Sorry for the short review, I didn't have much to say. I want to forget the series as quickly as possible.
Is anyone else aside from me feeling disappointed by the series finale? After watching the finale I now feel that I have effectively spent the last 10 weeks re-watching Broadchurch. It would have been alright if the killer was someone unpredictable, and not in any way related to the Millers, but it wasn't. When Joe was arrested, and then confessed I was about to throw a chair at my screen as that would have meant that the killer was identical to Broadchurch’s. Luckily though there was a twist where the killer ended up being Tom Miller. Tom saw Danny and Joe together, and in an act trying to protect his friend he ends up killing him.
It would have been much more satisfying to see somebody not in the Miller’s family turn out to be the killer. Someone like Paul, who has been acting strange for weeks now. The episode also felt really rushed as if they were trying to get a confession about the murder out in open as quickly as possible. It was about 20 minutes into the episode when Joe Miller confessed to it all. In fact the opening 20 minutes were pretty much a carbon copy of Broadchurch. It would have been good as well for some build up to the confession instead of him just admitting it straight away. I am really failing to understand what the point of the series was, we got told after episode 7 that Gracepoint would diverge away from Broadchuch, but it didn't it followed the same path, and only the smallest of things changed.
The only thing I can appreciate that happened in the episode was the reactions of characters after the news quickly reached the town about Joe being the killer. Most notably Ellie, her reaction was pure class; she was in complete shock and in denial. It was as if she had been punched in the face. She was completely in the dark about Joe and his secret meets with Danny as well. Just when things were already bad enough for Ellie, Beth goes to talk to her and just throws her words back at her "How could you not know". It was quite ironic how she gave Susan such a hard time about not knowing what was going on under her roof, when she didn't either.
Elsewhere, Paul finally got his moment to shine, when he got the chance to finally give Danny a memorial service. It surprisingly wasn't held just inside the church, it was held on a beach like a bonfire as well. I am partly gutted my prediction about Paul was wrong, I was convinced it was him, and I think most of the audience wouldn't have minded if it was him compared to who it actually was. We also got to see Ellie visit Joe in prison where she told him they needed to protect their son. I don't know what is worse her son killing someone or her husband having sexual feelings toward a young boy.
The ending of Gracepoint focused on Carver replaying an old interview with Tom and Joe, when he asked "Did Mark ever hit Danny" Tom then would look toward Joe. I think that was the moment he realized it was Tom who killed Danny not Joe. He was ringing Miller. It is a shame we didn't get to see the confrontation between them two, it would have been explosive.
Summary
I was utterly disappointed by the finale, sure they kept their word and changed the killer, but I at least expected it to be outside the Miller family. The first half of the episode leading up to the confession was fairly rushed, which meant in the last half we were watching just the aftermath of the killer being revealed which if I am honest made me lose interest. The series as a whole felt like a waste of time, especially since nothing much changed from the original when we got told after episode 7 it would be a whole different show.
As always thank you for reading! Let me know in the comments what you thought of the episode!
I stopped watching after episode 4 and planned to return to it when it finished, but I since abandoned that idea. Glad to see that my original suspicion after the first episode was correct.
ReplyDeleteI remember you saying it would be Tom. I should have stopped watching the series a long time go, I was hoping though to see something different in the last 3 episodes.
ReplyDeleteI still don't see the point to this. As I understand it, the first 7 episodes were virtually identical to Broadchurch, and I didn't expect the following three to break the streak. Completely pointless by FOX, and it didn't even get them ratings. And then they plan a Luther remake. FOX have no idea what they're doing.
ReplyDeleteSo, in the end, what was the point of this show?
ReplyDeleteWhy did they waste time and money making this when they could have made a new original show? For god's sake, the original was in the same language! I understand if they remake a show that's in another language (like Jane the Virgin) but this?
This was pointless.
There was an interview I had read about the show that said after episode 7 the last 3 will be completely different to what happened on Broadchurch. So I was expecting to see three brand new episodes, that were nothing like Broadcurch.
ReplyDeleteFOX are clearly running out of ideas, I hear that The X Factor could be returning to their lineup sometime next year. Soon the network won't have many shows left, especially since all their new shows are flops (so far). The only one they have coming up that could be a hit is Wayward Pines, but I think that is a limited show.
Completely agree with you, it was so pointless. Broadchurch had already aired on BBC America so there wasn't a need to create Gracepoint unless it would truly be different, which it wasn't.
ReplyDeleteAnd Wayward Pines is premiering in what I'd call 'Finale Week' - May 14. So they're making it a summer show. To call FOX's logic questionable would be a serious understatement.
ReplyDeleteI stopped after the third episode, Robert.
ReplyDelete:-) The son instead of the husband, am I right?
That scheduling move shows Fox has overwhelming confidence that Wayward Pines sucks. They may be running out the clock on everything Kevin Riley put in motion. Heaven knows the Fall shows tanked horribly.
ReplyDeleteNote: Wayward Pines looked interesting in the trailers and I plan to give it a go, but this move does not say "we have a hit on our hands".
I had suspicions after episode 3 and knew that the ending was going to be the same as the original. Glad I deleted this off my DVR 2 months ago. #Gracepoint = #ByeFelicia
ReplyDeleteThe only reason I watched this show was because FOX provided the screeners for the first 7 episodes way in advance, early August I think, and since all my regular shows were on hiatus, I thought I'd give it a try.
ReplyDeleteI never watched Broadchurch, and after watching the first 4 or so episodes of Gracepoint, I went to Broadchurch's wikipedia page and after reading the episode summaries, I realized that Gracepoint was virtually a carbon copy of the original. Apart from the Tom being missing storyline, and the ending, everything else was the same. And talking about Tom being missing storyline, that has been left unexplained. Since Tom knew what happened, why did he go to the woods? Obviously, it was not to look for the backpacker.
Like you, I too was hoping that someone other than the Miller family would turn out to be the killer, and my guess would have been Paul, too.
Yep, he accidentally hit him in the head with paddle.
ReplyDeleteWell, it technically wasn't the same ending.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteSince the disaster Fox made of Firefly, I join you in saying Fox has no idea what they are doing. lol
ReplyDeletedon't get me started on Firefly. lol
ReplyDeleteMaybe it will do alright in may, well I hope it does. It is the only upcoming FOX show that looks decent.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't the exact same ending, it was the same family that were involved in the death.
ReplyDeleteYep it was, he was trying to protect Danny and accidentally killed him with an paddle.
ReplyDeleteThat is the same reason I decided to watch Gracepoint, and after I had seen the first seven I thought I may as well finish it off. I was hoping for the series to change a lot from the original given that Broadchurch had already aired on BBC America.
ReplyDeleteIn an episode they said that he went there to find the backpacker so he could help with Danny's case, but now he has been revealed as the killer that doesn't make much sense.
Having the killer turn out to be Tom was pretty much the same as it being Joe so really the finale was the same as Broadchurch's. The only difference was that we saw Joe in prison.
It was definitely Ellie who Carver was ringing as Ellie looked at her phone and it had Detective Carver on the screen and she chose to ignore it, which means she has probably given up on Gracepoint and is dedicating herself to protecting her son. It was brutal though as Ellie's world literally fell apart in the last 20 minutes after Carver told her the news, and then found out her son is the actual killer.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't exactly disappointed as I never watched Broadchurch so this was all new for me and I like murder mysteries and if it had of been its own incarnation rather than a remake, it probably wouldn't have been so disappointing to a lot of people. I have to commend the acting and Anna Gunn was phenomenal again. I don't think I wasted my time watching the show as I still got some entertainment from it but I was just disappointed with how Danny died. I mean, he ran TOWARDS Tom who was swinging that boat thing, got hit in the head with it and then hit his head off a rock and died? I was hoping for something more exciting. When Danny started to run towards the cabin where Tom was and Tom picked that thing up, I really thought he was going to maliciously hurt Danny so he wouldn't destroy his family by telling people what happened with his dad, but I was pleasantly surprised he tried to defend his friend. But still, I would have preferred a different outcome to Danny's death.
Also, if they had of just left Danny's body next to the rock, it could have looked like he accidentally fell and hit his head rather than the whole runaround and then the investigation wouldn't have been so intense. I feel frustrated more than disappointment, but I still enjoyed it somewhat. Plus, I just love Anna Gunn so I'm glad I watched it for her.
Thank god i dropped out after watching the carbon copy/copy paste job in this one's pilot!Good riddance!
ReplyDeleteA complete waste of time. The series didn't really change anything in comparison to Broadchurch, it followed the same path, and the 'twist' with Tom being the killer was obvious. Half of Tumblr called it, I'm disappointed they didn't go with someone else, not related to the Millers. Paul. Heck, Chloe would have been better.
ReplyDeleteI thought Tom's disappearance was just Tom running away because he couldn't cope with Danny's death and the case being constantly talked about. When they found him, he lied.
ReplyDeleteAnyone would have been better, I feel completely let down by the show. I knew it wouldn't be hugely different, but they could of least changed the killer from someone who isn't in anyway related to the Miller's.
ReplyDeleteI only watched it, as I saw the first seven episodes 2 months before it premiered. If I would have watched it weekly I would have dropped it.
ReplyDeleteSuspicions were that Fox was full of garbage about this being a different take on the original show. Complete waste of time and an arrogant two fingers to the audience who did manage to persevere. Fox can't really be surprised this has ended up being a critical and ratings disaster. Nobody has come out of this well although Anna Gunn redeemed an otherwise lousy performance throughout the rest of the series with some great aggression in the finale. All of the other actors either struggled with the clichéd script (Kevin Rankin as the agonised priest did a particularly fine line in ham as did Jacquie Weaver as the weird bag lady), were poorly directed (Michael Pena and Virginia Kull were left floundering in a number of scenes) or were never present in the first place (David Tennant looked completely disengaged throughout - hope his paycheck made it worthwhile for him to bother being there). The plot was even more riddled with holes than Broadchurch and it looks as though towards the end they were just making it up so they could rush to get the thing over.
ReplyDeleteYep it was, I just changed it. When I watched it I was half asleep and to be honest was glad when it finished.
ReplyDeleteAnna Gunn has been great in the series, her and Tennant are only two things good about the show. Although Tennant was much better on Broadchurch. For everyone who hasn't watched Broadchurch then the show wouldn't have been a waste of time, but as I have seen it this just felt the exact same when they were meant to change it around after episode 7. So it was overall disappointing.
I didn't like the way Danny died, and more importantly who killed him. It was nice to see Tom stand up for him, but then to have him accidentally kill him was utter rubbish. They should have had it be someone completely different than the Miller's which could have made his death sequence a lot better, and more exciting. A lot of people who saw Broadchurch thought the killer would be Joe, so it isn't that big of a leap to Tom.
It did seem really rushed didn't it. How Tom was conveniently there the night Danny died, and there just happened to be an oar to use as a murder weapon. It was lazy writing. To have Joe Miller still involved in the death of Danny didn't change anything only that Tom delivered the final blow.
ReplyDeleteI hear they are remaking Luther (another good UK series) that should be fun.
Haha, sorry but I can't but laugh, I knew this was gonna be trash from the get-go, kept wishing I was wrong but that's a big fat NO. Tennant & Gunn deserved something but better than this. What a joke.
ReplyDeleteWhat a disappointment. Especially because not only is David Tennant rehashing his Broadchurch character in this, but Josh Hamilton and Anna Gunn are just rehashing their AHS: Coven (another season of a show that just needs to be forgotten by everyone) and Breaking Bad roles, and neither works.
ReplyDeleteAnd the 'different' ending was just pathetic. The Killing did it so much better, like, they actually MADE it different.
This was like The Bridge, but waay worse.
I was particularly disappointed that the actors didn't even *try* to put a new spin on this. They basically just trotted out previous bits and pieces from past performances or aped their Broadchurch counterparts. I guess Tennant did his slightly differently, although it was the same big-eyed grumpy scruffy shtick he did for Broadchurch but with an accent (as pathetic an attempt as it was). This was pretty much paycheck acting by the leads and I think the bigger names in the cast should be ashamed that they didn't try to at least make this watchable.
ReplyDeleteI'm so infuriated by how disappointing this was. The last minute was the most exciting part of the show. Talk about wasted potential: They should have made Joe confess mid-season and have Carver try to uncover the actual truth with Ellie protecting her son without acting suspicious.
ReplyDeleteThat would have been a good idea, but I doubt they would have done that. I am beyond frustrated with the show, they said they would change it from Broadchurch after episode 7, and aside from Tom going missing everything was the same. Also the killer being Tom was really lame writing, they couldn't even think beyond the miller family and make it someone completely different like Paul. Just feels now like a complete waste of time watching the show.
ReplyDeleteNot having watched Broadchurch, I liked this series. I agree this episode was rushed, as if they knew it would be cancelled long before it was announced. I'm glad it wasn't Paul or anyone else. I predicted some kind of rejected love interest but failed to predict which characters. I thought maybe Danny put the moves on Tom who over reacted. That wouldn't explain how the body was found or the missing boat or a slew of other things. When I first heard the words, "How could you not know?", I doubled down on my prediction that it would be within Ellie's family somehow. They did not develop Joe's character enough to zero in on him. I'm also troubled by Ellie's reaction. Yes, she wanted to protect her son but the long term effect on him will be doubly traumatic. Not only must he live with the guilt of killing his friend, he must continue to live knowing he is keeping his father in prison for a crime he did not commit and to protect his mother from prosecution. Imagine the anger that and self-hate that would evolve! Ellie knows Carver knows, too, so we won't see how that plays out. I predict he could talk sense into her and work with prosecutors to consider it an accident. Even if she ran with her boys and started over somewhere else, I can't see her leading a new murder investigation had the series continued. I cannot see Carver even wanting to stay in Grace Point much less leading another murder investigation there, assuming his heart surgery goes well. I wish Ellie had gone to Susan to apologize or make amends and give Susan a chance to shine as the easy-to-despise old wench throwing it back at her. We also don't get to see how Susan reacts to losing her son yet again... this time by her own making.
ReplyDeleteBoy, the fallout would be amazing to watch. Hopefully I'll find Broadchurch on Netflix eventually and follow it. Having lived in small towns most of my life, I like the characters and their webs of secrecy. It is very realistic though sounds like a soap opera when summarized aloud.
BTW, Robert, I enjoy reading your thoughts and summaries. As a former English teacher, I wish some of my students had been as talented. Keep writing! I'm sure I'll check out other shows you watch.
Thank you very much for your comment, so sorry I didn't see it (it's been 2 months).
ReplyDelete