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Grantchester Case File S1E3: What’s up, Doc?

2016-06-02

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Grantchester Case File S1E3


Welcome to this week’s “Grantchester” Case File! Before reading, do note that there are many spoilers ahead. This episode is available to watch online through Thursday, June 30, 2016.


There have to be days in which Sidney wishes he could just be the vicar of Grantchester and allow all other matters to merely pass by him. Continually pulled in many directions, it’s impressive that Sidney has managed to keep as level of a head as he has.

One force, however, that often challenges his levelheadedness is Amanda – otherwise viewed as the one who got away. At a local establishment one evening, Amanda and her fiancé, Guy, sit down for an important chat with Sidney. Amanda’s nervous; Guy is excitable, as Sidney quietly wonders what doozy of a surprise is about to cross the table.

Perhaps not to Sidney’s surprise, Amanda and Guy ask if he could be the one that marries them. Despite looking mildly sick to his stomach, Sidney obliges and goes through the motions of asking if they’re going into this marriage “with eyes open,” before noting that the archbishop will have to sign off on the couple getting hitched in Grantchester.

Sidney’s happy-ish façade vanishes quickly once home. There, he indulges heartily in some booze, all the while listening to records and pining over Amanda. This all, unfortunately, leads to Sidney passing out at his desk before awaking with what looks to be a throbbing hangover. Upon coming to, Sidney is reminded by his often outspoken housekeeper, Mrs. Maguire, that it’s the day his new church colleague, Leonard, is moving in.

Grantchester   Grantchester

Upon his return home, Sidney meets with Arthur and Isabel, yet another couple requesting that the vicar marry them. As he did with Amanda and Guy, Sidney asks if the couple is entering into their union with eyes open. After a bit of hesitation from Isabel, it is explained that her mother, Daisy, vehemently disapproves of this proposed marriage. Sidney being too kind to stand back and let a family work out its issues, opts to try and sway Daisy.

Very quickly upon meeting Daisy, it becomes crystal clear to Sidney that getting this mother’s blessing isn’t going to come easily. Daisy explains that Arthur is out to get her and for that reason, along with a handful of others, can’t allow this marriage to happen. Sidney vows to Isabel that he’ll speak with her mother one more time, with the hopes of changing her mind. Unfortunately, Daisy mysteriously dies before this is able to happen.

Sidney does his best to keep out of the why and how Daisy died, but his police pal Geordie wants any information he has. Upon revealing that Daisy believes Arthur was out to get her, the investigation shifts its focus to the suspicious man. But first, some proof is needed.

Initially, this is a dead-end as both the local doctor and coroner dismiss the notion that Daisy had been murdered – more specifically, drugged. Sidney and Geordie are not convinced of this and after realizing a post-mortem hadn’t been done on Daisy’s body, the duo attempt to retrieve Daisy’s remains ahead of her cremation. Unfortunately, they do not make it on time.

Grantchester   Grantchester

Interestingly, Sidney soon runs into Jack Chapman, an older fellow roaming the cemetery in search of Daisy’s resting place. He explains that the two were close many moons ago and that he’s surprised Daisy wasn’t buried, noting it was her request to be laid to rest by a specific tree. Of course, this puts Sidney’s mind into overdrive, leading him to soon discover that Daisy did in fact already have a cemetery deed in place.

Before sinking his teeth deeper into that matter, Sidney decides that he can’t marry Amanda and Guy. Despite the archbishop signing off on their request to wed in Grantchester, Sidney fibs and tells her otherwise. At the time, it looks like a lie well placed.

Now knowing that Daisy’s final wishes were not adhered to, Sidney pays Isabel a visit. During their encounter, Isabel reveals that she is pregnant, but that Arthur had stolen money and valuable belongings from her and disappeared into the night. If Arthur weren’t already a primary suspect, he certainly was now – especially when Daisy’s sister Gladys soon turns up dead at her home. Like her sister, there appears to have been no struggle – and poisoning is once again suspected. What throws another wrench into the matter is a photograph now missing from Gladys’ residence.

As soon as Arthur is hunted down, he admits to marrying women for their money, but claims to not be a killer. He also informs Sidney and Geordie that an old man (Jack Chapman) had been hanging around of late and perhaps that is someone who should be looked into.

Grantchester   Grantchester

Sidney carefully investigates Jack like an experienced sleuth. It is here that Jack admits to being Isabel’s biological father. Turns out, he’d returned to Grantchester to make things right after Gladys reached out and informed him that she and her sister were both suffering from breast cancer. Jack is no longer a suspect, but these deaths still need to be answered for.

The more Sidney thinks about it, he begins to believe that the killer had to be someone in which Daisy and Gladys trusted. At first, they visit the coroner again and determine that he had not been doing his due diligence with death certificates. This quickly leads Sidney and Geordie to Dr. Robinson, a man who has chosen to deliver fatal injections to those who either wanted to die, or those he suspected no longer had any desire to live.

Dr. Robinson is unremorseful – he believes his dealings were in the best interests of his patients and claims to have a clear conscious. Nevertheless, his guilt in the crimes is evident.

Grantchester   Grantchester

Sidney’s conscience, however, is foggy. Thus, he takes action by relaying to Amanda that she actually does have approval to get married in Grantchester. With that out of the way, Sidney realizes that it’s time for his heart to move on. Hildegard, widow of the recently deceased Stephen Staunton, is reaching out to him, perhaps for something more than a friendship.

With Hildgard’s picture in hand, Sidney opts to place it atop a shot of Amanda and he. It is time to move on, time to be alive and see what kind of happiness follows.

-Adam Grant

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