Season 8 Discussion

[dubbel zout]

There is a tradition of not leaving a dead body by itself, but Will was feeling guilty about putting the guy in the morgue more than he was anything else, so any religious/cultural belief about it was secondary, to say the least.

I did crack up when Miss Scott told him not to do a runner, though. She always seems to have a command presence, which I thoroughly enjoy.

[magdalene]

The case was interesting.  Geordie's boss needs to go. When you are that blatant about your biases....

All I hope for Will is that he not break his step-son's heart.

All things considered Leonard should have been the vicar. He has more of a calling to minister than Sidney and Will ever had put together.

[Autumn]

I am so tired of someone threatening to arrest or beat up Leonard every episode for being gay.  I don’t care how much of the times it was.  This is fiction.  Give it a rest for a few episodes.  Will was damn lucky.  Who has a broken speedometer and doesn’t fix it, or doesn’t seem to even recall it was broken?  That seems to make it clear he was not paying attention to his speed at all, which is exactly what he was being accused of.

[howiveaddict]

That little short cop sure has it in for Leonard. He reminds me of some male nursing students I went to school with. They would brag they were going to go to the river and beat up gays so to make their selves seem more manly.  This was 40 odd years ago.

My dream season finally, the chief will go down in a scandal and take shorty cop with him.   I know he hates Will for sleeping with his girlfriend, but girlfriend would have cheated somewhere else.  And actually may have.   This saved the chief heartache once they were married.

[buttersister]

I want to watch Geordie and Miss Scott, PI Duo. And a version of Grantchester starring Leonard. 
 

The current incarnation? Well, I was noticing that Miss Scott constantly hides her right hand. No joke, in a pocket, in her left hand, behind a prop. So I guess I wasn’t spellbound by the story.

[Irlandesa]

5 hours ago, magdalene said:

All things considered Leonard should have been the vicar. He has more of a calling to minister than Sidney and Will ever had put together.

So much this.  In the discussion of Sydney vs. Will and who is more set out to be a vicar, it's always Leonard in my mind. 

I really liked Will in the beginning before his dark turn, and I was hoping his marriage was going to be a turning point for the character, but instead, they shove her off to take care of her mother while he grapples with being responsible for a stranger's death. 

Oh well, I'm just glad Geordie's struggle this season doesn't involve his marriage to Kathy. 

3 hours ago, Autumn said:

I am so tired of someone threatening to arrest or beat up Leonard every episode for being gay. 

I agree.  They already put him in jail.  Let it end.

 

[Sarah 103]

8 hours ago, 12catcrazy said:

 Anyway, with Dickens "sowing his wild oats", maybe we will have puppies to make us smile.  

Didn't Mrs. C have a line something like "[the neighber said] the puppies will be our responsibility?" Either the neighbor was blustering/making an empty threat, or there are puppies already on the way. Either way, I would be on board with a new puppy. 

[Orcinus orca]

9 hours ago, buttersister said:

Well, I was noticing that Miss Scott constantly hides her right hand. No joke, in a pocket, in her left hand, behind a prop. So I guess I wasn’t spellbound by the story.

I honestly never noticed her arm last season!  She was born without part of her right arm and this is the first time I was aware of it.  Guess  I wouldn't make much of a detective.

Edited July 18, 2023 by Orcinus orca
looked her up on IMDB

[dargosmydaddy]

11 hours ago, buttersister said:

Well, I was noticing that Miss Scott constantly hides her right hand. No joke, in a pocket, in her left hand, behind a prop. So I guess I wasn’t spellbound by the story.

Um, isn't the right hand the one she doesn't have? So she's not hiding it, it just doesn't exist. I did notice she has a tendency of holding her left hand to her right elbow a lot.

Meanwhile, I was distracted by the "big" brother/ murderer... the actor looked familiar, but I couldn't think of from where. Finally had to consult IMDB, and it turned out he was one of the thugs from the most recent season of Happy Valley... he had a very different accent on that.

11 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

Didn't Mrs. C have a line something like "[the neighber said] the puppies will be our responsibility?" Either the neighbor was blustering/making an empty threat, or there are puppies already on the way. Either way, I would be on board with a new puppy.

I thought the Dickens part was just a ruse by the adults so that Ernie wouldn't know they were talking about/ worried about Will. Although Ernie was the one who brought it up ("Spreading his wild oats?"), so I guess it's in the realm of possibility...

Although (speculation based on the news about next season),

Spoiler

when Will leaves, it would be nice if he brought Dickens with him... Unless he goes overseas like Sidney, there'd be no reason not to. The new vicar could start over with a new puppy.

 

[sugarbaker design]

15 hours ago, Autumn said:

I am so tired of someone threatening to arrest or beat up Leonard every episode for being gay.

 

11 hours ago, buttersister said:

I want to watch Geordie and Miss Scott, PI Duo. And a version of Grantchester starring Leonard. 

In the novel Maurice set in the early 1900's Maurice visits his doctor to cure him of his homosexuality, the doctor advises him to go to France or Italy where homosexuality isn't illegal. After Leonard's stint in the prison I was hoping he and his partner would move to France where they can be together, help people and solve crimes.

[Shanna Marie]

19 hours ago, magdalene said:

All things considered Leonard should have been the vicar. He has more of a calling to minister than Sidney and Will ever had put together.

I guess the idea is that this is the point they're trying to make, that Leonard has a true vocation and calling that he's not allowed to use within the structure of the church. Meanwhile, the guys who are allowed to function within the church are utterly hopeless at it and go against scripture far more than Leonard ever did, but the church is fixated on this one "sin" above all others. For instance, the Bible says Christians aren't supposed to be "unequally yoked." A Christian shouldn't marry someone who isn't a Christian. If the church is going to kick Leonard out for being gay, they should also kick Will out for marrying an atheist. If he's hiding that his wife is an atheist, then he's lying, and that's also a sin. Not to mention all the sex outside of marriage Will had before he got married, including with a woman engaged to someone else. But he's allowed to keep his job while Leonard was denied his vocation.

[sugarbaker design]

6 minutes ago, Shanna Marie said:

I guess the idea is that this is the point they're trying to make, that Leonard has a true vocation and calling that he's not allowed to use within the structure of the church. Meanwhile, the guys who are allowed to function within the church are utterly hopeless at it and go against scripture far more than Leonard ever did, but the church is fixated on this one "sin" above all others.

Exactly.

[Sarah 103]

4 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

After Leonard's stint in the prison I was hoping he and his partner would move to France where they can be together, help people and solve crimes.

I would watch that series! 

2 hours ago, Shanna Marie said:

I guess the idea is that this is the point they're trying to make, that Leonard has a true vocation and calling that he's not allowed to use within the structure of the church.

That to me is one of the biggest tragedies of the series. Leonard would be a fantastic vicar, but he isn't allowed to be one. He'll still try to help people who need it most in whatever way he can. 

[Noneofyourbusiness]

On 7/17/2023 at 3:33 PM, Orcinus orca said:

Although that morgue seems to have an open door policy.  Visitors can drop in at will.

How about a case focused on bodysnatchers.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

On 7/17/2023 at 11:02 PM, Sarah 103 said:

Didn't Mrs. C have a line something like "[the neighber said] the puppies will be our responsibility?" Either the neighbor was blustering/making an empty threat, or there are puppies already on the way. Either way, I would be on board with a new puppy. 

Yes, she said "apparently the puppies are coming to us" before Will was able to tell her what happened.

On 7/18/2023 at 7:42 AM, Orcinus orca said:

I honestly never noticed her arm last season!  She was born without part of her right arm and this is the first time I was aware of it.  Guess  I wouldn't make much of a detective.

I didn't notice until this episode either. Unless I did notice in previous seasons and forgot.

On 7/18/2023 at 10:12 AM, dargosmydaddy said:

I thought the Dickens part was just a ruse by the adults so that Ernie wouldn't know they were talking about/ worried about Will. Although Ernie was the one who brought it up ("Spreading his wild oats?"), so I guess it's in the realm of possibility...

No, it was real. Mrs C was telling Will about it on the phone before Will had a chance to a get a word in edgewise to tell her he'd been in an accident, when she thought he was at a bar. It become a cover later when they were talking at the door of the house.

[Sarah 103]

I really hope we actually get to see the puppies. Maybe Leonard will take one in as sort of a mascot/pet for the halfway house. 

[surfgirl]

Larry is a little piece of shite. One if those guys who would turn you in to the Nazis because deepndown he's a hateful little twerp. I suppose the show wants the dynamic of a character who is mostly odious but on occasion does the right thing, but  so over Larry and the asshole boss. And honestly, Will is a mess and the three if them are ruining the show for me.

[dubbel zout]

22 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

Leonard would be a fantastic vicar, but he isn't allowed to be one. He'll still try to help people who need it most in whatever way he can. 

I thought the path they gave Leonard was perfect for him. He was nervous about giving sermons and doing things in large groups, but one-on-one vicoring was where he shone (and shines). Being a lay minister doesn't make him any less effective; in fact, it probably opens some doors he wouldn't have otherwise had, like setting up the halfway house.

[surfgirl]

10 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

I thought the path they gave Leonard was perfect for him. He was nervous about giving sermons and doing things in large groups, but one-on-one vicoring was where he shone (and shines). Being a lay minister doesn't make him any less effective; in fact, it probably opens some doors he wouldn't have otherwise had, like setting up the halfway house.

I would honestly prefer a revamp of this show where Leonard is the main character.  He is such a deep, rich character and the actornis so good! Keep Mr. & Mrs. C., Leonard and his husband, Georgie and his girl Friday, snd replace the others.

[buttersister]

Holy crap, the lighting through the stained glass illuminating Will’s face. Subtle, eh? 
The murder was meh. The Modigliani as a SYMBOL, oy. Geordie in his brown suit—fish out of water. 
they could have shortened the protest scenes and had Will go and apologize to Leonard and Mrs. C.

[surfgirl]

So basically Will is a shit husband, a shit vicar, and a selfish human. Great season.

[sugarbaker design]

6 hours ago, surfgirl said:

So basically Will is a shit husband, a shit vicar, and a selfish human. Great season.

And a shit friend!  I'm hoping that in the final episode of the season Geordie is investigating Will's murder.

[Orcinus orca]

This might as well be in black and white.  It's so dark and depressing.

Let's hope the new housekeeper for the halfway house brings some zest into the mix.

[dubbel zout]

The show is never subtle about the points it tries to make, but this episode felt especially heavy-handed. I get it: Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. Sheesh.

[magdalene]

I am having trouble sticking with this show. I am actually enjoying the 10 o clock show more - and that has never happened before.

Not only do I find Will now so unlikable, he is also pathetic. Show some strength of character for crying out loud!  As things stand I wouldn't mind him being knocked off but I would feel bad for his wife and step-son, so no on that.

[JudyObscure]

I always seem to be on the unpopular opinion side here, but I'm not seeing why Will is such an awful person.  Right after the incident he was helped and counselled by Leonard and Will accepted it and cried on his shoulder. 

Now he's trying to get on with life and he's got Cathy making up busy little events for him, people calling his wife for him when he had made up his (unselfish) mind that she needed to be with her mother, and then, after he has nicely asked them all to stop, several times, they're having a meeting about him in his kitchen.  Did he get a little mean with them?  Yes, but I thought he had pretty good reason. 

You can't tell other people how to best handle their grief. I was called out by the minister during my mother's funeral, in front of everyone, as he smirked at me and said, "It's okay to cry."  Well I apologize to everyone for myself and Will but some of us can't cry in front of others and prefer to do it alone.

Telling him he's struggling is not news to him.  Telling him he "needs help" is useless unless you have some idea exactly what that help is and who the person is who's going to provide it?  His wife is one of those people who thinks sex is the answer for everything, so she's probably going to add to the stress if he's not ready to perform to her expectations right now.

Will has killed someone!  He has taken a life and he will think about that  and feel guilt about it for the rest of his life. He can't undo that by talking about it. If he still seems a little distracted  a few days afterward then that's only natural and all his friends and family should just step back and let him process it.  It's not their problem, they aren't him, he isn't ready to talk about it, they don't know what he needs better than he does.

I know that's not where the show is going.   Before the season is over Will is probably going to have "you weren't nice to Kathy and Bonnie" added to his guilt and they'll be all smug about it, while accepting his apologies.

I'm starting to hate watch the show, too, but not because of Will. I'm tired of the weekly lessons where we see 1950's people shamed for not being 2023 people.

[dubbel zout]

23 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

I'm tired of the weekly lessons where we see 1950's people shamed for not being 2023 people.

I think is where the vast majority of the show's problems come from, tbh.

[statsgirl]

Will:  "Stop talking about me as if I were a child."  Me: Then stop acting like one.

I don't understand why the show makes first Sidney and now even more Will a man-child. It's not attractive, and it's not interesting.

I liked the invisible cleaning lady much more than I liked any of the men of the college. Or Geordie's boss.

The women of Call The Midwife would know how to get the wife help.

Good for Miss Scott for solving the case. Boo that she never gets the credit.

Nice parallel of Will in over his head with dealing with the death, and Leonard in over his head dealing with the half-way house, and both too stubborn to realize it and accept the help they need.

4 hours ago, Orcinus orca said:

Let's hope the new housekeeper for the halfway house brings some zest into the mix.

I liked her. she knows stuff and she knows when to step back.

[Sarah 103]

5 hours ago, Orcinus orca said:

Let's hope the new housekeeper for the halfway house brings some zest into the mix.

I would totally watch a series that's Leonard and Daniel running the halfway house with the new housekeeper. Also, I want to know more about the new housekeeper and her background. She seems like a wonderful accepting person and I'd love to know what shaped her to become the person she seems to be. 

It's very strange to see late 1950s/early 1960s clothing, but late 1960s language and issus. 

[dubbel zout]

1 hour ago, statsgirl said:

Will:  "Stop talking about me as if I were a child."  Me: Then stop acting like one.

That was my exact reaction. 

1 hour ago, statsgirl said:

Good for Miss Scott for solving the case. Boo that she never gets the credit.

I really liked her telling the protester than even though being one of very few women at the station was hard, she thought it was important that there were women working at the station. Every man who tried to talk to the protester was condescending. I liked that she saw that and threw it back in their faces.

[wanderingstar]

Will is having a trauma response, unable to process his emotions about the accident and unwilling to ask for help. I get that.

I really do.

But also...stop being such a massive dick, Will. Your pain is not a license to lash out at everyone around you.

Agree that the murder mystery was so-so. As always, I was much more interested in the characters and how they relate to each other. The asshole university don did make me laugh. He was cartoonishly evil. I actually thought at first that he'd end up being the murder victim.

Loving Miss Scott's increased involvement in the mystery solving. 

Leonard remains a gem. And kudos to Al Weaver on directing the episode.

Edited July 25, 2023 by wanderingstar

[Sarah 103]

1 hour ago, wanderingstar said:

The asshole university don did make me laugh. He was cartoonishly evil. I actually thought at first that he'd end up being the murder victim.

I like that idea. I'm not sure I would call him evil. I would say he was entitled, self-absorbed, a total jerk, and someone so awful that multiple people would easily have a motive if he was murderded.   

[Orcinus orca]

6 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

I would say he was entitled, self-absorbed, a total jerk, and someone so awful that multiple people would easily have a motive if he was murderded.  

 The actor certainly nailed that character.  A total 180 from the role he played in Doc Martin.

[sugarbaker design]

6 hours ago, Orcinus orca said:

 The actor certainly nailed that character.  A total 180 from the role he played in Doc Martin.

But not too far from the character he played in Hollyoaks.

[dargosmydaddy]

Cute video about Al Weaver directing the previous episode (the whole cast clearly loves him, which is adorable... and Al Weaver when he doesn't have his horrible Leonard hair is quite an attractive man):

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/clips/grantchester-al-weaver-directs-episode-3/?subscriber=true&list_id=general

[LakeGal]

I don't know if I can keep watching this.  

[Noneofyourbusiness]

On 7/24/2023 at 11:56 AM, JudyObscure said:

people calling his wife for him when he had made up his (unselfish) mind that she needed to be with her mother

That part seemed laughably hypocritical, though, because he was on the road because he was upset about an argument he'd had with Bonnie about her going to care for her mother, and now pulling her away from her ailing mother is "the last thing I wanted". Even if he had a change of heart and wasn't just using that as an excuse to be upset, they couldn't have known because he never said.

On 7/24/2023 at 1:56 PM, dubbel zout said:

I really liked her telling the protester than even though being one of very few women at the station was hard, she thought it was important that there were women working at the station.

I did, too.

On 7/24/2023 at 10:55 PM, wanderingstar said:

The asshole university don did make me laugh. He was cartoonishly evil. I actually thought at first that he'd end up being the murder victim.

As soon as he started talking about his plans for the future, I said to my parents, "He won't be around much longer." So they didn't do the predictable thing there.

[HoodlumSheep]

So they're turning Will into a drug addict now??? 😬

Geordie's plain ol' tired. At this point he looks like he could do with some Rest&RelaxationRetirement.

 

[buttersister]

Way to be that supportive spouse you were working on, Geordie.

Don’t care about Will, sorry. Not sorry.

[JudyObscure]

They're working poor Will into a horrible crisis of faith when he understands that the euphoric relief he felt while kneeling in church was chemically induced. He is already, as Paul called it, "unequally yoked."  It was never considered a sin, Paul was just warning Christians that it would make life harder for them if they married non-Christians.

So there's been the Bonnie element pulling him away from his faith, then the road accident where he can't accept God's forgiveness because he can't forgive himself, and now drugs. 

I'm finding this season interesting for all the questions it asks. Will Will give up his calling?  Will Leonard have to choose between his work and his partner?  Will Geordie be able to keep his self-respect with nothing to do but weed an allotment?

Did Kathy have to tell him she got a promotion right now?  Couldn't she just go to work at the same place, cash her new larger paycheck and appear to be making their money stretch a bit better? It would be nice if he could be happy for her, but it  would also be nice if she could be a little more sensitive.  She seems tone deaf about a lot of things this season.

One bright note -- Mrs. C shall now have a reason to gloat. Hah!  I miss the old days when she, Dickens and Leonard were always up to something funny in the kitchen.

[magdalene]

I see next week they are airing two episodes, the second being the season finale. Good.  I am so out of like and patience with all the contrived drama.

One thing I have enjoyed this season is that they are giving the female clerk at the police station so much more to do. They are really showing her competence.

I wonder whether they will 

Spoiler

introduce the next vicar in the season finale?

 

Edited July 31, 2023 by magdalene

[sugarbaker design]

Just now, magdalene said:

One thing I have enjoyed this season is that they are giving the female cleric at the police station so much more to do. They are really showing her competence.

  Reveal spoiler

introduce the next vicar in the season finale?

 

I know you meant clerk and not cleric.  But all in all, not a bad idea.

Another episode of Will Davenport, Shit Vicar.  And now he's a pillpopper!

One thing I did like about the episode was the performance of Simone Lahbib.  I remember her from her Bad Girls days, and more recently EastEnders.  I'm sorry she had to go, but she really brought it.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

28 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

I know you meant clerk and not cleric.  But all in all, not a bad idea.

Oh well, it's from the same etymology.

They should continue to expand Miss Scott's role. I would watch a show where she became the main detective, but that's not likely to happen I'm afraid. And it seems clear that Larry likes her, so hopefully he'll get his head out of his ass.

[peeayebee]

33 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

One thing I did like about the episode was the performance of Simone Lahbib.  I remember her from her Bad Girls days, and more recently EastEnders.  I'm sorry she had to go, but she really brought it.

She was also in Wire in the Blood with Robson Green.

[Sarah 103]

2 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

Did Kathy have to tell him she got a promotion right now?  Couldn't she just go to work at the same place, cash her new larger paycheck and appear to be making their money stretch a bit better? It would be nice if he could be happy for her, but it  would also be nice if she could be a little more sensitive.  She seems tone deaf about a lot of things this season.

Keep in mind, this is based on the ideology of the era: My guess is that she can get away with working while he's still working, because she can say she's helping out so the family can afford little extras.

No one in her social circle needs to know how much she's making and how much satisfaction she gets from her career and having an identity beyond wife and mother. I'm not sure if she can use that excuse when he's retired.

I'd imagine there would be more pressure on her to quit, to stay at home and take care of her husband, to travel and do things they couldn't do while he was still working. I suppose she could use the excuse you suggested of trying to bring in a little more money because his pension won't cover everything they want to do. 

What were the pills? Were they just generic "it's television and drugs=bad?"

It's a shame. Daniel wants a real relationship (or at least as close to one as they could get given the time and place) and I'm not sure if Leonard really wants that or is ready for it.  

[12catcrazy]

Count me as another person sick of all the soap opera drama.  Couldn't they have had Will be a happily married man with an adorable stepson and a new baby and leave it at that?   I guess in TV Land happy people can't be solving crimes (unless its Midsommer Murders and maybe Father Brown).    This drug thing is now going a bridge too far.  

The coming attractions looked to be teasing a split for Leonard and Daniel.  I love Daniel (and getting sick of Leonard at this point) and I hope he's sticking around but Leonard is getting hard to take.  The final straw seemed to be Leonard's whining that Daniel was unsupportive.  Good for Daniel telling him off!

I'm going to admit that I figured it was the guy in the locked room who was the murderer but didn't see the other twist coming.  

[HelenCrump]

23 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:

What were the pills? Were they just generic "it's television and drugs=bad?"

 

I came to ask the same thing.  Some type of antidepressant?  Or uppers of some type?

I didn't realize the season was ending next week.  This seems like an unusually short season!  

[statsgirl]

Did Will do anything this episode to help solve the case other than realize that there is a town of the same name in Scotland? It's almost not worth having him on the case. He couldn't even pray with Alfie.

Why was there a bottle of pills in Will's desk drawer? Were they  his or did he take them from someone?

4 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

Did Kathy have to tell him she got a promotion right now?  Couldn't she just go to work at the same place, cash her new larger paycheck and appear to be making their money stretch a bit better?

She couldn't have hid it because this was the era when all finances were in the husband's name. He would have been getting the bank statements that showed her cashing her bigger cheque, and certainly he would have seen when they had to file taxes.

Geordie really needs to start his own investigation agency with Miss Scott.

[dubbel zout]

20 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

Why was there a bottle of pills in Will's desk drawer? Were they  his or did he take them from someone?

Alfie gave Will the pills to stop him (Alfie) from ODing on them. 

[Orcinus orca]

5 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

Did Kathy have to tell him she got a promotion right now?

Why shouldn't she?  In an era when advancement for women was abysmal, she was promoted to a position of authority and made more money.  Damn, if that had been my mom, the whole neighborhood would have known the minute she got home. And my dad would have been so proud of her.  Geordie has really grown into an "all about me" wet blanket.  Kathy should have kicked him to the curb and not gotten back together after the separation.

And the writers really hate Will.  His descent to the dark side is really getting tedious.  Catting around, drinking, now drugs?  Maybe they are setting things up so we will 

Spoiler

welcome the new Vicar. 

If that's the plan, it's working for me.

Even dear Leonard is getting on my nerves.  But self-sacrifice is the cornerstone of martyrs.