Grosse Pointe Garden Society – Pests

“Pests” – GROSSE POINTE GARDEN SOCIETY. Pictured: Matthew Davis as Joel. Photo: Mark Hill/NBC ©2025 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Present-Day Chaos: Messy Relationships, Dead Dogs, and Unwanted Houseguests 

Meanwhile, in the present, Birdie is ghosting her son, Alice is obsessing over her dog’s murder, and Catherine is dealing with her worst nightmare—Gary, showing up at her house with a gun. Naturally, Catherine’s husband (bless his naïveté) feels for Gary’s plight – getting kicked out for cheating by his wife, and instead of calling the cops, invites Gary to stay in their pool house. Catherine’s horrified face says it all.

Alice, still convinced someone murdered her dog, picks up its ashes and plots revenge. When she realizes her financial situation is dire, her husband, Doug, pressures her to move into his mom’s rental house. She resists, sensing that Doug is slowly molding her into his parents’ life path, and vows to him that she will get her job back so that they can continue living their dreams. Doug can sense that Alice isn’t as committed to the relationship as he is, even suggesting that she loved Molly more than him, but Alice insists she is all in.

Just when Catherine thought things couldn’t get any worse, she crosses paths with Gary’s pregnant wife—an unwelcome twist that turns her guilt into full-blown panic. Already grappling with the fallout of their affair, this revelation adds another layer of regret. Confronting Gary, she demands to know how he can live with himself after everything he’s done. But he quickly flips the script, hitting her where it hurts—she cheated too, so what makes her any better? Catherine desperately wants him out of her life, but he has the upper hand. If she pushes too hard, he could blow up her marriage in an instant.

The Brett and Alice Situation 

Brett’s storyline has been lighter compared to the others, but this episode takes a turn. His son’s school project leads to an argument with his ex, and in the heat of the moment, she drops a bombshell: Brett has always been in love with Alice which is why she left him. This seems to catch him off guard, but the second it sinks in, you can see the wheels turning.

Alice, on the other hand, is still hyper-focused on her dog’s murder investigation. Alice remains convinced that her former student, Peyton, is responsible for Molly’s death. Determined to get her job back, she makes a deal with his mother—she’ll use her connections to help Peyton get into the University of Michigan if his mom convinces the school board to reinstate her. But when Alice finally confronts Peyton, she quickly realizes he couldn’t have been the one who killed Molly. With her prime suspect ruled out, the mystery remains unsolved… for now.

Final Twists: A Gun, A Lie, and a Body That Won’t Stay Buried 

Just as Alice is finally moving on from Molly’s death, she stumbles upon a handgun in her closet. And then it clicks—Doug killed her dog. This revelation is about to shatter their already fragile relationship—and with Doug’s dark secret now exposed, he just might be the quartet’s murder victim.

Meanwhile, in a shocking twist, Officer Joel is actually Birdie’s son’s adoptive father, and the two are embroiled in a secret affair. He ends up helping her cover up the murder, turning what started as a confession into an unexpected alliance.

In the last flash-forward, the core four are facing another problem: the body they buried needs to be moved again because a koi pond is being installed in the garden. Just when we think things can’t get more complicated, Joel (Birdie’s cop-lover and her son’s adoptive dad) drops the dead guy’s phone at a high-end shoe store—where Gary works. Are they setting Gary up? Or is he the body they’re moving?

“Pests” is an aptly titled episode—between meddling mothers-in-law, unwanted house guests, and literal murder cover-ups, everyone is being tormented by something they just can’t shake. The show expertly balances tension and humour, making the characters’ increasingly terrible decisions somehow feel relatable.

Birdie’s reckless confession, Catherine’s life spiraling into a Gary-infested nightmare, Brett’s realization about Alice, and the jaw-dropping reveal about Doug all set up an explosive road ahead. If Episode 1 was planting seeds, Episode 2 is where the weeds start taking over—chaotic, impossible to control, and so much fun to watch.