'Grantchester' Recap: Season 11 Episode 8

Grantchester is available to stream. Recap the previous episode and other seasons. 
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Geordie is alive and well – well enough, even, to lead a briefing from his hospital bed on apprehending Dexter Sutton, the man who sent him to the hospital by shooting him. Dexter has been in trouble with the law since he was a child. He has no fixed address, but did spend a good amount of time at his aunt and uncle’s farm. But when Larry and Alphy storm into the farmhouse, Dexter’s relatives tell them that they washed their hands of Dexter long ago. He’s a lost cause.

Cathy is dutifully attending to Geordie at the hospital. She apologizes to him for nearly starting an affair with her accountant, Switch, even though Geordie doesn’t want to hear it; he has already forgiven her. Geordie is in worse shape than it seems, however: he is bleeding again.

He asks Alphy to pray with him, to Alphy’s surprise, as the doctors arrive, and Alphy realizes that this is his recurring dream of praying over a dying person: it’s Geordie. The policeman slumps into unconsciousness and is rushed to surgery. 

When Geordie is returned to his room, still unconscious, Alphy sits with him and talks about faith – which Alphy has been doubting ever since he learned that his mother did not intend for him to become a priest or even be Christian, as he always thought. 

Meanwhile, Marcus Haynes has had paperwork drawn up to make his son Raymond Daniel’s ward once Marcus dies, imminently. Mrs. C still thinks it’s a bad idea, but Jack is delighted: everyone can chip in to raise Raymond in one big family. But before Daniel signs the papers, Leonard – hitherto the biggest proponent of the plan – has second thoughts. Daniel talks him down and they even receive Mrs. C’s blessing. Everyone wants to be Raymond’s family. The papers are signed.

Dexter’s uncle comes to the police station with blood on his shirt. Dexter has gone mad: He attacked his aunt and his uncle couldn’t stop him. Alphy reassures Larry that he can lead this investigation without Geordie. Dexter’s uncle says that Dexter made a comment about going to the hospital and finishing what he started.

As Mrs. C and Cathy leave Geordie’s bedside for a quick drink as a reprieve, Dexter slips into Geordie’s room with a knife. Alphy and Larry rush in and Dexter flees past them. Alphy and Larry catch him and fight him. Dexter once again flees, this time without the knife; Larry thinks he stabbed Dexter with it. 

Alphy sees a nurse close the blinds on Geordie’s hospital room while Cathy and Esme embrace inside. He rushes to his church and begins accosting God when he notices some blood drops. He finds Dexter holding his wounded stomach on the ground, begging for help. Alphy sits down and just talks to him instead of sending for help. He’s disgusted by the bleeding man, who killed his friend – he thinks – and seems to have no remorse about it.

Larry has returned to the farm to find a cot with a gun and prayer card hidden under the pillow – Dexter’s aunt and uncle were harboring him after all. He goes to the hospital to check on Geordie, who is now awake. Larry makes him recall Dexter’s entrance to his hospital room: he wasn’t trying to kill Geordie but rather apologize. Geordie gets out of bed and goes to Alphy’s church.

He collapses to the ground after hugging Alphy, and tells Alphy about a neglected boy who lashed out. Dexter could be Alphy. All the vicars Geordie has worked with – Sidney, Will, Alphy – have reformed his view of people. He used to believe in punishment; now he believes everyone messes up, and it’s our duty to help them when they do. He shows Alphy the prayer card Dexter kept under his pillow. It has a prayer that Alphy heard God say to him as a child, a story he told Geordie while he was unconscious. 

Alphy walks to Dexter and apologizes, asking for forgiveness from both the wounded man and god. Ambulances arrive. 

Months later, Alphy goes to the library to return a book – and apologize to Meg for his cool-hot behavior towards her before once again asking her on a date. She kisses him. He thinks he might want to marry her.

He then heads to church to baptize Daisy, the new baby of Miss Scott and Larry. Geordie and Cathy are godparents; Leonard, Daniel, and Raymond are late in arriving. 

Miss Scott now works for Cathy and Mrs. C at CeCe’s Boutique as a bookkeeper, a job she can do while also taking care of Daisy. Geordie retires instead of taking his promotion. He leaves Larry his hat and a note that says “Proud of you, son.” 

Geordie has a new role as one of the many caretakers of Raymond, who joins Geordie and Cathy, Mrs. C and Jack, Leonard and Daniel, Alphy, and all of their dogs for a picnic by the river in the meadow. Alphy and Geordie go for a walk and Geordie brings up a missing fossil that the police have given up investigating. It might be something Alphy and Geordie can look into.