We need to talk about what just happened in Broadchurch

If you're anything like us, you probably watched the closing moments of tonight's Broadchurch through the gaps between your fingers. It was an emotional episode from start to finish, with Mark Latimer journeying to Liverpool's docks in a desperate bid to seek some answers from Joe Miller – the man responsible for the death of his son, Danny.

The confrontation climaxed with a movingly hollow conversation between the former friends as they raked over details of that fateful night in Broadchurch. Joe told Mark: "I'm only here because I'm not brave enough to kill myself. I should have done that a long time ago."

Meanwhile, Mark toyed with a penknife he'd brought along for the trip and Joe asked him if he planned to use it. "I can't live with what you've done to us but I'm not strong enough to make you pay, it's pathetic," he sighed. "What do I do now?"

It was an ominous exchange and left us with a feeling of dread as the action moved back to Broadchurch and we saw Beth Latimer reveal to her daughter Chloe that she wanted a divorce from Mark.

But she never got the chance to tell him. Mark called the Latimer household later that evening to tell Chloe he loved her and was sorry – at which point our dread ramped up a gear – and hung up the phone with tears in his eyes, before looking out to sea from a clifftop in a pose hauntingly reminiscent of Danny's in series one.

We feared the worst as the camera zoomed in on an old picture of the Latimer family before Mark was pictured in a boat, with an apparition of his son beside him (played by series one actor Oskar McNamara who also popped up earlier in the episode).

But as we panned out, we saw Mark sitting alone before climbing into the sea and allowing himself to drift away in an apparent bid to end his life.

It was an incredibly moving moment as violins played that familiar Broadchurch score and Mark closed his eyes.

Is it the last we'll see of Danny's dad? Andrew Buchan's character has played a major part in the series since the first episode but, while Beth and Chloe have both made efforts to move on with their lives, Mark has found himself unable to overcome his grief.

Chris Chibnall's series is known for pulling the rug from under its viewers – what you see is often not what you get – but the emotional episode seemed to spell an end for the plumber. And according to programme information, episode seven sees "the Latimers count the cost". We'll have to wait a whole week to find out exactly what it means...