The following recap contains spoilers for season 2 of Broadchurch that won’t air in the United States on BBC America until March 4, 2015. If you don’t want to know what happens then stop reading now. If you do, then please read on.

It did take me a while to get into the first season of Broadchurch but I soon got hooked on the mystery and the superb acting from the entire cast. When I saw it, the show had already aired and I accidentally got spoiled on who the killer was but what I wasn’t prepared for was the emotionally impact it would have, especially to Ellie Miller (Olivia Coleman).

I also watched Fox’s remake called Gracepoint and was so disappointed that it was pretty much a shot for shot, plot line for plot line remake of its source material. The showrunners promised a different killer and when we got to the final episode, I was pissed to see it was the same killer but when the episode further progressed, I realized there was a twist, which I actually liked and the fact that we had the US version of Ellie Miller (Anna Gunn) become complicit in the murder.

Back to Broadchurch. I was surprised to find out it was going to have a second season as I thought it was fine as a one and done as that seemed what the show was designed to be. But a second season we have.

It seems that it won’t be the team of Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and Miller solving another mystery at Broadchurch but the aftermath of [SPOILER] Joe Miller (Matthew Gravelle) being found the killer of Danny Latimer and Hardy’s previous case at Sandbrook has followed him to Broadchurch.

So Hardy hasn’t left Broadchurch and is now living at a bungalow by the water. Ellie has become a traffic cop issuing speeding tickets in Devon. Ellie’s son, Tom, doesn’t want to live with her anymore but is in the care of Miller’s sister Lucy (Tanya Franks) and nephew, reporter Ollie (Jonathan Bailey) Beth (Jodie Whittaker) is about to give birth again and is going to have a water birth but it seems that Mark (Andrew Buchan) is often MIA for family dinners and such. Also, we find out that Paul Coates (Arthur Darvill) is now dating Becca Fisher (Simone McAullay).

Coates has also been visiting with Joe in prison and just before his court hearing, prays with him about forgiveness and redemption.

Everyone believes this court hearing will bring everyone closure. Joe is told by his lawyer Abby Thompson (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) that once he inputs his plea, he will taken back into custody until sentencing. However, when it comes time for Joe to enter his plea, everyone is shocked, his lawyer included, that he says not guilty. Abby wants to know what he is playing at and Joe tells her that he can’t go to prison.

This throws everyone into a loop, especially Ellie who goes into the courthouse bathroom to have a good cry. Hardy goes to comfort her but of course Ellie finds this a bit awkward but she does open up to say that she hoped that this would be closure for her and the Latimers.

Now that the case is going to trial, Maggie (Carolyn Pickles) knows the right lawyer for the Latimers. Maggie visits Jocelyn Knight (Charlotte Rampling), a semi-retired but a lawyer with an excellent reputation. Despite Maggie’s pleas to help the Latimers, Jocelyn refuses. Even when Mark and Beth ambush Jocelyn during a walk along the beach, she still refuses to take their case. It should be noted the camera made a point at showing Mark pull his hand out of Beth as they approached Jocelyn. I am pretty sure this season will explore their marriage deteriorating despite the new baby on its way.

Abby returns to her office in London and convinces her boss Sharon Bishop (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) take defend Joe. When the two ladies go and visit Joe, Sharon instructs him to no longer talk as he has done enough talking already. Sharon asks Joe questions about his arrest like was Hardy alone when he was interviewed and how was he picked up.

Seeing that Sharon has taken the case convinces Jocelyn to take the Latimers case. Jocelyn tries to get Sharon to drop Joe has a client and we find out that Jocelyn was once Sharon’s boss so we will get a showdown between these two formidable ladies.

Jocelyn visits the Latimers to say that Sharon has started to play dirty in the case. And we learn that Sharon has ordered another autopsy to be done on Danny’s body so his body is exhumed. Hardy is called in and Ellie is there too. The Latimers arrive, understandably upset. Beth unleashes her anger at Ellie and puts some blame on her for everything that is happening. Ellie of course is upset too. We learn in the episode that Ellie has been seeing a therapist to help her cope with everything.

We also find out what is going with Mark. Apparently, Mark has been hanging out with Tom in Susan Wright’s old trailer just playing video games, almost echoing the relationship that Joe had with Danny. I am wondering if Mark is doing this as revenge/punishment to the Miller family.

I mentioned earlier that Hardy’s Sandbrook case, the one involved one dead 12-year old girl and a missing 19-year old girl has come back to haunt him in Broadchurch in the form of Claire (Eve Myles). Claire has been calling and texting Hardy throughout the episode. Claire was the woman who gave the alibi of the main suspect in the Sandbrook case but later recanted. It seems the man, Lee Ashworth (James D’arcy, looking more menacing here than as Jarvis in Marvel’s Agent Carter) had been stalking Claire. So to keep her safe, Hardy hid her in Broadchurch, in fact it was because of Claire he took the Broadchurch case, a fact that Ellie is still pissed about. It seems that Ashworth has found Claire and Hardy worries for her safety to asks Ellie’s help in protecting her, which she reluctantly does.

As the episode ends at the gravesite while the police exhume Danny’s body, overlooking is Ashworth.

It will be interesting season 2 as it is more of a small-town drama instead of a murder mystery. Will see how everything plays out and see if everyone can finally get the closure people need.