Line of Duty.

[CALDERON]

I appreciate the fact that the ending was probably quite "real".  But Line of Duty spent 6 series being anything but.  Its not why people watch it.

[Genuine Hibs Fan]

Another for the "don't mind the idea, didn't like the execution there." Far too rushed and weirdly wasted time in that episode. What do we gain from the Furbank interview or Kate going to OH that was more important than the faked production order etc. Felt like it was an odd mixture of closing it off and leaving stuff open for a potential follow up at the end as well, confused and confusing mess. 

[Sergeant Wilson]

17 minutes ago, Genuine Hibs Fan said:

Another for the "don't mind the idea, didn't like the execution there." Far too rushed and weirdly wasted time in that episode. What do we gain from the Furbank interview or Kate going to OH that was more important than the faked production order etc. Felt like it was an odd mixture of closing it off and leaving stuff open for a potential follow up at the end as well, confused and confusing mess. 

I thought Kate being seen by OH was expected in the stressful job she has, but it also tied up with showing the support available to Steve, therefore keeping him at work.

Fairbanks had been used as a threat to Jo years before but had become irrelevant.

Edited May 3, 2021 by Sergeant Wilson

[Busta Nut]

35 minutes ago, Mr. Alli said:

Vicky McClure looked amazing in that episode last night. What a woman.

She is great, This is England (film and mini series) is one of the greatest things ever IMO and she is amazing in all of that.

[well fan for life]

I have no qualms with the idea. If they were to leave it open ended showing that corruption is so engrained in the police that it's an impossible task to shut down then that's fine. After 5 seasons of The Wire and trying to shut down the drug dealing they show that it's a societal issue that can't just be solved by simply arresting a few folk. And that was fine and a satisfying ending. 

They had probably painted themselves into a corner for whoever H/The 4th Man was going to turn out to be. After 3 series to build up to it there was a lot of pressure. Last night's episode had so much to cover and wasted a lot of time. Fairbanks getting interviewed was a total waste of time. He doesn't know whether it's New Year or New York so it was pointless. I genuinely thought after Buckells interview we should have about another 45 minutes to go but that was that. 

And the hilariously shite CGI lift as the final scene . Just fucking show them walking out the front door ffs. 

[Jim McLean's Ghost]

3 hours ago, andrew21 said:

Didn't Hastings  say at one point that Buckles was the "fourth man " and that H was a mistake.

They have been saying that for the past 2 seasons.

H was Hylton. He committed suicide in the exact same way as some other OCG connected death.

The whole fourth man is some of the flimsiest writing ever conceived. The whole concept of a fourth man is a weird interpretation of Matthew Cotton's dying declaration. H in morse code is 4 dots, dot is his nickname, therefore 4 officers like him. No other corrobarating evidence to go along with that. In fact they have evidence to the contrary that Cotton knew f**k all about the upper workings of police involvement with the OCG when Tommy Hunter called him out as the bottom rung of the ladder in his video before he was bumped off.

Remember all these OCG incidents got connected by Balaclava Man/Men in Steve's fever dream. And it was concluded only criminal gangs that work together wear balaclavas like a uniform.

 

[Guest bernardblack]

Chloe must be raging she didn’t get the invite for the boozer btw 

[PB1994]

1 hour ago, bernardblack said:

Chloe must be raging she didn’t get the invite for the boozer btw 

Institutionalised racism in AC-12 IMO.

They can have a new series with Chloe going rogue as she wasn’t offered the chance to go for a drink.

[Jaggy Snake]

Like a lot of others, I didn't hate last nights episode but felt it could have been executed far, far better.

One thing that bugged me was their whole take on Jo not being bent. When left to her own devices she may have worked cases properly, but throughout her entire career she seems to have done the bidding of the OCG any time she was called upon. I get that they were trying to convince her to turn and rat on other people, but the idea that a police officer regularly aiding criminal activities isn't bent (even if it's because of blackmail rather than greed) is utter nonsense.

If it returns I'd hope it's as something closer to series 1. Although there were OCG links in it, they were only initially investigating Tony Gates for cherry picking cases and adding bogus charges that wouldn't stick to boost his stats. He then helped Jackie Laverty stage her car being stolen when he only thought she'd hit a dog and panicked. He quickly ended up in over his head but was never bent in the sense of those in later series. Anti-corruption investigating officers who've only bent/broken minor rules then been forced to do more to cover up their original misdeed could make for more realistic, but still interesting, storylines than mass conspiracy stuff.

Edited May 3, 2021 by Jaggy Snake

[Mark Connolly]

7 hours ago, djchapsticks said:

I'll turn to a positive from last night.

The only satisfying part of the entire ending was Terry finally getting what he deserved. He was manipulated and coerced by the OCG since series 1 and was easily the most wronged person on the entire show. It was a good conclusion to have him end up somewhere he wasn't being controlled anymore. 

Yeah that was a really nice scene.

I've thought more about the episode today, and can't help feeling Mercurio couldn't be arsed with the last couple of episodes, a very similar feeling to how he ended Bloodlands.

[Carl Cort's Hamstring]

 

[Arch Stanton]

6 hours ago, bernardblack said:

How do I apply for witness protection? The size of Jo’s new gaff 

I would settle for just the foxy redhead.

[kiddy]

57 minutes ago, Carl Cort's Hamstring said:

 

[scottsdad]

Like a lot of folk I thought this was caught in between what it could have been. Clearly another end of season shoot-out would have been pointless. They've had loads this series alone. 

They could have gone all Empire Strikes Back and really left the AC-12 team as utter losers in it all. They almost did this but left the door open. 

But they did answer the main questions. As has been said before, the myth of H, a senior policeman in charge of it all, was put to bed. H was Hilton but really he was a stooge of the OCG like the rest. The 4th Man was a messenger. 

Still, it was a good 6 weeks of fun.

[Busta Nut]

1 hour ago, Jaggy Snake said:

One thing that bugged me was their whole take on Jo not being bent. When left to her own devices she may have worked cases properly, but throughout her entire career she seems to have done the bidding of the OCG any time she was called upon. I get that they were trying to convince her to turn and rat on other people, but the idea that a police officer regularly aiding criminal activities isn't bent (even if it's because of blackmail rather than greed) is utter nonsense.

Yer right. This was pretty annoying

[FairWeatherFan]

After Kate's fake signature did Lomax ever pop up again?

[DeeTillEhDeh]

[emoji848]
Perhaps a hint there is more to come? 
Ted retired and Carmichael in charge?

That's what it looked like they were setting up last night.

[DukDukGoose]

18 minutes ago, FairWeatherFan said:

After Kate's fake signature did Lomax ever pop up again?

Yeah. He was watching Darren Hunter being taken in after his arrest.

[54_and_counting]

7 hours ago, well fan for life said:

I have no qualms with the idea. If they were to leave it open ended showing that corruption is so engrained in the police that it's an impossible task to shut down then that's fine. After 5 seasons of The Wire and trying to shut down the drug dealing they show that it's a societal issue that can't just be solved by simply arresting a few folk. And that was fine and a satisfying ending. 

They had probably painted themselves into a corner for whoever H/The 4th Man was going to turn out to be. After 3 series to build up to it there was a lot of pressure. Last night's episode had so much to cover and wasted a lot of time. Fairbanks getting interviewed was a total waste of time. He doesn't know whether it's New Year or New York so it was pointless. I genuinely thought after Buckells interview we should have about another 45 minutes to go but that was that. 

And the hilariously shite CGI lift as the final scene . Just fucking show them walking out the front door ffs. 

If they wanted to leave it ambiguous they could have taken down osbourne, clear evidence of him being corrupt and helping the ocg, then the final scenes tell of his murder in jail awaiting trial, leaves you wondering if the gangs still have pull etc if someone else is top dog, 

Last night we are expected to believe that buckells was the messenger, so how did they get the power over him etc 

[Guest bernardblack]

Watched it again and it’s actually a cracker of an episode if you’re not expecting something outrageously wild to happen.