Everything was not as it first appeared.
The season 8 premiere of Grantchester saw Will’s life forever changed when he struck a man at speed with his motorcycle, the impact of which killed the pedestrian immediately.
Following the tragedy, Will’s devastation was palpable, with both Geordie and Leonard attempting to console the vicar and assure him that it was a horrible accident, and nothing more. But he was riddled with guilt and unable to come to terms with what had happened, even if it was entirely unintentional.
DCI Elliot Scott also saw an opportunity to punish him for his past fling with Maya, clearly revelling in the position Will had found himself in.
“You know what needs to be done,” he said to Geordie and a few moments later, he was arrested for death by reckless driving, which carries a sentence of 10 years.
But the case against Will fell apart when it emerged that the bike’s speedometer, which claimed he had been travelling at 78mph, was broken, as proven by a photograph which had been taken a few weeks ago. And a witness had also claimed that Will hadn’t been travelling at breakneck speed, as it was initially believed.
Just as Will was about to sign a statement accepting full responsibility, the pen firmly in his hand, Geordie swooped in and produced the goods, which meant he was free to go.
And that wasn’t the only development.
The man who Will had hit, John Mitchell, had run into the road following an altercation with the owners of The Mirage bar, Ray and Paulie Mansfield, Ray’s girlfriend Dot Parsons, and their friend Milton Bedwin.
It all began when Dot claimed John had propositioned her, which wasn’t true, but Ray took that as his cue to start a fight, drawing a knife when the group gathered outside.
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Paulie attempted to break up the two men, which gave John an opportunity to flee, but in his haste he stepped right into the path of Will.
Following Paulie’s intervention, Milton berated him for ruining their fun and proceeded to mock him, which is when Paulie snapped. But that one instant in which he lost control proved to be deadly.
Milton died after a single punch, with his body left slumped against a tree.
But despite retaining his freedom, Will remains weighed down by the death of John Mitchell, unable to conceal his pain or focus his mind on anything else.
He won’t be spending the next decade behind bars, but for the time being, his life is firmly on hold.
“He’s questioning whether God or anyone can ever love him again,” said Tom Brittney, who plays Will. “He just shuts them out and it pushes him further and further away from everyone to the point where we don’t know if he’s ever coming back.”
Grantchester is available to watch on ITV and ITVX. You can order the Grantchester Mysteries books by James Runcie from Amazon.
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