BWW Recap: Secrets, Murder, Lies Abound in GRACEPOINT

Alrighty, folks, here it is, the moment we've all been waiting for: the premiere of GRACEPOINT! It's everyone's favorite Tenth Doctor David Tennant's American television debut, and it's Anna Gunn's first television role since her Emmy-winning turn as Mrs. Walter White. Head honchos over at FOX have been getting us psyched for a while now, with behind the scenes sneak peaks and interviews with the cast about whether or not their characters are guilty. Guilty of what, you ask? That's right where tonight's episode begins.

The entire season's plot is established in the first ten minutes of the show. We're introduced to the town Gracepoint at nighttime, after the village stores have closed and everyone has gone to bed. Everyone, that is, except Danny Solano. The twelve-year-old boy stands on the edge of a cliff, blood dripping from his finger, crying, looking down at the rocky shore below. We know that whatever happens next to him will not be good. His family, however, remains blissfully unaware the next morning as they begin their day as usual, with Mark saying hello to everyone he passes on his way to work.

We learn a lot about Ellie Miller right off the bat, too. She's just returned from vacation to find that the position she was promised as head of the police unit was given to somebody else, an out-of-towner, while she was away from the office. This newcomer is none other than Emmett Carver. He's fresh out of New York City and couldn't be less interested with the low-key police work common in Gracepoint if he tried. Once that phone call comes in, though, everything changes. Carver's back in his element, Ellie is devastated by her job and now by her family friend's death, and Danny's mom, Beth, cannot control her anger and sadness when she sees her son's body lying on the beach, lifeless.

In an instant, Gracepoint transforms from an idyllic seaside neighborhood into a full-fledged crime scene. CSI agents inform the detectives that Danny's death was not caused by a fall or a jump, but instead was likely staged to look like an accident. Armed with this information, Miller and Carver must do the inevitable and break the news to Danny's family. It's at this point that the true impact of the tragedy really hits home. Carver insists he tell the Solanos the news, despite Ellie's longstanding friendship with the family. The Solanos are already anxious when the detectives arrive; deep down, they know Danny's gone. Their reaction to the news is absolutely heartbreaking. Kudos, Fox, for a ridiculously well-edited scene. The handheld camerawork makes it seem like we're there with the Solanos as they learn about Danny's death, and the quietness of the scene reinforced its magnitude. As Carver inspects Danny's bedroom, the camera pans to awards on the wall and close-ups focus us on what was important to Danny (showing that height chart on the wall was just mean). In a few moments, we know him as well as his family does. Well done, team. Well done.

You know who didn't do a job well done? Owen, from Gracepoint's local paper. Like Carver, he's bored by Gracepoint's small town news features, and he jumps at the chance to investigate a possible death at the beach. He runs into Carver and Ellie on his way and - wait, what was that? Did he just call Ellie "aunt?" Everyone really is connected in this town.

Carver may be more cut and dry than Ellie, but he's got some secrets of his own. His chat with the police chief suggests that he's been relocated to Gracepoint in order to lay low. Lay low from what? What'd you do, Carver? We may not know yet, but I'm sure we'll find out eventually. For now, though, let's focus on the dynamic between Ellie and her new boss. To say it's a bit rough is probably an understatement, but there's definitely some kind of connection between the two. They investigate Jack Reinhold, the town's wilderness recorder, as though they've been working together for years. The balance between Carver's lack of emotion and Ellie's breadth of emotion is refreshing, and will likely prove useful later on during their investigation. They're a good team, even if they don't see it that way just yet.

Things escalate quickly after Reinhold's questioning. The police's CSI unit determines that Danny's death was caused by a blow to the head as he stood facing his attacker. The medical examiner acts as a surrogate for the whole village when he says he wants the murderer caught. This crime isn't just another tragedy; it's personal to everyone in the town.

Back at the beach, Owen observes Chloe and her boyfriend as they place one of Danny's stuffed animals at a makeshift grave. Because everyone knows everyone, Owen instantly puts the pieces together and realizes that Danny must be the victim. He calls his Aunt Ellie for confirmation, and he takes her silence as an agreement. Before anyone can stop him, Owen hops on good old social media and posts the story, complete with Danny's full name. Carver is furious; the Solanos are furious; Ellie is furious. The only person that seems pleased by Owen's actions is a reporter with the San Francisco Globe, who immediately develops an interest in the case. Why the interest? Maybe it's because she has a connection to Carver from one of his past positions. Maybe because she's just really bored proofreading press releases. We'll have to watch to find out.

In the meantime, Ellie pops home to talk to her son Tom, who was good friends with Danny. He asks for some privacy after Ellie breaks the news to him, but he doesn't want the privacy because he's upset. Instead, as soon as his mother leaves, he rips out a cell phone he has hiding under his covers and deletes every single text message he has from Danny. If that wasn't suspicious enough for you, he runs over to his computer next and wipes his entire hard drive. What on Earth could a twelve-year-old kid have on his computer that's so incriminating he had to delete it?

That's the thing about this murder: it's turning everyone in Gracepoint into a suspect. Tom's acting suspicious; Jack Reinhold's eclectic nature seems odd in this new light; the lady at the hotel is more concerned about her business than she is about Danny's death. Even Beth crosses into the realm of paranoia when she interrogates her husband regarding his whereabouts the night of Danny's death. Beth wants more than anything to find the person responsible for her son's death, and she's relying completely on her long-time friend Ellie to solve the mystery.

This job has a personal impact on Ellie. She's absolutely determined to solve this crime, and she's already doing a pretty darn good job. She uncovers security footage that shows Danny skateboarding down a street the night he was killed. He wasn't abducted after all. He snuck out, on his skateboard, heading to who knows where. But where's the skateboard? And where's his cell phone? Ellie tells Carver that Danny and her son were constantly texting, and yet, no cell phone was found on Danny's body or in his house. Carver's impressed. Maybe this small town detective isn't as naïve as she seems.

For all those who were worried about GRACEPOINT begin too similar to its UK source material BROADCHURCH (I'll admit, I was one of these people), worry no more. The characters' backgrounds may be the same, but thanks to the skill of the show's incredible actors, their personalities couldn't be more different. Anna Gunn's Ellie Miller is nothing like Olivia Colman's Ellie Miller in BROADCHURCH - and this is a very, very good thing. Each actress is extremely talented in her own right, and that's exactly why the two characters, despite being written with almost the exact same backgrounds, develop and grow so differently. You go, cast!
The stage is set for the rest of the series and my guess as to who killed Danny changes with each passing second. Bring it on, GRACEPOINT. We'll be watching, notepads and pretend police badges in hand.

Can't stop playing detective? Are you choc full of conspiracy theories about who killed Danny? Let us know in the comments below so we can all compare notes! Then head over to Fox's website and cast your vote to see where your suspect stands.

Photo Credit: Fox

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