Broadchurch – BBC America: Season Finale

The Season Finale of Broadchurch aired on BBC America on September 25th, and I was in full couch potato mode at precisely 10:00 PM. I wasn’t going to miss this for anything. What follows is not a recap, nor is it spoiler rich. I am going to give you some idea of how it played it out, but I’ve done my best to withhold much of the key info.

Well, I got the torch bearing procession through the town that I had mentioned weeks back. Finally. Only it wasn’t a crowd filled with hate and blood lust. There were no cries of string him up! Rather, this was a gathering of the townsfolk, a coming together to heal and find solace, and to send Danny’s soul on to its reward.

Yes, I correctly tabbed the murderer, but not for the right reasons. To see who I named, you can go back to my previous post on Broadchurch here . And I was incorrect about the use of the boat. The boat was used to ferry Danny’s corpse to a point on the beach where his body was later found. But as I surmised, the boat was not truly a clue that helped them locate the killer.

In fact, it wasn’t a mistake that solved the crime. Nor was it sparkling detective work. The solving of the case came from a confession, and from a lie. The Vicar Paul Coates did turn over Tom’s laptop, despite the threats made by Tom. And this laptop was the source of some important emails – only they weren’t pulled off of the remains of the hard-drive Instead, Detective Alec Hardy was able to trace them back to the ISP email server.

Hardy: Where is your laptop Tom?

And once Hardy had them, he was able to question Tom, who being completely unaware of the evidence, glibly lied to the detective by saying his laptop had been either nicked, or he had lost it.

Another beacon, not of light, but rather that of a cell phone signal that was being traced and routed to Hardy’s phone led him right to the murderer. Who said simply, I can’t fight anymore. Meaning the shame and anguish were too great, and too much of a burden.

I was wrong about the reason for the slaying too. I had labeled it as something along the lines of parental protection, or parental jealousy. But it was neither of those things – it was simply a matter of need, and personal gratification.

Now that the series has ended, I will look forward to a second season.

Highlights from the finale:

1) The torch procession was very well done. It showed the hope and resiliency of good people.

The lovely beach at Broadchurch. Now the town will be able to move forward instead of remaining under the cloud of the murder.

2) The irony of the phrase “How could you not know?”
3) The powerful scene when the killer’s marriage partner was told that the case was pretty much solved. And the reaction that followed was just perfectly handled.
4) The inner strength of Detective Hardy when he gave the news to his fellow police.
5) The eulogy by Vicar Paul Coates at Danny’s funeral
6) The reaction of Mark Latimore after being informed of the killer’s identity
7) The reaction by Beth Latimore
8) The scene when Tom Miller was told who the murderer was, and his reaction.

Things I didn’t like –
1) Hardy was basically told to clear out his office.
2) The flashback sequence when we learned the why, when, where, and how of the killing.
3) We knew that Nige was wasn’t the brightest guy – but to hide out in his truck, seemed so ridiculous. He might just as well been in his own bed.
4) The bit about Hardy being in Broadchurch before. As I surmised it was a childhood experience. It served only to ratify one of the items that the seer phone-techie should not have known but did. But so what?
5) Ellie Miller finally paid her sister the money. And got some information, which may have been accurate but was pointless 59 days after the fact.
6) I still don’t understand the whole business of the skateboard from any of the perceived keys: Why did the killer put the skateboard in the boat – to show how Danny got to the beach. Why not just drop the skateboard in the sea? Why did Susan Wright take the skateboard, and finally, Why did she give it to Tom Miller.

In the aftermath, Hardy and Miller talk

Overview –
While I didn’t exactly guess the motive, at least it was understandable. The fear of losing a loved one is always a strong motivator. The killing, while not pre-meditated, was not an accident either. The unlikely part was the killer discussing being in love with the victim.

I liked the format during the early weeks of creating the suspicions on the various members of the town. Probably, this was the one way to keep us involved, and to make the story last for eight weeks.

I liked the casting choices, and the performances. Going in, I knew only one actor – David Bradley who played Jack Marshall. I had seen Bradley in a film with Michael Caine called Harry Brown, and before that in a few of the Harry Potter films. But I was very pleased with Olivia Colman as DS Ellie Miller, and David Tennant as DI Alec Hardy.

Jodie Whittaker (above) as Beth Latimer was excellent, and so was Andrew Buchan (below) as Mark Latimer was superb.

The killer has been identified but this news only seems to heighten Mark’s grief, as sadly, he knew the killer.

Together they played the parent’s of the boy who was killed. Others have given a lot of acclaim to Pauline Quirke who portrayed the unlikable Susan Wright.

In summary, I wholeheartedly recommend the series. BBC America is likely on your cable TV system and with the On-Demand, you can see the series even now after the series has concluded. The DVD is available from sellers overseas on eBay, or from Amazon.com – but they are offering only a Region 2 PAL DVD at this time. Meaning, unless you have an All Regions, multi-platform (NTSC & PAL) DVD Player, or live in Europe, this DVD won’t play on your Region 1 (USA) DVD player.