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Gracepoint Review: “Episode Seven” (Season 1, Episode 7)

Seven episodes into Gracepoint, series creator Chris Chibnall has started the show’s detour from its British precursor, Broadchurch. This hour marked a major test for the show. Usually, any time an adaptation veers away from its source material, there is a backlash among the purists. So, this episode does not just have to build on the tension and character development of the previous installments, but has to stand on its own as it leaves the restraints of the original creation.

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“Episode Seven” also features another Breaking Bad alumnus showing off new sides this week, as Anna Gunn’s Ellie slowly implodes in the wake of her son’s disappearance. She marches up to Lars’s house, barking orders and sneering at potential enemies from the window, acting not unlike a certain Machiavellian drug kingpin from a recent Emmy-winning drama. By raising the stakes of Ellie’s connection to Danny’s investigation, the case becomes more intensely personal. This creates more penetrating suspense as Tom’s missing body – his blue-and-white bike is found deep in the woods on the edge of town – is now another element the cops have to deal with. (In a time of budget cuts, no less.) Side note: perhaps Tom’s escape has something to do with the suspect who was revealed as Danny’s murderer at the end of Broadchurch, and the show is changing the motive but keeping the same killer attached to the crime?

Even with the despairing score feeling overwrought week-after-week, Gracepoint has some potent visual storytelling. One of the episode’s most powerful images is of a newspaper with Jack Reinhold’s face rustling in a recycling bin, declaring the man yesterday’s news. It is a show confident enough to have scenes without any dialogue, such as the moment when Beth reaches out to hug Ellie in the midst of the confusion. Meanwhile, the show has a lot of visual variety, but many of the shots work. Dizzying close-ups circle the characters as they try to figure things out, while long shots make the viewer feel as if we are a distant bystander to the investigation.

As Gracepoint heads into its final hours – ones that hopefully find as much surprise as this episode – a few characters fade into the background as the story becomes more complex. The less we see of Chloe, the better. Her ill-timed decision to speak about how she hated Jack Reinhold right before his funeral was bewildering, although she did help to turn the town against him last week. Meanwhile, Renee is nowhere to be seen this episode, promptly ditching town just as the news was getting more interesting. (That better not be a hint that she is involved in all of the mania this week.)

For the most part, though, this was a deeply satisfying hour of Gracepoint. Anna Gunn finally steps up to bat as the series’ new dramatic anchor, and even gets to win a shouting match worthy of Heisenberg. The appearance of a mélange of usual suspects creates an even deeper mystery. Meanwhile, raising the stakes with Tom’s disappearance creates intrigue and intensity, certainly a bold new detour for the series as it leaves its British roots behind.