20 Amazing TV Plot Twists You Wish You Could Relive
13. Broadchurch - Joe Did It
The excellent first season of Broadchurch was driven by a tantalizing mystery: who killed 11-year-old Danny Latimer? It was a mystery that perplexed DI Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and DS Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman), and it drove the viewing public mad. Every single character was a suspect, and hardly anyone anywhere knew who the perpetrator was. Only a few members of the cast and crew were informed, so virtually everyone was in the dark.
Eventually, the real culprit was revealed, and it was possibly the darkest reveal they could've gone for. It was none other than Joe Miller (Matthew Gravelle), Ellie's own husband. The seemingly likable husband and father was actually a budding paedophile who'd been trying to groom Danny; he'd killed Danny during an argument.
This was pretty much the best twist writer Chris Chibnall could've chosen. It was a harrowing blow that destroyed the life and optimistic worldview of the kind-hearted Ellie Miller and her sons, and it also tied beautifully into the season's key theme of the town's residents hiding secrets. Ellie had been shocked by all that she'd discovered about the townsfolk and also how other characters had been unaware of things going on within their own homes, only to discover that the worst secret of all was right in front of her.