Episode three fuelled serious doubts for me in regards to the content of this season. Line of Duty has always been a bit mental, there’s no denying it but there are a few points that just seemed far too over-thought this time around. In so many series, we have seen the budget go up and the acting/ storyline jump off a cliff as a result. I am hoping that this was just a blip in the grand scheme of the season.
Poor Terry
Towards the beginning of the episode, Terry is once again dragged in for questioning after a ‘witness’ made claims about an individual meeting the CHIS that matches Terry’s description. The interrogation gets underway and the heat of the room begins to get under his collar – he gets noticeably distressed and starts to unravel more conversation. However, before Terry is able to divulge any real evidence, DCI Davidson cuts off the interview – claiming she has fears for the suspect’s welfare (BENT COPPER ALERT).
It only gets worse…
After the stress of the interview, Terry is set to be whisked off to his agreed accommodation by officer Lisa Patel and of course, no other than Ryan Pilkington. Ryan re-routes their journey, scheming away in the back seat before lunging into the front to attack Patel – ultimately leading to a big swerve into what I can only describe as a big pond. All three passengers of the car float to the safety of the surface but naturally, this wasn’t going to be an easy end. Ryan takes it upon himself to then drown Patel before attempting to do the same to Boyle. *Insert Kate Fleming* On a hunch, she followed the car, arriving at the scene just seconds before Terry was due to meet his fate.
How are you not seeing this?!
So after the big-pond extravaganza (I wonder how much of their budget was spent on that!!!), Ryan Pilkington is of course *a hero*. Ahem, what about his roots?? Kate has now decided that Steve might have been right and perhaps a few bents coppers are loitering around The Hill.
A quick-nip over to AC-12 and voila, Ryan Pilkington lights up like a Christmas tree… how on earth his past was never noticed before is utterly beyond me. OR, was the ties with the OCG known and a bent copper at the top of the chain let him in? DCI Davidson takes her opportunity and spills the beans that it was in fact DS Ian Buckells that fast-tracked Pilkington through the system. Buckells then finishes the episode in handcuffs… interesting!
Episode Four… Goodbye AC-12
Do I still think PCC Rohan Sindhwani is H? Yes, yes I do. Episode four was pretty mental, to say the least. Full of doubts, fury and action… I don’t even know what I think of Davidson anymore!! What I do know is that there are some dodgy doings in central police headquarters, not a single doubt about it. In an ever-growing world of corruption and deception, Ted Hastings remains a good man, an honest man. He is dedicated to the cause and wholeheartedly puts everything into finding ‘bent coppers’.
His speech in HQ, after learning about his enforced retirement and the closing down of AC-12, was everything we needed. It supported our knowledge that Hastings is a rainbow in the midst of rain. The desperation that he poured into his words was so heartfelt – “What happened to us?” The lingering of that phrase made viewers process every event that had happened over the past six seasons and debate over that answer ourselves. It’s clear to see that corruption in the police force has increased, but why?
Does Steve have the answers?
Now, we know that Steve was trapped in the van with Jimmy Lakewell, the solicitor snake of seasons past. After working out that Jimmy was in conversation with Gail Vella, previous to her murder, Steve was desperate to find answers. In the middle of Lakewell’s move from prison, the vehicles find themselves under attack – OCG members, got to be! Arnott bagged himself a pretty suave shot, killing one of the said members at the scene.
Now, to our knowledge, the conference over the Vella story was not shared but surely Steve knows something. I feel sure that Lakewell at least dropped a name in the back of that van, otherwise, why would he have gone out of his way to emphasise “That’s right isn’t it, DI Arnott? I didn’t talk” in the interview room? He had to be checking the loyalty.
Plus, on his return to prison, he was strangled as a warning sign in front of DS Ian Buckells, to let him know what happens to ‘a rat’. For Lakewell’s sake, I really do hope that his death wasn’t in vain and that he at least added a piece to the puzzle before his murder.
If he did indeed drop some deets to Steve, he hasn’t got long to do something about it. The results of his drugs test will be coming any time soon and no doubt, he’ll be finishing up in AC-12 before the months up.
Is Jo Davidson the bad guy?
I’ve had no doubts up to this point that she is part of the guilty party, that was until this episode. Well, I still think that she is guilty in some way but part of the OCG team? meh maybe. It’s a possibility that she has committed some form of crime and she’s just trying to do a cover-up but the genuine fear that she shows in regards to Ryan Pilkington, is definitely real.
In this episode, we see Pilkington barrel a gun into the back of Davidson’s head, demanding that they go inside. Why? Because she tried to get him posted off the team. Perhaps, this is what happened to Buckells even? We also know that this was the very same way that Gail Vella was met before she died.
Related to the big dogs
At the very end of episode four, the results from Farida’s house are back. Of course, DNA samples were found of Jo Davidson but that was always going to happen. However, another DNA match was found – to someone with historic links between the OCG and AC-12, meaning that Jo may be a blood relative of the said person. Obviously, there are a billion rumours now circulating but if I’ve learnt anything from this series, you can’t be too hasty. Don’t put all your money on one bet because the chances are, there’s something you probably missed.