It is the best in the business – Bent Cops, major tension and continuously unravelling storylines. We’ve been anticipating the arrival of this series for what feels like a lifetime. Who is H? How many more bent coppers are they going to unravel? Is Steve going to finally get his happy ending?
*SPOILER ALERT*
After nearly two years, the super-cop trio arrived back on our screens last week. The marketing campaign for the latest season was heavy – to say the least. Adverts, QR codes and icons were chilling in the top-right part of the screen when you were trying to watch Masterchef. It’s fair to say that it has been heavily anticipated by a huge volume of viewers.
Time-Jump
The long-awaited arrival over the past couple of years was not only reflected in our time. Season six has seen a shift in the show’s timeline. Standard procedure for the show meant that we were straight into some action, no messing! An investigation had begun into the murder of a Gael Vella, a well-known Journalist by all accounts. However, the accountability of the police officers dealing with the case was immediately questioned and had you doubting which officers were to be trusted. Our concerns were confirmed as the episode continued – a police raid on a suspect was postponed due to a questionable ‘armed-robbery. The details of the case were passed on and a member of the unit sought advice from no other than our favourite AC-12 member, Steve Arnott.
Goodbye Kate
The timeline is not the only thing that has changed in season six. AC-12 is down a member as Kate Fleming handed in her anti-corruption glad rags and left for ‘The Hill’. The Hill of course is at the centre of Arnott’s new investigation – coincidence? I think not. It hasn’t been formally revealed as to why Kate left AC-12 yet but judging by Hastings’ reactions… something tells me it wasn’t so cut and dry.
The dodgy doings
In the episode, The Hill, otherwise known as the murder squad, is tipped off by a CHIS (Covert Human Intelligence Source) about a suspect that had allegedly admitted to killing Vella. Four vehicles with heavily-armed officers are sent to the address of the said-suspect, to lead a police raid. As the team are heading to the address, DCI Davidson re-routes, sensing that an armed-robbery was in place at a road they had just passed. Her suspicions were correct and the officers catch the offenders in action – with one being shot dead at the scene. The movement certainly raised a few eyebrows though as none of the offenders had a history with the police – How could she have guessed their motives from seeing a van whilst travelling at high speed? Why was it on the same route towards the raid? Couldn’t another unit have attended the scene?
Terry is back
Despite wasting time before the big raid, they appeared to have timed it perfectly – arresting the suspect at the scene. However, the suspect is revealed as Terry Boyle, a man with down syndrome. Remember that name? Terry was previously exploited by H’s gang in Season five. This is the first reflection of the previous season, suggesting that we might finally get the answers that we are so desperately searching for.
Questions are rising
Line of Duty is the perfect series for making you doubt every decision that you make. Your opinion changes every episode and by the end, you honestly don’t know who is good or bad… the trust issues are real. I am hugely worried for Steve in this season – he’s back on the painkillers and honestly, it’s not looking good for him – I pray that throughout the season, he delves deep into the investigation and in time, helps himself.
I don’t know who’s the baddie
Of course, suspicions are high for DCI Davidson but the producers have been clever in setting up a line of questionable characters. Farida Jatri, the Murder-squad member that first made the call to Steve is later revealed as an ex-lover of Davidson. This leaves food-for-thought as it questions her reliability as she might have her own personal agenda for the DCI. Another strange character is her boss, DS Buckells. The relationship between the pair is secretive and encourages viewers to forge suspicions. It is also down to the dodgy paperwork from the DS that leads to ‘Terry’s flat being un-watched for over three hours – ample time for a quick swap to throw in the innocent party ey?
Overall, the episode was tense, intriguing, and left a lot of questions with areas being largely left untouched from the previous seasons. Definitely a strong start to the season – I am very excited to watch the storyline unravel.
Episode Two
I felt that last night’s episode didn’t live up to the drama that I was expecting but it did definitely tie up some loose ends. The approach to this season is much more laid back in comparison to what we have seen in the past… I really hope that they’ve not gone OTT on the marketing without paying attention to the storyline. P.s. what on earth was the acting in that final scene?! Clawing at your car windows is a weird way to express upset.
What’s the deal with Davidson?
Ignoring the toddler tantrum at the end, this episode was largely focused on the conspiracies surrounding the DCI; she’s cocky, secretive and unlikeable. Someone who does seem to be enjoying her company is Kate Fleming, the ex AC-12 superstar. The pair seem to rapidly be growing closer but is there a motive behind it? If Davidson is who we think she is, does she and the OCG want Fleming working on their side?
Snaky Kate
She’s trying to majorly separate herself from her AC-12 days and her present Murder-squad days. In a bid to win over her new team, she gives Davidson a tip-off on an investigation that she was meant to be supporting. The smirks of Davidson combined with the backstabbing of Fleming resulted in a quick call from Steve “I trusted you mate.” I’m very interested to see the next steps for Kate, not only does Steve not trust her anymore but a deep-set seed of doubt has been placed in all viewers too.
Ted… Steph… Steve
Towards the beginning of the episode, we saw Steph arrive at AC-12 to meet Ted. All that we hear her say is “You promised you’d call me back, it’s HMRC” before Ted sweeps her out of the building. Is this about the substantial amount of money that she was given at the end of season five? It’s all very fishy and when Steve visits Steph later in the episode, suspicions only grow. It seems that she may have found herself some company since Corbett died but the who?!
OCG member – Hidden in plain sight
Ryan Pilkington – the young recruit for the OCG team, murderer of John Corbett and torturer of Steve Arnott… now Murder squad team member? In season five, we saw Ryan training to join the police force and it appears that he has been fast-tracked up to the big stuff. The first meeting between Kate and Ryan left her feeling confused, ushering him to ask if they’d met before – Yeah, she’d tried to scare him as a kid with threats of juvenile custody occurrences. When Steve makes his way into their office, he is notably turned towards the window, making his best efforts to avoid being seen. What we do know is that there are a few dodgy doings on that murder squad with a high probability of someone higher pulling the strings of them all.
Who is H?
Everyone has their own opinions and conspiracies about who’s the big dog holding all the power. My view is that it’s someone high, very high. PCC Rohan Sindwhani was the announcer that Gail Vella spoke over in one of her controversial interviews and we knew she was planning a podcast to unravel more. I’m placing a bet on Rohan as he is a high commanding officer and fits the brief for me.