While Gracepoint hasn’t packed the same emotional wallop of Broadchurch, its source material, it has maintained a consistent level of intrigue, melancholy, and family drama, all aided by strong performances from a number of its central actors. For the majority of its ten episode run, the show has been exciting but it has struggled towards the end of the season.
While the central mystery of Gracepoint remains who killed Danny Solano, the show has evolved into much more. The town that looked perfect is full of countless devastating secrets and its characters are increasingly, deeply complex. Who Detective Carver (David Tennant) is and why he behaves the way he does has become just as fascinating as the search for Danny’s killer, and how the writers have woven these together has become the most exciting aspect of the show.
In just two episodes, Gracepoint has managed to introduce a show that is both a compelling character drama and a fascinating murder mystery. Leads David Tennant and Anna Gunn have slipped easily into their parts and Tennant in particular has been a standout.
“Episode Two” delves deeper into the emotional pain and uncertainty plaguing Gracepoint in the aftermath of Danny’s murder. It also raises interesting questions about a good number of the characters.
Several network series return this week, but the fall season starts in earnest next week. Before the premieres kick off, here are SoS TV Editor Kate Kulzick and SoS Managing TV Editor Deepayan Sengupta’s initial impressions of the networks’ new offerings. Note: Our thoughts are based on pilots that are works in progress, so there …