3x02 Episode 2

[8.1/10] One of the best episodes of the show so far. In fact, I’m going to start with the one scene I didn’t like, just to get it out of the way.

Why do we have to do a “local news is being swallowed up by national news and that’s Very Bad:tm:” story? Maybe I’m just still stung from season 5 of The Wire. You can find interesting things to say about the shifts in the newspaper business, and Maggie’s a good vehicle for them. But just soapboxing about how media is changing and it’s bad doesn’t accomplish that.

That said, I actually really like her scene with Rev. Coates. I wouldn’t necessarily put local news and local churches in the same bucket, but I like the parallel this episode draws between them. Both represent institutions that people turn to in times of crisis, but turn away from when the everyday patter of life is moving apace. Paul’s sense of purposelessness mirrors Maggie’s, and I appreciate the juxtaposition.

God help me, I even like Mark in this one! He’s uncharacteristically reasonable when he tells Beth that after all that’s gone on between them, he can’t be her source of emotional support anymore. (Not that he was so great at it when they were married.) Hell, he’s even sympathetic himself when he tells Rev. Coates that even after three years and all the way he’s tried to heal himself after what happened with Danny, he doesn't feel a whit better, and frankly wishes he’d meted out rough justice to Joe rather than been merciful. There’s no right way to come back from the loss of a child, and Mark hasn't exactly been the most likable character along the way, but he’s understandable and human here, in a way he’s rarely been otherwise.

To the same end, as much as I blanched at Beth just so happening to be the independent advisor to Trish, the role makes a lot of sense for her. You can totally understand how what she went through would prepare her to help other people going through traumatic experiences, and her cautions and reassurances to Trish reflect that well. In an odd way, it’s a success story for Beth, showing that she’s been able to do some healing and turning her pain of losing a son into something that fuels her to help others. Plot-wise, the show gets some good mileage out of her managing the conflict of interest with trying to help Ellie pursue the case while also wanting to remain independent and do what’s best for Trish.

And god, poor Trish. Julie Hesmondhalgh continues to do great work in the role. Her hushed, shattered demeanor with Beth on the one hand and the detectives on the other is very well done. Likewise, the scene of her explaining what happened to her daughter is utterly heartbreaking. A big part of Broadchurch is exploring the impact of crime on the victims, the aftermath of grisly events, and the Trish character’s emotional state achieves that with flying color.

I’m also a fan of the nuts and bolts policework we see in this episode. Hardy and MIller questioning Jim (Cath’s husband), Trish’s ex, the twine salesman, and Lucas the cab driver gives us a set of suspects, and each has enough fishy behavior to make them plausible culprits. We know the game here to some extent, enough to know that there’s probably plenty of red herrings at play, but the detectives’ questions and approaches are on point, and you can see them building the case methodically, which I appreciate.

I also like the philosophical conflict between the two of them. Ellie, having been a victim of sorts herself, is sensitive not only to the need to avoid pushing Trish too hard so soon after her trauma, but also the concern that she be mentally ready before she gives them a full interview, lest there be problems using it as evidence in a trial. Hardy, on the other hand, is a father with a record of processing crimes through how they might affect his daughter or those like her, so he’s concerned about finding the rapist quickly using whatever info Trish can give them, and pressing her a bit out of concern for the public at large (read: his kid) even if it makes him uncomfortable. Both have justifiable positions under the circumstances, and their perspectives align with who they are and where they’re coming from on this.

I dig it, even if I don’t like Hardy pulling rank here. Their dynamic continues to be a highlight, even when they’re not on the same page.

That said, I don't especially care for all the cheesy yeases for things to come at the end of the episode, but that’s par for the course with broadchurch at this point. It feels like one of those soap opera contrivances that the mouthy young cop who irks Ellie turns out to have a dad who’s a suspect (and Trish’s boss, no less), but we’ll see how it goes.

Overall, this is the rare Broadchurch episode where nearly every element was strong. Hopefully it’s a portent for things to come in season 3!

Top Suspects

-- 1. Twine Guy’s Golfing Dad -- It feels like all our major suspects are red herrings at this point, so I’m taking a shot in the dark. Twine guy mentions his dad owns the business, and he’d presumably be close enough in age to Trish to be a part of her set. He’d have access to the twine, and maybe he has some other connection to her we don’t know about yet.

-- 2. The coworker who hands Jim coffee -- Guy doesn’t even have a name! But again, red herrings galore! So maybe he’s jealous of Jim over his affair with Trish (I assume that’s who Trish slept with and didn’t want to tell the cops about), and that motivated the assault. I dunno, I’m working without a net here.

-- 3. Jim/Trish’s ex/Twine Guy/Lucas the cab driver -- I doubt any of these people are the culprit. Seems too obvious and too early. But they all have shady stuff going on (with Twine Guy’s being the least objectionable -- pictures of scantily clad women, oh my stars and garters!), and the show clearly wants us to suspect them, so I can’t totally write any of them off yet, even though I’m inclined to.

-- 4. Ellie’s Dad -- Again, 99.9% joking, but man, that would be a real twist of the knife for the poor detective who’s already been through so much.