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.

In the season1 finale of Broadchurch in what was one of Olivia Coleman’s finest performance of Ellie Miller is when she first learned that her husband killed Danny Latimer and went to see him. The anger and betrayal on her face was evident and went ahead and beat the crap out of Joe to let the anger out. Unfortunately that act came back to bite Ellie in a very bad way.

I am going to try and break down the action into different parts like the Sandbrook case, what the defence is up to and what the prosecution is up to and the trial.

Prosecution

Everyone it seems in Broadchurch as been called in as a witness in the Joe Miller case from Ellie to Beth. Jocelyn talks to Hardy and Ellie at her home. Jocelyn talks about building a wall of evidence that the defence will try and tear down brick by brick. Jocelyn shows Ellie a file that shows Joe’s injuries. Jocelyn tells Ellie that this is bad and how Hardy just stood there and watched Ellie beat her husband is bad too. Joceyln says it is very possible that Joe’s confession could get thrown out of evidence.

Later Beth calls Jocelyn over to meet with everyone that has been called in as witness. This includes Ollie, Maggie, Nige, Chloe and Lucy. Jocelyn tells Beth that she shouldn’t be be here and it isn’t a good idea. But Beth and Mark, who have no experience in this, just want to know what to expect. Joceyln briefly tells the assembled group what to expect and quickly leaves.

And Mark is still hanging out with Tom in Susan Wright’s cabin. It seems that Mark is doing this because if the roles were reversed, he would want somebody to be there for Danny. Mark also confesses to Tom about his failings as a father.

Defence

We see Abby and Sharon at the house on top of the cliff, the location of Danny’s murder, doing some investigating. Later on the streets of Broadchurch, Abby wonders if Sharon is going to get the confession thrown out but she is non-committal. The two woman are staying at Becca Fisher’s hotel and the two women are internally not happy with their accommodations as their is a lack of hot water and WiFi.

While Abby is working in the hotel’s ballroom, Becca wonders if Sharon could quiet down a bit as other guests are complaining about the noise. It seems that Sharon is having a loud conversation with a loved one that isn’t going well. When Becca leaves, we see Abby uncover some notes about Becca, in particular her affair with Mark.

Meanwhile, Paul is still visiting with Joe in prison. Joe wants Paul to get a photo of Fred and Tom for him but Paul doesn’t think it is a good idea.

When Paul leaves, he gets a call from Beth who wants to talk to him. Paul says sure but doesn’t tell Beth the truth where he really is.

The Trial

Before the trial, Jocelyn and Sharon meet with the judge (who is a biking enthusiast) about the trial.

As the trial is set to begin, Sharon gives Joe some advice as to how to behave in court.

The first witness up is Beth. Jocelyn asks Beth about the night of Danny’s murder and what happened. Beth dutifully recounts what happened but when it becomes the defence’s turn, it quickly becomes all about the Latimer marriage. Beth is outraged but is forced to admit that Mark cheated on her with Becca and that her husband hit Dnny once.

Next is Hardy. Hardy is asked about Joe’s confession and how Ellie beat the crap out of him. Hardy tries his best to make sure the confession stays in but alas Sharon gets her way and the confession is thrown out. The Latimers’ are not very happy at that turn of events.

Sandbrook

Claire gets a call from an unknown number; she doesn’t answer it but when she listens to the voicemall, it is Lee. Claire calls Hardy wondering how Lee got her number. Hardy assures Claire that she is safe. When Hardy gets off the phone with Claire, waiting in the distance is Lee asking Hardy to see Claire and vows to follow him to find her.

In the last episode Hardy’s home was broken into and Ellie is there to supervise the investigating. It is her old friend, Brian Young (Peter de Jersey), who is dusting for fingerprints. If you recall, I believe Brian asked Ellie out last season so Ellie decides to ask him out this season. Flattered, Brian turns Ellie down as he is seeing someone. While Brian continues to do his job, Ellie notices the Sandbrook file and starts looking at it. Hardy finds her snooping and snaps at her. Ellie yells back that she is now involved in this case.

Hardy shares with Ellie how he wants to set up a meeting with Claire and Lee. Ellie thinks this is a bad idea but Hardy assures her that this is the best thing to get to the bottom of the Sandbrook case.

When the two present the idea to Claire, she refuses as she is afraid what will happen if she sees Lee again. Ellie decides to speak to Claire alone to convince her. Over fish and chips the two ladies talks about how they met their respective husbands. Eventually, Ellie does manage to convince Claire to meet with Lee.

The meeting will take place in a neutral territory: Ellie’s house. Ellie doesn’t think it is a good idea but Hardy needs a place that they are both familiar with. Ellie does return home ahead of time and we see piles of mail and evidence of what was once a happy home.

Before the meeting can take place, Hardy bugs Ellie’s home. When Ellie goes to fetch Claire, Nige sees her leave the home and assumes that she has returned. Nige then goes to Beth to say that Ellie has returned home. We know that this will be bad news.

Hardy brings Lee over and takes his coat and pats him down and takes his Swiss army knife.

Claire arrives and meets with Lee while Ellie is by the front door and Hardy in the kitchen. Lee tells Claire how much he misses her and thought that he would never see her again. Lee makes sure that Claire doesn’t have a wire on her and the scene turns oddly sexual.

Outside, Ellie is confronted by Beth who is mighty pissed that her actions led to Joe’s confession being thrown out. Beth even accuses Ellie of deliberately beating her husband so he could get off. Lee and Claire hear all of this as those Hardy. It seems this argument lets Lee and Claire disappear and Hardy is mighty pissed that this happened.

Also, the argument with Ellie has caused Beth’s water to break.