Grosse Pointe Garden Society Episode 2 Recap: Pests

The second episode of ‘Grosse Pointe Garden Society,‘ titled ‘Pests,’ continues the exploration of Grosse Pointe’s suburban elite and the murderous scandal engulfing the four central characters. After the events of episode 1, we learn that each character is struggling with some personal issue, which affects their peace of mind. It also ties into the murder they are linked with during the present day, as the dead body’s identity remains a cryptic secret in every conversation. However, episode 2 particularly delves into the life of Birdie, the town’s latest socialite who seemingly has a few well-kept skeletons in her closet. Meanwhile, Alice, Brett, and Catherine try to make some corrections in their own lives as they are pulled in a variety of directions. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Catherine Struggles to Deal With Gary’s Persistence to Punish Her

At the end of episode 1, we saw an angry Gary get out of his car after taking a gun out of his glovebox. The second episode directly opens with Gary heading into Catherine’s house, where he comes face to face with her husband. The two end up striking a conversation in the kitchen, and Catherine can only watch it helplessly. She is clearly frightened by the fact that Gary might spill the secret about her affair to her husband. As such, she is forced to endure the interaction in total silence. Eventually, Gary takes out the gun and points it at Catherine, who is terrified at the sight. However, it only lasts a second before Gary puts down the gun on the kitchen table and expresses his frustration. To Catherine’s chagrin, her husband ends up consoling her work colleague and former lover.

As the days pass by, Gary uses his ability to blackmail Catherine to start visiting the home regularly. Catherine has to play the role of a gracious host and cater to his demands, fearing that he may ruin her entire life in one fell swoop. He tells her that he plans to exact his revenge on Catherine by destroying her reputation and everything she holds dear. She eventually visits him in the office and asks him why he is going around dating so many women. She expects him to show some guilt or remorse, which, unfortunately, is not something he is capable of. Instead, it only confirms to her that her love for him was blind, and she states that his actions deeply hurt her. Later, Catherine runs into Gary’s wife at the local grocery store. She also discovers that she is pregnant, which makes the timing of Gary’s numerous affairs that much more cruel.

Catherine feels guilty herself and is unsure how to proceed with the situation. She meets Brett and Alice at the gardening club, where she asks their advice about how she should deal with Gary. They tell her the obvious, mocking his lack of character and telling her that he is simply tormenting her. Although it pains her, Catherine realizes that there is only one way to free herself from Gary’s manipulative tactics: to come clean about her shortcomings. Subsequently, she returns home and stops her husband for an important talk. While the exact contents of the talk are not revealed, it seems that Catherine finally tells her husband everything about how she cheated on him with Gary. Once the news is out, Gary has to figure out a different way to torment her, which gives her a brief period of respite.

Birdie Hints at a Major Revelation About Herself

In the first episode, we got a glimpse into Birdie’s charitable nature outside her seemingly hollow facade of a vain socialite. She gives a boy named Ford a chance at a scholarship opportunity sponsored by her. He is confused as to why she wants to sponsor him as he is poor academically and not a serious student. After being told by his parents to stay away from him, Birdie decides that maybe it is in her best interest to follow their order. However, in episode 2, the boy starts flagging down Birdie by himself. Although she ignores him at first, he finds her at a local car park. There, Ford tells her that he is in a spot of trouble, hinting that he may have accidentally impregnated a girl. Birdie is hesitant to help but ultimately decides to hand him a few dollars to do what he needs to do.

Meanwhile, in the present-day timeline, Birdie decides to visit the local police station and reveals the truth about her part in the murder. The police officer who hears her case is none other than Ford’s father, Joel. He questions Birdie about the validity of her statement, asking her to produce every piece of evidence involved in the crime. The two travel to the gardening shed, where she points out each of the tools used in the so-called crime. It seems strange that Birdie is revealing everything so blatantly to the cop, mainly as it could completely ruin her life and those of her accomplices in the incident. However, it seems to work out in her favor because she and Joel are in a secret relationship. The shocking development explains why she is blase about her involvement in the crime. He also makes the cell phone disappear by leaving it in a public spot.

In the past timeline, Birdie is visited at home by Joel, who tells her to stay away from Ford. She is confused about how he came to know as Ford promised to keep her part in helping him a secret. However, she realizes that Ford actually duped her by telling her that he needed help with a pregnancy situation. In fact, he ended up using the money she provided to buy an Xbox console. His parents found out, and Ford ratted her out. Although frustrated by the turn of events, she is also impressed that the boy managed to play her in such a massive way. Joel tells her to stay away from Ford yet again. However, as he is leaving, he delivers a cryptic message about Birdie giving him and his wife “One hell of a son.” Later, Birdie hints at the fact that she may have a child of her own, which seemingly points towards Ford. It is a significant twist that could have massive repercussions moving forward.

Alice Makes a Shocking Discovery

While Birdie and Catherine have their hands full in episode 2, the same also applies to Alice, who tries to dig deeper into her dog Molly’s death. Following her firing from her teaching job, her situation at home becomes even more complicated as her husband, Doug, involves Patty in their personal affairs. The couple’s finances are in dire straits, and Doug decides that his mother has to step in to help them get out of a hole. He also states that it’s time for them to give up on their unrealistic dreams and settle down with kids. Alice is shocked by Doug’s desire to father children, especially as it has been a huge no-no territory for her. It also makes her uncomfortable that Doug had no feelings towards Molly despite the dog sharing the same roof.

Alice tries to make amends with Peyton’s mom in the hope that she may help her get her job back at school. However, his mother is still as stubborn as before and tells Alice that she is responsible for getting herself sacked. After noticing a hunting wallpaper on her phone, Alice realizes that Peyton may have used a rifle to kill Molly. Her curiosity is piqued, and she decides to find some answers. As an act of desperation, Alice tells the woman that she may be able to help Peyton land a spot at the same Michigan university she attended through some connections of her own. His mother is intrigued by the offer and decides to hire Alice to help tutor her son. However, Alice simply uses the chance to investigate whether Peyton killed his dog. To her surprise, the boy has no knowledge of killing her dog. Instead, he is a dog owner himself, which shocks her.

Subsequently, Peyton tells Alice that the bullet used to kill her dog had to have come from a handgun and not a rifle. Alice realizes for sure that Peyton is innocent in the matter. In the episode’s final moments, Alice comes to the realization that maybe her obsession with finding Molly’s killer is taking too much out of her. So, she decides to give up on the quest. However, as she places some objects in the wardrobe, she accidentally knocks down a box of goods from an upper rack. As she sifts through its contents, she finds a handgun inside, which turns her world upside down. She peeks through the door and sees Doug resting in the living room, which creates the doubt that maybe her own husband was behind Molly’s murder. It could be a huge breaking point in their relationship.