Grantchester Season 9 Ending Explained: Who’s the Killer?

Warning: finale plot spoilers for Grantchester season nine.

Grantchester season nine started with Will Davenport (Tom Brittney) finding out that he’s being reassigned to Newcastle to serve a parish that needs strong leadership. Reverend Alphy Kotteram (Rishi Nair) arrives to fill the vacancy but is met with suspicion and an incorrect accusation of breaking into the vicarage as no one left him a key. Alphy is initially hesitant to help Geordie with his cases due to past negative encounters with police. However, a family feud between parishioners leads Alphy to realize that Geordie is interested in the truth, not personal power.

As the season progresses, it becomes clear there is one overarching mystery that connects several of the cases Alphy and Geordie worked on together. With spoilers ahead (especially for UK viewers who are still awaiting an air date), let’s break down what happens in the season finale.

The Parish Merger

The finale begins with Reverend Lane visiting the parish and conducting Sunday services instead of Alphy, who struggles to stay polite knowing that Lane is undermining his job. Rural and suburban parish closings decreased attendance, and mergers were mentioned as the plot in the original Grantchester novels moved from the 1950s into the 1960s. Season nine adds Alphy’s hiring as a setup to deflect criticism from angry parishioners when they find out Grantchester parish is being merged. 

Alphy spends a good chunk of the episode packing up his belongings before the Bishop tells Alphy he’s staying. While Sylvia’s committee to protest Alphy’s firing only had one real meeting, she produced results. The letter-writing campaign succeeded in Alphy keeping his job and Reverend Lane conceding defeat.

Shady Sam & The Clues You May Have Missed

Fewer people attending Sunday is also the starting point for Sam’s The Way Finders group. While 1961 – the year season nine is set – is too early for the Manson murders and other true crime cases from the era, there were already instances of people taking advantage of the search for meaningful community and spirituality outside of the Anglican Church structure. 

After services, Alphy finds a woman pushing a pram and leaves yet another anonymous note at the parish. This note says “why have you given up?”. Fans may remember that there were other notes left at the vicarage before. The woman runs before Alphy can ask her questions.

Meanwhile, Geordie is called to the scene of a new incident. Fred Eccles, an accountant, fell out of the window of his rented room. At first glance this appears to be a suicide but his landlady is convinced it’s murder because someone messed with Fred’s war re-enactment figurines. The landlady also told Geordie that she overheard Fred arguing over money with a man named Sam before. It turns out this Sam is the same Sam in charge of the Way Finders group.

Sam claims that Fred was suicidal and also stole money from the group. In fact, Larry finds Sam’s real accounting book in Fred’s room and it’s very clear that the Way Finders have far more money than expected because Caroline and others have given him their life savings or inheritances. This makes Daniel having asked Jack Chapman for more money on Sam’s behalf earlier this season another red flag. 

As the investigation continues, Leonard visits Alphy and tells him he needs support. Daniel has left Leonard behind to join the Way Finders and he’s also selling his own house to fund Sam’s preaching work. Leonard was already distrustful of Sam’s unorthodox methods, the money situation, and his increasingly hostile demeanor, but Daniel leaving was the final straw. Leonard hugs Alphy. Then Alphy receives a call that Geordie has brought Sam in for questioning. Later on Sam claims that Daniel doesn’t want to come back to Leonard. Leonard uses the info on Sam’s whereabouts to find Daniel since he did not write an address on the letter.

At the Way Finders headquarters, we see that Sam has moved on to yet another girlfriend while Daniel is leading a supposed group therapy session. Daniel accuses Leonard of selfishness and also prioritizing his relationships with his friends over bonding with others. Leonard and Daniel part but then Leonard sneaks back into the house to spy on Sam’s belongings. He finds the article Innes Clark wrote about Sam being a fraud. 

Geordie, Ms Scott, and Larry do a background check on Sam. In 1948 there was a fire at Sam’s college, Corpus Christi, and his housemate died. The dead student was also named Sam White which means “Sam” assumed his identity to hide previous illegal activity. Geordie also goes to question the lady who left the note with Alphy. She turns out to be Rose Shirley which is a call back to the girl’s school case in episode two. Geordie suspected Sam may have been the father and Rose confirms it. She also says Sam manipulated her emotionally.

Alphy has been studying the anonymous notes and their coincidental arrivals near the break-in attempts at the vicarage. The words “Corpus Christi” are on one and there are circled passages on the other. Alphy works out that the messages spell Amos 5:7 John 19:30. At the same time, Rose tells Geordie that Sam’s real name is John Amos born July 5th, 1930. John was involved in the death of his housemate in 1948 then assumed his name to cover up his tracks. All of the pieces from the earlier cases in the season are starting to line up.

The Girlfriend Trap

Alphy’s one-night stand with Christine in episode six at first appears like the writers are reusing plotlines from earlier seasons – the lonely, drunk, and/or sexually frustrated vicar hooking up with a woman who has no interest in becoming a vicar’s wife. Alphy getting the religious version of the merger followed by layoffs weakened his defenses with Caroline in episode six. When Caroline goes missing in episode seven, it turns out that she’s been dating Sam for several weeks and is spending her inheritance on a permanent headquarters for The Way Finders.

During episode eight, Sam’s testimony to Geordie and  Alphy reveals that Sam used Caroline to weaken Alphy’s emotional defenses. Christine still believes that Sam’s religious mission needs defending against unbelievers and skeptics. The cult brainwashing element is a welcome diversion from what would have been a very predictable plot.

The Standoff

Back at The Way Finders headquarters, Leonard is snooping around upstairs. He discovers Sam’s rifle. Sam threatens him. Alphy then enters the house and demands to speak to him. Alphy reveals that he knows Sam’s real name and his scamming ways. Sam responds angrily that the Anglican Church is corrupt and that Alphy is really lonely and has no friends hence the attempt to stop the Way Finders. Sam also claims that he’s more accepting of Daniel’s queerness than the Church ever was. Geordie and Larry then approach the house and Sam responds by bolting the front door and picking up the rifle. He starts shooting outside and hits Larry in the shoulder. Geordie gives him a handkerchief to stop the bleeding then sneaks inside. Larry crawls to the phone booth to call the station for help. More shots are fired inside and we also see Leonard is hurt. Daniel finds Leonard which leads to their reconciliation. Meanwhile Alphy is staring down the barrel of the rifle trying to talk Sam down out of this hostage situation. Geordie sneaks up from behind and then tackles Sam for the arrest.

Office Romance

Ms. Scott answers Larry’s call for backup but she quickly realizes he’s injured and may pass out. The tone of their conversation is clearly tinged with romantic feelings after their fling earlier this season. Larry tries to stay on the line but the pain causes him to pass out. Help finally arrives. We then flash forward to Larry getting a hero’s welcome from everyone at the station. Ms. Scott says she doesn’t want to look at him because she’ll want to kiss him and he confesses that he still has feelings for her. Larry then kisses her. 

What Can Fans Look Forward to in Season 10?

The final scenes of season nine also hint at the fallout from the Way Finders as a theme for the initial episodes of the season. Daniel and Leonard have forgiven each other but now they have to undo the damage Sam caused to their own lives and to the halfway house. The found-family dinner at the Keatings’ house is just the beginning of that journey.

The most pressing question that season nine hasn’t fully answered yet is Alphy’s backstory. We know he came from a suburb of Bradford and that his parents were an accountant and a homemaker. Sam’s manipulation hints that Alphy has “no family” and is “lonely” but the exact details aren’t immediately clear. Are Alphy’s parents deceased or is he estranged from them? We know already that Alphy has had to adjust to life as the only South Asian in predominantly white Grantchester but there’s definitely more to explore on this theme.

All episodes of Grantchester Season 9 are now streaming on PBS Passport and Masterpiece Prime. A UK release date has yet to be confirmed.