Other Doctor Lives: Broadchurch: Series 3, Episode 8 (2017)

*Written in 2018*

Last episode of the season, and the last of the series as a whole. Despite some notes of finality here and there, it doesn’t really feel like a series finale, certainly not more than the end of any other season. The resolution to the mystery, in my opinion, leaves something to be desired. Overall, while I wouldn’t say the series goes out with a whimper, I don’t find it altogether satisfying.

Right up to the end, the evidence seems to point in different directions, but Hardy and Ellie eventually get there and uncover who raped Trish. As with series 2, the answer is a little less clear-cut than anticipated. Beth and Mark have a reckoning over what’s been going on between them this season.

Some good police work, especially from Ellie. It seems she’s often the one to make those last deductions or find the last connections needed to solve the case, and that happens here as well. But—no spoilers—I’m not really a fan of how it shakes out this time. There’s something about it that doesn’t quite work for me. I dunno; the best non-spoilery way I can think to describe it is that it’s trying to have it both ways, and I don’t really like that.

As for Beth, she again has some pretty good scenes with Mark. There are points where I feel like he’s putting things on her that aren’t her fault, but overall, they get a little closer to understanding each other, and Jodie’s Whittaker’s reactions are stellar. That said, I do wish Beth could have been more involved in the resolution of Trish’s storyline—it seems like she dropped out of that a bit at the end.

So, that’s Broadchurch. At times, it felt like it was more frustrating than it was worth, but it was always a show with a good deal of potential, and whenever the talented cast members were given a chance, they rose to the occasion. While it might have been best off airing just the first season, I think there were ultimately enough good things in series 2 and 3 to make the latter two worth having.

*Written in 2025*

A quick note before I get to David Tennant: When Hardy and Ellie are interviewing the rapist, Ellie asks, “Did you know the names of the other two women you attacked?” His response—“Didn’t ask. Is that rude?”—is chilling in how nonchalant it is. Brr!

It often seems Hardy is at his most anxious during the penultimate episode of the season. That’s frequently when the case feels the most tangled right as the stakes are highest. By contrast, in the season finale, that anxiety tends to coalesce into a steely calm, and that holds true here—Tennant is always good at showing this shift. At the start of the finale, they’re still juggling several suspects, but Hardy is feeling more optimistic about it. “Vice is tightening, Miller,” he says, “they’re starting to squeak.” When interviewing the last suspects, and ultimately the rapist, he shows his usual laser focus on answers over outrage or disgust. He only lets out his personal emotions when he and Ellie are on their own, like when he sighs, “Nights like this make me wish I still smoked.”

One moment that strikes me comes after they’ve identified the rapist and gotten the full story on what happened that night. Needless to say, it’s a lot to take in, and Hardy finds Ellie sitting outside on her own. “He is not what men are,” he tells her. “He’s an aberration.” This only brings mild reassurance to Ellie, who replies, “I hope so.” But as I’ve been saying throughout my reviews this season, all the guys they’ve been investigating are creepy as hell. Not all of them raped Trish, of course, but all of them are on the same spectrum of trash misogynistic behavior. Hardy telling Ellie, “He’s not what men are,” downplays the massive systemic problem at play, and if the rapist is an “aberration,” it ignores the many steps that can lead a man down that path, steps that we see the other gross suspects displaying.

*Written in 2018 (with a David Tennant addendum)*

And, our series wrap-up:

Accent Watch

Jodie Whittaker - West Country.

David Tennant - Scottish. I hadn’t been able to tell back at the start of the series, but now, I’m pretty sure it’s Tennant’s own accent.

Recommend?

In General – Maybe. Like I said, this is a show that drove me crazy at times, but there’s some really good television amid the more frustrating elements.

Jodie Whittaker – Yes. Whittaker wonderfully captures Beth’s deep-running grief and anger, and I really like how her character opens up in series 3 to use some of her awful experiences to help others.

David Tennant - Yes. Tennant plays a lot of characters with big personalities, so it’s interesting to see him in a subtler role like this, someone who’s beaten-down and depressed for much of the show but still trying to get on with things.

Warnings

Sexual content (including rape and references to pedophilia,) violence, drinking/smoking/drug references, and strong thematic elements (including suicide.)