Broadchurch (TV Series) Episode #1.8 (2013) User Reviews

We learn the tragic truth.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 11 September 2020]

Eight weeks on twists and turns, red herrings, surprises, secrets and lies, and finally Alex discovers who the killer is. The pieces all fall into place, and the outcome is tragic, sad and sickening in equal measure. I can remember the identity of the killer coming as a real surprise, almost the only other person that we hadn't even discussed as a family, we had bets, and a prize, we were all wrong.

This show was so big, friends and neighbours were discussing it, it really did prove one thing, the nation loves a whodunnit, why given the huge success of this, is it still such an overlooked genre.

You find yourself looking back through the series, and finding clues, sudden impulses to defend those accused of being guilty, the bickering family. It's incredibly well done.

Colman and Tennant are remarkably good in it, they have been since the very start. Can you fault a single performance throughout it, not a chance.

Chibnall has faced a huge amount of criticism for his stint on Doctor Who, whatever your views, he did a Masterclass here.

Broadchurch rates as one of the best dramas off all time, why they felt the need to make Gracepoint I will never know.

It's a superb finale, 10/10.

So Everyone Can Relax---Really?

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 23 August 2016]

Years ago I was with a group of friends. We were watching a movie where there were numerous characters who could fill the bill as the evildoer. Having seen so many movies, I pointed to a guy who had little to do with anything and said: "That's the guy." I was scoffed at (deservedly so) because picking this guy was just on a lark. When I began to watch Broadchurch, I began to look at the least likely people who could have killed Danny. See if you can figure it out. Anyway, all the doggedness comes to fruition as we are presented with our killer. He admits committing the crime and the season is over. Our depressed and depressing detective and his shocked and bewildered partner are successful but certainly not happy. I'm glad a friend recommended this to me. It was fun, the situations were quite intense, and the characters nicely drawn.

How Could You Not Know?

[Littleman95 · 10/10 · 11 December 2020]

A very good ending for a great season!

Plot: amazingly done and displayed. It takes the right time to let you see what you need to and it lets you have some slow moments to let you assimilate what happens. And everything is consistent. The only thing that I did not get is the solicitors' use. They were always there during interviews just to... To be there. They never said a word.

Actors & Acting: well there are some high and low levels of acting skills, here. The two main characters (and not only) are very good at it while others not so much. But at least there is nothing really bad.

Soundtrack: liked it. It accomplished well all the season with all its events.

Conclusion: a very great season, highly recommended to everyone who like crime, thriller stuff. With also some dramatic and moving scenes. Sometimes you'll have to close your eyes in front of some acting but the story worth it a lot!

Just fascinated

[atassivan · 16 April 2018]

Great script, and good acting I couldn't stop watching it

Season 1

[IPyaarCinema · 8/10 · 6 September 2021]

Review By Kamal K

The body of Danny Latimer (Oskar McNamara) is found on Dorset Beach in Broadchurch. Newly appointed detective Alec Hardy (David Tennant) finds he has a shot at redemption while his partner Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) feels she deserved his job. The town of Broadchurch has secrets, and the secrets could be explosive and deadly. As the search for the killer continues, the list of suspects is growing.

Part of the joy of the series is that the cast is strong. David Tennant and Olivia Colman make a good team because they are rather antagonistic for their own reasons. Their past, failures, and other events come in to play throughout the season, and it does pay off. Jodie Whittaker is also solid as the bereaved mother of Danny while Andrew Buchan's role is more restrained. David Bradley gives a strong performance as a suspect with a past, and Pauline Quirke is sinister as someone who knows more than she's saying.

The show looks great. The show is stylishly shot and presented in a way that builds the tension and increases the mystery. It gives you the clues you want/need but then raises more questions in a timely manner instead of dragging them out.

It is definitely worth checking out.

SICK

[hazangel-89910 · 6/10 · 17 July 2022]

I wish it wasn't so....just sickening!!! Why couldn't it have ended differently?? So a detective had no idea her husband was a.....I figured it out when she made the comment to the lady with the dog...

Epic fail worthy of Games of Thrones

[KHamblin-1 · 1/10 · 9 January 2023]

I thoroughly enjoyed this series until the last episode: Interesting characters, engaging side stories, great acting (Colman and Tennant are wonderful), a compelling mystery but then the end was SO STUPID--it soiled the whole show.

The performances continued to be exceptional but the plot was so ridiculous that I could barely force myself to watch the last half hour.

It's easy to have a surprise ending if you pick someone against whom there were no clues or hints and no reasonable explanation. Drama and surprise at the expense of quality. Just stupid, stupid, stupid!

What's the point of noting clues throughout and hypothesizing about possible culprits if the resolution is not going to have anything whatsoever to do with that. I thought I would watch any other season but now I only regret that I bothered to watch this season!

Game of Thrones is the only other series where I enjoyed it so thoroughly until the end and then the entire final season was so ludicrous that it slimed the entire series for me. When someone mentions it now, I just roll my eyes. Me and so many other viewers who were loyal until they were insulted by dreadful writing.

Season 1: Engagingly bleak even if it is too straightforward with the red-herrings and characters, and not as rich as it thinks it is

[bob the moo · 18 February 2014]

With the recent popularity of various Scandinavian crime dramas it was generally BBC4 which benefited since most if not all of those shows were picked up and screened there. Understandably ITV was never going to screen a drama with subtitles in prime time (indeed I wonder if the channel has ever shown a subtitled show at any time?) but it is clear that they wanted to show Forbrydelsen because they appear to have made an effort to make a show that is thematically and tonally very like it. The plot here sees a body of a young boy found on the beach in the small English town of Broadchurch. Newly installed (and recently disgraced) DI Hardy leads the investigation alongside local DS Miller, who feels the job he got should have been hers. As the investigation begins, the crime has an emotional and financial impact on the small community.

Broadchurch got a lot of praise when it screened in the UK and indeed was picked up by the BBC for showing in America. When I watched it I tried to put this out of my mind and focus on the show on its own terms. It is not a cheerful watch and generally it is quite bleak whether it is on the cold unforgiving cliff faces or the small town mindset or in the pained faces of all the characters, but this tone works just about because the crime investigation works. The 8-episode season is pretty well paced so we get leads and clues that offer interest but also inform the characters; the back-stories and involvement of other factors (most obviously the media) adds detail to the telling as well. It does generally work well and it heads towards a reasonably good conclusion.

That said it is not as brilliant as you have heard. The script may have a lot of characters and things going on, but it is not as rich or as layered as it clearly wants to be. The "pained" aspect does feel a little painted on at times and the show goes out of its way to make that point – with characters frequently looking like they have been beaten up by life even at the start of the season. The structure of the crime investigation is a bit too linear as well, it doesn't really keep a lot of plates spinning so much as break one then move to the next. So instead of having lots of suspects and continually shifting our perspective around them until the end, it raises them and then dismisses them after they have served their narrative purpose. It still engages but it robs the show of depth and also means that, for example, when the finger points at someone with 3 episodes left to go, you assume that it is too early for them to have done it since the pattern is "suspect, chase, uncover back-story, move to next person/situation". This structure does rather reduce the tension in the way it is delivered and it isn't a great flow although the comparatively short season does limit the negative impact of this.

The performances are generally good although the material doesn't always make the most of them. Tennant is a good character but perhaps a bit too much on the surface with his pain. Coleman is better as she has more of a person to deliver and I liked how she changed through the season as her character's perception of the community changed. Whittaker is very good while supporting roles were generally strong from Darvill, Quirke, Sims, Buchan, Bradley and others, although as I say the material is sometimes a limiting factor in how much they can do since they are all pretty much used as plot devices at one time or another.

Broadchurch is not as good as you have heard, but it is still engaging in its bleakness and Scandinavian style. The plot is good but perhaps too structured in the way it steps forward rather than having everything milling around it and keeping everything spinning till the end. It is still good and worth a look if you are a fan of Forbrydelsen and the like, but it is not as rich a drama as the British media would have you believe.

What A Mess....

[wandernn1-81-683274 · 6/10 · 26 August 2021]

Okay we start out here with Dopey Med Patient Hardy, who needs like...a heart transplant. But no, he's going to FIGHT THRU TO THE END!! -1 Star.

Oh really? So they show us now what happened to Danny. IT WAS THE PARTNER. Wow, what a waste. You kill your friend's son in a fit of rage. What a fool.

Okay so lets see what they do to him???

Wait. What? Hardy doesn't believe him. Hardy starts interrogating Miller.

Oh I see the guy they took in is Joe, Ellie's husband???!!! . I get it now.

Oh okay when Ellie goes berzerk on Joe, that was a good scene. +1 Star.

Then we have all the telling of everyone else who did it. What a mess. What a perverse time for a small community.

Okay the ending, was mean. Sad, and emotional. +1 Star

6/10.