LINE OF DUTY: cop-on-cop action TV procedural that demands analysis

The person who was being interviewed arrested a second person during the interview! How much of a twist do people want?

Also, I really wanted the last update to be "Steve and Kate are still not getting it on, for some reason."

Ha ok I meant with Tim Ifield's death, it was exactly as we had been led to believe. I was sure we'd revisit the "missing footage" from after Roz woke up at the end of the first episode. The "it's a conspiracy" stuff was just a retread of the last season.

Not saying I don't enjoy the show! The plot just gets a bit looser every season imo.

the AC-12 interview room is always where the important stuff happens, the real wtf turns in the plot

it has some of the best queasily confrontational hostile interviewing i think i've ever watched -- where you really aren't sure who you want to root for, when both sides are quite compromised and also quite unpleasant ppl (or have anyway recently behaved unpleasantly)

and this seems to happen in nearly every episode! as if the somewhat ludicrous turns the story often takes are devised purely to engineer these confrontations (i mean, i kind of assume they are)

^^^this definitely holds up

Weeeeee that was fun.

Favourite moment might just have been Hastings on his own in his office giving a little smile & nod at the good work of his team.

I do feel this series was a little bit of a step down from series 2 & 3, but I was still completely hooked right through.

My hunch that didn't pan out was that crushing indie-girl Jodie would turn out to be deep-cover AC working to entrap Huntly, because I couldn't/didn't want to believe she was that much of a 'menace' as mark puts it upthread - I guess she was just that much of a menace!

"Suspect produces evidence during own interview" is a weird old device in this.

"Wee witch" brought all the roffles. And, aye, was hoping for a Steve & Kate update when they went into the lift. Lifts were quite the plot device all through, really. That, and fucking billions of folks whose name started with Her.

Getting a little bit annoyed by all the loose ends at this point, tbh. I wouldn't expect Mercurio to reveal his whole hand just yet, but I hoped we might get a little more. Hilton's demise was particularly frustrating as it's yet another key player in the conspiracy taken out before they can reveal anything. Isn't it like the third time that's happened now?

Hastings turning out to be "H"(as they were blatantly hinting) would be a hell of a twist, but I'm not sure I quite believe it. That would probably be a step too far even for this show.

real-H making a serious attempt at framing Hastings (better than Hilton's attempt whatever his motive was) could be a good basis for a season

That Hargreaves dude is clearly a potential H for next season.

I think my favourite bit might have been the whole tension around Steve trying to talk Jamie down with all the guns pointed at them then it just petering out with Jamie handing over his gun and being led away. After Kate's gun-toting heroics at the same point last season, having the tension ramp up then completely dissipate was a great contrast.

Just noticed my phone autocorrect made "H" into "Her". Has any TV cop show done a thing where autocorrect fucks stuff up and leads to wrongful arrest/conviction? It *must* be a thing.

My phone autocorrected "running late" to "vaginitis" earlier this week.

Exciting finale but too many loose ends. WHO BLEW UP THE TARDIS? Also:

Why did Tim Ifeld put on a balaclava anyway?
Why did Balaclava Man turn up at the police station at the end? Seems... shortsighted.

Also, am I right in assuming that BM was not actually a SEX PEST, but was just collecting bodies for future blackmails?

Why did Tim Ifeld put on a balaclava anyway?

I think the idea was that it would help to distract any investigation into Roz's death, away from him and towards the ongoing BM investigation, while also helping to get the man who was being framed out of prison.

Also, am I right in assuming that BM was not actually a SEX PEST, but was just collecting bodies for future blackmails?
I think so, but they dealt with this so quickly I didn't really follow

Why did Balaclava Man turn up at the police station at the end? Seems... shortsighted
No idea what was going on there.

Why did Balaclava Man turn up at the police station at the end? Seems... shortsighted.

― Chuck_Tatum, Monday, May 1, 2017 1:16 AM (seven hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Dispatched by the mob, presumably on Hilton's behest, to take out Jimmy Lakewell before he blabs. As Arnott said, Jamie would presumably have met the same fate had he got out. Sending one guy against a whole squad of armed police does seem a little silly, especially they've established that the gang uses multiple balaclava mens to do it's work.

I did wonder if Huntley was lying about being the only person responsible for Ifield's death, but then Jamie wasn't interested in removing her at all was he? Lakewell was the object of the extraction, so I guess she was telling the truth about that part?

Series 5 had better explain Maneet's role in the whole thing. And Ted can't be the big bad H because giant plot holes all over the place if he is, plus he's Ted and he just can't be.

If Ted is the big bad, doesn't that mean the interactions between him and Hilton make no sense whatsoever?

It would be like when (redacted) turned out to be Gossip Girl.

1: Hastings is not big H but we will spend a large part of s5 thinking he is
2: The interview when he turns things around will be a humdinger (hoping for 4 separate turnings of tables therein, from all four participants, with the lawyer at one point saying "Can I be a police officer now?" and immediately attempting to arrest the other three… )
3: I assume Maneet was pressured by balaclavamens -- she was weeping last time she left the station (lift action!) which surely means she is a right un
4: Jamie D was not a well integrated character, I feel he should have plucked from that final face-off upwards on a very obvious cel, shouting "To The Extreme", and then the legends at credits time would read "Jamie Desford died on the way back to his home planet"
(5: this allows me to propose my secret theory, that some of the balaclavamens are aliens and that is their actual face)
6: it is a bold and a perverse cop show that leads a series of very nasty sexmurders left unsolved at close: truly it is (as proposed) the anti-prime suspect
7: i like how very few of the villains are not cops
8: pegleg and eyepatch or gtfo
9: ifield not knowing huntley was alive remains a colossal plot hole -- so much so they had to have hastings gloriously lampshade-hang for it: "do you mean to tell me…" -- so, as we yes oddlly did not see the "missing footage" it NOT IMPOSSIBLE there is still a plot twist buried here (aliens)

i love this show enormously: it has never not been silly (and also a very dry, rather dark comedy)

I read this Guardian article about why LoD wouldn't get away with this stuff if it were a series of books rather than a television programme, and I thought it was mainly nitpicking, except for the bit about how everyone seems far more concerned with corruption than the abduction and murder of young women. I know corruption is AC-12's business, but in a book you might've got a broader picture, and those women might be a bit more than a footnote.

Or, as Mark says.

I do like the Mercurio approach of "well, you have to give me another series now, don't you?"

Also, definitely is Birmingham, since Roz hid her evidence in The Chase, which is a bit outside Birmingham

That Guardian article is totally nitpicky nonsense - like there's *never* been a crime novel with loose ends or plot holes or silly/unrealistic police work?!

Good finale mostly - like someone mentioned, it was probably the worst season since the first but remains insanely enjoyable. I felt bad for Thandie Newton - she's been excellent but seemed forced to run through DENTON's entire S3 character arc in the last ten minutes of the finale.

Was pleased by One Shot Ted's moment of action, though.

The rationale for Roz covering up Ifield's death was super weak. You could barely imagine a more textbook claim for self defence. She would also not have been convicted of manslaughter at the end, just perverting the course of justice.

If Ted is the big bad, doesn't that mean the interactions between him and Hilton make no sense whatsoever?

― Chuck_Tatum, Monday, 1 May 2017 09:41 (nine hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The only way to save it would be that Hilton was trying to find out who was blackmailing him and Hastings has a natural talent for fake indignation.

a few things:

1) Ted's half smile of half admiration at Roz not disposing of evidence immediately after the crime because training manual was great/slightly odd.
2) in the interview where Roz came out fists wheeling and shit slinging, i didn't really feel this exposed/played a "good coppering" v "political correctness" line in the show. more another resourceful embattled good-corrupt target doing anything to throw up chaff, each showing their power to construct narratives that change everything in the all important interview room.
3) The opening episodes with the is-she, isn't-she dead stuff almost put me off watching any more (S2 is a clear favourite of mine and even S3 felt like a bit of a step down)
4) Roz was a titan
5) Hilton seemed more creepy, silly and feeble than corrupt. am i right in saying he probably didn't *deliberately* promote Dot and then allow him to go into the van with Tommy in S1 and then let Tommy go bcos terrorism and therefore has only been corrupted since? or is that off?
6) need to watch again but really didn't get "the balaclava men are legion" and why all the sex attacks? all a bit nasty without any sort of indication of motive - just looked like the necessary crime to get the show going.
7) Yes Jamie totally unintegrated. i still can't quite work out whether he was supposed to be in Hilton's pocket from the moment he came in (looked shifty when Steve went to get his back broken) or whether getting given short shrift by AC12 sent him there. If so bloody quick to put his life and career on the line.

also

i'm still fretting about the frozen remains of jackie laverty in the down's syndrome guy's fridge never being found from S1 (or did that get resolved in S1 when i was dozing?)

yes i feel s4 backed off from making anti-PC a cap-T topic and left it at the level of opportunistic weapon in Roz's smart copper's office-infighting arsenal, a weapon increasingly set aside as the waters rose around her

i'm interested how much of the full cross-series arc was even known to mercurio at the end of s1: some, perhaps, but maybe not down to the level of hilton's motivation?

like you, i get the impression: none. rather than the these days frequent and tiresome angling for another on-demand series by leaving threads hanging, I think Mercurio likes the sense of disappointment and an unassailable, almost indefinable controlling figures and structures that his endings convey. also has the advantage of leaving people/producers/commissioners wanting more of course! rather like the final episodes of the each wire series, they were all about the retractions and disappointments that come after seemingly unassailable victory.

good effort sprinkling a load of H surnames around tho.

seems crazy to me that all that 100% incriminationg evidence was bagged up and buried in one giant time capsule with no attempt made to destroy it, especially after going to such lengths to conceal the other bits and pieces

i'm interested how much of the full cross-series arc was even known to mercurio at the end of s1: some, perhaps, but maybe not down to the level of hilton's motivation?

I watched an 8-minute BBC video clip yesterday (think I came across it on twitter) of an interview with Mercurio, Vicky McClure, the Arnott actor (speaking with his real accent) and the police expert who helped out. I'm pretty sure Mercurio said words to the effect that the first series was written as a one-off and it's only since then that he's been trying to get a story arc for beyond one series at a time.

makes sense. i guess you just don't know how it's going to pan out before the first series. 2/3 clearly linked.

...which is why setting Ted up as a potential big bad seems like a risky strategy - if it wasn't part of Mercurio's long game, it will seem like a dreadful cheat.

Or, of course, it could just get handwaved away early next season (no pun intended Thandie) which is probably the best option

i started watching this b/c ~sinkah~ and it took me until superdetective's entrance in the first episode to realize i had already watched it. i thought the elder anticorruption cop, who i was sure i recognized, was just like the zelig of uk police procedurals or whatever!

its ability to be "gritty realistic" and also totally daft at the same time

uh yeah the latter kinda jumps out when they're like 'we need that paperwork' in the first scene and dude is filling out forms on the trunk of his car

Still not read this thread, but I just finished S3 right now and am coming here to say, for want of a better word... wowzers! Utterly over the top and preposterous, but that was some finish. "Urgent exit required".

just finished watching this and i have one important thing i would like to point out....

that i have the right to be questioned by an officer at least one rank superior!!!

lol

On which note, I finally got round to looking up police rankings to try and get a proper handle on all the DS, DI, Superintendent etc business.

I was curious to see that the highest ranking officer we've encountered that I can recall is DCC Dryden in S2, with Hilton's ACC ranking in S4 being one step below that. I always though Ted Hastings was higher up the ranks, and that nasty old Fairbanks was too, but they're both a step or two or more below that level.

I wonder if we'll ever meet the Chief Constable, who is apparently top of the chain if my brief reading is correct?

And whose name almost certainly begins with H, right?

There's a lot of H's about in S4... Hasting, Hilton, Huntley! Also the hard-man murder squad guy Lester Hargreaves from previous series. I'm beginning to think it might be significant...

I don't think we've ever had even a mention of the Chief Constable though, who would be the head of police for the whole area, two steps above Hilton in S4. Just my own curiosity, not based on any suspicions in the show. I have my own of those, but they fall within the confines of characters we have already met.

Finished S4 last night. It has not helped with my questions from previous the series one little bit! There are so many loose threads and overall S4 was rather weak, but I still utterly love this show and I hope Mercurio can pull off S5 & S6 well.

This is not my original observation, but reading comments on a review of the finale, one eagle-eyed viewer spotted something very interesting...

Danny Waldren's hit list from S3, which featured Fairbanks, Tommy Hunter and the two Murphys, also features a couple of names that appear in the line-up of faces we see on the boards in the final scenes at AC-12 in S4, specifically on the board relating to identifying the potential "H"...

To quote.. "One is Paul Haleton (from Danny Waldren's list) ...... who on Sunday was named and pictured as Det Ch Insp Paul Haleton. The other is Supt Susan Hyde-Albert (pictured on the board). On DW's list is Roger Hyde-Albert .... surely a relation with a name like that ....? Two key names for series five?"

Are we completely ruling out H from Steps?

studiously avoiding thread but i just finished E1 and omg they don't play

And we all got one of these! 😀 pic.twitter.com/fNjhDEmDEh

— Vicky McClure (@Vicky_McClure) May 24, 2017

just finished watching this and i have one important thing i would like to point out....

that i have the right to be questioned by an officer at least one rank superior!!!

― tpp, Saturday, 20 May 2017 06:28 (two weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm

maneet says "that's it.. i'm finished". hilton (or whoever hilton was answering to) must have had something on her. blackmail of some kind. either fabricated or not.

speaking of what maneet was up to it's surely extra evil to make it look like it was jamie breaching security when you're then going to turn around and get him to do the dirty work of delivering lakewell up to the executioner! talk about treating people disposably. who's the REAl racist eh?

omg why didn't I watch this series when it was on? Just binged s3 and s4. <3 it so.

s4 though I don't get why they got a balaclava man to attack Arnott when he was about to question Husband Huntley about his knowledge of where Roz Huntley was on the night of Ifield's murder? Ultimately no-one in The Conspiracy would've cared much about that murder other than to keep the spotlight off Roz, and it's not like getting rid of one officer would've stopped that line of enquiry as they all knew about it.

IT SEEMED TO MAKE SENSE AT THE TIME OKAY