Broadchurch

Sad is that is, we have to admire a show that knows when to call it quits and goes out on top. Broadchurch does just that.

Broadchurch wraps up a three-season arc by pulling off an ambitious storyline about rape that is as devastating as it is instructive.

In the end, the only open question (from a crime solving standpoint) is whether this indeed is the finale for Broadchurch. Creator, writer, executive producer Chris Chibnall emphatically says that it is. If that’s really so, Season 3 acquits itself exceedingly well.

[Broadchurch's] third and final eight-episode season, ticks all the Brit drama boxes and still manages to stand out from the mysteries some of us can’t get enough of.

Broadchurch sets a high bar for the British mystery, sustaining its mournful suspense over eight hours without ever lapsing into cheap sensation or shock. [26 Jun - 9 Jul 2017, p.12]

True to form, Broadchurch ducks and weaves with a gripping mix of suspense and red herrings. [30 Jun 2017, p.55]

Naturally some Broadchurch fans are bound to be disappointed if this mystery’s resolution doesn’t deliver a gut punch that feels as impactful as the Latimer case; such is the way of series endings. But it’s tough to find fault in Colman’s and Tennant’s portrayal of partnership.

Its refusal to reduce any of the crimes it portrayed to standard TV gestures, as well as the vividness of its two lead characters, give it an afterlife: I’d guess that many people will watch the series over again, even knowing how it turns out, just to spend time in the bleak town of Broadchurch.

Mr. Tennant and Ms. Colman--with a strong assist from the soap opera actress Julie Hesmondhalgh as the victim--are entertaining and moving right to the end.

While the mysteries on Broadchurch are compelling, they can be a bit scattered at times, with some weird detours. Yet the magnetic performances of Tennant and Colman keep the series together; the two acclaimed actors are always able to navigate the show’s odder moments with interesting takes.

Though Chibnall doesn't quite stick the landing in the last of the eight episodes--when we learn the truth about Trish's assault, it feels a bit too much like an "Author's Message" sign should be flashing--any fan of intelligent TV should watch Broadchurch Season 3.

The performances are extraordinary, especially those of Colman, Tennant, Whittaker and Buchan, as they have always been since the first season, and the amazing Hesmondhalgh as the woman who struggles but finds the strength after the attack to stop being a victim in her own life. Chibnall may stumble a bit in plotting, but not on characterization.