Grantchester's Geordie blasts 'selfish' Will for leaving in emotional scenes

In an emotional episode of the ITV drama Will tells Geordie that he is leaving Grantchester for Newcastle, but the news goes down terribly with the detective.

Grantchester (ITV)
Grantchester saw Geordie Keating and Will Davenport have a heated exchange with each other over the latter's move to Newcastle. (ITV)

Tensions rose to new heights in Grantchester when Geordie Keating (Robson Green) hit out at vicar Will Davenport (Tom Brittney) for being "selfish" by leaving the vicarage for a parish in Newcastle.

In an emotional episode Will revealed to Geordie that he, Bonnie and his family were set to leave the following week, a fact that Geordie refused to acknowledge before blasting his friend for.

The characters, who are normally so close, had a heated exchange over Will's decision to move on, which meant they were at risk of leaving things on a sour note.

Grantchester (ITV)
In an emotional episode Will revealed to Geordie that he, Bonnie and his family were set to leave the following week, a fact that Geordie refused to acknowledge before blasting his friend for. (ITV)

Will informed Geordie suddenly that he had taken a new job in Newcastle and would be leaving a week later, adding that he, wife Bonnie and their family "just thought [they'd] take the plunge" by leaving soon. The news did not go down well with the detective, who deliberately avoided talking about it until he was confronted by it later on.

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It was Will who brought the move up again, telling Geordie: "I love this place, I love having a family here, and you, especially you. But I don't want to end up here in 30 years and realise I missed my chance. This new parish I can really help people, I can rock some boats. I'm not really rocking any boats here am I? I hope I can have your blessing."

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But Geordie told his friend that he refused to give his blessing, lambasting him by saying: "You're being selfish, putting yourself first like you always do. You're not giving a damn about those of us left behind.

"What about Cathy? She loves having Bonnie around, and what about Ernie? Taking him out of school, away from the people he loves, it's not on. So, no, you do not have my blessing."

Grantchester (ITV)
Geordie told Will that he refused to give him his blessing, and they shared an array of barbed words over the course of the episode. In the end they were able to make amends. (ITV)

In a second altercation, the pair shared more barbed words as Will told Geordie: "I didn't think you'd act like this, like my dad." To which Geordie quipped that he was "not [his] dad" and Will responded: "Thank God for that."

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In the end, the pair were able to make amends in an emotional final scene where Geordie said: "Meeting you has been a Godsend, you're a Godsend Will. You saved me, you really have, when I've struggled, when I've been down you saved me, and I'm so grateful."

He added: "You have my blessing is what I'm trying to say, whatever you want to do with my life you have my blessing". The pair said that they both loved each other, with Will sharing that he hoped he made Geordie proud, and the detective called Will "son" as he said he did so "everyday".

Viewers were moved by the emotional exit, with several posting messages on X admitting it left them a little tearful. "Still sobbing," said one. "Knew it would be hard to say goodbye but not that hard."

"Cried my eyes out at the end of this episode of Grantchester," posted another. Someone else shared: "I'm 29 years old and it's been a while since I cried at a TV show as hard as that." Another viewer wrote: "Am crying my eyes out at Grantchester."

Another fan said Will and Geordie's friendship was "beautiful". "And watching Will leave is the heartbreaking evening I was completely not ready for," they added.

Grantchester (ITV)
Grantchester also saw Larry Peters (Bradley Hall) propose to Jennifer Scott (Melissa Johns), but she turned him down. (ITV)

Elsewhere in the episode, romance was in the air as Larry Peters (Bradley Hall) proposed to Jennifer Scott (Melissa Johns), only for the latter to turn him down. The pair had enjoyed a date together in the first episode of series 9, but Jennifer insisted that Larry was "not in love" with her and that the night they spent together was "just sex".

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In the end, Larry came to see things Jennifer's way as he admitted that "it would never have worked" between them, with Jennifer saying that they would have "killed each other before [they] made it down the aisle" let along if they had gotten married.

Jennifer insisted that there will one day be a "future Mrs Peters" in the world, so it seems like Larry's relationship will take centre stage in later episodes.

Grantchester airs every Wednesday at 9pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.