The second hour of Grosse Pointe Garden Society certainly pushed the murder mystery forward. It also told us who killed Alice’s dog.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for Grosse Pointe Garden Society season 1, episode 2.
The first episode made it clear that we’ll get a story in two timelines. We have the present day where the murder takes place, and we have the past, where we find out who each of the characters are. We have no idea who the victim is, and I like this whole take on the “whodunit” story. We know the who did it and the how did it, and now we get to find out the why.
However, none of the characters are all that likable. Alice is the most, with her story of trying to find out who killed her dog. I will say that I liked Brett’s development in this episode as well. Catherine is okay, but I need to know more about her as I instantly dislike anyone having an affair. Then there’s Birdie. Oh Birdie. I am interested in what she’ll get up to next, but I think that’s more because of how much of a Melissa Fumero fan I am.
The truth is out for Gary in Grosse Pointe Garden Society
With Gary’s affairs out in the open, he threatens Catherine’s life. He turns up to her house with a gun, convincing her husband to let him stay. While there, he makes it clear that if Catherine does anything to kick him out, he will out her as one of those he had an affair with.
Catherine feels like she’s trapped. When she runs into Gary’s wife at the grocery store and finds out that she’s pregnant, she feels even worse about the entire situation. And so she should. However, what she’s more angry about is that all the lies Gary told her were just lies. She’s only just figuring it out. This is why I hate the other person in an affair (man or woman, I don’t care). If you are willing to sleep with a married man or woman, why would you ever think that they’d tell you the truth? They’re clear liars and cheats!
There does seem to be an understanding between Catherine and Gary. I’m just not sure how long that will last.
Birdie gives Ford money and falls for a lie
Meanwhile, Ford comes to see Birdie for money. He tells her that he got his girlfriend pregnant and they need to get an abortion. Well, she wants to help with that.
Of course, Ford lied. He wanted the money to buy himself an Xbox. Joel turns up at the house to drop off the Xbox to show what happened. Birdie doesn’t tell Joel why Ford came to her for money, though. I respect her for that. She just realized that she’d been played, and she decided to just let it all play out.
One thing she does at the very end of the episode, though, is trust her housekeeper, Olga. She tells Olga about Ford, since Olga seems to think she knows everything about Birdie. I’m interested in where this relationship will go, as I think Olga will make for a great secret keeper in the future. All housekeepers do!
Brett tries to find a way to coparent in Grosse Pointe Garden Society season 1, episode 2
Brett and Melissa are butting heads when it comes to coparenting. This isn’t because Brett doesn’t want to do it, but he has dropped the ball on a few occasions. Melissa and Connor have been doing the family tree homework with Melissa and Brett’s son, and it is certainly one-sided. I’m not on Melissa’s side when it comes to some of the things that she’s said about Brett’s family—just the imbalance between the two sides rubs me the wrong way.
After destroying the homework, Brett and Melissa get to have a heart-to-heart while they fix it. Melissa points out that Alice has always been there between them. While Brett and Alice may not have actually gone there, it’s clear that there are feelings. Melissa never stood a chance. It’s a sad realization when you know your husband or significant other would prefer to be with someone else.
Alice wants to find out who killed her dog
The start of Grosse Pointe Garden Society sees Alice go to pick up the ashes of her dog. I hate it when animals die in shows or movies, especially when it’s not from natural causes. I just don’t blame Alice for wanting to figure out who killed her dog. It was a bullet to the head, so clearly intentional. I’d want to find this out as well.
She also needs to get her job back, and that means she needs to talk to Payton. If she doesn’t get her job back, she and Doug will need to move. It will mean Doug can’t continue his passion, and it’s clear that he’s not happy with this but knows that he needs to sacrifice something. So, Alice decides to beg Payton’s mom for her job, and that’s when Alice learns that Payton and his dad like to go hunting.
Alice has a way into the house by promising to get Payton into Michigan by knowing the Dean. Is this a lie? I can’t tell at this point. All I know is that she will do whatever she can to get proof that Payton killed her dog. Only, he didn’t do it. When he sees the slug of the gun, he points out that it was a pistol and their family doesn’t have a pistol.
It’s heartbreaking for Alice when she opens the box of Doug’s paint supplies to find a pistol in there. Doug killed the dog. At least, that’s the way it’s looking. Anyone who could kill an innocent animal is a psychopath in my books, and I already didn’t like Doug—although I can’t explain why just yet. This guy needs to go.
Cut to six months later in Grosse Pointe Garden Society
Birdie decides to take the phone and head to the cops. It’s time to fess up to what happened, and she knows the person who can help. She turns to Joel for help.
Naturally, he doesn’t believe her at first. He is sure that she’s making something up, potentially high or drunk. However, she takes him to the scene of the crime and is able to show him everything that was used to kill the person. He’s going to cover it up, though, and she knew that would be the case. We even find out why in the end. Not only is she Ford’s biological mother, but she and Joel are hooking up. The plot thickens.
As for Catherine, Alice, and Brett, they want to know where Birdie is, so they head to her house. Olga is the only one there, and she notes that Catherine has blood on her dress. Olga makes it clear to Birdie later that she can’t clean this mess up this time. It’s clear that Olga has cleaned up a lot in the past, and she’s not all that surprised that there’s a potential murder.
The focus now in the present day is where to hide the body. They also want the phone, but Birdie shares that the phone has been taken care of. The less the rest of the group know, the better. They have plausible deniability. Plus, she doesn’t want anyone to know that Joel is helping. Not only has Joel hidden all the murder weapons in the evidence room at the police station, but he’s also left the phone on a chair in a furniture store. It looks like “Quiche” as that’s not the nickname for the body is still around somewhere.
I enjoyed getting to know the leads and supporting characters a little more in this episode. Not all the characters are as they initially seem, and the list of potential victims has dropped a little. This is definitely a fun drama to end Sunday nights.
Grosse Pointe Garden Society airs Sundays at 10/9c on NBC. Catch up the following day on Peacock.
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