As this episode of Grantchester begins, a panicked Will Davenport (Tom Brittney) runs all the way to a telephone to call for help. Then, he returns to sit with the man until the ambulance arrives. Miss Scott (Melissa Johns) tells Geordie Keating (Robson Green) about the traffic accident. Once Geordie and Larry Peters (Bradley Hall) reach the scene, Geordie complains about kids driving too fast. He is shocked when he finds Will sitting nearby. Will is taken to the station and given alcohol. He admits he didn’t see the man and couldn’t stop. Geordie assures him that it couldn’t have been helped. Geordie joins Larry who says the man’s name was John Mitchell and he lived in Barton.

They find a ticket for the Mirage Club. Larry suspects the vicar was flying when the crash happened. Geordie instructs him to find the next of kin. Will calls Mrs. Chapman (Tessa Peake-Jones) who believes he is in a pub somewhere. Mrs. Chapman tells him everything that has been going on at home. Will tries to tell her what happened. He goes to the morgue to see the victim. Geordie steps outside to look at the motorcycle. He notices that the speedometer is stuck at approximately 75. Geordie finds Will in the morgue and tells him his name was John Mitchell. He was 30. As Geordie begins escorting him out, Will says he should pray for him. Miss Scott is tasked with taking Will to Geordie’s office while Geordie speaks to Elliott Wallace (Michael D. Xavier).

Elliott says he was going 78 miles an hour so it doesn’t look good. Will tells Miss Scott that they were the same age. Cathy (Kacey Ainsworth) checks on Mrs. Chapman who says it was that blood bike. They argue about whether they should tell Bonnie. Jack (Nick Brimble) tries to go to the police station, but Ernie (Isaac Highams) suspects something is going on. They tell him that Will is fine. Meanwhile, Will is interviewed by Elliott and Geordie. He admits he wasn’t concentrating because he had an argument with his wife. He goes on to say the man was running from the verge. Will says his speedometer has been playing up recently. Elliott warns him he is looking at a decade in prison before Geordie ends the interview. In private, Geordie tells Elliott he is making this personal. Elliott claims Geordie is making excuses for Will.

He believes Geordie knows what needs to be done. Geordie goes back into the interview room to arrest Will for causing death by reckless driving. Ernie goes inside where begins typing a letter to Will. Jackie Mitchell (Laura Rogers) is brought in to see John’s body. Ernie asks if Will would mind him calling him dad. Geordie asks Jackie about John being on the road and what he was running from. Jackie says he went out to The Mirage and she left him there. She admits he was drunk and they had argued. Larry and Geordie go back to the crime scene because Geordie wants to know what John was running from. Geordie questions what scared John off the footpath. They find another man who has been badly beaten. Geordie suspects John was running from the fella he had just beaten to death.

The second man is identified as Milton Bedwin. Larry thinks there were more than two people because of the drag marks on the ground. Milton has a ticket showing he was at The Mirage as well. They go to The Mirage Club. Ray Mansfield (Luke Nunn) quickly gets irritated with Geordie while Paulie (Oliver Huntingdon) tries to calm him. Paulie confirms Milton (Jake Neads) was in last night. They say the place has gotten worse since the halfway house opened because the blokes from there come to the club looking for trouble. Milton got into a fight, Paulie broke it up, and they threw him out. They are taken to Dot Parsons (Rachel Harper) who is in a relationship with Ray. Dot says Milton is the only one who knows how to fix their machines.

She learns about Milton’s death. Dot claims she put Milton on the number three bus home last night around half-eight. Jackie is brought back in so she can be asked why she didn’t mention the fight. She said it was so stupid and she had never seen Milton before. John went to get them a drink and it happened so quickly. He supposedly said the fight was about who was next in the queue for the bar. Larry leaves when he learns Elliott is looking for him. While in private, Geordie asks Jackie if her husband was a violent man. She doesn’t see how that matters now. Geordie asks if John had it in him to hurt someone. Jackie nods. Leonard (Al Weaver) plays cards with Keith Pruitt (Narinder Samra) before the police burst through the door. Larry wants them all taken in.

Geordie tells Will that John Mitchell was a wrong ‘un. He theorizes that John killed Milton before fleeing into the road. Will wants to know if he had children before calling himself a murderer. Geordie argues he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He learns that something is going on that he won’t like. Larry brings Leonard and the others in to see if they were at The Mirage last night. Leonard calls him a little thug. Geordie gets involved and they argue about him. Elliott tells Geordie to get a confession from Will and charge him with reckless driving. In private, Larry tells Geordie John would’ve had blood all over him if he’d been in a fight. Leonard tells Geordie what he is trying to do. Geordie takes him to Will because he can’t find the words to help him.

Leonard checks on Will. Miss Scott tells Larry she didn’t think of him as the aggressive sort. Larry tells her that his mom passed away from a heart attack. Miss Scott says she is so sorry. She suggests his mom would be prouder if he didn’t go around threatening people. She thinks he owes Geordie an apology, but Larry says Geordie has it all wrong. Will tells Leonard about the victim. He admits he hasn’t told Bonnie although Geordie thinks she’ll show compassion. Leonard asks what he’d do if someone came to him in the same situation. He thinks Will would take to their hand and listen to their story. They’d see that he feels nothing but pity and they’d be grateful for that. Leonard keeps going while saying God still loves them very much.

Geordie finds Jackie in the morgue before she confirms Milton isn’t the man John fought with. In private, Larry tells Geordie that the story about the dance hall doesn’t add up to him. Someone is lying. Miss Scott reveals that Ray Mansfield is a violent thug. He has a history of assault, GBH, and possession of a knife. Scott believes he is the one who got into a fight with John that night. Jackie confirms he is the man who hit John. Geordie asks what the fight was really about. Jackie says she was blonde and John always had an eye for a blonde. Dot says the guy made a play for her so she told Ray who says no one makes a play for his girl. He denies leaving the club and Paulie backs him up.

Paulie suggests Milton went after John even though he can’t explain why. Larry and Geordie go over the details of the case. Geordie argues that the killer would’ve been soaked in Milton’s blood too. John didn’t have any blood on him. Dot said Milton went home on the bus half-eight. Miss Scott says she is lying because the last bus is at seven. Geordie suspects Dot is covering for them. They visit her and Geordie accuses her of liking the attention. Larry says she wound up Ray and set him off. Miss Scott tells Leonard it is time for his interview. Will asks Miss Scott if he can see John because he shouldn’t be on his own. Larry and Geordie question Ray about looking for a fight that night. He suggests Milton stopped him so Ray turned on his mate.

Geordie looks through their laundry and finds a shirt that appears to have a blood stain on it. He arrests Ray for murder. Miss Scott reluctantly lets Will see John’s body. He prays for John until Jackie interrupts. She prays with him. Jackie says they wanted children and it was like John needed to be a dad. It never happened. He was a good man for the most part. Jackie asks Will to pray for her too. Will confesses he is the one who hit John. She slaps him. Elliott stops Will to say they should resume the interview. He asks Will if he was driving recklessly. Will tells Elliott he knows he upset him with Maya, but Elliott accuses him of destroying his life. Geordie tells Mrs. Chapman and Cathy that it wasn’t Will’s fault.

Larry tells Leonard he is free to go. He apologizes for calling him names. Larry warns him that Geordie is retiring so there won’t be anyone to protect him soon. Geordie looks at a picture of Ernie on Will’s bike. Elliott tries to get Will to sign a confession saying he was responsible for John’s death. Before Will can sign it, Geordie comes in with the photo that shows the speedometer was broken four weeks ago. He goes on to say the last witness to see Will in the village said he was going at a steady pace. Geordie says the road is dangerous because it is a blind corner. He is adamant it was an accident and they have no right to keep Will. Elliott walks away without saying anything. Then, Geordie questions Ray who usually puts up a fight.

He asks Ray why he wouldn’t fight back. Geordie doesn’t think the shirt is his and he is only protecting someone. Paulie comes in moments later because he can’t lie anymore. He admits he was just trying to keep the peace. In a flashback, Paulie stops Ray giving John enough time to flee. Milton mocks him until Paulie punches him in the stomach killing him. They realize that Dot helped him cover up the evidence. Paulie asks Geordie if he can tell their families that he is sorry. Later, Paulie asks Will if he can speak to him because he killed his mate. He worries this is going to haunt him forever. Will tells him that God still loves him even after this. He knows things feel dark now, but there is always darkness before the dawn and the dawn always comes.

Will is told he is being released without charge. He returns home to Mrs. Chapman who says God has a reason. Will calls Bonnie to tell her about it. Ernie gives Will the letter when he gets home from school. He tells Will he feels very lucky.

 

Grantchester Review

This episode of Grantchester was more impactful with John’s death and Will trying to come to terms with his involvement. It did a good job of keeping the investigation interesting even though there was never any risk that Will would be going to prison. The episode made up for it with some emotional scenes with Leonard and Will as well as others.

There were some strong performances here as well, especially that of Tom Brittney. It appears there is already a shift in the series with Tom Brittney’s departure in series nine. I just hope that this incident doesn’t become too consuming for the rest of the series because there is so much more to do before Will leaves.

The episode scores a 7 out of 10. Recaps of Grantchester can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Discuss this series and more with friends at the Reel Mockery Forum.