*Written in 2018*
Still not really feeling this season. The trial is turning into a total bust for me—way too soapy—although the Sandbrook stuff is a little more interesting. On that front, there’s a bit of investigating going on with the promise of more, which I hope bodes well for the story going forward.
Jocelyn wraps up the prosecution’s case, and Sharon gets started on the defense, dropping a couple of her usual dramatic bombs in the process. Here, we get testimony from a character we’ve not seen in a while as Sharon tries to undermine the plausibility of the killer’s guilt. Hardy returns to Sandbrook with Ellie in tow, and along the way, the seeds begin to be planted that he may have been wrong about the person he’s suspected of the murders all along.
I don’t know why I keep hoping for the trial scenes to be compelling. Maybe because of the way the reveal of the killer shook up so much at the end of series 1, I figured the show would have to have big plans for that continuing story in series 2. Not so. It annoys me that Sharon spouts all this drama-baiting nonsense in court and the judge just keeps allowing it, like it’s a reasoned argument well within legal parameters and not a farce. And granted, this isn’t the most outrageous legal stuff I’ve seen on a TV show, but it just doesn’t feel right for Broadchurch. It feels like we cut regularly to Jerry Springer with fancy lawyer wigs—come on.
But as I said, I like the Sandbrook stuff better. I’m not sure how it’s going to shake out, if the killer really is someone different or if this new digging is ultimately going to lead Hardy to the conclusive evidence he’s been looking for on the same person. Either way, I’m welcoming the questions he and Ellie ask here. (Less welcome is what I perceive as some weirdness in the dynamic between Ellie and Hardy—I hope the show doesn’t mess with them too much.)
It’s a fairly light episode for Beth. As far as her home life goes, it’s a bit of a “calm after the storm” vibe, with the family taking a breather after some recent big changes. And with the trial, it’s starting to get into a rut with her character: Beth is nervous but determined as she prepares to go into court, Sharon says something shocking and basically unfounded, Beth is horrified at the possibility of the trial crumbling beneath them and the killer slithering free. Rinse, repeat. It doesn’t give Jodie Whittaker much of a chance to stretch her muscles.
*Written in 2025*
Before I get to David Tennant, one more quick comment on Sharon. There’s a scene where she and her number-two Abby are discussing strategy, and Abby says they’ll need to present the jury with an alternate potential killer, joking about the “juicy possibilities” they could go with. “Abby, do you ever listen to yourself?” Sharon asked in a scandalized tone. “These are people’s lives you’re talking about. Have some sensitivity.” Which, yes, but where exactly does Sharon’s high horse come from, since she’s been spending her time in court pulling wild accusations out of thin air and hurling them at people on the witness stand.
Some excellent work from Tennant here. This episode gives us our most in-depth look so far at why Hardy is so hell bent on finally solving Sandbrook, despite not having any official police authority to still be investigating it. It’s more than just anger at the trial falling apart or a determination to redeem himself after feeling like he failed the parents of the murdered girls. While those things are true, he’s also dealing with ongoing trauma from the case.
At the start of the episode, he wakes from a nightmare stirred up by old memories, and once he finishes gasping for breath, he breaks down crying in bed. And later, he tells Ellie how he was the one to discover one of the girls’ bodies. “She was the same age as my daughter,” he says. “I can still feel the weight of her. Water dripping off her clothes, all down me. What sort of person leaves a child like this?” Tennant plays this speech for all it’s worth, and it’s really affecting.
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