Power-Clashing Introvert: Broadchurch: Random thoughts

Never underestimate the power of the Scottish accent. Or any accent, for that matter. Because when it comes to convincing me to watch television shows, an exciting accent is second only to "just a few seasons."

And both of those things together is how I came to watch Broadchurch. Well, that, the lack of any new White Collar episodes, and the impending demise of British television on Netflix [1].

Broadchurch was good. Very good. Though also very sad, and made me question general human decency for a while after finishing. Truthfully, if I had known how *bleccchhh shudder shudder* I was going to feel after watching, I may not have gone for it. This sweet little seaside town is torn apart, all its secrets exposed - things aren't so nice, after all. It's sad to watch that sort of thing and realize that's often how real life goes.

This very thing that made it sad, though, was what made Broadchurch so compelling - the rawness and realness of the situation, of the characters' emotions, of the ups-and-downs of a police investigation. It was a welcome change to have the entire 8 episode series focused on only one case: we got to explore much more deeply all the nuances and setbacks of detective work. And most of all, we got a much more realistic look at grief. The murdered boy's family weren't just crying at the beginning and 45 minutes later smiling smiles of closure and peace. No, for eight episodes we saw them rage and cry and blame each other and hide and fight and struggle and laugh hysterically and run and search. There were no easy answers for them, and no easily-packaged emotions for us.

Here's what I had to say to E., who requested text updates as I watched.

First, a brief summary:
"It's full of feelings. I'm on episode 2."

Then some predicting:
"Okay so I don't think the dad did it, butI do think he's mixed up in drugs and/or having an affair -
though I also think the mom is having an affair and I doubt two principles would have the same story line, so...drugs."

Then some meta-commentary:
"Speculating about TV mysteries involves not just rounding up the facts and motives, but also taking into consideration dramatic conventions."

Have a flower.