'Grantchester' Recap: Season 11 Episode 7

Grantchester airs Sundays at 8:00 pm and is available to stream. Recap the previous episode and other seasons. 
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The vicarage, and Alphy, are a mess. Beer bottles, wine glasses, and dirty plates are everywhere. There’s even wine on Alphy’s white shirt. In case that didn’t convince you that Alphy was falling apart, his departure in the middle of sermon does. He goes straight to London and the park where he ran into his mother after learning she had another family and accosts her when he sees her. 

She has upended his life, making him doubt everything to the detriment of living it. He’s no longer sure he should be a vicar. She counters that he invited her into his life and that it changed her life as well – but for the better. She’s proud of how kind he is, and is sorry she has treated him poorly. She wants her family to meet him, but in due time. He doesn’t need her, after all: he has found a calling in which he helps people, and a loving family of sorts in Grantchester.

Alphy goes straight to Geordie at the police station to apologize for his outburst against him and is surprised to find him drinking. I’m glad you found my mother, he tells Geordie, who forgives him. 

It’s Geordie’s last week working cases before he transitions to his new job – and he’s glad of it, for Cathy’s sake. He believes his wife is having an affair with her accountant Switch, he tells Alphy – hence the drinking – but feels he has no right to confront her about it, having had his own affair years ago. With a desk job, he can devote more of the time Cathy deserves to her. Alphy urges Geordie to tell Cathy he knows about the affair and make things right.

Cathy has not actually done anything with Switch yet, although she overcomes an initial reluctance to go on a trip with him to London for a fashion show – and spend the night. Mrs. C of course has qualms about the trip and refuses to babysit for Cathy, but a bigger argument is forestalled by the arrival of two men into CeCe’s Boutique who pull the curtains and lock the door. CeCe’s is being robbed.

Cathy is not the only one to receive disapproval from Mrs. C. Leonard and Daniel have become like uncles to Raymond Haynes, but she warns Leonard that a gay couple taking care of a child will not end well. Leonard is offended but Daniel knows she has a point. Nevertheless, when he and Leonard tell Marcus that Raymond will have to go to social services and Marcus objects, Daniel folds. While Raymond can’t be adopted by Leonard because he has a criminal record, Daniel doesn’t. 

There have been a number of armed robberies carried out by four masked men over the past several weeks. Geordie thinks he has identified one of the perpetrators when a man is found dead in his van. Frank Brook is a florist. He was stabbed to death in the driver’s seat and there’s blood on the outside door handle. There’s also blood on the stems of a bouquet of roses in the back of the van, with an anonymous note apologizing to a lover for ending things. And there’s a toolbox containing a sawed-off shotgun and balaclava. 

Frank’s fiancée Susan doesn’t necessarily seem surprised to learn he was killed, which gives further suspicion that he was a robber, although she won’t cop to that at first. Eventually she is convinced to reveal the names of the other members of Frank’s robber gang: Bob Spindlove, JP Millwood, and Dexter Sutton. Bob was arrested last night and used his one phone call to contact Frank. So Frank knew the police were onto his gang.

Larry discovers that Switch was also Frank’s accountant. Geordie tries to call CeCe’s; no one picks up. Worried, he and Alphy drive over. They spot and recognize JP and Dexter leaving through the back door. The two men rush back inside when they see Geordie’s car, then JP returns to the back door holding a gun to Cathy.

JP and Dexter are the robbers holding up CeCe’s. There was little money in the till, since they just made a bank trip, but JP and Dexter are holding out for a bigger stash, courtesy of Switch. The accountant has been holding the money Frank and his gang stole in CeCe’s bank account to hide it. Cathy is disgusted with herself for falling for Switch; she even made him a signatory on the bank account without Mrs. C’s knowledge. While she thought CeCe’s was successful, it was in fact barely scraping by.

JP and Dexter wait for Switch to arrive so they can go to the bank with him and withdraw the money – Cathy and Mrs. C obviously refuse to do it. A customer named Tracey emerges from a changing room and is forced to wait with Cathy and Mrs. C. When Mrs. C, who knew JP’s late mother, confronts him over her disapproval, he says he’s doing this for his daughter.

When Switch finally arrives, Dexter escorts him to the bank. They return with the money just before Geordie and Alphy appear; Dexter and JP were about to abscond. They had been waiting for Frank so they could all flee, but Frank must not be coming. Now they’re in a hostage situation.

As the police surround the store, JP has to prevent Dexter from attacking Switch with a knife – he thinks Switch signalled to someone at the bank. JP takes on the role of negotiator, asking Geordie for food and a fast car in exchange for two of the four hostages. They’ll free the final two after they have left town.

Geordie suggests emptying Alphy’s car to barely any gas then altering the gauge so it still looks fuel. As Jack goes to retrieve it, Mrs. C has a panic attack and JP calls for a doctor to come inside to treat her. Alphy instead offers to trade himself for Mrs. C, and JP accepts. Mrs. C emerges and is fine after a rest. She mentions JP’s daughter to Geordie. 

Geordie thinks the flowers with the note were from Frank for Susan, telling her he was skipping town without her. Frank and JP were overheard arguing in a pub last night; perhaps Frank also wanted JP to leave his daughter behind and JP killed Frank for it?

But when Alphy mentions that Frank is dead to JP, he’s shocked. Frank was stabbed and Dexter has a knife – could it have been him? The two robbers fight and JP’s gun goes off before Dexter grabs it. No one is hurt; Dexter sends JP to explain that to Geordie. 

JP has four tickets to escape the country and wants to keep one of the hostages with him until they do. Alphy offers to go, but Tracey says she will instead. She winces when Cathy grabs her hand in thanks. Why would JP have bought four tickets, when Bob is in jail? Because Frank wanted to bring Susan – he wasn’t abandoning her after all. The note was for someone else.

Geordie has also begun thinking this, and asks Susan if Frank had lovers. She finally admits yes, listing a girl who worked at the florist with him. The girl lived near where Frank was found dead. Her name is Tracey.

Inside CeCe’s, Alphy has also realized this: there’s pollen on Tracey’s dress, and her hand is bloody from rose stems, the bouquet Frank left for her. She pulls a knife on Dexter and makes him turn over his gun. Frank promised her a life of luxury and then was going to leave her behind, but she still wants the money she thought was coming for her. She makes Dexter carry the money out, pointing the gun at him. The other hostages and JP follow and leave the store. 

But then Dexter throws the money and grabs the gun back from Tracey. The police apprehend Tracey and JP while Geordie tries to talk Dexter down. The robber instead shoots Geordie in the stomach and flees. 

Cathy and Alphy rush to a bleeding Geordie, crying desperately. “I love you,” Cathy tells Geordie. “I’m not losing you.”