<p>Missed the first part of tonight’s episode. What was the relationship between Joe Miller and Danny Solano? Was Joe molesting him? I was pretty sure it was one of the Miller’s who committed the crime but was still surprised.</p>
<p>Joe had been secretly meeting with Danny at the hut over several months, supposedly just offering him friendship and support, but he was in fact physically attracted to Danny. Joe didn’t make a move on Danny until the night he died, caressing his cheek and mouth, which caused Danny to recoil and flee outside. We then saw the version of events Joe confessed to, where he struck Danny himself. As later shown, that’s not what happened.</p>
<p>I think it’s awful that Ellie is willing to let Danny’s parents believe their son was the victim of a murder rather than an accident. Creepy Tommy wouldn’t have been prosecuted for accidentally killing Danny while trying to protect him, so why not reveal the truth? Eh, this show was unsatisfying in so many ways, so it’s not surprising that the ending was dumb. </p>
<p>I agree that the decision to conceal what happened seemed dumb to me - it was an accident, so prosecution seems really unlikely, and the attempt to conceal it might have far greater consequences (besides the moral issues).</p>
<p>Even IF Tommy had been prosecuted he is a juvenile. That said, Ellie is so angry with Joe that she feels he deserves the hit. Not saying I disagree. Best he would serve a few years but then he would need to register as an offender–unless the jury believe he had not achieved his goal.</p>
<p>Loose ends–Never heard what the Preist’s DNA showed.</p>
<p>Feel they did leave it open for a sequel.</p>
<p>All in all impressed with much but not the lack of an honest ending. Would have been better if the Detective had found a concrete ending to confront Ellie with–in a kind but not letting it go way.</p>
<p>I know that part 2 of Broadchurch will be revisiting the town after everything has settled down. It is possible they were setting the show up for a second season. </p>
<p>I thought it was tantalizing that Carver figured out it was Tommy and called Ellie to tell her. She realized why he was calling and actively chose not to answer. I thought that was a pretty slick twist at the very end that, I agree, leaves open the possibility of a sequel or, at least, a follow up.</p>
<p>As for Carver’s reconciliation with his daughter, I really didn’t care. I never cared about him as a person in the slightest. </p>
<p>I loved the series until last night. I too missed the first couple minutes so, until reading this thread, thought Joe had been molesting Danny for some time. Was Joe’s only true crime that he caressed Danny’s cheek and lip? (Don’t misunderstand–of course where he was going with that is abhorrent–but he never actually “did” anything?) So, now he’s in prison for how long?? And, what about Tommy? He was Danny’s best friend and it was an accident. No way he’d be prosecuted and he could have had some kind of closure, an experience where telling the truth prevails, etc. </p>
<p>Thinking more about this…if Joe touched Danny for the first time the night he died, why in the world would that have become part of his story/confession? If there had been no history there, he branded himself a child molester for no reason. Very disappointed in the ending–many other ways for Joe to take the blame for his son. </p>
<p>I am sure that his confession and the evidence would be enough to charge Joe with a crime - you don’t need to complete the physical act for there to be abuse! And I think he needed to tell about the intent to abuse because it (a) explained why they were there and (b) was part of his need to confess. He wasn’t just trying to tell a story, he was trying to protect his son and confess his sins.</p>
<p>Still, I too was disappointed in the ending. The show was so drawn out that by the time the shoe sizes were mentioned in this episode I had completely forgotten that they had found shoeprints in episode 1. And then it just bugged me that they never matched the prints to Tommy.</p>
<p>They may have left things unresolved to allow for a second season, but unlike Broadchurch, Gracepoint had poor ratings , so I doubt it will return.</p>
<p>As I mentioned above, I don’t seem to have the patience for a multi-episode murder mystery. Each episode focused suspicion on a different person, and then by the next he or she was no longer a suspect. Mark, Susan, Jack, Chloe’s boyfriend, Vince, the backpacker, the priest–heck, they could have gone on for 20 more episodes and run through half the town. I’m not a cop, but I imagine in any real murder investigation, the issue is a lack of suspects, not an over abundance of them! I have more tolerance for this sort of thing when I’m watching a one-hour show like Law and Order, but ten hours of it is just tedious. Meanwhile the side stories–the priest carrying a torch for Beth, the aggressive out-of-town reporter’s dalliance with Ellie’s nephew, Carver’s history–were too thinly developed to maintain my interest.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine why the Brits went so nuts over Broadchurch, but given the ratings for Gracepointe, I guess the two nations have very different taste in televised drama. </p>
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<p>Two nations separated by a common language. I simply think that the US version suffered from being a remake, and was too slow for the US tastes that require instant gratification. I also think it was not particularly well acted. This said, I did not think the ending undermined the series but in fact enhanced a pretty poor remake by bringing in a rather intelligent twist that depicts what might happen in a small town. </p>
<p>Endings are rarely pleasing! </p>
<p>I think the writing was better in Broadchurch.
If there had been a few years in between productions, Gracepoint may have gotten higher ratings.
But both are so dour, that it is tough to get through.
I like a bit of humor with my drama, like in Justified or Sherlock.
Eye candy helps too.
;)</p>
<p>I guess I was right, but it was so unsatisfying. Broadchurch felt better, and I had a feeling that it would involve Ellie’s family. </p>
<p>So for those of you who watched Broadchurch, is it worth watching if I’ve already watched Gracepoint? I kind of enjoyed Gracepoint, although it was slow moving, and the ending did surprise me. I thought along it was the priest.</p>
<p>I did read somewhere there will be a sequel to Broadchurch just not sure when it will air.</p>