Grosse Pointe Garden Society Recap 'Pilot': Who's the body?

In the pilot episode of Grosse Pointe Garden Society, Alice, Brett, Catherine, and Birdie bury a body.

Grosse Pointe Garden Society Episode 1 Recap

Set in two timelines, present day and six months later, the pilot episode of Grosse Pointe Garden Society introduced not just the four main characters, but the people they came in contact with who could be the body they buried. That the show was able to introduce these many characters smoothly and set up the mystery was a testament to its confident and strong writing. This is a good beginning. 

Alice (AnneSophia Robb), who described herself as a geranium, was a teacher at Grosse Point North High School, and a struggling writer. She was married to Doug, a struggling artist with a well-off father and stepmother who had been wanting grandchildren (Alice was not certain she wanted kids). When Alice gave a D grade to a student named Peyton, who just happened to be scion to a very wealthy family, her troubles began. Alice strongly suspected that Peyton was the one who took and shot her beloved dog Molly and demanded that the principal expel him. When the principal refused, Alice confronted Mrs. Hollister and told her she would change Peyton’s grade to an F. That got her fired.

Brett (Ben Rappaport), a dandelion according to Alice, was a landscaper and manager of the garden club. He supported his wife Melissa through law school with the understanding that once she was done, she would support him as he pursued his dreams. That did not come to pass, because his wife had an affair with her colleague, Connor, who happened to be a tax lawyer. Brett’s relationship with his wife and her new husband was uneasy, which bled into how they raised their two young kids. Connor was secretly having Brett investigated so he would have ammunition to take away his kids.

Catherine (Aja Naomi King), a zinnia, was a married real estate agent having an affair with her co-worker Gary, who happened to be married to their boss’s daughter. Catherine later realised that Gary had a penchant for gifting his women with diamond tennis bracelets, and that there were a lot of women. Catherine arranged for Gary’s father-in-law and his other women to catch him in the act, which caused him to lose his job, his marriage, and pretty much everything he had. Now, Gary seemed to be stalking her. Catherine’s husband, who owned a global security firm, consistently ignored her. 

Birdie (Melissa Fumero), a lily of the valley, was the newest member of the garden society, forced to ‘volunteer’ as community service after she crashed into a fountain, drunk. She was a successful author with a public image problem. When her publicist suggested that she provide a scholarship as a means to rehabilitate her image, she picked a teenage boy named Ford who just happened to be her biological son. Ford’s adoption specified no contact, and his parents, including his father Joel who was a police officer, warned Birdie away. 

Who was the body they buried in the garden? The first episode kept that a mystery and provided few clues. A pair of sneakers. A blanket wrapped around the body with blood that pooled around the middle. A car that they burned. A phone that was almost burned but was retrieved by Brett, only to be later taken and driven off by Birdie. I am watching this one episode at a time so I write these recaps genuinely with no idea on what’s coming.

It was an interesting move, though, setting a murder mystery in a garden club. It reminded me a little of British mysteries like Poirot and Miss Marple, and even Midsomer Murders, stories set in small towns, with characters (including the detectives) puttering about in their gardens. The repeated back and forth into time could task a casual viewer, but it felt very much part of the show’s DNA, a certain playfulness, a way to present the story in small bits, puzzle pieces to a larger mystery.

But now the garden with the dead body was about to be dug up to make room for a koi pond, a consequence of the successful fundraising drive, likely the event that all four main characters attended before they took out their shovels and committed a felony. Birdie was refusing to tell the others what she did with the victim’s phone. Hook successfully set. I’m in. 

Rating: A-

Episode Title: Pilot

Episode Writers: Jenna Bans and Bill Krebs

Episode Director: Maggie Kiley

Original Air Date: February 23, 2025

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