TV REVIEW: Broadchurch - Episode 9

Monday nights have become a bit surreal of late. As Broadchurch has become increasingly bonkers, they’ve taken on a kind of mad escapist quality, not always vastly satisfying, but unmissable nonetheless.

This penultimate episode however, did feel a little like an hour we could have survived without. There were a few revelations; it turns out Claire (Eve Myles) had an abortion years ago whilst Lee (James D’Arcy) was either in prison or on the run, I forget/no longer care which. We also learned that, with Alec Hardy (David Tennant) lying next to her when she awoke from the procedure in flashback, that perhaps they’ve always been closer than he would have people believe? Having had his heart surgery, it seems that Alec is going to survive until the end of the series after all, which is just as well given that he and Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) have finally started to make some headway with the Sandbrook case, connecting Claire and Ricky Gillespie (Shaun Dooley) through the mysterious dialled number on Claire’s phone. Perhaps Lee is innocent after all? He’s creepy as hell, which by the usual Broadchurch standards means he hasn’t done a thing wrong. 

So far so relatively logical, although none of this felt like it contributed to the wider plot in any significant way. It felt, and I hate to say it, a little filler. And then we had the madder scenes of the episode to contend with, the majority of which, now I think about it, seemed to happen around the beach and cliff areas. Ah, that sea air. We had Claire inexplicably choosing to hide out at the beach huts after Alec threw her out. ‘No one knows I’m here, do they?’ what, here in your secret hide-out on the beach in broad daylight? It’s hardly Fort Knox is it, love? And then the mad fight between her and Lee with them both seemingly attempting to drown each other in the surf, then giving up and realising that perhaps they’re not good for each other after all. Really, you think? And then to cap it all off, there was that kiss between barrister Jocelyn (Charlotte Rampling) and journalist Maggie (Carolyn Pickles). 

In the right context, it could have been very sweet, albeit random. Unfortunately, this wasn’t that context, and it felt thrown in and a little insensitive. That said, there has been a bit of a theme in recent episodes of people changing their behaviour due to ill health, becoming more rash and emotional (Hardy, Susan) so given Jocelyn’s failing eyesight, meaning it (just about) fits the pattern, I’ll let this one slide for now.

On the plus side, at least Ellie seems to have her family and her life back together a bit now, thankfully. I never quite understood why her eldest son turned against her as he did, so I was pleased to see that rectified through another fabulous Ellie Miller common sense shouting match last week. She was beginning to turn into a bit of a downtrodden plot device, so it was good to see her firing on all cylinders again here, even if she has made a bit of a mess of her evidence in court on a number of occasions. It was also good to see Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s arrogant, self-serving Abby get a bit of a comeuppance, again in a slightly bizarre exchange, as lawyer Ben (William Andrews) took great delight in telling her what a horrible person she is. It was a laugh out loud moment amongst a sea (literally) of disbelief.

Despite all the madness, there was a little bit of tension to be found, as the case against Joe Miller (Matthew Gravelle) finally came to an end. For a while it almost, almost appeared that we were going to hear the verdict in this episode. But of course we weren’t. 

If nothing else, it would have been nice to give Matthew Gravelle something to do. He was outstanding in the final episodes of series one, yet this series all he’s really been able to do, albeit for obvious reasons, is sit behind bulletproof glass and widen his eyes occasionally. 

Which seems a shame to me.

Will he be found guilty? All will be revealed tomorrow.

Jen

@jenniferklarge

Follow @AssortedBuffery on Twitter
Or like our Facebook page  

TV REVIEW: Broadchurch - Episode Six

This week on the ever-eventful rollercoaster that is the second series of Broadchurch, Ellie and Alec get closer to solving the Sandbrook case and it's looking increasingly like Claire has something to hide (d'uh). Lee is still lurking around, doing his lurking thing and then sort-of-but-not-really violently threatening Claire, but she finds it sexy, so that's all right. Tom takes his turn in the witness box, seemingly pointing the finger at Mark, but then again, maybe not (honestly, this case has had more suspects in it than the average Miss Marple). 

As the courses of the intertwining narratives progressed, it's been a constant shift between which one was the more compelling. This week, as the trial faced its biggest challenge of nearly being dismissed, that became the more interesting of the two, particularly given the emotional revelations at the heart of Mark and Tom's testimonies. The court scenes have veered wildly from one extreme to another and I'm still surprised that so many people are getting away with openly lying under oath, but hey, let's not let due process get in the way of a good drama. It's still very silly, but we are edging closer to finding the verdict.

In fact, there's been a recurring theme of people just taking complete liberties with their situation and using it to advance either case. This week found the defence's assistant barrister sleeping with the journalist who was covering the case. Um. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly sure there's a little thing called ethics which would prevent that sort of thing from happening, let alone using it to influence the course of the trial. I'm all for silliness in Broadchurch (I've stuck with it for this long), but it's the odd moment like this that complete remove you from the ongoing storyline. Suspension of disbelief is one thing, but when implausibility is practically hammering at the fourth wall, it's a little tough to ignore.

If we're talking outright daftness though, it's most definitely the Sandbrook case's turn to wear the silly hat for the week. That Claire was somehow involved in the Sandbrook deaths has been really apparent for a while now so the twists and turns didn't come with a shock so much as a shrug. Eve Myles' temper tantrum was creatively mad, letting us know that Claire isn't as calm and collected as she might make out and as Ellie so brilliantly pointed out, she isn't exactly one for self-control. I'm still not entirely sure what part Lee has to play in it all, other than unwitting scapegoat, but the scene of them looking at a house with an easily accessible family next door was suitably sinister.

Olivia Colman continues to be not only the best thing in the series, but quite possibly also since sliced bread. Whether it's putting down the idiots she has to deal with (usually Hardy) with a withering one liner or finally confronting her son, Colman's character feels the most dimensional out of the entire Broadchurch rogues' gallery. Her scene opposite Tom in which she took charge and, for want of a better term, gave him a bollocking was one of the best things the second series has done so far. It's Ellie's emotional journey that's keeping me going more than anything else in this show.

- Becky

You can read Jen's review of the previous episode here.

Follow @AssortedBuffery on Twitter
Or like our Facebook page

TV REVIEW: Broadchurch - Episode 5

Despite throwing even more confusing twists and turns at us, and not really getting any closer to divulging any answers, the cinematography and running themes in this episode of Broadchurch made it one of the best for a while. 

With lots of shifting focus in shots, more hilltop seascapes and not to mention the eerie fairy lights of the fairground outside Hardy (David Tennant)’s gaff, it actually felt a more like a standalone short film than anything else. Although some elements of the show doubtless continue to be frustrating at best, and at worst totally unrealistic, at least we’re being given a beautiful, almost art-house view of the seaside to keep us going. Even if it is shot through the lens of what is now three grisly child murders. 

But I quibble.

As Alec tried not to let Ellie (Olivia Colman) get too caught up in the Sandbrook case (the words bolted, horse and stable door spring to mind) she was allowed an uplifting, albeit momentarily, storyline as she took it upon herself to solve the mystery. Meanwhile, drama between the legal teams increased, Beth (Jodie Whittaker) tried and failed to come to terms with her loss once again, Claire (Eve Myles) admitted to sleeping with Lee (James D’Arcy) whilst left alone at the cottage, and Ricky Gillespie (Shaun Dooley) turned up – although we’re still not too sure of his real motivation. Does he know something about the deaths of his daughter and niece? Meanwhile, it looked even less likely that DI Hardy will survive the series, and James D’Arcy somehow managed to pop up in just about every shot. Could the shock twist of all be that he’s actually some sort of ninja? Time will tell.

Again, this was another episode with a lot of people shouting at a lot of other people, most of whom didn’t really deserve it. We had Sharon Bishop (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) shouting at Charlotte Rampling’s Jocelyn over the latter not taking up her son’s defence as he was put on trial for murder, we had Tom, played by star-in-the-making Adam Wilson (also seen recently in Mr Selfridge and Silent Witness) telling Ellie off for not standing by his murderous Dad, and even Paul (Arthur Darvill) the sinister vicar had a tough time of it.

 I know I’ve questioned Paul’s holiness since day one, but the shock from Becca (Simone McAullay) and minor blackmail on the part of Joe’s legal team that a vicar should be visiting a sinner in jail seems a little far-fetched. Err, it’s his job? Give him a break! Whether this is just a ruse to let him off the hook of suspicion himself for a while, I don’t know, but it certainly worked on me.

This all tied in well with what seems to be an ongoing theme not just of justice as a system, but of what it is fair to expect of individuals. Is it fair to assume Ellie knew what Joe was up to just because she was married to him? Is it fair to punish her for what he did? Conversely, is it fair to blame Claire for protecting her husband? Can we really expect Beth to help precisely the sort of offender who killed her son? The list goes on.

Interestingly, Sandbrook has actually now become intriguing enough as a storyline in itself that it doesn’t feel so much like an irritating distraction from the main event. We’re now genuinely caught up in the mystery, to the extent that I for one now have to frequently remind myself that Eve Myles hasn’t actually been in the show since the beginning. Again, more cleverness on the part of Chris Chibnall in that most viewers are now working on two separate theories for two separate mysteries, all from the comfort of their sofas, and will most likely tune in to find the answer to one or the other. 

On the downside, Susan Wright’s (Pauline Quirke) re-appearance felt like a bit of a farce. Her attempted revelations became yet another example of the show’s slightly annoying habit of dealing you a cliff-hanger (literally, given the town’s location) at the end of almost every episode, only for it to either never be mentioned again or dismissed within the first five minutes of the following episode, like a dissatisfying rollercoaster. Ellie and Alec’s alleged affair, anyone?

Nonetheless, Broadchurch continues to be well acted, well shot and well written. But as viewers become increasingly frustrated, will it continue to be well watched as we enter the final three episodes? Probably, after all, most of us still want to know whodunit, whydunit and can, in the case of Joe, can they prove he-dunit?

Let’s hope so.

Jen

@jenniferklarge

Follow @AssortedBuffery on Twitter
Or like our Facebook page