Grosse Pointe Garden Society Episode 1 Recap: Pilot

‘Grosse Pointe Garden Society’ is centered on a group of members at a suburban gardening club who get involved in a mysterious murder. The four in question – Alice, Birdie, Brett, and Catherine – have to keep their lives in order as secrets begin to emerge within their community. To make matters complicated, they must also deal with complications in their personal affairs, like difficulties in their job, a lack of love in their marriage, or extramarital relationships. The first episode dives into each of these disparate situations while also offering a glimpse into a future timeline where the four main characters try to cover up a mysterious murder. To that end, it sets up the premise for an exciting and unconventional narrative where the journey is sure to be full of twists and turns. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Alice Grapples With a Search For Her Missing Dog While Brett Holds On to His Kids

The first episode provides some background information on the four central characters leading the story. We have Alice, a high school teacher at a local establishment who is facing a difficult time with one of her students, Peyton. The boy regularly takes liberties in her class due to his well-connected family, who have ties with the school’s upper management through their influence. Outside her work, Alice desperately searches for her dog, Molly, who went missing a while back. She hangs up posters of the canine on different boards across the town, hoping she may be found. Meanwhile, Alice’s in-laws are overbearing and pressure her and her husband to start a family soon. They also act disparagingly towards the couple’s struggling professional ventures.

At the gardening club, Alice is close with Brett, a local resident who recently broke up with his wife after he caught her cheating on him. Now, the estranged couple have to take care of their children on a shared basis, with Brett having to watch his wife enjoy her life with her new wealthy partner. It grates on Brett that he is incapable of indulging in the type of luxury his former wife and her husband have access to. Still, he tries to keep his children entertained by creating his own ploys. After one of their club sessions, Brett eventually informs Alice that the townsfolk have found her dog, Molly. Although she is relieved by the news, Brett tells her that Molly is dead and it was her remains that were recovered. To Alice’s surprise, the canine was murdered by someone with a gun.

Alice learns more about Molly’s death when Peyton’s mother stops by her class, urging the teacher to step up the low grade she handed out to her son for a poem submission. Alice does not veer away from the original decision, and the woman is forced to leave. Later, Peyton himself stops by to discuss his poor grade with Alice. The conversation seems to be heading the same way as the earlier discussion between his mother and Alice. However, the teacher gets a huge shock when Peyton cryptically threatens her, saying that she may attract bad karma if she persists with her stubbornness. He points at her dog’s poster as he does so. Alice immediately makes the connection that Peyton is the one who killed Molly. She makes a big deal out of the situation, hoping to out the boy. However, it only ends up costing her job at the school.

Catherine and Birdie Team Up to Oust a Sleazy Womanizer

Of the four members leading the story, Birdie is the newest addition to the group. The episode begins with Birdie arriving at the gardening club to serve out a community service punishment after a scandal. She is a novelist by trade, and her books have attracted a huge readership over the years. However, Birdie’s abrasive attitude often leads to friction with other people. She and Catherine get off on the wrong foot in the early parts of the episode. She publicly calls out Catherine’s desire to control things as a manifestation of her lack of control in her life. The words sting Catherine, especially as she recognizes a lot of bitter truth hiding within it. She meets up with Birdie at the car park, where she notices a bracelet on her arm. It throws her off as she has the same bracelet on her.

From some quick backstory information, we learn that Catherine is married to a man who does not appreciate her enough. As such, she has been cheating on him with a work colleague named Gary Mills. The man is a typical charmer who showers her with the attention she lacks from her husband. During one of their clandestine meets, he gifts her a bracelet, the same one she finds on Birdie’s arm. After some investigation, Catherine learns that Gary has been sleeping with women all over the town. It shatters her perceived love affair and leaves her to deal with some bitter home truths. She comes clean about the whole thing with Birdie, who sympathizes with her plight. The two then concoct a plan to oust Gary, which comes off marvelously and leaves him humiliated in front of all his lovers.

The Four Get Involved in an Undisclosed Murder Six Months Later

One of the cool things about the show is how it cuts between two different timelines: one in the past, where we learn more about the characters, and the second is six months later, where the four are desperately trying to hide a dead body in the gardening club’s grounds. It is evident from their alarmed state of mind that they all had something to do with the event. However, the identity of the dead body, along with the motivation for the murder, is kept hidden. Additionally, there is no clue provided behind the person who delivered the killing blow. Still, the fact that all four of them decided to keep the dead body secret means that they all had something to do with the situation. It sets up a unique premise where the end result is known, but not the journey that leads to it.

The first episode is likely a marker of how the series is going to progress. With each installment, there are likely to be more hints and clues provided regarding the dead body’s identity. In the meantime, each character’s experience in the Grosse Pointe suburbs will likely contribute to the secrets lurking within the community. The more the group gets drawn into their interpersonal relationships, the more devastating the consequences could be in any of those storylines. For instance, the dead body may belong to Peyton, as Alice may be enraged by the fact that the boy killed her dog. However, it still does not explain how or why the four would get involved in the murder together. Those secrets will keep fueling the tension in each episode as we get closer to the truth.