As this episode of Grantchester begins, Cathy Keating (Kacey Ainsworth) catches up with Will Davenport (Tom Brittney) at the church so they can get cracking. Cathy tells him about the painting of historical significance that is on loan. She wants to have a lovely day so Will can take his mind off things. In private, she tells Geordie (Robson Green) that she is really worried about Will. Geordie reminds her that’s why they’re there. They see Josephine Hanlan (Jemima Rooper) who tells them where to go to see the painting and Dr. Abbot (Jeff Rawle). Dr. Abbot gives them instructions. He takes them into the room so they can see Modigliani’s “Reclining Nude” painting. Will and Geordie don’t argue about the painting.

Dr. Abbot is writing a paper about his nude paintings. Cathy says she likes it because the woman doesn’t look the least bit worried about her body. They step outside to listen to Dr. Abbot speak to the crowd. Harriet Davies (Mei Mei Macleod) interrupts to protest against the hypocrisy toward women in art. Harriet, Marianne (Georgie Oulton), and the others undress to prove their point. Abbot gets upset before deciding to get the porters himself. When people start throwing stuff at the protestors, Will tells Geordie this is getting out of hand. Geordie tries to get the women to quit without having to arrest them. David Evans (Leon Davis) yells for them to stay there.

Before long, they hear someone yelling theft in the distance. Will and Geordie learn that the painting has been stolen. Abbot gets upset that they’re not doing more. He says only the porters have other keys. Larry Peters (Bradley Hall) and the others laugh at Geordie when he gets back. Miss Scott (Melissa Johns) tells him that DCI Wallace has made some calls to the Flying Squad. He believes it was a job by a London gang. Larry is sent to the college to speak to the porters. Geordie says that leaves them with Betty Grable who still won’t get dressed. She won’t give her name or address and she isn’t happy to see Will there. Geordie warns her that it looks like she and her friends were involved in the theft of the painting.

Once they exit the interview room, Geordie is told Larry is calling from the college where the exhibit was. At the college, Geordie learns that Josephine found Peter Delaney dead about an hour ago. He was one of the porters. Will begins thinking about the crash while Geordie learns that Peter has a head injury. Will comes around. A possible murder weapon is left near Peter’s body. Abbot is more worried about the painting than the life of Peter Delaney. He says he can’t tell them anything about him. Daniel (Oliver Dimsdale) asks Leonard (Al Weaver) about Will who is usually there by now. Leonard doesn’t want a housekeeper because that would mean asking Jack for more money. David takes Geordie and Will to Peter’s room.

David explains that Peter was from Yorkshire and he never complained. Peter wasn’t married. David believes women only bring trouble. Geordie finds a letter telling Peter that their baby is on the way and it needs a father. Cathy catches Will heading to the church. She tells him to go inside and get something to eat. Cathy and Sylvia have brought him something he is really going to like. Will is happy to see Bonnie (Charlotte Ritchie) waiting for him. They go for a walk and talk about the accident. Geordie gets in touch with Sheila Delaney (Kassius Nelson) who confirms she wrote the letter. She says they were married for about two years. Geordie tells her about Peter. Sheila admits Peter lied about being single because he needed the job. She can’t think of anyone who might want to harm Peter.

Bonnie tells Will that she came back because she was worried about him. Will doesn’t think she’ll ever understand. He says his faith has seen him through this. Miss Scott tries to get the prisoner to speak. She says her name is Marianne Robertson and she is at Newnham College reading maths. Marianne insists they had nothing to do with the porter’s death. They just wanted to make their point. Scott wants the names of the other girls, but Marianne doesn’t want to get them arrested. Bonnie tells Sylvia (Tessa Peake-Jones) and Leonard that Will is not happy. Will overhears her talking about him. He interrupts and asks them not to discuss him like he is a child. Leonard says they just wanted to help. Outside, Sylvia tells Leonard that he has made Will even more annoyed by saying they were worried.

Bonnie tells Will that he needs to open up. He wishes people would believe him when he says he is okay. Geordie speaks to Marianne who insists no one else knew about their plan. She learns that she made the newspaper before being allowed to leave. Geordie tells Larry that the girls had nothing to do with it so they have to go back to the start. Cathy checks on Geordie moments later. She reveals that Mr. Draper has called her into work because he wants a word with her. Cathy is worried he is going to sack her. She questions what they’ll do if Geordie has to retire and she is fired. Martha Williamson (Simone Lahbib) approaches Leonard about the job. Leonard insists they don’t need anyone, but Martha quickly proves him otherwise. She leaves her information before leaving.

Daniel admits he did the advertisement for the job without Leonard knowing. Geordie and Will speak to Dr. Abbot about the painting. Geordie argues that no one loved the painting more than Abbot. He tells Abbot he’ll be back soon before leaving. Geordie tells Will they should visit the wife. Cathy tells Bonnie that she just got a promotion. Bonnie admits she is worried about Will. Cathy is worried about telling Geordie about her new job since she doesn’t know how he’ll react. Will and Geordie question Sheila about her husband. She says she saw Peter at the college on the afternoon of his death. Her friend Josephine told her there was going to be something with the painting so she could sneak in and speak to Peter. When she did, Peter told her that the marriage was over and she should go back to Sheffield.

Sheila confesses that made her angry, but she is adamant that Peter was alive when she left. She tells them to ask Josephine who says Peter mostly ignored her. Josephine says Sheila was broken when Peter refused to speak to her. She says Sheila had already left before the protest started. Geordie, Will, and Miss Scott talk about the painting and the case back at the station. They discuss the possibility that Sheila killed her husband. Will goes with Geordie when he searches Sheila’s flat. They find the painting in the trash outside. At the station, Sheila denies everything and argues that the robbers kill Peter. Again, she says Peter was alive when she last saw him. Daniel tries to smooth things over with Leonard. It works. Leonard hopes Martha hasn’t already taken a job elsewhere.

Josephine is brought down to the station for an interview. Will tells her it would be best to just tell the truth. In private, Geordie says she is lying to protect her friend. Will agrees with Josephine that everyone is making decisions for Sheila. When someone you care about needs support, you’ll do anything even if it’s something they may not want you to do. Will tells Josephine how his friends thought they knew what was best for him and he didn’t like it. He believes Josephine hates that no one listens to women like herself and Sheila. Geordie warns Josephine that Sheila will go to prison. She says Peter was okay with destroying Sheila’s life. Geordie suspects she killed Peter to stand up for her friend. She had a key to Abbot’s office. They believe she let herself in and took the painting to make it look like a robbery.

Josephine said she was going to try to sell it. She went over to Sheila’s to check on her. When she saw the police, she threw it in the trash. Geordie scolds Dr. Abbot for caring more about the painting than Peter. He warns him he was close to getting arrested for wasting police time. Will tells Bonnie that she can go because he’ll enjoy having some time alone. He says goodbye to Bonnie and Ernie (Isaac Highams) before they leave.

 

Grantchester Review

This episode of Grantchester was standard because it did very little to stand out from previous episodes. Compared to the last episode, this one felt like a big step backwards even though it wasn’t particularly bad. It just didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. The investigation and crime weren’t all that interesting either.

It doesn’t help that Grantchester and other shows in this genre always bring in notable guest stars and make them the killers 99% of the time. Suffice to say, it was pretty obvious that Jemima Rooper was playing the murderer. Truthfully, it was going to be hard to match the last episode and this one didn’t come close even though it was watchable.

The episode scores a 6 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 Grantchester and other shows at the Reel Mockery Forum.