When I First Started Watching Broadchurch, I Couldnt Help Rolling My Eyes At Alec Hardy, With His Cold

When I first started watching Broadchurch, I couldn’t help rolling my eyes at Alec Hardy, with his cold demeanour and his “broody bullshit schtick” as Ellie puts it. A handsome, brooding detective with a troubled past. Well that’s something I’ve seen a hundred times before.

But Chibnall’s writing cleverly undermines that trope in a hundred ways. Hardy is different. Under his apparent rough exterior, he is so emotional and so emotionally invested in the cases he works. We see him break down and cry a lot. He’s mentally and physically ill. The scene on the beach where he finds Danny’s body shows him trying to control a panic attack. He is physically weak and prone to collapse. The narrative confronts his illnesses head on and shows how hard he struggles with his health. It doesn’t shy away from his anxiety or his panic attacks, nor the realities of his arrhythmia.

His isolation comes from him being hurt and self-protective and socially awkward, but as he accepts Ellie he proves himself an empathetic and devoted friend. At the end of the season, all of Ellie’s friends desert her - all except Hardy. He is there for her, providing all the support he can. For all his trust issues and his maxims about how you can’t trust anyone, he trusts this woman more than anything.

He’s extremely protective of children and it’s clear he would die to protect them or get justice for the murdered children he’s investigating. He would do anything for his daughter. He loves her so much he ruined his own life and his health for her. Even though it hurts him to be apart from her, he waits for her to be ready to accept him back in her life, and doesn’t force his way in.

Despite being played by David Tennant, Hardy is an undesirable character. He’s not some macho fantasy that goes around seducing women and having one night stands left and right. He’s rejected by every woman he approaches, and what he really craves is not sex but a meaningful relationship with someone he loves. He’d be happier with a hug from a loved one than sex with a stranger.

His tragic backstory isn’t a simple case of dead wife or dead daughter either - he’s a cuckolded husband who handled the situation by taking the blame and protecting the wife that cheated on him. He’s the wronged party struggling to overcome all the health issues that cropped up as a result - but the best part is, the narrative never excuses his behaviour just because he’s been hurt. Ellie Miller always calls him out on his bullshit. She supports him and loves him, but when he acts like a jackass, regardless of the underlying cause, she damn well lets him know it’s not okay. And that’s so important. Too often a tragic backstory is used to excuse bad behaviour. With Alec, it explains his behaviour, but never condones it.

In S2, and this is where things get good, our hero confronts the failure that has haunted him. But there’s never any macho bullshit about how he has to do it alone, or that he has to be the one who solves it. His priority is justice for Pippa and Lisa. All through S1 he admonished Ellie Miller for letting her emotions get the better of her. He told her she had to be objective, and that she had to look at things from the outside. And Hardy is man enough to take his own advice. He accepts his own failures and says, “hey, I’m way too emotionally invested with Sandbrook and too close to these suspects to think straight. I need help.”

Where most dudes insist on doing things alone, Hardy is actually asking for help constantly. The problem is, no-one answers his requests. He asks Tess to reopen the case and to give him some officers. She says no. She reminds him that he never made any friends, which is why he’s alone and in exile. The only person who answers his requests for help is Ellie Miller. He tells her in clear terms - “I sort of need your help.” “I can’t do it on my own.” “Help me.”

How often does that happen? How often does a man look at a woman and say, without any hint that he finds it emasculating, “I can’t do this alone, I need your help”? The thought of it being emasculating doesn’t even register. It’s not even within his ability to think like that and the narrative never even touches those sexist assumptions. It’s just a matter of - I trust her, and she’s the best person for the job. Nothing else.

Throughout the season he asks for her help and she agrees. Always, always, he asks. And she helps him because she wants to. He recognises his shortcomings and he’s completely comfortable saying, “talk to Miller” instead of interviewing someone himself. He steps down and gives her the reins. He acknowledges her abilities and once they’ve solved it he thanks her and says, “I couldn’t have done this without you.” Very sincerely, he lets her know he couldn’t have done it without her. He gives her the credit, doesn’t make it a secret, lets everyone know, “I need Miller.”

Alec Hardy is mentally and physically ill. He’s emotional and he cries a lot. He recognises his flaws and shortcomings and is willing to admit them. On a professional and an emotional level, he looks at this one woman and says, “I need you.” He is never mocked for this or viewed as less of a man. The narrative rewards him for talking about his feelings and never condones his rude or inappropriate behaviour. He’s kind and devoted and loving, especially towards his daughter. He’s respectful of people’s boundaries, he craves physical intimacy, and he’s always willing to offer what emotional support he can. He’s allowed to cry and make mistakes and rely on the help and friendship of a woman without it calling his masculinity into question.

It’s the greatest debunking of the “handsome, brooding dude with a troubled past” I have ever seen and I can’t thank Chibnall enough for Alec Hardy, and resident bamf Ellie Miller, too.

my beautiful schizophrenic wife

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It would be funny if Lauren/The Destructess had crush on Kevin

REALLLLLL

always didnt really like the lack of undertone diversity in omniverse's skin colors, esp for white people. like theres pink and then kevin is... purple ig? anyway ben looks like a naked mole rat (to me) even though hes constantly in the sun and originally had a much warmer skin tone. heres an edit i did to demonstrate my point, i think making him a little warmer and healthier makes his colors look a little more cohesive, plus it adds personality

love that even with the metacrisis suppressed and everything, Donna (and Rose) were still getting the Doctor's memories in their dreams. like they both referenced stuff that happened weeellllllll after he mind wiped Donna. there was always still that subconscious connection there. and I'm wondering. if it worked in reverse. like we know the Doctor puts off sleeping for as long as possible so do you think they ever passed out for the first time in a month only to be bombarded with images of Nerys causing a fucking SCENE at Donna's baby shower. I'm imagining like, 12 accidentally mind melding with Rose one night and waking up in a cold sweat like 'I have to cut bangs right now or else I'll kill myself' and River just barely managed to talk him out of it. 14 now remembers every single little spat Donna and Shaun have ever gotten in and he has Opinions. oh my God, what if fish fingers and custard was just a crazy pregnancy craving.