There was no telling where Broadchurch series 2 would be taking us after the large amount of closure by the end of series 1. With that in mind, we were relieved when tonight’s premiere delivered huge surprises and a promising start.

When series 1 ended in April 2013, we had no idea what would happen next. Would the show take on a new whodunit in Broadchurch? Would they take on a whodunit in another small town? These ideas sounded repetitive and predictable.

Broadchurch series 2, we now know, will focus on Joe’s court case after he surprised everyone (including his own lawyer) by revealing that he will plead not guilty in the case of Danny’s death. It gives us straight away 5 reasons to love this new season.

Meanwhile, it looks like Hardy has a new enemy in town: Lee, the person Hardy thinks was the murderer in the last case he took on prior to moving to Broadchurch. We learned during tonight’s series 2 premiere that Hardy moved to Broadchurch so he could hide Claire, the wife of Lee. He wasn’t convicted during the last case — involving the disappearance of two girls — because his wife had given him a strong alibi. Now he’s out to threaten Hardy — for reasons that aren’t clear yet (other than the obvious: Now Hardy has something to do this series!). At the end of the episode Hardy asked Ellie to stay with Claire so the two can bond over having murderers for husbands… or something like that.

The show continued to deliver emotional, surprising, and heart-wrenching moments. One of the biggest occurred in the first act: Joe’s entrance in the court room left Ellie and Danny’s family in tears. To make matters worse, the murderer decided to plead not guilty — surprising even his lawyer. At the end of the episode, another emotional surprise: Joe’s lawyer has ordered Danny’s grave be dug up so they can re-examine the body. Danny’s family watched in horror as this happened.

Everyone will be doing anything but moving on during Broadchurch series 2.

Speaking of lawyers, another interesting aspect of the case ahead will be the two women representing both sides of the trial. Sharon Bishop will be the defense while Jocelyn Knight will handle the prosecution. The two women used to work together but are about to go head-to-head in the court room.

Other highlights during the series 2 premiere: Beth, Danny’s mother, is pregnant with a new child, but insists he/she “won’t replace Danny.” Speaking of the lead family, Mark is still up to sketchy stuff: He’s been hiding out with Ellie and Joe’s son so he can have some sort of weird father-son time. It’s only weird because Mark is ignoring Beth’s repeated calls and missing dinner so he can play video games. Is there something way more inappropriate going on between them?

Broadchurch series 2 airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on BBC America. Unlike Fox’s clone of the show titled Gracepoint, Broadchurch is really good, and series 2 looks just as exciting.