Grosse Pointe Garden Society Episode 7 Recap: Germination

More drama ensues in the seventh episode of ‘Grosse Pointe Garden Society,‘ titled ‘Germination,’ as the garden crew owns up to some complicated issues that are seemingly growing bigger with time. In the last episode, Alice roped Marilyn into helping her by promising some payback against Doug’s mother, Patty. The conflict is understandable, especially after learning how Patty has been duping her son into thinking he is a successful painter with a future. We also saw Brett enjoy some time in the limelight as his newfound relationship with Cricket opened some previously unopened doors. However, the peace and tranquility of his bond could only last so long as episode 7 shows us the real nature of their relationship. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Catherine Unloads a Guilty Conscience While Discovering Tucker’s Secret

The episode opens with a look into Catherine’s perspective after the murder night when she returns home to find Tucker in the living room. He is suspicious that she may have cheated on him with someone, especially because she looks “guilty.” Seeing no way out, Catherine reveals the truth to Tucker, who is stunned. In the present day, which is now four months before the fateful murder, Catherine receives a phone call from the bank enquiring about some fraudulent transactions at a casino. While looking to verify the call, Catherine discovers Tucker’s passport in a drawer. It alarms her because he is meant to be overseas. Elsewhere, Alice is back in her teaching job after some string-pulling from the mayor, while Brett is working on renovating a car now that his garage dreams have been realized. He is stuck on the carburetor, which could derail the whole job.

Birdie and Joel’s affair seems to have developed further as the pair continue to have sexual flings at her home. Her housekeeper, Olga, knows about the whole thing. At the garden club, Marilyn prepares the group to plant some Japanese plant seeds that were illegally smuggled in. It is her last-ditch effort to take down Bloomfield Hills in the competition. We learn that Brett is on some cleanse diet organized by Cricket, which has been really irritating him. Across town, Catherine tracks down Tucker at a local bar, confronting him about his lies. He reveals that the family is in a substantial financial debt and he has been gambling money to clear his dues. Catherine comforts him, stating that they can have no more secrets moving forward.

Alice Has to Stick or Twist Before Repeating the Same Mistake

At school, Alice is told by the new principal that she must cater to her children’s needs if she is to keep her job, especially as this is her second chance. We see some friction between Brett and Cricket as the pair clash over his interest in “gas-powered cars.” Brett retaliates by pouring her cleansing drink over his carburetor device. After learning about Tucker’s problems, Catherine sits down to help out any way she can by calling up any clients willing to hire her to sell their property. Her real estate job could alleviate the family’s dire financial situation. Meanwhile, four months in the future, Catherine gets a surprise visit from the cop who was investigating Brett in an earlier episode. His name is Deputy Lange, and he has the bracelet Catherine sold to the gas station vendor, which alarms her. He urges her to return to the station to clear up any misunderstanding.

Alice comes face-to-face with her past student, Peyton, who was a tricky customer and partially responsible for her firing the first time around. After getting into a class argument initiated by Peyton about the value of Existentialism, Alice decides to change her ways by offering her students the chance to give up their reading work. She instead offers them all an A-grade as long as they show up for class. She doubles down on her cool teacher vibe by telling everyone they can watch the ‘Harry Potter’ movies in class. When she goes back to the garden club, she finds Catherine and Birdie talking about their newly planted seeds. Alice joins in by opening up about her recent estrangement with Brett. The other two console her and tell her the real truth about why Brett distanced himself from her – he is in love with her.

Catherine Senses Opportunity as Alice Clears the Air With Brett

Catherine meets with one of her wealthy clients who is selling a pristine villa and needs a good realtor. However, Catherine is not the only one in contention for the spot because Pierce is also competing. We learn that Catherine rejected Pierce’s offer from the earlier episode and is working for her old company. In the future timeline, a worried Catherine watches through the glass as cops interrogate the gas station vendor about seeing her the night of the murder. She insists the man is mistaken, but Lange is reticent about believing her. Tucker shows up, asking Lange to look at the gas station surveillance footage to confirm whether Catherine was there that night. She is worried her game may be up, but Tucker seems weirdly confident that it will all work out.

Alice decides to put aside her pride and meets up with Brett at his garage. She pledges to help him look for the carburetor, which pleases him. They eventually find it, which leads to Brett calling Alice his “lucky charm.” Sensing the right moment, Alice reveals that she knows about his feelings for her. However, she cannot reciprocate them in like, which makes her sad. The duo come to a mutual understanding even though it does not work out exactly as they thought. At the same time, Birdie confronts Olga about her dismissive and antagonistic attitude towards Joel, asking her to be slightly nicer. Olga is worried about Birdie because Joel is married. When Alice finishes one of her classes, the principal congratulates her on her new curriculum, which was a big hit with Peyton’s mom. She is also handed another opportunity to earn some extra money.

Catherine Mounts an Escape With Tucker’s Invaluable Input

After a series of pitches, the client decides to hire Pierce as her leading realtor. However, Catherine manages to woo her at the last moment when she reveals that she knows the Grosse Pointe neighborhood and the house’s immediate vicinity. We jump back to four months in the future as Depute Lange sifts through the CCTV footage of the gas station to find evidence of Catherine being there. Miraculously, there is nothing on the tapes, which resolves the matter then and there. Later, Catherine asks Tucker if he doctored the videos somehow, which he did. He hired a hacker to substitute the footage with another night’s footage, effectively erasing Catherine’s presence on the gas station premises from the record. Their conversation is cut short as Gary Mills appears at the bar, looking expectantly at Catherine.

In the present-day timeline, Alice and Brett reestablish their old friendship as they engage in their garden club activities. As the episode nears its end, we see Olga confronting Joel in the kitchen, warning him never to break Birdie’s heart, while Cricket tells Brett that she wants to sleep at her place for the night. The rift in the latter’s relationship seems to be growing. However, more significant problems loom over the horizon for Birdie and Joel as the latter’s wife, Misty, spies on them from afar, confirming her suspicions that her husband is cheating on her. We are left with new questions as Gary’s entrance into the bar proves that he is not the murder victim as theorized before. Thus, the body’s identity remains a mystery as we head into the last stretch of the story.