Gracepoint recap: Episode 5

Ed Araquel/Fox

In this episode of Gracepoint we learn very clearly that two of the townspeople are not who they claimed to be. In one case that’s very literal: Susan Wright is in fact Ruth Erlick. In one case, it’s the past rearing its ugly head: Jack Reinhold has a troubling past—he served time for sex with a minor. More on both of those later, but the show is also giving us insight into another person’s past: Emmett’s.

Emmett goes over to Ellie’s for dinner, and it’s initially extremely awkward, with Emmett wearing a suit and and going on a brief rant about the use of first names. (Not a fan.) But over Joe Miller’s Mexican food, he lets his history slip out. He explains that he is not married anymore, and that he moved to Rosemont to be near his wife’s family. He has one daughter, who lives with her mother. Emmett also reveals insecurity when it comes to Ellie. When she leaves the table he asks her husband, “does she like me?” Emmett confesses that he thinks that he irritates Ellie, which is right. When Joe tries to tiptoe around the truth, he tells Joe, “You are a terrible liar.” Joe responds, “And you are a terrible boss.” They laugh. Huh. Emmett has a sense of humor about himself.

After he leaves he calls Julianne, who we now know is his daughter. She, once again, doesn’t pick up. He leaves a message. Before he makes it home he has another one of his attacks. He makes it to his room, but collapses. The next thing we know he’s in the hospital with Gemma Fisher, who had claimed to be his wife when he couldn’t find next of kin. He insists that she can’t tell anyone about what happened, worried they will take him off the case. “Gemma, I need to stay on this case,” he says. Remember the reason why he’s in Gracepoint after all? Penance. His family’s connection to Rosemont and his subsequent disassociation from them, could perhaps mean that his family is in some way connected to the Rosemont case that plagues him.

Though we don’t know the full back story yet, Emmett seems like a case study for what’s about to happen to Gracepoint: a tragedy happens and personal lives are devastated.

We see that most keenly in the case of Jack Reinhold. Unlike Susan, Jack is someone who has clearly been integral to the community, but the facts of his past that Owen has uncovered threaten his place within it. Owen and Renee tell Ellie and Emmett about the discovery, leading them to bring Jack in, who says this prior crime has nothing to do with Danny. So why did no one know about this? Jack’s not on a registry because his crime happened before the registry began. “I’m not what you’re insinuating,” Reinhold says, but Emmett is keen to analyze his every move. He even asks him about pictures he took of the boys in his wildlife group. Reinhold’s defensiveness doesn’t do him any favors, nor does his lack of a good alibi for the night of Danny’s death.

Later, Owen, on the orders of Renee—who is up to something else—confronts Jack, who promptly grabs him, and tells him he is now “nothing but a snake.” Vince Novik sees this and will later tell Mark Solano. Jack further hurts his case by showing up at the Solanos to bring them Danny’s cell phone, which he found in a kayak. “I’m telling you I didn’t do it,” he says. But there is more that weighs against him. Oregon police reveal that there was a similar case around there 15 years prior to Danny’s murder. Jack used to live five miles from the scene of that crime. The last we see of Jack, he is burning his photos, including one of him and Danny. Once again the episode ends in fire. That burning boat we saw at the end of last week’s? It was doused in gasoline. It contained Danny’s hair.

NEXT: Getting the media involved

The episode also saw the opening up of Gracepoint to the public, mainly because of the decision of Beth Solano to talk to Renee. Even before then we see the aggravation of the town’s residents during a meeting held in which one man complains about not wanting Gracepoint to be synonymous with “murder.” Renee, when sending Owen off to do her dirty work with Jack, goes and meets with the Solanos, explaining to them that Danny hasn’t gotten what the Solanos consider an appropriate amount of media coverage because he doesn’t necessarily fit the right profile. Renee argues that Beth is the key and agrees to let the Solanos see the piece she writes in exchange for a picture of Danny and Beth. The story comes out, and the entire town reads it wearily. Owen is frustrated by how Renee (who he has now slept with) went behind his back. She insists that Jack Reinhold can be a follow-up and they will be ahead of everyone else. Soon the media has descended on Gracepoint, and we see a camera in the window when Jack is breaking down, insisting he didn’t kill Danny. Mark goes out and attacks the photographer, breaking his camera.

When interviewing Beth, Renee asks about Beth’s past, and Beth explains that she actually had a scholarship to Portland State, but then got pregnant. Renee asks if Mark was her first boyfriend. The show then cuts to Paul Coates, praying. One might have suspected that connection, but that all about confirms it. Which brings us to Paul and some of the other people we want to check in on…

Paul Coates

At the beginning of the episode a restless Beth asks to meet with Ellie in the middle of the night. Beth confesses to knowing about Mark and Gemma Fisher, something which she’ll later tell him right before a press conference. As they talk, both Ellie and Beth notice Paul Coates lurking. “How long has he been standing there?” Ellie asks. “Why is he awake at this time of night?” Ellie and Emmett later go to him, Ellie explaining that he left Gracepoint after high school but has been back for about two or three years. He’s another person whose alibi for the night of Danny’s death is unstable. He says he was alone, in the rectory. He also confesses to having insomnia, after Ellie asks him about seeing him in the middle of the night.

But Paul is also working very hard on his end to seem like the perfect community member, bringing the town together for a sermon. Nearly everyone shows up, including Emmett, save for Mark. Paul’s sermon is about looking at people with suspicion. Where is this coming from? Not that Paul is wrong, but is he also personally feeling persecuted? It’s possible considering he has had to explain his sleep habits and why he holds Sunday school after services so he can personally teach the children to detectives. “Shame on those who come to Gracepoint to stir bitterness and turmoil,” he says. “To turn neighbor against neighbor. And shame on us, all of us, for allowing it to happen.”

NEXT: And about the mysterious ones…

Raymond Connelly

Raymond Connelly also rears his head again, going to Emmett after the town meeting about the fact that he was correct about a boat being involved. “Do not get involved or you will live to regret it,” Emmett says. Beth also continues to believe him, bringing Ellie and Emmett into hear what he has to say. Ellie tells her that he has declared bankruptcy twice and has prior convictions for theft and conspiracy to commit fraud. Yet another person in the town of Gracepoint whose past is not in line with how he presents himself. Raymond sitting in a rain-soaked car, beats his hands against the steering wheel.

Susan Wright

Oh, Susan, you keep getting stranger and stranger and this time you’re positively frightening. Susan goes to Gemma looking for a job, specifically bringing up Chloe Solano and the fact that Emmett is staying at the inn, facts that are unnecessary to her purpose. Gemma runs Susan’s social security number and finds out that she’s not actually Susan Wright, but someone named Ruth Erlick. Gemma tells this to Kathy Eaton at the newspaper, who confronts Susan on the street about her real identity. And then Susan becomes nearly like a horror movie villain, appearing seemingly out of nowhere at the newspaper office late one night when Kathy is there by herself. Susan tells her to stop asking questions, saying, “I know men who’d rape you.”

In that horrifying statement Susan my have proven that she is the most seemingly guilty—or at least suspicious—person that our detectives are not currently focusing their attention toward. Yet, this town seems to be teeming with them. And let’s not forget there’s the outsider to pay attention to. Ellie suggests giving Lars’ photo to the park service and Emmett easily relents telling her she’s “right,” a sign of progress in their relationship. Though she is still focusing her attentions outward, she is more aware of the fact that something has been festering in her community. After church, Ellie attends lunch at the Solano house. For a moment it seems normal, almost joyful. And then there’s Danny’s presence.

Now, watch Nick Nolte (Jack), Jessica Lucas (Renee), and Kevin Zegers (Owen) discuss their roles on the show in this exclusive Talking Point video.