Ditto with fast forwarding through the end as my heart nearly broke; almost made me want another baby, as the footage of her and the baby together was just so wonderful. I wept regularly.....
I think the writer was a barrister in a former life and so wanted to show the judicial procedure, warts and all, from start to finish. He was slated for being over the top for the previous series, but said that there are cops/solicitors/judges etc that are bent, just as there are ones that are brilliant. This may explain why the abuse and trial were not fleshed out or a bit holey - the situation of Joe's death, why she wouldn't talk etc were a sideline to showing what happens at each stage of the criminal procedure.
And the acting was amazing from every single member of that cast....BAFTA's all round.