Television: Broadchurch 2.7

The penultimate episode of series 2 was a bit more in-your-face in tone and had Alec Hardy going full-on Scottish on everyone. He sounds like my great-uncle when he's angry—we all know he's upset but we can't ever figure out why because we can't understand a word of it. So we look at each other and say, "Who set him off?" And to Uncle Robert we're saying, "Can you just point to it? Whatever's bothering you?"

My crazy uncle notwithstanding, here's what happened on Broadchurch:

• Sharon put Ellie back in the witness box and treated her as "hostile," bringing up the fact she'd given her sister £1000 on the same day her sister gave a statement that she'd seen Joe disposing of clothes the night of Danny's murder. Sharon then reiterated her argument that Ellie wanted Joe out of the way so she could carry on with Alec.
• Legal arguments concluded and the jury was sent to deliberate.
• Mark and Beth continued to have drama. We continued not to care all that much.
• Alec and Ellie chased down Gary Thorpe, son of the man who owned Thorpe Agriservices (aka incinerator place). Turns out young Gary ran the business into the ground. He also went out with Lisa a couple times . . . And stalked her . . . But was in hospital at the time of the disappearances because he'd tried to commit suicide.
• Alec and Ellie then went to Ricky to ask what he knew about Thorpe, why he'd never mentioned him before, and got the, "didn't seem important" answer. Alec noticed a framed photo of bluebells in Ricky's office, and he and Ellie finally figured out the strange number in Claire's phone was Ricky's. (They have ways to look that shit up, right? Why didn't they?)
• Alec told Lee Ashworth that Claire had been pregnant. When Lee confronted Claire, she told him she aborted it and that Alec was the one who stayed with her through that time. For once their fight (in the ocean this time) didn't end in a heavy make-out session.
• Jocelyn finally admitted to Maggie that she loves her. (We all saw that one coming, right?) Most awkward kiss ever.*
• With the idea that it's over between her and Lee, Claire gave Alec the pendant she stole from Tess's car.
• The jury returned a verdict, and either my cable went out or . . . Cliffhanger? Sigh.

I had this moment, when Alec was asking Lee about his relationship with Lisa, where I wondered if Lee could be Lisa's estranged father. I have to say, it's pretty strange there's been no contact with Lisa's actual parents. But, I mean, the police can't be that terrible, can they? Lee can't be Lisa's dad because they can't possibly have missed that if he were. Right? But where are Lisa's parents?

And then there was the hint of there being someone in France. Could it be Lisa?

Next week we'll have the verdict on Joe. Unclear what we'll have in terms of Sandbrook. If Claire is ready to spill the truth . . . But then again, she has a history of lying and would suffer for it on the stand, if it ever came to that. Will there even be a third series? It's a brilliant show, but is it sustainable?

*I have nothing against two women kissing, but the actresses appeared really reluctant or, at best, uncertain about the whole thing.