There were some thrilling developments in this week's episode of Broadchurch as the police identified another major suspect and the true natures of one or two members of the small community stated to emerge. There's also a big cliffhanger with a question mark hanging over the survival of a key member of the cast. Do you think that the police have their culprit? With two episodes to go, is it still too early to say who was the killer?
Here's the gathered evidence and clues so far. Let us know who you think killed Danny Latimer. As always, there are spoilers below if you haven't watched all of the episodes.
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Susan Wright
Played by Pauline
Quirke
Well, she’s only gone and got herself arrested. Thanks to
some digging and delving by journalist Maggie, enough dirt emerged about the
shifty outsider’s past to make her a person of interest to the police. She’d already
shown herself to be a particular nasty piece of work – her vile threat to
Maggie, her dodgy connection with Nige, that business with the two names, and
the possibility that she tried to put Mark in the frame. She even managed to
lure Tom Miller up to her caravan. And then there was the skateboard in the
cupboard. Her actions over that were strange though – it was only after she
learnt who Tom’s mother was that she made the decision to present him with the
skateboard and send him home. It was almost as though she wanted the police
attention. But if she’d planned to slip away, then it backfired when Maggie
lured her into a trap and we learnt that whatever is in Susan’s past it’s
something unproven and to do with her husband and with children. As we left her
she was refusing to co-operate with DI Hardy. However, she was in custody when
the hut was broken into. Does she have an accomplice, or have the police got
completely the wrong suspect?
Joe Miller
Played by Matthew
Gravelle
There is something increasingly sinister about Joe. We
cannot forget that moment over the dinner table a couple of weeks ago; his weighty
question to DI Hardy and that long moment when the two of them apparently sized
one another up like hunter and hunted. This week he and Hardy shared a similar
moment of tension when Joe stepped in to shoo the detective away from Tom. Was
he merely being a protective father or was he worried that the boy might blurt
something out? Tom is definitely hiding something, and we know that an adult
male was most likely to be the killer. Now even his interactions with Ellie are
becoming creepy. He teased her about suspecting and arresting him. He also
concealed the paintballing trip from her. And the break-in at the hut occurred
while Ellie was still down at the police station. The only thing in Joe’s
favour is that Ellie must have been his alibi for the night of the murder …
unless they are in it together.
Reverend Paul Coates
Played by Arthur
Darvill
Hardy seems particularly to have it in for Paul this week.
He was riled enough following Paul’s comments at the funeral and witnessing
Paul sitting with his hand on Tom’s knee to follow him on a trip to Yeovil.
There he discovered that Paul was a recovering alcoholic and a little further
digging revealed that the vicar had once been violent towards a child. We still
don’t have a credible explanation for where Reverend Coates was on the night of
the murder. However he didn’t bat an eyelid over young Tom’s queries over
recovering deleted information from a hard drive, perhaps then he doesn’t have
any concern that Tom might have any incriminating files worth deleting. But
what was his comment of ‘I won’t charge you this time’ all about? So is Paul
genuinely trying to heal the spiritual wellbeing of the town or is this all
smokescreen and diversion to hide his true nature?
Nige Carter
Played by Joe Sims
We saw a truly nasty side to Nige this week involving Susan
Wright’s dog and that crossbow that he had hidden in the back of his van. He
did actually threaten Susan with the weapon last week and now it seems he took
an opportune moment to make good his threat. We are still no clearer on the
nature of their relationship, but Nige is sending Susan a very clear message
that he wants no more to do with her. He seems unaffected by Jack’s death too –
you would expect that someone who was instrumental in hounding another man to
commit suicide would show some remorse at least. Does his apparent disregard
for life along with his short temper show a more serious personality disorder.
Perhaps Broadchurch has a real psychopath in its midst.
Tom Miller
Played by Adam Wilson
The increasingly anxious Tom took drastic action to ensure
that no evidence could be recovered from his laptop. He sought advice from
Reverend Paul first, his IT teacher – he probably would not have approached the
vicar if he was involved in whatever business Tom was trying to hide. You would
also expect Tom, as the son of a police officer and a former paramedic to be a
bit wiser about going off with strangers, no matter how handsome their dog. It
did result in Tom recovering a crucial piece of evidence and triggering the
arrest of a major suspect though. What was very disturbing was Tom’s outburst
to Chloe and Dean that he actually hated Danny. Was he being bullied by his
former friend, or forced into activities against his will.
DI Alec Hardy
Played by David
Tennant
Alec is now officially the Worst Cop In Britain according to
the Herald, and this case, like his previous one, seems to be crumbling around
him. Alec is clutching at straws, now but pursuing his few remaining suspects
is going to get harder with fewer resources in his team. Hardy spoke to his
daughter on the phone this week – or rather left her a voicemail. We are, of
course, assuming that his daughter is alive and well and Hardy is not using her
voicemail as a coping strategy for a tragic event while staying in denial. Remember
Cate Gillespie’s statement that most parents who lose a child end up divorced? His
mystery illness appears to be worsening too. What is it that causes his dizzy
spells, pain and blackouts? Is it something physical, or all in his mind? Or a
psychological condition that causes him to commit acts that he doesn’t remember
afterwards? Is it linked to what happened with his family or the stress of his
last case? And what was the meaning of his dream at the start of the episode,
another instance where fear of water is significant?
Beth Latimer
Played by Jodie
Whittaker
Beth is still trying to pick up the pieces and move forward.
A meeting with another parent of a murdered child, the grieving Cate, mother of
one of the Sandbrook victims, did nothing to give her any hope. It sees
unlikely that Beth would herself commit an act which has caused her so much misery.
However, she is still angry and bitter over Mark’s fling with Becca, and like
the other members of her family she has a furious temper. She's also quite physically fit and enjoys running. The figure that burst out of the hut at the end of the episode easily outran both police officers and climbed over a fence.
Olly Stevens
Played by Jonathan Bailey
Olly is full of remorse following Jack’s suicide, the
culmination of events triggered by his own smear campaign against the
newsagent. He has also been humiliated by Karen who has dropped him like a hot
brick once he ceased to be of use to her. If he had a plan to get him out of
Broadchurch and away from his shambolic mother and into big time journalism,
then it’s falling apart. Olly, of course, owned the boat that was found burning
out at sea and it turns out it was commonly used by many other people in the
town. Even Danny had been out in it before. But that still doesn’t explain why
Danny’s blood was found in it, nor the chips of paint from the skateboard. The
day that Olly discovered his boat missing was a day when, fortunately for him,
he had a witness to his apparent surprise.
DS Ellie Miller
Played by Olivia
Colman
We knew from the first scenes of the drama that Ellie was
ambitious. Could she, and possibly Joe, have killed Danny so that she could
solve the crime and appear to be brilliant? They both have the knowledge and
the and the means to tamper with evidence, and could provide alibis for one
another. Ellie could get the blame pinned on anyone. Also, when sister Lucy
turned up demanding money in exchange for evidence, why didn’t Ellie march her
straight down to the station and force her to give it up? Perhaps she didn’t
want anyone to know what Lucy saw. And then there’s the skateboard. Susan
passed the skateboard back to Tom as soon as she found out that Ellie was his
mother. Was it a clear message that she too had some information from that
night?
Becca Fisher
Played by Simone McAullay
Becca has financial worries and has been known to dabble in
drug dealing for her hotel clients. It seems that an alternative income on the
side would be more than welcome. Is she in deeper than she’s letting on? Or is
she selling other more personal services? We already know that she has an eye
for the men. Admittedly she did turn down Hardy, but then you could hardly ask
the local DI to pay, could you? Did Danny find out something about her
activities, what ever they might be, and have to be silenced?
Mark Latimer
Played by Andrew
Buchan
Mark is still under suspicion – remember that he has two
hours unaccounted for in his alibi and that he has a furious temper. He was
also very reluctant to go after Jack, as though he knew already that Jack was
innocent. He is trying to rebuilt his shattered family and make amends to Beth
– but is this just a sign that he thinks he’s got away with it?
Maggie Radcliffe
Played by Carolyn
Pickles
Maggie used to be a big time reporter, but now owns a little
paper in a tiny town where nothing interesting ever happens. Some of her most
acclaimed work was reporting on the Yorkshire Ripper case. Could she have
killed Danny to get herself one last big case to get her name back in the
limelight before she retired? Possibly she even wants to set herself up
financially by selling scoops to the nationals. That's why she got so miffed
when Karen showed up - she knew that she would be reporting directly to the
nationals without Maggie receiving a penny. Of course digging the dirt on Jack
and Susan has turned the spotlight onto other suspects.
Liz Roper
Played by Susan Brown
If you subscribe to the theory that the least likely suspect
is the killer then Liz, with the possible exception of baby Fred Miller, is
your go-to cast member. Liz is without apparent motive and doesn’t even seem to
be giving up any dark secrets. We aren’t aware of any alibi, or more
significantly, any lack of alibi, but then Hardy and Miller have had no reason
to call her in
Lucy Stevens
Played by Tanya
Franks
The sister of Ellie Miller and mother of Olly, she claims
that she saw something significant on the night of the murder. However, she’s
holding out for Ellie to lend her some money before she tells all. We know that
Lucy is fairly desperate for money, but we don’t know why as yet.
SOCO Brian
Played by Peter De
Jersey
Brian seems to have a bit of an attraction to Ellie. Would
he engineer a crime just so he could work closely to her or even to promote his
own career? Don’t forget, he’s in the perfect position to tamper with the
evidence
Chloe Latimer
Played by Charlotte
Beaumont
Chloe found going back to reality quite difficult this week.
It could be part of the natural grieving process, but it could equally be
remorse and the realisation of what she had done. Did she and Danny have a bit
of a sibling rivalry that went too far when her temper got the better of her?
Or did Danny find out about her drug dealing exploits and threaten to tell?
Dean Thomas
Played by Jacob
Anderson
Dean was one of the most vocal accusers of Jack, adding his
account of Jack’s affection for the young members of the Boat Brigade to the
rabid press stories that fuelled the campaign against Jack and, of course, took
the focus away from the real killer. Although Dean has been portrayed as quite
a bad lad up until now, dabbling in drug dealing and other shady goings on, he
did show his softer, more caring side this week
Steve Connelly
Played by Will Mellor
Steve only showed up, significantly, in Hardy’s dream this
week, so he is clearly still on the DI’s mind. We still have no explanation for
Steve’s message about the pendant and how Steve came about such information.
Has he been stalking Hardy and his cases for a while? Is there a link to
Sandbrook or a possible tragedy in Hardy’s own life?
Kevin Green (The postman)
Played by Jack Ashton
Will we ever now discover who it was that Jack said he saw
arguing with Danny? The postman’s alibi seemed comprehensive enough for the
detectives to rule him out of their enquiries. We do know that he was one of
the people who rented out Olly’s boat
Karen White
Played by Vicky
McClure
Karen came crawling back to town for Jack’s funeral. She was
only too happy to set Beth up in a meeting with one of the Sandbrook parents.
If she was aiming to discredit Hardy, then her work has succeeded. Was she
possibly behind the murder in the first place? It does seem quite extreme to
kill one child to get justice for other murder victims
Cate Gillespie
Cate’s daughter was one of the Sandbrook victims. She has
never recovered from her daughter’s death and never forgiven Hardy for botching
the trial. Is she so unbalanced that she could kill another child to get back
at Hardy?
Other evidence
Don't forget these facts too:
Danny died by being strangled by a man or certainly someone
with large hands
Danny was facing his killer when he died
Danny’s murder scene was faked to make it look as if he died
in a fall from the cliff. There is no evidence that he died from injuries
There was no sexual element to Danny’s murder
Danny’s body was cleaned using domestic products after the
murder
The clocks at the Latimer house all stopped in the early
hours of the morning
The figure that ran from the hut was a physically fit adult.
What was Susan's husband's crime?
This is like one of Agatha Christie murders. They all did it! I would not be surprised if either the DI is the criminal or Joe. Maybe the whole town did it so they could be placed on the map. This tv drama is proper mind blowing experience
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's Hardy. It can't be, if Steve was actually right about Danny knowing the killer, it can't have possibly been Hardy, could it? I highly doubt Danny knew Hardy before he was murdered.
ReplyDeleteJoe and Tom both know something, so those two are my top suspects
Joe Miller is on top of my list. As the postman is concerned: Jack said he thought Danny was arguing with the postman, but it was a great distance. He jumped to the conclusion because "who else would be there at such an early hour?". The orange jacket could easily have been an orange lifeboat jacket. Could the motive be some kind of smuggling activity? (I've watched all episodes already 3 times now...)
ReplyDeleteI have 2 questions....1. When we see Danny standing on the cliff top in the opening sequence he has blood dripping from his hand. Whose blood? He's alive so possibly not his own. 2. Do you bleed from strangulation? Because they have his fingerprint in blood in the hut but have they jumped to the conclusion it is his own blood? And if you don't bleed then why have they also found his blood in the boat? The post mortem didn't show any lacerations I don't think. Just the strangulation?
DeleteAgricultural diesel is red!!!!!!!!
Delete