It's the Wedding We've Been Waiting for in 'Grantchester' Season 10

Everyone needs that jerk of a friend to force you to celebrate your birthday when you'd rather be wallowing in the misery of the current state of the universe. I've got one (waves at the previous byline), you probably have one, and every vicar in Grantchester has had one in Geordie. Poor Alphy is still learning this; he gets dragged away from his debates with God on opening mysterious envelopes, thinking they'll have a quiet pint to low-key celebrate. Instead, he finds himself at the Working Man's Club (the site of many former drunken vicar escapades in the past) with the whole gang. Just when it couldn't get worse, Geordie announces his birthday present has arrived: Meg.

Last week's focus on Leonard kept the Alphy-Meg relationship out of the headlines, but the side conversations made it clear that Alphy hasn't attempted to contact her (or returned her calls) since The Envelope came into his life. It's not exactly the wrong choice; if one would like to attempt long-term cohabitation and legally breed in the eyes of God, the state, and society at large, it's always polite to ensure that all your emotional baggage is in order and secured in the overhead compartment before proceeding.

However, it's also better to perhaps tell the other person that's what you're doing, so they don't think they've been left high and dry, something Meg was already massively wary about with Alphy. From the look on her face as she walks into the club, she's not entirely convinced he hasn't, despite whatever Geordie said to persuade her to show.

Of course, this episode isn't actually about Alphy and Meg and whether or not her present of a fedora was a good one. (He does score a date with her for the weekend, blaming his absence on continuing to be spooked by her father being his boss.) If it's Grantchester, it's murder. In this case, it's the nasty piece of work lead singer from the club's main act this evening, Eric (Sanditon's Maxim Ays, barely recognizable in a Buddy Holly-style get-up). He is found dead behind a curtain with the band's only non-white member, Arun Darji (Ayan Philip), standing over him, just as Alphy returns to rescue the forgotten fedora.

There's no shortage of suspects. Eric was a misogynistic, womanizing horror show, and unsurprisingly, the least talented. Laurel (Anna Burnett), the band's manager, a superfan hired because no one else would represent them, was treated like garbage. Arun (who is the lead guitarist) and Aiden (Sam Weston), the drummer, hadn't been paid in months and were planning to take what they were owed (£500!) and quit. 

Arun needs the money; his parents (Abraham Chowdhury and Moshana Khan) did not come to the U.K. for a better life to watch their son play rock'n'roll, let alone for him to have a pregnant girl, Iris (Holly Rhys), begging him for help. Geordie takes them to the station, interrupting Miss Scott's daydreaming over her bridal magazine.* Arun is quite obviously lying about not having seen or heard anything, which Alphy recognizes will not help him, especially when the murder weapon, a stone ashtray, is found in his guitar case. Mr. Darji immediately assumes Geordie is targeting his son for being brown; Alphy stepping forward to calm the situation gives a deeper wrinkle, as Mrs. Darji knows who he is and addresses him as "Vicar." 

(*The Wedding-Industrial Complex seduces us all in time, but in this case, it's going to stay in her dreams, since she and Larry are actually planning to get married that afternoon at the courthouse. Let's hope this case doesn't derail them.) 

Meanwhile, in other crimes and misdemeanors, the surprise birthday party revealed Jack is trying hard to circumvent his wife and Cathy from committing bank fraud; however, Mrs. C. is refusing to use her husband's money for this "project." ("It's a Business!") Despite the fake mustache discussion, the two try it the semi-legal way, claiming they have a man applying for the loan and are here on his behalf, but that doesn't work. 

Why they're not asking Leonard to stand in is a mystery. Perhaps Mrs. C. (who is currently on a "everyone teetotals around Leonard" kick) is too busy trying to ensure he and Daniel don't break up (she's paid for him to come home and everything!) for it to occur to her. Instead, they have Jack — whom the bank manager knows well — claim to be "Colin Chapman." At the manager's spluttering, Mrs. C lectures him about how ludicrous this all is, delivering a pitch that would make any capitalist proud. Of course, since Jack is there, that's all the cover the bank manager needs, and CeCe's Boutique has its start-up funding.

Daniel's return is sweet, but he's flummoxed to find Leonard hobbying instead of his usual curled up with a lemon & port and a good book. (Leonard's refusal to tell him about the drinking isn't helping.) Instead, he asks Daniel to tell him everything about his trip home, and Daniel, utterly clueless, reveals that it was the healing homecoming he had always dreamed of having, including his parents' expressed pride in him. His mother even gave him family heirlooms to bring home to decorate the house, with a promise to visit in a fortnight.

(I am waiting for every last breakable thing Daniel pulled out of that suitcase to be smashed against the wall during Leonard's next blackout binge. Call them Chekov's Heirooms.)

Weaver is once again so good as Leonard, utterly overjoyed for Daniel while inwardly wincing like he's poking a sore tooth with his tongue over and over.... until Daniel admits this is all because he stayed in the closet. He told them Leonard was his lodger. Well, one thing at a time, right? 

Even Mrs. C. isn't buying it when Leonard comes to the vicarage, as if she's his AA sponsor, handing over the port in his possession. If Leonard can be honest and live with being disowned, Daniel should have the decency to take the same risk.

It's enough to push Leonard to stand up for himself that evening when Daniel tries to insist on having wine at dinner. As he reminds us all, it's not just dumb storylines like last year's cult crap where Leonard has stood by Daniel. He literally lost his job at the church and went to prison for him, and Daniel can't even bring himself to tell his parents who Leonard is. It's just another man in his life who's ashamed of him. Daniel is devastated to realize he's perpetuating the cycle. Perhaps the heirlooms will get thrown instead when Daniel's parents come to dinner.

Back at the vicarage, Alphy hears an announcement on the radio of a vigil "fundraiser for Eric's family" being held that afternoon at 2 p.m. Since Eric had no family (and Aiden attempted to steal everything the band had to pay himself and Arun what they were owed, all of which is now in evidence), Alphy knows this is bunk. He grabs his jacket and hurries over before Laurel can defraud all the girls Eric would sleep with who weren't her. She tartly tells him, "Eric's Family" will get what's left after she takes what she's owed, as she sneers at all the girls around them weeping, especially Iris. Alphy attempts to approach her, but when he tries to engage her in conversation, she runs away. (Arun, unsurprisingly, follows.) 

Alphy heads back to the station to get Geordie, who has learned the bottle of pills he assumed were going to be related to the rock'n'roll lifestyle (something from the galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, laughers, screamers...) were merely morning sickness pills, nicked from Dr. Darji's pharmacy. Arun admits he stole them because Iris was so miserable, and he wanted to help, and says he is the father of her child. Iris is far less forthcoming, only willing to repeat over and over in her thick Welsh accent that no one is taking her child from her. (Of course, it's not Arun's baby, it's Eric's. Arun is just trying to be a decent man, and spare her the shame of being pregnant by a man who threw her away.) 

Geordie grumbles that this doesn't add up and goes to Miss Scott's desk to find the case file, as she's out. Instead, being a good cop, he sees the bridal magazine, looks up, and sees that Larry's desk is also empty, and races out of the station, Alphy following behind, utterly perplexed. Not that Geordie wants to stop the marriage, exactly, but they deserve a real wedding in a church, not an hour lunchbreak quick vow at the courthouse. Marrying Cathy was the best day of his life, he says, and they deserve that too. 

Besides, he's got the vicar right here!

The whole case is put on hold as Cathy, Jack, and Mrs. C all show up at the church, wedding dress — well, wedding suit — in hand, and take charge of Miss Scott's outfit. (I think it's time we call her Jenny, yes?) Alphy and Geordie escort Larry inside. Geordie walks Jenny down the aisle and gives her away, a genuinely touching scene, especially for those of us who remember when Detective Keating was boning the secretaries in his office, instead of being a kindly father figure. (Unsurprisingly, the latter suits him far better.)

Of course, the wedding isn't just to make all of us longtime fans squeal with delight; that's just the buttered gravy. The actual reason, as always, is that this is the subplot that helps Alphy solve the case. On their way to have a pint and celebrate, Larry starts talking about his late mother, and how she always put him first, and would have done everything to protect him if anything had ever gotten in his way of success. Iris's fear of having her baby taken from her and Arun's unwillingness to be less than decent point towards her having a powerful motivation to remove both men from her life.

Iris isn't actually that clever or devious. Eric tried to beat her into miscarrying, and what she did was self-defense. Arun was the one who hid the ashtray in his guitar case, having come in seconds after she hit Eric over the head and killed him. The irony is that Iris will now go to jail, and her child will be taken from her anyway and put into care. She begs Geordie and Alphy, when her child is old enough, to make sure he knows she did it all for him, that she loved him, and she'll find her way back to him when she can.

Iris' plea brings us full circle, back to The Envelope that Alphy is trying to decide whether to open. He asked God for a sign, and honestly, there have been so many "Yes, you idiot, open it already" signs; it's impressive that the writers didn't have God put it in skywriting. So, of course, that's where Meg finds him on Saturday evening, in the vicarage, turning the envelope over in his hands, having completely forgotten about their date. 

He tries desperately to apologize, but she's not here for it. She tells him to get his baggage sorted and repacked into a manageable carry-on (preferably the kind with four smart wheels and a solid telescoping handle, I assume). Once he's got his head on straight, he can come find her again. 

Of course, he responds by calling Geordie, who comes right on over and pours the drinks, because you know he's dying to find out what the letter says. Alphy knows it too, and hands it over to Geordie to open, because he can't bring himself to do it. 

It is, of course, as beautiful as you expected, and Geordie's sonorous voice reading aloud makes it even better. (Has anyone checked to see how Robson Green would do as the next BBC Earth narrator post-David Attenborough? Asking for Planet Earth IV.) But of course, now that the letter is open, there's a whole new mystery to solve. Who was the woman who left Alphy on the step, and is she still alive? But that's for next week...

Grantchester Season 10 continues with the penultimate episode on Sunday, July 27, at 9 p.m. ET on most PBS stations, the PBS app, and the PBS Masterpiece channel. (The finale will technically air in August, but who's counting?) All eight episodes are available to binge on PBS Passport for members. As always, check your local streaming service/listings. Seasons 1 through 9 are also available to stream on PBS Passport. Grantchester has been renewed for its eleventh and final season, set to air in 2026.