In Season 9's Second Episode, 'Grantchester' Bids Farewell to Will Davenport

The moment many of us have been dreading has finally arrived: Will Davenport has officially left Grantchester. Technically, this isn't a surprise, given that we've known Tom Brittney would be departing the show for the past year or so. However, Grantchester still manages to wring maximum drama out of his exit in an episode that features teary farewells, heartfelt declarations of love, and Will rushing across a picturesque field to share a last-minute hug with Geordie (Robson Green, now moving to his third co-star) like they're in the airport in Love, Actually. While I'm still not 100% sure that the show needed to come up with a convoluted extra reason for him to leave beyond the trauma he endured last season, it's a testament to the strength of the onscreen relationships between these characters that this is all as emotionally affecting as it is.

Grantchester has never been a show you watch for its mysteries. Besides the Season 8 arc where Will accidentally killed a guy, you'd probably have to struggle to highlight more than one or two cases from the series' run that stood out on their own merits. Admittedly, the show's weekly cases are usually slightly more subtle (which is to say, at all) in terms of how their stories tie into the season's more prominent themes than the two episodes we've seen thus far this season have been.

Seemingly incapable of trusting its viewers to understand Will's sudden decision to leave or Geordie's complicated feelings about his departure on their own, Season 9 has opted to beat us all over the head with overly simplistic ideas about regret, growth, and love. Settling is terrible — and might make you a murderer! Real love means letting those you love go — even when you don't want to! Brittney and Green are the only reason any of it works.