At the beginning of the episode, Geordie Keating (Robson Green) and his partner sit in their vehicle. They watch Heather (Hannah van der Westhuysen), Vronky (Sorcha Groundsell), and a group of women leave a party. They arrest a couple of guys who act out while Ellie (Lauren Carse) speaks on the phone with someone about rumors. Will Davenport (Tom Brittney) speaks to the congregation and we see him out at a bar too. Leonard (Al Weaver) and Daniel (Oliver Dimsdale) return from their vacation. Since they’ve returned, they’re worried about showing affection for one another in public but they do shake hands.

Meanwhile, Will shares breakfast with Geordie. Ellie enters a short time later. Will learns that Ellie writes for The Echo so she is a journalist. Geordie makes sure to tell Ellie that Will is celibate. The men have to leave when they find out that a body has been discovered. The woman attended the party with the others. Several women from Linley College watch from a distance before running away. Moments later, Veronica or Vronky approaches Geordie and Will. She knew the woman and tells Will that her name was Jess. Leonard returns home to Dickens and Sylvia (Tessa Peake-Jones). Leonard brings gifts but Sylvia is a bit suspicious of his trip.

Vronky tells Geordie and Will about her night out with Jess. She says she went to the lavatory. When she returned, Jess was gone. She suspected that she had gone back to Newnham. She tells them about the boys and girls at the ball. Will asks about Jessica’s mood. Vronky admits she could get maudlin when drunk but she was happy last night. She explains that they’re not used to drinking and the boys were generous with the alcohol. After that, Will reminds Geordie that he is having lunch with his mother Amelia (Jemma Redgrave). He enjoys lunch with Amelia, Leonard, and Chapman moments later. Will tries to convince his mother to cheer up.

During this time, Geordie and Larry Peters (Bradley Hall) work on the postmortem. Larry is given pills to get tested and shown a garter Jess was wearing. We learn that Jess suffered a blow to the side of the head but Geordie says she could’ve hit her head on a rock at the bottom of the river. After that, we see Will at the gym. The coach, Vic Morgan (Ross Boatman) tries to cheer him up before Geordie enters. Geordie is laughed at since he wouldn’t be able to catch anyone in a race before they speak with Luke. Luke apologizes for stealing the bikes and he thanks Geordie for sending him there and not prison. Geordie and Will leave to continue the murder investigation.

Once they leave, we find out that Geordie doesn’t like the boxing scheme but Will doesn’t mind. They visit the school and speak with Andrea Shaw (Siobhan Redmond) about Jessica. Andrea doesn’t believe Jessica was involved in any quarrels with any of the other girls. She doesn’t suspect Jessica had any boyfriends either. She claims boys aren’t allowed on the property along there is one working to help clean up a mess. Andrea tells them about an upcoming event with an all-female band and speakers. After that, the men speak with Heather and other girls at the facility.

Heather denies running away from the scene and ignoring Geordie when he called. Vronky seems surprised that they’re calling it a murder. Geordie checks the sign-in sheet and Heather says she signed everyone in. This makes it tough to know when the girls returned. Geordie and Will decide to check Jessica’s room. They find pillows under a sheet made to look like someone sleeping. Will also finds bennies or uppers so Jessica was taking pills as well. They decide to check the survivors’ photograph or the photo taken at the end of the ball. Leonard uses that opportunity to get close to Daniel until Geordie reminds them that it isn’t that dark in the film processing room.

Jessica and Vronky are in the picture despite the latter saying she was back at Newnham by 11. Daniel says the boys look familiar too. After that, Ellie wants to know more about the murder. She tricks Will into confirming there was a murder. They argue a bit before Geordie pulls Will away. They go to the boy’s school and hear a scuffle. They rush to the room in question and find two men beaten. Another man makes a run for it. They track the boy from Newnham down but he hits Will and runs off. They go back to the others. The guys say they don’t know the boy but he burst in there accusing them of killing the girl in the river.

They deny everything. They admit Jessica and her friend came back there to listen to music after the ball. She left and nothing happened. One of the boys says that the if the women want to gang together and act like boys, they need to learn how to behave like them. Will finds out that the boys were in a secret college drinking society call the Berserkers. The girls have a group of their own called the Newnham Valkyries. The guys say that Vronky saw Jess leave. They track her down and she admits to lying because she didn’t want them to think bad of her. Now, she says she returned to the college around 5 AM.

Andrea learns about The Valkyries and their rules. Andrea sees nothing wrong with it since men have been forming such groups for decades. Veronica says the group is a sisterhood so no one would hurt Jess. To become a member, they have to leave a red rose on your door. Then, you go out to the garden to be sworn in by candlelight. Andrea gives them information about the catering company and event staff. When the men step outside, they notice one of the girls walking to a secluded location. They follow her and find several other women there and a box on the ground. Heather tells them that the items belonged to her boyfriend. Geordie accuses her of trying to destroy evidence.

Will wants to know about the pills so Heather claims it came from Jessica. After that, they decide to speak with Matthew Butler (Jim Caesar). Matthew tells them how he met Jessica. Matthew’s dad was a boxer but has since passed away. After that, Geordie and Will discuss the case before Ellie interrupts. She tells them about Andrea being a senior fellow at Edinburgh. She lost a promotion to a man younger than her. She wants to know about the ball and the other suspects. That night, Cathy (Kacey Ainsworth) and Geordie struggle to get dressed while the kids rush around. Leonard and Sylvia notice that Will is dressed up and preparing to go out as well. Leonard gives Will encouragement about his mother and tells him about his time in Morocco.

Geordie and Will attend the party moments later. Geordie notices one of the boys putting something in a girl’s drink. It isn’t pills. It is a coin and a tradition telling her to drink. Vronky asks Will to dance with her and he does. Geordie finds out that Andrea has been passing out prophylactics. Will tries to get Vronky to tell him more about Jessica. Moments later, they notice that someone is in Jessica’s room. They rush over and find Matthew rushing down the stairs. Will subdues him this time causing Matthew to drop his father’s cufflink. He is questioned in an interview room again. Matthew says the girls made them go into their room for sex but Jessica wouldn’t go along with it.

That is how the Valkyries become a member of the group. Since Matthews’s dad had an American cufflink, they know that he was responsible for the American drugs. Will and Geordie turn their attention to Heather. She says that it is more about quality than quantity. For instance, a vicar would be worth more than a police officer. Heather denies killing anyone though. Geordie and Will hit the bar. Will notices that something is missing from his pocket. They go looking for Vronky but she isn’t in her room but a rose is. We see that she is trying to pretend that she slept with Will. She tries to use the stolen item as proof but Heather isn’t buying it.

Will and Geordie arrive moments later. Will suggests Vronky felt let down by Jessica when she left her with those boys. She confesses that she was angry about it since they were a sisterhood and were supposed to stick together. In a flashback, Vronky hits Jessica with a champagne bottle before tossing her into the water. With that Vronky is arrested but Andrea tries to take up for her saying she was a victim too. That night, Will discusses the case with Geordie. She says Andrea was right. Geordie wants to lock them all up and that includes Will. Will suggests sending the boy to Vic and he offers to vouch for him personally too.

The following day, Geordie invites Cathy’s mother over so she can help sort things out at home. Will goes to his mother’s place and apologizes. Amelia tells him that she met someone over lunch at The Savoy. They went to the races together at Ascot last week. She reveals that his name is St. John Gurney-Clifford but he doesn’t like to use his title. She wants Will to meet him maybe at his estate in Norfolk. Will preaches and we see Vronky in jail. She receives the book “A Room of One’s Own” and smiles. We see that Matthew has joined the boxing gym and he is very aggressive.

 

Grantchester Review

I’ve really liked the previous seasons of Grantchester. I thought the last one got much better once Sidney had left for good. The opening episode here wasn’t bad but I felt it was a bit slow and uninspiring. I am not blaming that on Tom Brittney at all. It had more to do with the writing. I think some of the previous seasons did the same though. They were a bit slow early on but got better with each episode. I am hopeful and confident that this season will do the same.

I will stick with it and see how things play out. The episode wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. It scores a 7 out of 10. Recaps of previous seasons of Grantchester are available on Reel Mockery.