When it first premiered, Broadchurch was a juggernaut of a crime series. In it, a heinous act was committed in a beautiful locale where almost anyone could be a suspect. It was twisty, haunting, and engrossing. The emotional score combined with the lush cinematograph and affecting performances across the board elevated Broadchurch beyond a typical crime drama.
It forged such a memorable legacy and one forgettable U. TV remake that it's still held up as a standard of measurement by which all subsequent crime dramas are weighed. And while it could have, and maybe should have, ended there, the new team-up of Ellie Miller Olivia Colman and Alec Hardy David Tennant was too hard to give up.
Creator Chris Chibnall also said he always saw the series as a trilogy, although frankly, it never really felt like one. Season 3 focused on the aftermath of a rape instead of a murder, and was just as harrowing in its portrayal.
Throughout it all, Ellie and Alec continued to make a fantastic team during the procedural aspects of solving the crime, and one thing Broadchurch has been consistently great with is its twisty clues and multiple potential suspects over the course of each season.
And yet, Omvärld och vardag tends to drop the truth of the crime in our laps in the finales without time for any consideration of aftermath, which can make those reveals feel unsatisfying. Though all signs pointed to his step-father Clive including a lot of unanswered questions about trophy keysit was Michael who carried out the act.
There was a lot about this reveal that felt like it came out of left field. For one, the entire season focused on adult suspects, any of whom would have made for a believable perp. The story with the teenage boys was secondary throughout the season. Like in Season 1, the villains are predators.
Leo picked out Michael and groomed him for this in the same way Joe Miller was grooming Danny to sexually assault him. Instead, it laid its blame all on Leo, the sadist, who we barely knew. The scene of the two of them on the couch with Chloe joining as Mark watched a home movie of Danny felt like a step towards healing, especially for him.
And later, the women and children of the Latimer and Miller families came together for a meal outside in the sunshine, which not only suggested hard-fought happiness but also that the men were always kinda the problem….
God bless Alec and Ellie and their wonderful exchanges throughout the series especially this season. Also thank you to Chris Chibnall for not trying to force a romance between them. We didn't get to see Cath or her husband Jim, or the aftermath of Lindsay finding out the truth of her son's crime, either, or frankly what might have come of Ed's obsession with Trish though Trish's ex Ian seemed to make a play for her affections again.
It wasn't completely necessary to the plot, but Broadchurch puts its characters first so often that when plot threads are left dangling, it is noticeable. Another thing of note that was not properly explored: the kids of Broadchurch are definitely not alright.
I'm not suggesting a fourth season, but there's definitely plenty of material to thematically explore around that. So what did you think of the Broadchurch Season 3 finale?