Broadchurch - Season 2, Episode 4 - Review

My review of last week's episode

Well, overall, a bit more reasonable than last week. Damning with faint praise? It's the best I can do.

Ellie has had her Worst Day Ever, so now it's Alec's turn. The episode starts as he has disturbing flashbacks to when he found Pippa Gillespie's body, which makes him cry like an increasingly boring character looking for sympathy. He also faces the prospect that he might have been wrong about the whole Sandbrook case and manages to alienate both his wife and his daughter and the murdered girl's dad, Ricky Gillespie, and Ollie (who's still a jerk).

Driving one more nail into the coffin of his reputation, Hardy decides to leave Claire alone (but not for long, because she can't resist Lee's 50 Shades appeal) and head back to Sandbrook with Ellie (where, in another magnificently stupid writing decision, they share a bed.) Alec then discovers, from Mrs. Gillespie, that her husband had been sleeping with Claire (as had Hardy, it turns out), which means that - shocker - people were lying. In a rather underwhelming sequence, we meet Hardy's wife and daughter, who seem to exist as nothing but plot points. Anything revelatory about Alec? Nope. Just thirty seconds of cameo.

The trial is steadfastly uninteresting. It has come down to this: the court case should not have happened. No matter how much fun it was have an excuse to get reacquainted with the old characters, it is not worth it. The whole thing has devolved into scandal and shocking revelations which are not very shocking. Whatever happened to the tabloids being the bad guys? Now I think they may have taken over the show. I'm pretty sure I know where Sharon Bishop is getting her ideas.

All of that said, the Latimers are a bright spot. Mark is enchanted with his new daughter, and has decided to take her on walks along the seaside, blissfully oblivious to the fact that he's being fitted out by Bishop and Co. as his son's killer. He's also severed his meetings with Tom, encouraging him to reconcile with Ellie. This flash of forgiveness is complemented by a scene in which Paul Coates, Maggie Radcliffe, and The Jerk try to persuade Beth to create a charity which helps rehabilitate sex offenders. Yes. Now that is interesting. That kind of forgiveness is, indeed, "brave."

What else? Beautiful cinematography. I love the new palette of blues which has characterized the second series, and these gorgeous sunsets are always welcome. Pauline Quirke has returned to announce she's dying (everybody is, these days) and to testify against Nige. Another nicely kept secret. Matthew Gravelle's Joe Miller still adds an intriguing performance to the mix - he's a real study in denial.

Last week, I said I couldn't quite disregard the series. Well, I'm teetering on the edge, and I have better things to be writing. So episode 5 has its work cut out for it.

My review of next week's episode

Hannah Long