Gracepoint - Episode 1.09 - Review: "A Mother's Confession"

It is the penultimate episode of the series, and it sure was an exciting one. This was a prime example of just how good a mini-series can be even if it’s a broad church remake. It was definitely the series strongest hour.

After ending last week with Carver on the ground looking likely he had suffered yet another and possible fatal heart attack. It was a relief when he awoke in the comfort of the hospital with Miller just outside his door. When she says to him he is unfit for duty, and walks away he decides to ignore her, and discharge himself. I would have liked to of seen Miller take lead in the case, and try to solve it on her own, but of course even though Carver had been in a serious accident they all just welcome him back. The Chief only wanted his firearm. This episode we have seen Carver reach breaking point, he is losing all his control, and it is looking likely he will be removed from the case before they have caught the killer.

He wants so badly to catch whoever did it, as he feels he owes the Solano's. He let the Rosemont killer slip through his fingers, and can't bare for Danny's case to end up with the same outcome. We find a few things out about the detective; he was more involved with the Rosemont case than we were first let on to believe. His wife was one of the detectives, but had an affair with another man. This might explain why he is so cold, and why he desperately wanted to forget his past, and was always keen to stay clear of Renee Clemons. Carver also supposedly has been to Gracepoint before, I wonder why he was there? Perhaps he grew up as a child in Gracepoint.

Speaking off trying to forget the past we spend the majority of the episode with Susan Wright learning a lot about her troubling past. We get some big reveals from her that may or may not be true. When she was younger she had two daughters, and was happily married. Her husband used to rape the older sister. The older sister later died, after the father had killed her, with the younger one being taken into care. Susan at the time was pregnant with a boy. It was an emotional moment for her, she had to relieve the past she was desperately trying to keep buried. This explains why she changed her name from Ruth Erlock. The police accused her of knowing what was going on with her husband and daughter. She claims she didn't know. We don't actually get any confirmation as to whether she knew or not, but I think she probably did.

That could be the reason why she wants to find her son so badly so she can start fresh, and put her horrid past behind her. It is revealed that Susan claims Vince is her long lost son. I have been wondering about their connection for weeks now, so it is good we finally know why she keeps bothering him. Another big reveal from her was that when she was taking her dog for a walk at 2am - (because that’s completely normal) she stumbled across Danny's body where she stood there and just starred. Whilst smoking a few cigarettes. The reason she stood there was she was wondering if her daughter looked as peaceful when she died. I really felt for her, I thought when we first met the character she was just some crazy old woman, now I see her as another parent who has lost a child. She did also confirm she took Danny's skateboard in an attempt to get close to Vince as he made it.

Speaking of Vince he is now top of the suspect list. Susan said that she saw him putting Danny's body on the beach after getting off a boat. We do later though find out she was lying about it. She did see someone on the beach with the body, but it probably wasn't Vince. I do think though he could well turn out to be the killer. There was so much incriminating evidence going against him this episode. He has a tattoo of Danny's name on his arm. I think that is a little odd, as even if you were close with the family you wouldn't get their sons name on a tattoo. He says it is so he will remember him, but not even any of the Solano's have got one. It doesn't in anyway seem harmless, it just seems really wrong. Dean also reveals something else about Vince, he use to take Danny hunting in the woods without asking Beth or Mark. They didn't even know about it. It shows that him and Danny were quite close without anyone even knowing, why the secrecy is the question on my lips.

Vince also has a nasty temper which he demonstrated when he violently grabbed Susan’s face and threatened to slit her dog’s throat, and then kill her. He is showing all the signs of a murderer, but I still think if it turned out to be Vince it would be too obvious given a whole episode was nearly centred on him. I do though think he is involved in some way, and did you notice how he kept reminding us about his money woes? Perhaps he was selling drugs, and the money stashed away under Danny's bed was his money he had made. That is why they kept meeting perhaps, as we know they were quite close. My money is still on Paul being the killer he is mysterious, and if Tom’s claims about him hitting Danny weren't just a lie then he isn't the innocent priest he looks to be. If it turns out to be the same killer as Broadchurch's after David Tennant himself said it wouldn't I will feel let down, and feel that I have wasted my time with the show. The killer also can't be someone random, it has to make sense, and the killer must have a believable motive. These are the things I am hoping the finale will contain.

It has been a long wait for the finale, but only one more week to wait until we finally know WHO KILLED DANNY SOLANO!

Summary
It was a very interesting episode with many reveals. We have some concrete facts about the night Danny was killed and an eye witness account. The emotional punch that we got when Susan Wright was revealing her past made me have sympathy for her. I honestly can't wait to find out who killed Danny, mainly because it feels like we have waited forever.

As always, thank you for reading! Let me know in the comments what you thought of the episode!

About the Author - Robert Fruin

Robert is a sixth form student from the United Kingdom, who is currently studying IT, Media and Business Studies. Robert is a huge fan of the ended ABC series LOST, he has seen it many times over and has even visited some of the filming locations for it. Robert mainly watches drama series such as Game Of Thrones and Person of Interest, but has a soft spot for the comedy The Middle. Some other shows he watches are The Walking Dead, Arrow and The 100. Some other interests include cycling, photography and kayaking. Robert will be reviewing Z Nation,The Librarians, Sons Of Anarchy, Intruders, The Fosters and Aquarius. Feel free to connect with him on any of these social media sites.

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