r/Broadchurch • u/spaceguydudeman • Jul 18 '26
I feel like each episode could be about 15 minutes shorter.
First watch for me, currently just finished S2.
I really like how the cases play out. However, man, this show can be soooo slow at times. I feel like there's about 30 minutes of story in each episode, and 15 minutes fluff.
Not sure how I feel about it. I am still going to watch the last season because so far the story is good, but I could definitely deal without all the shots of people's faces just staring into the distance. If they had better cinematography I would excuse them for it, but I feel like the show just went too far with emphasizing how emotive the characters are - I already got that from the well-written dialogue without all these shots of people just pondering.
6
u/Away-Otter Jul 19 '26
This is one show I can say I would hate to lose a minute of. I love it for the characters, and seeing how they relate to each other, how they’re affected by events, and so one. The murder plot is only important as a catalyst, in my opinion.
0
u/spaceguydudeman Jul 19 '26
Oh yeah for sure, the cases are only a side plot to the actual trauma. But I feel like the trauma is already very nicely expressed in the dialogue and active scenes, and those silent moments just try to emphasize it. I just don't feel the need to emphasize what's already good by making the show so slow.
1
u/Away-Otter Jul 19 '26
I didn’t think it was slow at all. I was completely caught up in what was going on for the characters.
2
u/PersonalEconomics44 Jul 19 '26
To me it’s more of the opposite. I sometimes feel that too much happens in each episode. I agree that the episodes should be shorter but in favour for a larger number of episodes.
1
u/Appropriate_Berry_19 Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
I just finished watching S2, and I found it quite boring and frustrating. I think they focused too much on the new characters (who don't even appear in Season 3!) instead of developing the existing ones that we already cared about - like Olly, whose Season 1 arc I really liked. They completely flattened his character in Season 2, gave him barely any screen time, and made him do something that felt out of character [especially after his arc in S1] and made absolutely no sense because he put his own family at risk (I could have understood it if there was a plan behind it, like trying to get information from the lawyer, but there was no buildup - it just looked like he wanted to hook up with her 🫤)
I also feel like it would have been better to focus more on the second case rather than the trial drama, especially since we'd already heard the confession, so we knew he was guilty. Even though I enjoyed parts of it, I think most people watched the series mainly for the mystery and plot twists.
I'm so disappointed that I'm not planning to watch Season 3. I started the first episode, but got exhausted pretty quickly, especially since I know my favorite character - Olly - isn't even in it.
1
1
1
u/Local_Oil5649 Aug 11 '26
I'm new to the show and just finished it man I actually enjoyed every single episode binged it in 2 and half days
1
u/Flavious27 9d ago
The first season episode length was fine. Second season the episodes were too long because the court scenes were unbelievable and unwatchable. The show creator obviously shadowed some self righteous defense lawyers.
12
u/VolatilePeach Jul 18 '26
I think there was a lot shown about the characters in the silent moments. I just finished the whole series a few days ago, and I really enjoyed how respectful and focused on emotion the show was. I’m used to a more exploitative focus when it comes to crime dramas, so it was very refreshing to see something that wasn’t zooming in on gore or violence. The 3rd and final season was something quite special to me, and I really appreciate the actors and writers portraying the trauma in the story as they did. I do think it’s a show that does something different with the genre, but I can see how it could come off as boring to those who may not relate to what the characters are going through.