The third season of one of TV's all time best crime thrillers BROADCHURCH is a powerful, interesting and quietly perfect conclusion to the series.
It's three years after the events of Season Two. Danny Latimer's killer has been forever banished from the coastal town, Hardy (the brilliant David Tennant) has returned and brought his teenage daughter with him, hoping for a clean start. The town seems to annoy him less than other places he's been and that's a high compliment coming from Hardy.
His partner Ellie Miller (the equally brilliant Olivia Colman) is trying to move on from the events of the past two series, balancing raising her teenage son with her Detective role.
As the season opens, middle-aged, divorced Trish Winterman (Julie Hesmondhaigh) is raped at a posh birthday part in a rented country estate.
Knocked out, dazed and devastated, Trish becomes the focus of Hardy and Miller's investigation. The party guest list is packed with suspects, ex husbands, suitors and deviants.
Like David Lynch's small town of Twin Peaks, every citizen seems ripe with a history or a motive, providing plenty of suspense and angst.
The pressure mounts when other women begin to come forward with the same exact story as Trish, unveiling a serial rapist at work.
Danny's parents from the last two seasons are back.Beth Latimer (Jodie Whittaker) counsels Trish, while Mark Latimer (Andrew Buchan) cant find peace and is determined to track down his son's murderer, who has relocated in another town.
Newspaper editor Maggie Radcliffe (Carolyn Pickles) is back as well, battling to hold onto anything resembling a town paper, while protecting the citizens from the tabloid press.
For me, Season three is a bit quieter than the first two, but no less powerful. These characters are so well acted and perfectly realized after 25+ episodes that they feel like witty, driven or intense friends you look forward to revisiting.
Broadchurch won the award for best Crime Drama at National Television Awards in early 2018. This was the first year the award was presented and Broadchurch was competing against Sherlock (2010), Line of Duty (2012) and Little Boy Blue (2017). Julie Hesmondhalgh (Trish Winterman) was nominated for the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress but lost to Vanessa Kirby from The Crown (2016).
BROADCHURCH ends its run with another tale that keeps you guessing. Classy and well told, it gets an A. I'll truly miss Hardy and Miller!
Comments