Other Doctor Lives: Broadchurch: Series 2, Episode 5 (2015)

*Written in 2018*

Pretty decent episode. Interesting development coming along in the Sandbrook mystery, and there are some good bits in the trial plot, although they mostly take place outside the courtroom. There are definitely things going on here whose results I care about, and that hasn’t always been true this season.

Ellie goes over Hardy’s old Sandbrook files, and the two discuss new theories in the case. Meanwhile, Sharon digs for other witnesses for the defense, attempting to strongarm one and getting surprised by another. In the Latimer household, Mark seems ready to put the past behind them and focus on the good, but Beth can’t move forward without looking back. She’s anxious to do something positive in Danny’s name, and while she’s been offered an outlet to do so, she’s not sure if it’s the right path for her.

The Sandbrook plot gives us some nice examples of Ellie in smart-detective mode, which is always welcome to me. The actual piece of uncovered evidence that starts leading her and Hardy down a new path seems convenient to me (if she found it in Hardy’s case files, why wasn’t it something he investigated at the time?), but I like her dedication, and she puts forth a bold theory that impresses me a little.

As I said, the trial stuff is okay this time around, mostly because we spend so little of it on Sharon making outrageous claims against the witnesses she’s questioning on the stand. Instead, we’re behind the curtain a little more, looking into people who might be willing or could be coerced into testifying on the killer’s behalf. It offers a bit of good interpersonal stuff with characters we haven’t seen as much of this season.

While this is yet another fairly Beth-light episode (she is getting less to do this season—I don’t think my recollections of series 1 can be that skewed, since I rewatched it so recently,) it whets my appetite for what I hope is better to come. Beth’s ongoing dilemma with how to honor Danny’s memory is interesting to me, and the plot the show seems to be setting up for her has a lot of potential (however, done wrong, it could also blow up spectacularly, so I’m admittedly a bit wary,) but they’ve been spinning their wheels with it a little. I’m ready for some real forward movement on this front.

*Written in 2025*

One thing that’s bugging me this season is when characters are made to look bad and no one brings up the mitigating factors in the situation, including the character who’s being painted in a bad light. It’s a well the show has been going to a lot, especially where the trial is concerned. For instance, in this episode, Paul laments a dicey decision he’d made when he thought Danny’s killer was repentant, and another character scoffs, “‘Repentant,’ have you not been at the trial?” On the surface, it might feel like a decent comeback, but it’s not, because Paul is talking about things that happened before the killer pled not guilty. At the time, he and everyone else thought there wasn’t even going to be a trial because it was understood that the killer was going to plead guilty for the crime they’d already confessed to. The trial was a surprise to everyone, including the killer’s lawyer! But Paul doesn’t push back at all against the notion he’s been blithely sitting in court watching the trial and has only just now been blindsided by his naïve view of the killer’s contrition. It’s disingenuous for the sake of Teh Drama.

As Ellie gets deeper into the Sandbrook investigation, Hardy takes more of a backseat to her. For once, he’s the one urging caution, warning her, “Don’t get pulled into this. This case has done enough damage to people.” Yes, he is the one who browbeat her into helping him in the first place, but this is an instance where the about-face makes sense, and David Tennant’s performance conveys that well. After Ellie stays up all night poring his old case files, a bright sheen in her eyes, Hardy gets his first glimpse from the outside at the obsession with solving Sandbrook, and in that moment, he’s able to be concerned that the case will chew up Ellie’s life like it did his.

We also see a continuation of Hardy saving the most contempt, not necessarily for the person who’s committed the crime, but for people who get in the way of the investigation. I feel his aggravation as he sharply tells Claire, “This is now the third version of that night that you’ve come up. Why couldn’t you tell me this before?” He is always 100% over bullshit from people who change their stories or waste his time by sending him on wild goose chases.