*Written in 2018*
In my opinion, this is probably the least-intense penultimate episode of any season on the show. Sure, we know that the mystery will be solved in the next episode, and there are some definite ante-upping moments, but I don’t really get that feeling of everything coming to a head. We’ll see how it all shakes out next week.
Ellie and Hardy have a major suspect in custody, but new evidence crops up that casts doubt on whether or not he’s their man. They try and determine, once and for all, who the rapist is. Meanwhile, Beth deals with the fallout of the struggles Mark has been wrestling with this season.
I feel like it’s still pretty wide open at this point. Back in series 1, there were a number of suspects considered and mostly eliminated over the course of the season, but here it seems like it could still be any of the main five or six very plausible suspects. I won’t discard the possibility of someone out of left field, but my money’s on one of those guys. And regardless, we’re definitely continuing the theme of the season—even though only one of them did it, they’re all gross and creepy and contribute to the culture that leads to these crimes happening in the first place.
It’s a pretty good episode for Beth. There are big things happening on the family side, so she’s not really involved in the Trish storyline today. Instead, she’s very focused on what’s going on with Mark and has a few strong scenes dealing with it, both talking with him directly and discussing the situation with other characters. Jodie Whittaker does a great job conveying how wrung-out she is performing so much emotional labor on Mark’s behalf. I like that—though it may seem callous to have so little patience for an obviously hurting man, it’s clear that Beth has been giving so much of herself for such a long time that she’s reaching her breaking point.
*Written in 2025*
Another quick note about Beth/Jodie Whittaker. When she’s venting to another character about Mark, I love this line: “He takes all the oxygen, all the attention! ‘Look at me, I’m Mark Latimer. I am so much sadder than the rest of you.’” Whittaker’s delivery is fantastic here—Beth is completely at her wit’s end, and she’s well aware that she’s not being “sympathetic,” but she can’t bring herself to apologize for that. She’s so tired of bending over backwards to accommodate Mark’s pain, and she just needs to be able to say that.
Also, Jonathan Bailey isn’t on series 3 of Broadchurch, but who pops up unexpectedly in this episode? His Bridgerton costar Simone Ashley! Now, in 2017, this would’ve been pre-Sex Education, let alone Bridgerton, making this a very early role for her. Still, it’s neat to see her appear for a few minutes. After Wicked ignited my interest in Bailey, I made my way through Bridgerton on and off, and their season together is definitely my favorite so far.
All right now, onto Hardy. It’s another penultimate episode where he’s increasingly desperate to solve the case while also dealing with pressing personal issues. In this case, it’s the fraught situation with Daisy. Ellie is very pro-“she’ll do what you say and like it,” which makes Hardy uncomfortable, but he doesn’t want their relationship to be fractured any further.
On the investigation side of things, he’s getting antsy—Hardy is aggravated when Ellie presents him with new evidence that veers away from the suspect they have in custody, complaining, “You’re muddying the waters!” And once again, he has zero patience for people who waste his time. When he’s interviewing the suspect, I love David Tennant’s delivery on, “Can I make a suggestion[…]? Lay off the smartarse replies. Just keep it simple and honest, yeah?” But for all that he’s impatient and annoyed, closing the case still takes a backseat to solving it. Hardy grumbles when Ellie’s find means more work for them, but he pursues this new evidence diligently, digging to see what else they’ll uncover there.
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