BWW Recap: GRACEPOINT Delivers with Drugs and Dubious Dads

By: Oct. 10, 2014
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Do you know who killed Danny yet? If you do, kudos, because I sure as heck don't. The people over at Fox weren't kidding when they said everyone's a suspect! Last week, my theories were changing by the minute. This week...well, this week was pretty much the same. Every time I think I have it down, some new piece of evidence pops up that makes me second-guess myself. This week, that new piece of evidence came from Danny's own family. Could this mean that someone in the Solano family was involved with the murder? Let's find out.

While Carver is busy dealing with an old friend, Renee, from the San Francisco Globe (whom he - shockingly - doesn't seem to have a great relationship with), Miller goes to the Solano's house to continue the investigation and to introduce them to Pete, the family's "official liason." Beth and Mark surprise Ellie with a list of possible suspects that turns out to be a list of their closest friends, but that's nothing compared to the surprise Ellie gets next. One of the CSI detectives finds $500 in cash taped to the bottom of Danny's bed and a packet of cocaine hiding under a floorboard in Chloe's room. Maybe Ellie doesn't know the Solano family as well as she thought she did.

We start to see more marked differences between Carver and Ellie. Ellie is very delicate with her words. She's reassuring, almost comforting, to everyone, even if they're a possible suspect. She tells the Solanos very delicately that Danny's body cannot be released to them until the murderer is caught, and she understands the impact that comes along with her referring to it as evidence. When she and Carver confront Gemma Fisher, the manager of the local inn, about the drugs that Chloe claims she got from her, Ellie tells her that they'll keep the drug charges under wraps as long as she cooperates. Carver doesn't like this tactic. He'd much rather be aggressive, make people sweat.

See? Reinhold even looks like a creep.

One of those people he wants to sweat out is Jack Reinhold. He calls, claiming he just remembered a new piece of information that he didn't think of when he was initially questioned. He tells Carver that a few weeks ago, he saw Danny talking to someone on the cliff, with a notebook and a backpack. Carver's not sure what to make of it, but he is sure that he's going to keep a close eye on Reinhold. Which is probably a good idea. He's creepy.

But let's go back to Carver for a second. He's not looking so hot lately. He starts to drift after his conversation with Ellie about Chloe. He looks like he's about to pass out, and almost does. He runs to the bathroom and rips out...a needle? Sure enough, once he gives himself the injection, he's good. But what's his issue? Clever sound editing suggests it's a heart problem. Clearly, the prickly relationship between him and Ellie isn't the only barrier he's going to have to overcome.

Things move rapid fire from here on in. Beth has a breakdown; she's tired of being confined to the house. She goes to the supermarket and has a meltdown in the parking lot, complete with crashing shopping carts and collapsing onto the ground. When the local priest, Paul Coates, sees this, he comforts her and tries to calm her down. In a moment of vulnerability, she drops a bomb: she's pregnant (pregnant!), and she hasn't told Mark yet. The Solanos' relationship with Paul is a mixed bag of emotions. Beth's mom seems to believe that God brought Paul to Gracepoint to help Beth, but Mark doesn't have as much faith in him. Mark, actually, demands he stay away from Beth. What's up with that? He's just a priest trying to help. There's nothing wrong with that...unless he has a history with Beth. Now normally, I'd say a creepy priest is a bit cliché. Paul doesn't seem like your run-of-the-mill pervy priest, though. He seems like a genuinely good and honest guy, and I'll honestly be a bit upset if he ends up being guilty of something. I'm rooting for ya, Paul!

Ellie isn't really rooting for Carver, though. The tight thread that delicately holds the Carver/Ellie relationship together is pulled even tighter during one long night of investigating. Ellie calls him out on his habit of spitting out question after question, leaving no time for anyone to answer. In an odd turn of events, Carver seems to absorb this criticism! He starts asking her questions, and what's more, he's genuinely interested in her answers. But alas, peace can only last for so long. Ellie's a bit put off by the fact that Carver believes everyone is capable of murder. She thinks better of her community; she likes to believe that people still have some kind of inherent moral compass. But in the wise words (are they really wise? Do we know yet if he's wise?) of Carver, "compasses break."

Whether he's wise or not, Carver sure knows how to read people. He pays a visit to the local trailer park (what, your town doesn't have on of those?) to get keys from Susan Wright to the beachside hut she maintains. This lady's off her rocker, and he knows it. She doesn't let him in, but fortunately, us viewers get a sneak peak inside her trailer. She reaches into the closet to get the box of keys, and what do we see but Danny's skateboard! Carver may not know about this (yet), but like I said, he can read people. Susan's definitely on his radar.

Woah, calm down there, Mark...

He also starts suspecting Mark when he and Ellie review the security camera footage they obtained from the hut from the night Danny died. Mark lied when he told the detectives that he was out on a work call that night: footage shows him at the cliff. They also find a journal that Danny kept on his computer, and many of the entries suggest Danny was involved with something sketchy with his dad. This opens a whole new can of worms.

With that can of worms evidently comes a pack of "groupies," as Carver calls them, or people obsessed with the murder who flock to Gracepoint as spectators. One suspected groupie is a man who comes to the police station to work on the phone lines. He claims to be receiving psychic messages from Danny, in which Danny implies that his death somehow involved water and a boat. Carver thinks he's nuts, and even Ellie has a hard time believing him. Can you blame them? It is a convenient time to be psychic. They question him, but don't put much stock in his answers. Until, that is, he mentions something to Carver, about a girl forgiving him about the pendant.

Huh? What's that about? Renee gives us a clue when she tells Owen about how she followed Carver on his last case involving three missing girls. She insinuates that he somehow messed up that case. Is this why he got transferred to Gracepoint? Is this why he's supposed to "lay low," as the chief said last week? Come on, Carver, tell us!

Meanwhile, Chloe reassures her boyfriend that she didn't say anything to the detectives about him being involved with the cocaine. Well that makes sense. It's always the boyfriend, isn't it?

Carver's not having any of your lies, Mark!

Wait, you thought the drugs in Chloe's bedroom was the big piece of evidence left by one of Danny's family members? Oh, no. What the CSI team finds makes the cocaine look like child's play (and that's not easy to do with cocaine). Carver finds Mark to question him about the security footage they found, but Mark is evasive. It's obvious he's lying, and Carver knows it. In the middle of the interview, Carver gets a phone call from Ellie. She's at the hut (you remember, the one they got the keys to from Susan Wright), and the CSI team found evidence of Danny's blood on the porch. The rest of the house, though, has been wiped clean. That is, except for one spot, by the sink, where they found prints from Mark Solano.

And there you have it, folks. Mark: GRACEPOINT's latest suspect. The way this show's going, though, he'll be cleared by next week. We'll just have to wait and see.

Do you think Mark had something to do with Danny's death, or are you more weirded out by Jack Reinhold or Susan Wright? Let us know in the comments below or come specualte with me on Twitter @CourtHenley!

Photo Credit: FOX


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