Warning: This post may contain spoilers about Broadchurch Series Two
The journey to the south coast to continue our look at what happened in the aftermath of Joe Miller's arrest for the murder of Danny Latimer has not been a comfortable ride so far. It has seemed for much of the series that the producers of ITV Drama's Jewel in the Crown had been suffering from 'second album syndrome' that has dogged many great bands. Are those that stuck with it though going to be rewarded with an edge-of-your-seat finish? It is only what we deserve after all.
The first series of Broadchurch was a revelation and it was no surprise that it scooped up the awards but the twists and turns that it brought were quickly undone in the first episode of the second venture. The way it quickly unravelled what happened previously, it left us viewers wondering if we'd suffered a Bobby Ewing shower lapse in Dallas and dreamt up the first series.
All of a sudden nothing was what it seemed and after watching Joe Miller murder Danny, we are now told that there seems to be enough doubt in the conviction that there could be a chance that he may walk free after all. If only they had called one of the few million viewers to the dock, we could have cleared up any confusion about what we saw.
It seems though that DI Hardy has a history of cutting corners and making fundamental errors as the conviction of Joe Miller looks like it will be going the same way as the disaster he left behind with the Sandbrook case, which prefaced his arrival in Dorset.
After such anticipation and the on location filming pics that emerged over the months, there was much speculation about where the series was going to take us. The problem was that no-one expected it to become 'Boredchurch' and almost predictable in what we were watching. The viewers turned off in droves and, as is the want of the public and commentators, the show had gone from being a celebrated drama to the worst piece of television in the matter of a couple of episodes.
Of course the downfall hadn't been that dramatic and though it seems that only the devoted have stayed with it, there could well be a sweet reward at the end as momentum is starting to build and whodunit is starting to win the battle over courtroom drama.
With a couple of instalments to go it seems that the Sandbrook case that had so bothered Hardy and has since been looked at by his sidekick Ellie Miller is going to be the showstopper.
With the chances of Joe Miller getting off the charges levelled at him diminishing by the minute, it seems that more attention can be given to the murders that happened in Sandbrook and the fact that Claire, who was being protected from her husband after testifying against him, might be a lot less innocent as first portrayed.
After a few twists in the story to convict the murderer of Danny Latimer had left the viewers a little dumbfounded, it looks like the turns that the Sandbrook case is about to take could justify sticking with it.
Let's hope that landing Claire as the murderer of the two girls is not the road we are going down as that was an assumption we could have all made on the first reveal of her staying in a remote cottage under the protection of Hardy.
It is a shame that Broadchurch hasn't been as immediate this time around, especially when the viewers have a lot less patience to stick with something that seems to be meandering around country lanes instead of driving straight to the action. The hope is now that we are at the top of the hill, we can strap ourselves in for a rollicking rollercoaster ride to the end that will leave us out of breath and wanting to go again.