Saving Grace – Episode 3-7 Review

Shows

A 99-year-old man with a gambling habit is executed on the eve of his 100th birthday, and Grace goes all-out to find the bookie who kept him from cashing in on his centennial. Meanwhile, an impromptu visit to a pancake house in Purcell has devastating consequences, when Grace catches Ronnie cheating on Rhetta. 

Maybe Earl is on a guilt trip after his no-show last week, because he finally threw Grace a bone in this episode, revealing the name of “coma girl” while she held his milk for ransom over breakfast. Their light-hearted banter quickly dissipated when Grace spotted Ronnie passionately kissing another woman in the corner of the pancake house, though, and she stormed over to their table, tipping it over in disgust. Any idiot would realise that stepping out on Grace Hanadarko’s home girl is not an advisable course of action, but Ronnie’s half-assed excuses made a bad situation even worse. Their confrontation in the car park was taut with tension. “You just destroyed the heart of the kindest person I’ve ever known,” Grace yelled, opening her car door and emerging with a baseball bat. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she swung straight for Ronnie’s head, but she opted to lay into his car instead. For someone so petite, Holly Hunter can sure pack a punch, and Ronnie could only gape in dismay as glass shattered everywhere.

This episode was a fascinating study of human hypocrisy. Ronnie should have been crippled with guilt after losing Rhetta’s much-loved family farm, but instead of making it up to his wife, he opted to run off with the auctioneer. And Grace, who previously had no qualms about screwing married men, got to see things from the other side of the fence when she was faced with the daunting task of shattering Rhetta’s illusions. She remained resolute in her decision to tell her friend the truth, but it was knowing what the truth would do to Rhetta – someone who she loves desperately – that left her chain-smoking her way through a packet of cigarettes and stalling for time. Having already counselled her friend through a financial crisis, Grace must have known that Ronnie’s infidelity could prove to be one blow too many, and the burden of that knowledge was visibly eating away at her.

I was astounded to learn that Rhetta has never slept with anyone but Ronnie (I knew she was a good Catholic girl, but not to that extent)! It made his betrayal all the more poignant, but offered more of a commentary on how different Grace and her best friend really are – and how strong their bond must be to transcend the dissimilarities.

The big reveal was heart-wrenching, and Laura San Giacomo stole the show as Rhetta was consumed by her husband’s betrayal. Clinging to denial; torn between being a rational criminalist and a heartbroken wife, Rhetta embarked on a quest to find some hard evidence against her husband. While Grace got a phone dump on Ronnie’s cell and monitored the usage of his credit cards, Rhetta donned some latex gloves and rifled through his laundry. Forsaking work in favour of taking Ronnie’s soiled shirts to the lab, Rhetta soon deduced that Grace was right – that was no first kiss. With her worst fears confirmed, she walked dazedly around the office, stopping to ask everyone for their views on infidelity – whether it was a deal breaker, what motivates people to do it, whether killing her spouse would be a viable option etc. Her conversation with Ham had the most impact, when he revealed that he didn’t cheat on Darlene because he didn’t love her anymore, but because he loved Grace… although his brief flirtation with another woman in the interview room begs the question as to how long his devotion will last. 

During earlier seasons, Grace had no qualms about luring Ham away from his wife, lying to Darlene about the nature of their relationship, or bringing about their divorce before their honeymoon period was even over. Rhetta knew about her friend’s role in the adulterous affair, and although she never condoned Grace’s actions, she always reserved judgement – because that was part and parcel of the unconditional love these two share. However, now that Rhetta knows how it feels to be on the receiving end of such a betrayal, she’s been forced to re-evaluate her stance on adultery, and the scene where she came knocking on Grace’s door in the middle of the night, telling her she couldn’t love her anymore if she continued to make other women feel the way she was feeling right now, was powerful stuff. To see two women who are so close that they feel each other’s pain is something of a rarity on TV, and it felt like a landmark moment when Grace tearfully promised – without a moment of hesitation – that she would never sleep with a married man again. The whole episode was a testimony to Grace’s feelings for Rhetta, and it was nice to see Earl – breaking the habits of a lifetime – stick around to help her deal with the fallout. The scene where he swept Grace into a hug while she was reeling from the trauma of putting her inconsolable friend to bed was touching.

The case this week had a slightly different flavour and revealed a new dimension to Grace’s character. The practical jokes and team camaraderie were put aside, and Grace became completely immersed in solving the crime, showing a reverence for the victim and his possessions that we’ve rarely seen before. She holed herself up in Victor Eli’s house, put on his gramophone and became lost in another era, studying every picture, reading every letter, and eventually discovering the victim’s sizeable stash of money. It turned out that the victim’s great-grandson had been helping himself to his Papaw’s fortune, but he never looked like a viable suspect and, realising that Victor had staked a huge sum of money on turning 100, Grace began hunting for his bookie, intrigued by the frantic phone calls an unidentified woman kept making to Victor’s house. Victor’s phone dump revealed the telephone number of the prime suspect, and Grace handed it out amongst her colleagues, hoping some of them might recognise it. In an amusing twist, Captain Perry turned up at Victor’s house, sheepishly admitting to having made a few bets with the bookie in question and, realising that her boss could have been brokering deals with a murderer, Grace couldn’t help but see the funny side, “Damn, girl, this case goes to trial – goes public – your ass is in shit creek.” 

Thankfully, Perry’s bookie wasn’t the culprit, and when Grace finally came face-to-face with the woman who had been calling Victor’s house, her shrewd interrogation elicited the identity of the real murderer – the woman’s fiancée; a rogue bookie who couldn’t stand to see his clients make a windfall at his expense. 

The pacing of the investigation was spot on, and we weren’t over-saturated with suspects like last week. However – as per usual – the real substance came from the compelling and emotionally raw performances of the cast. Hunter and San Giacomo make an impressive double act, and play off each other amazingly well.