I Was Rewatching Random Moments Of Broadchurch Season 2 The Other Day And Started Wondering What Ellie

I was rewatching random moments of Broadchurch season 2 the other day and started wondering what Ellie Miller actually thinks of Hardy`s ex wife. I couldn´t figure it out, whether she just doesn´t know her enough to judge if she likes her or not or what she thinks. This might be random but I thought I´d ask the one who knows this show much better than I do. What do you think? What does Ellie think about her?

It’s an interesting question. Honestly, I’m not sure if even Ellie knows what to think of her. I’m guessing she must know about how the pendant got lost and what Tess did to Hardy, but she also seems very open-minded, and she’s not willing to demonise Tess or judge her for it.

Ellie and Tess are compared and contrasted a great deal, and just like Joe and Alec, they are depicted as opposites. The women look similar, they are both Hardy’s DSes, they’re both mothers - but they make opposing choices. E.g. Ellie is invited to have an affair at work - she refuses. Tess, on the other hand, committed adultery. The two of them are rivals for Hardy in a way, but Chibnall’s writing is clever and nuanced enough to avoid the whole cliche of women fighting over some dude.

But back to the central question - what does Ellie think of Tess? Remember this is Ellie Miller. Staunch, take-no-shit feminist. Our very first scene showed her greeting all her friends and handing out presents to them right before she chewed out her boss for sexist bullshit. She’s a woman-loving social butterfly and she gets on well with everyone she meets. And if she doesn’t get on with someone, she makes it her mission to smother them with kindness. With this in mind, what I find striking is that Ellie is quite awkward around Tess. She’s friendly enough, but most of the time she’s with Tess and Alec she’s silent and caught between the two, often in a physical sense.

The first time she meets Tess, Hardy acts like a colossal jackass. He doesn’t tell Ellie that Tess is his ex-wife, he’s bitter and aggressive and insulting. Granted, Tess doesn’t behave all that appropriately either, but Ellie is reproving of his behaviour, and the impression is that she’s neutral in this particular marital war. Yes, Hardy is her friend, and yes he was the wronged party in a lot of ways, but his behaviour is inappropriate and she won’t enable it or tell him it’s okay. She whacks him and tells him off. She treats Tess just like she’d treat anyone else.

Tess acts as an obstacle to getting the case reopened, and several times Ellie sighs or rolls her eyes when Tess refuses again to reopen. But she also respects Tess’ capabilities as a detective. For all that happened with the Sandbrook case, Tess is good at her job. She’s competent and efficient, and once she’s put her mind to something she can do it easily. Ellie might not agree with everything she did in her personal life, or even all her professional choices, but she respects her capabilities.

What’s interesting is how quickly Tess can put her off guard. One of my favourite scenes is when Hardy wakes up after his pacemaker and Ellie’s there. They start bickering (because that’s their thing) and Tess comes in.

This shot is so well-composed, I love it. Look at the placement of the hands; it looks like they’re touching, and Ellie is gripping the bed so tight it’s like she’s holding his hand by proxy. Then Tess comes in:

They look up and Ellie’s reaction is almost one of guilt. It’s like she’s been caught. She does this weird shuffle and looks between the two of them, then quickly takes her hand away.

It’s not jealousy Ellie’s expressing - it’s more like embarrassment that she’s been caught with Hardy like this - by his ex-wife no less. There’s also an odd possessiveness. I wish I could gif this scene because Olivia Colman’s acting is so subtle and awkward, and you feel like Ellie herself isn’t sure how she feels. Someone encroaching on her bickering with Hardy? What is this? And does she trust anyone else to look after this idiot besides herself? Not that she cares about him, haha.

Later on, when Tess answers Alec’s phone on his behalf, Ellie gets a tiny bit flustered: “Oh! Oh, I was expecting him to answer.”

In a deleted scene, Hardy is begging Tess to reopen the case. Ellie is silent, and looks like a kid whose parents are fighting. Then Hardy slips up. He says to Tess “Please, love.” Tess immediately scoffs and looks to Ellie. “Did he just call me love?”

Ellie does not rise to the teasing. As Hardy swears and groans over his slip-up, Ellie tries to lighten the mood by saying, “I called the teacher “mum” once. Still can’t think about it without wincing.”

It goes over about as well as you’d expect. It’s fascinating to see social butterfly Ellie Miller flounder like this. She genuinely doesn’t know what to do in this situation, but we know her sympathies are with Hardy. Tess invites her to join her in laughing at him; she abstains and makes a joke about herself. Then Hardy demands to know why Tess doesn’t want this case reopened; she says she does, but she’s still got a career to protect. Hardy’s speechless. Tess leaves, and Ellie makes a face and mouths ‘ouch’ to Hardy as they get into the car together. It’s just a little nod of sympathy that shows, hey, that was out of line, I disapprove, and I’m on your side.

Ellie’s a woman who’s determined to see the best in everyone. I think she likes Tess and respects her in the professional sense, but she’s disgruntled by certain aspects of her personality and on a personal level it nettles her to see Hardy and Tess close, and she exhibits a certain reluctance to leave them alone. She’s quietly protective of Hardy, more so as the season goes on, and I think in S3 the differences between Ellie and Tess’ values will drive a wedge further between them. At the moment, Ellie isn’t quite sure how to feel about Tess - she’s conflicted on that point, but many of the things Tess does and says and how she treats Hardy don’t sit well with her.

As for how Tess feels about Ellie - well, she definitely resents the closeness between Hardy and Ellie. Regardless of her feelings for Hardy, I think Tess enjoys being loved by him. She’s ambitious and has a certain superiority complex. It’s natural for her to want to be the best detective or the most beloved of Hardy. Ellie represents a threat to that, and even if she doesn’t openly dislike her, she too is quietly unsettled. When she first meets her, there is a sense she believes Ellie is Hardy’s girlfriend, and this sets up that uneasy undercurrent.

The two most telling scenes are when Alec arrests Claire. Tess smugly informs him everything’s set up and she’s on top of the investigation. She says she’ll interview Claire with him. Automatically, Hardy says, “No. I need Miller.”

“Course you do,” she mutters with barely concealed resentment.

Then Tess pulls some evidence Ellie asked her to find. Ellie’s impressed by how quickly she did it. Tess looks Hardy in the eye and says, “I’m really good.” Hardy, however, ignores Tess, looks at the evidence and yells to Ellie, “Outstanding. Out-bloody-standing!” This makes Ellie grin like a dope.

Stay salty, Tess.

Tess’ reaction makes me wonder how Hardy used to treat her when she was his DS. Was he always complimenting her? Is that why she seems so sure of herself? Is Tess watching Hardy shower the exact compliments on Miller that he used to bestow on her? Divorced or not, it must sting.

In all, I think the women do respect each other, and they treat each other civilly. There’s never any hint of close friendship, however, and there is an underlying tension or an awkwardness to the way they act that will probably get worse in S3, though I don’t think Chibnall will ever make it so they’re doing anything as dull as fighting over Hardy. However, Ellie’s growing protectiveness of Hardy may certainly lead her to view Tess less and less favourably, because Tess has and continues to treat Hardy unfairly, and if he won’t stand up for himself and accept he’s not the guilty one, Ellie might have to force his hand.