When the episode begins, Sidney (James Norton) pays a visit to Gary (Sam Frenchum). He attempts to comfort the prisoner, by telling him Jesus was a prisoner as well. Gary speaks about his nightmares of being hung, before Sidney insists he just needs to tell the truth and the jury will believe him. Next, Sidney visits Inspector Geordie (Robson Green) at his home. During their conversation, Sidney confirms he will be testifying on Gary’s behalf. Geordie doesn’t like the ideal and insists it could result in turmoil, if the jury lets Gary escape justice. In the cemetery, Sidney meets with Reggie Lawson (Paul Nicholls), who is morning his wife. Reggie reveals that his wife’s ghost is haunting him and urges Sidney to perform an exorcism on his home.

Despite his disbelief, Sidney agrees to visit the Lawson home. They immediately head there. Sidney is introduced to the brother of Reggie’s deceased wife, Laszlo Herzl (Elliot Levey), who happens to be Jewish. He also meets Reggie’s brand new wife, Kitty (Eliza Bennet). Sidney performs a prayer for the family, before a painting comes flying off of the wall. Although Sidney and Kitty refuse to believe that Anna’s ghost is haunting the house, the others stick by their theory. Reggie and Sidney head outside, where they run into Reggie’s horse, Devil’s Banquet. He confirms that the horse will be running in the upcoming race and he encourages Sidney to bet the church’s funds on the stud.

The pair then heads into the stables. Reggie reveals that his wife hung herself inside and did so, while facing the horses. Before Sidney can leave, he is given an umbrella and thanked for his services. Reggie admits he feels calm. That night, Sidney shares dinner with Margaret, Leonard and Maguire. The group chats about ghosts, before Sidney invites Margaret (Seline Hizli) to his sister’s upcoming party to celebrate her new job. She agrees. Sidney is interrupted by a visit from Harding Redmond (Neil Morrissey), who attempts to talk him out of testifying for Gary. Once Harding rushes off, Mrs. Maguire (Tessa Peake-Jones) encourages Sidney to follow his advice, while insisting the Redmond family has been through enough already.

Geordie calls Sidney and informs him they’ve discovered a dead body. Once Sidney arrives at the crime scene, he finds Reggie hanging in the stables in a similar manner to his wife. However, Sidney is concerned with the positioning of the body, since Reggie was facing away from the horses and it appears someone kicked the stool in the other direction. That night, Sidney has a nightmare, in which he sees Gary hanging by his neck. The next day, he heads to the Lawson house and discovers a scratch mark underneath the painting, which previous flung off the wall. He also speaks with Kitty, who insists it was the assistant and Laszlo, who kept Anna’s spirit alive in the house. Outside, Sidney speaks with Laszlo and discovers that he has a limp.

Laszlo speaks about his heritage and his time in Auschwitz, which caused his disability. Laszlo admits Reggie never did anything he didn’t want to do and it drove Kitty mad. He also admits can now have things her way. He confirms she received the family’s share. After Sidney returns home, he chats with Leonard (Al Weaver). Leonard admits he did something wicked and never felt more alive. He reveals he bet big on Devil’s Banquet and won enormously. Sidney rushes out, while telling Leonard to head to dinner with the money. Sidney heads to the courthouse and speaks with Geordie, who is preparing to testify against Gary. Sidney insists Reggie knew the horse was going to win, so he wouldn’t have committed suicide. They also chat about the other horse, Sospiro, supposedly breaking its leg on the door, yet no marks were visible on said door.

The conversation is interrupted, when Geordie is forced to testify. Geordie is very harsh to Gary and insists he believes Gary to be the father and that he killed her to abort the pregnancy. Outside of the courtroom, Sidney learns about Geordie’s testimony from Gary’s mom, Phyllis (Helen Clyro). Sidney confronts Geordie and tells him that the baby isn’t Gary’s. He still fully believes the other vicar, Sam, was the father. The pair argue, before head off together to speak with the master of the stables, Mr. Greaves (Ian Conningham). During their conversation with Mr. Greaves, it is revealed that Reggie was responsible for breaking the horse’s left. When asked why he would do it, Mr. Greaves tells them to speak with the Jew. They do and Laszlo admits he was responsible for the horse’s insurance and that Sospiro was near the end of his career.

He admits they discovered that Sospiro wasn’t quite the stud they had hoped for and Reggie killed off the horse. After they depart, Geordie confirms they only have a case of insurance fraud against a man, who is now dead. Afterwards, Margaret and Sidney head to Jennifer Chambers’ (Fiona Button) party. While there, they congratulate Jennifer, before running into Amanda (Morven Christie) and Guy (Tom Austen). Sidney continues contemplating the potential suicide, while discussing the case with his sister. Margaret begins to wonder, if Anna really killed herself. During the conversation, Sidney observes Guy arguing with Amanda. He speaks with Amanda outside afterwards. The pair chats about Amanda’s married life and Margaret. Amanda admits being married isn’t all its cracked up to be.

Guy and Margaret interrupt. Amanda is forced to rush away, before Margaret runs off and leaves Sidney alone. Sidney meets Geordie at the bar and scours over the coroner’s report. He discovers that Anna was full of sleeping pills at the time of her suicide. Geordie admits it was nothing strange, since she attempted to commit suicide several times before. Geordie discovers something in the report and rushes over to the stable with Sidney. They measure the size of the noose and discover that it wouldn’t have worked for Anna. With that, they’re forced to begin looking for Anna’s murderer. They initially turn their attention to Kitty, before contemplating the housekeeper. Geordie tells Sidney that he much absolutely love the murder and justice. Sidney denies the allegations, but Geordie is adamant that people such as the Redmonds need justice.

Next, Sidney testifies for Gary. He insists the baby was indeed Sam’s. He also makes the claim that Geordie needs Gary to hang for the crime. The testimony comes to a conclusion and puts Geordie and Sidney’s relationship in an awkward situation. Sidney returns home to discover Margaret awaiting his arrival. She attempts to take his mind off the trial, but he stops here and only makes matters worse. She tells Sidney that she is no fool and that Amanda isn’t right for him. She also finally tells Sidney about Amanda’s shoplifting. Sidney listens to jazz, before visiting Anna’s tombstone. During this time, Geordie and Margaret share a few drinks at the bar.

Next, Phyllis is wheeled into the courtroom by Sidney and Leonard to await the jury’s decision. Moments later, the jury files into the courtroom and passes down a guilty verdict. The Judge (Tom Knight) condemns Gary to death for his crime. After leaving the courthouse, Sidney pays a visit to Amanda and admits he’s burnt all of his bridges, by testifying for Gary. He also admits he knows Amanda isn’t happy with Guy, after asking about her shoplifting case. She questions why Sidney never asked her to marry him and he admits he thought she could go better. This only worsens the problem and Amanda sends him out, while accusing him of making her decisions for her. Afterwards, Sidney pays a visit to Gary and complains about the outcome. Gary admits he needs to accept the decision as fair, while thanking Sidney for his support.

Sidney returns home and chats with Leonard and Mrs. Maguire. During their conversation, he has a breakthrough and pinpoints the murder on Laszlo. He grabs the umbrella and pays the man a visit. He discovers that Laszlo has been lying all along. He also learns that Laszlo killed Reggie, because he blamed him for killing his sister. Laszlo admits to the crime and insists he is already dead anyway. Afterwards, Sidney returns to the Lawson house and speaks with Geordie. This time, he doesn’t provide Geordie with any assistance and insists Geordie should do his job and he’ll do his. At the end of the episode, Leonard tells Sidney he has booked them for dinner. Sidney agrees to keep Leonard’s new earnings secret from Mrs. Maguire.

 

Grantchester Review

The 4th episode of Grantchester was fantastic. The episode finally delivered a verdict for Gary and brought about conflict between Geordie and Sidney. In fact, Sidney has been thrown into a difficult situation, with Margaret, Amanda and Geordie against him. Will Geordie and Sidney be able to rekindle their relationship in the finale? Will Sidney be able to save Gary from an untimely fate? All in all, a great episode, which deserves an 8.5 out of 10. Be sure to catch up with previous recaps of Grantchester right now!