At the beginning of the 7th episode, we see Mark’s boat floating along the water. Beth Latimer (Jodie Whittaker) is awoken in the middle of the night by a phone call. Seconds later, she tells Chloe (Charlotte Beaumont) to get some clothes on. In the morning, Alec (David Tennant) tells Ellie (Olivia Colman) about Daisy wanting to leave the city. Ellie gives Alec advice. She tells him to tear up the ticket and stop Daisy from leaving. Seconds later, Ellie reveals that Beth called her about the other victim. However, the woman isn’t yet ready to speak with the police. The woman did reveal she was attacked after her vehicle broke down. Ellie also explains that the woman called for a breakdown service, which never turned up. Their attention quickly shifts to Jim Atwood (Mark Bazeley).

Ellie admits she isn’t so sure about Ed’s (Lenny Henry) guilt. Beth and Chloe find Mark at the hospital. He implies he was with Dan. Mark admits there is nothing now. Chloe reminds him that they’re still there. Ellie visits Jim’s shop and asks for customer records. Back at the station, Alec speaks with Ed. He is given an explanation how Ed got his pants muddy. During the conversation, Ed is asked about Laura Benson. He admits to driving near Abbots Chapel, but denies knowing Laura. Then, Ed is asked about a date from 2 years prior. Ed insists he doesn’t know, since he spends most of the time at work. Again, Ed exclaims that he would never hurt Trish. After the interrogation ends, Alec and Ellie are told they’ll have to let Ed go, due to a lack of evidence.

Alec gets a call from Daisy (Hannah Rae). He releases Ed on bail and rushes towards Daisy’s location. Meanwhile, Maggie Radcliffe (Carolyn Pickles) speaks with her boss, Caroline (Mariah Gale). Maggie complains about the way her articles are laid out. She is told that the layout is getting a great response. Alec stops the car and speaks with three of the local boys. He threatens them and tells the boys not to speak about his daughter again. He returns to the car and tears up Daisy’s ticket. Alec and Ellie pays a visit to Cath (Sarah Parish) and Jim. Back at the hospital, Beth speaks with Mark alone. They speak about Mark’s visit with Joe. He admits he just wanted to hear Joe confess to the crime. He confirms Joe told him everything about Dan’s death. Then, Beth tries to convince Mark that there are people that can help him.

Meanwhile, Trish (Julie Hesmondhalgh) speaks with Leah (Hannah Millward). Leah tries to convince her mother to go for a walk, but she refuses. Jim is returned to the station. He is asked about the dates of the older rapes. Eventually, Jim recalls Laura Benson (Kelly Gough). Alec and Ellie step outside. They admit Jim looked rattled by their questions. At this time, Alec tells Ellie about Daisy and her ticket. Seconds later, Ian (Charlie Higson) enters the station and tells the detectives about his wife’s computer. He admits to installing spyware on it. However, he refuses to tell them who helped. He is given until later that night to give them a name. Maggie speaks with Beth and learns about Mark’s suicide attempt. Beth pleads with Maggie to keep it out of the paper. She promises to do so.

Meanwhile, Alec goes mad waiting for evidence. They confirm nothing else of interest was returned from Trish’s laptop. Meanwhile, Cath begins scouring through Jim’s belongings. She finds a receipt and the condoms in his vehicle. She calls Trish and confirms she was raped with a condom. With that, Cath takes the evidence to the detectives. Beth speaks with Paul Coates (Arthur Darvill) and complains about Mark being selfish. This time, Paul doesn’t try to convince Beth to work things out with Mark. He insists he has given up on that, since it hasn’t worked in the past. Maggie gets into an argument with Caroline over the Mark story. Maggie refuses to publish it and threatens Caroline, if he does. She also quits the company. Back at home, Trish apologizes to her daughter. Beth returns home and finds Mark on the couch.

Beth admits she is fine with Mark staying. The detectives turn their attention to Jim. Cath finds calendars, which confirms she was out of time at the time of the rapes. Jim is interviewed again. He insists he was going to use the condoms on one of the waiters at Axehampton. Jim is adamant that Alec would’ve done the same thing in his position. Katie (Georgina Campbell) visits her father. She finds him getting drunk. Katie blames her father for causing her to lose her job. She pleads with her father to stop hiding stuff from her. Clive (Sebastian Armesto) returns home and finds Lindsay (Becky Brunning) watching dirty videos on his computer. She asks him what he is up to. He responds by asking if she really wants to know. Seconds later, Ian visits Trish and tells her about the spyware. He admits he blew everything in the past.

Leah interrupts and forces Trish to go for a walk. Trish finds out that Leah put together a rally for her. All of the townsfolk come together to support her. At this time, Cath and Trish apologize to one another. Later, Alec and Ellie speak with the waiter. She admits to sleeping with Jim. Ian calls Alec and confirms that Leo Humphries (Chris Mason) is responsible for the spyware. Leo is taken to the station and questioned. He admits he felt loyal to Ian, since he helped him through a rough time when he was young. He also confirms he was at the party for a brief period. The detectives admit they cannot charge him. Ed finds a bag of twine with blood on it. Kate arrives and inspects it. At the end of the episode, Lindsay breaks into Clive’s vault and finds his stash of women’s belongings. Clive arrives at that very moment.

 

Broadchurch Review

More lies were uncovered in the 7th episode of Broadchurch’s 3rd series. The condoms were finally found in Jim’s car. Nevertheless, he was able to explain it all away. We learned the truth about Ian and Trish’s computer. While Ian was up to no good, his intentions were far less sinister than initially believed. Our prime suspect after the 7th episode is Clive Lucas. Now that Lindsay has discovered his stash, how will Clive react? If he is the killer, he will not be able to let her live.

Did Ed discover the bloody twine or did he intentionally place it there? And finally, why hasn’t someone asked Trish and Laura about the rapist’s race? Wouldn’t that rule out Ed right away? Despite a few hiccups, the episode was still good. A 7.5 out of 10 is deserved. Catch up with previous episode recaps of Broadchurch now.