"Broadchurch" Recap: "Series 2 - Episode 5"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

Sometimes when it comes to your favorite television shows, you find a little nugget of disappointment, especially when the bar is set high and the story seems to be giving you everything you ever wanted. That's how I felt last night watching Broadchurch to be perfectly honest. It wasn't the worst episode of television that I have ever seen, but "Episode 5" certainly missed an opportunity to be great, because of the fact it was merely okay.  

Especially when the episode had some seriously strong moments when it came to the courtroom scenes this week. Jocelyn was on point, hitting the defense with everything she had and embarrassing Susan Wright on the stand, essentially rendering her testimony from last week worthless, despite the missteps by Nigel on the stand as well.  Not to mention we finally got a juicy scene where Sharon and Jocelyn finally breakdown what drove these two apart and it turns out to be due to the fact that Jocelyn wouldn't defend Sharon's son in court.  

But the incredible nature of this episode more or less began and ended with those riveting scenes because it was time to return to the Sandbrook case, and well...that's where I felt a tad frustrated because last night didn't move us toward any answers at all. Sure Ricky showed up to kick the crap out of Lee and of course sit down to some impromptu questioning from Ellie...but that was really it for his character. In fact the show kind of glossed over the fact that hey, Claire called him and claimed she had no clue who it might be in a scene that established her as a pathological liar.  

For a moment it seemed like the episode would be saved with Ellie stepping in to look over the evidence from the case. Her first thought after looking everything over is that Ricky's niece may be alive and has fled the country and she also discovers that Hardy and the team may have overlooked the importance of Thorp Agriservices, prompting the two of them to check the place out. But it seems the company has been closed for a long time and the only item they find is the ominous possibility that Ricky's niece may be dead after all because of the furnace they discover...

But alas, let's call this episode out for what it is...a filler episode. Despite that dark discovery, this episode was filled to the brim with more of the same. We already know Claire cannot be trusted, so the "revelation" of her lies have no gravity this week, and that ending, while heavy, still brings us no closer to resolution on the Sandbrook case. This episode disappointed me simply because it didn't move anything forward. Even just a smidge of progression in the story would have vaulted this part of the tale to new heights, but it's understandable. After last night we have three episodes left, and I am certain we will get shocking twists and turns there, it was just a surprise to see an "okay" episode from a show that makes a habit of raising the bar. 

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