Action packed, thrilling and utterly captivating. Line of Duty encapsulates the essence of a perfect detective drama.
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10
The series everyone has been talking about finally came a close this Sunday night, with Roz Huntley (Thandie Newton) finally exposed as Tim Ifields (Jason Watkins) murderer, ‘Balaclava Man’ revealed to be linked to corruption storylines from past series’, and even hints that Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) could be the head of this corrupt organisation! Following 45 minutes of breathless interrogation, the last quarter of the episode uncovered these revelations aplomb.
The most tantalising part of the episode comes as the audience starts to suspect beloved Hastings as the mastermind behind the operation, known as ‘H’. These suspicions started when ACC Hilton (Paul Higgins) was found dead, under suspicion of suicide. Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) pointed out that the scene looked nearly identical to the place/scene where a witness to another crime had been found dead. Here the scene was made to look like a suicide yet the witness was murdered. Hastings should have flagged this up and investigated this yet he wrote it off as a suicide. Kate looked confused by this brush off, and in the last shot of the series, Kate and Steve (Martin Compston) are walking out of the AC-12 building and watching them from afar is Hastings. This build up, along with Dot Cotton saying the ring leaders name began with a H, leads me to believe that Hastings is involved. This would be a big shock twist for the next series to revolve around.
Focusing on this series though, I have to applaud Thandie Newton. Her performance as DCI Huntley is consistently of a high standard; at one moment she is twisted and creepy, and then in another the audience feel sympathy for her character. Roz captivates most scenes with a raise of an eyebrow or the clench of a jaw. Newton stole the entire season and it’s gutting that her character is likely retired ahead of next series. Or could they do what they did with Lindsay Denton (Keeley Hawes) and bring her back for more?
With Line of Duty commissioned for more series to come, viewers are left wondering where this complex web of a story is going next. Will the focus be upon Hastings? Or will they get another A-list celebrity to play bent copper? And with two years until it’ll be on-screen, it’ll be a long wait…
Line of Duty‘s fourth series is available to watch via the BBC iPlayer.
