crap thrown together just to reach the hour-and-a-half requirement. By the time it’s over, viewers probably won’t remember half of it. That’s good considering how many blunders this episode made. There were four murders, but Roy Grace must’ve been the only investigator willing to look a little deeper.
The characters were too easily able to manipulate others. One time would’ve been okay, but this happened multiple times. Roy and his team arranged for Cassie to meet Norman to prevent her from disappearing again. They just knew she’d come out of hiding for another millionaire. Meanwhile, Cassie was super smart as well and managed to manipulate Tooth who was too dumb to bring his own tools to the snake tank.
Rowley died pretty quickly after being bitten. As for Tooth, he nearly drowned Cassie and he managed to nearly win a street fight in thrusting waves despite being poisoned. Pat’s involvement didn’t really work either. Sandy’s reappearance and demise weren’t spectacular either and Norman’s health woes haven’t been effective so far. Truthfully, the series is getting to the point that it’s grasping for straws in terms of cases and personal dramas.
The first two episodes of the season were the strongest of the season. With absolutely no mystery here, the episode wasn’t nearly as good as it could’ve been. This episode scores a 4.5 out of 10. Recaps of Grace can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Advertise with us here. See what others are saying at the Reel Mockery Forum.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
