Television: Broadchurch, Episode 1.5

AKA: "The Lynching of Jack Marshall"

Did I ruin it for you there? Sorry. But this episode was practically a PSA for the need not to believe everything you see and read in the press. To get all the facts, to think for oneself, and to behave in a rational way.

Last week we saw the case against Jack Marshall building as it was uncovered he had a prior conviction for sexual relations with a minor. And of course conclusions were handily leaped to, though even then I wondered that no one was using a gendered pronoun in relation to said prior, and this week it was revealed that, yes, Jack had slept with a 15-year-old girl. Whom he later married and had a son with, but both were killed in a car accident. At which point Jack packed up his old life and started fresh in Broadchurch.

These facts were too little too late for the mob mentality that had reached a crescendo in the town. Led by Mark Latimer's plumbing partner Nigel, who is rather eager to pin Danny's murder on Jack, the people of Broadchurch began foaming at the mouth and demanding Jack's blood.

He wasn't lynched, btw. They drowned him. But that's beside the point.

Oh, and meanwhile, Nigel also tried to pay Susan off with 500 quid (about $780). For what? We don't know. She wouldn't take it, said they needed to "work it out together." She also got creepily cozy with Ellie's son Tom at the arcade, when Tom made friends with Susan's dog. She told him he could come by any time to see the dog, maybe take him for a walk. Is that weird? I feel like that's weird.

Awkward times were being had by our lead detectives. Ellie was asked out by Brian, who is a SOCO (that's a "Scenes of Crime Officer" for those who don't speak UK Police), even though he knows she's married—she just needed to emphasize she was happily married. And Alec made a tentative pass at Becca and was flatly refused. Ouch. Oh, and they also figured out the burning boat belonged to Ellie's brother-in-law, though he's been gone a couple months and anyone might have taken it; access to said boat was not guarded.

Another question raised: The phone that Jack had found in Danny's delivery bag? It doesn't match the smartphone Ellie often saw Danny using.

And we're still wondering about that money found in Danny's room . . . And why Susan has Danny's skateboard . . .

How will they bring this all to a close in a mere three episodes? That, my friends, is what we're eager to find out.