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Line Of Duty Series 5

Started by Phil_A, March 05, 2019, 12:02:02 AM

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jobotic

Sweet valley high!

Yeah I don't think hastings is bent. We're meant to think the money is dodgy but maybe it's legit. I like Phil A's theory.

Utter Shit

The problem with the Hastings thing is that it would now feel faintly ridiculous if he ISN'T in on it. I mean the sheer number of coincidences that make it look like he is, it would make him the unluckiest man in the world.

Crabwalk

Another fantastic episode. It's very difficult to sustain high-stakes drama like this across multiple series but Mercurio is pulling a blinder. Even when you see a twist coming it very rarely plays out as you expected, and the denouement there was a perfect example of that. Just speculation below but I'll spoiler it nonetheless.

I suspected Lisa is Hastings' plant before this episode and that's as good as confirmed it. They're now having to go to any lengths to cover their tracks as they're on the verge of discovering H. Hastings gave her the nod to off Corbett in his sign off message. Once he found out Corbett had tortured his wife, any remaining qualms about offing him before he blew this ultra deep operation evaporated.

Hastings is being framed, and I think Jill is involved in that. For me, the most likely bent copper behind all this is Kate, but I haven't put it all together yet.

I think

There is no one H. It's just a code name assumed by whoever happens to be the top corrupt police officer at any given time. At the moment there's a gap that Hastings has stepped into but I still think he's undercover rather than bent. I don't think any of the main cast are going to be shown to be corrupt.  That said, I would fucking love it if they reveal H and it turns out to be Nige.

Phil_A

Aha, I was just about to post almost exactly the same theory. If Corbett's mob has been communicating with Hastings the whole time then possibly they've never had contact with "H". Maybe that's because "H" an individual doesn't actually exist and is in fact a ruse created to make the gang think they are dealing with a corrupt high level officer, when in fact they are being played.

That would also mean that Mercurio could have his cake and eat it by having Hastings be "H" after all, but not actually a bad copper because he was doing his job as part of an investigation. Would also explain why Ted would be so keen to avoid having AC-12 investigate his own doings and blowing the whole operation.

Another possibility is that Derek Hilton was in fact the real "H" but as he's now dead, Hastings has taken over and is posing as "H" in order to infiltrate the OCG.

Rev+

Quote from: Phil_A on April 21, 2019, 10:26:01 PM
I think a clearer picture is emerging. It's looking like McQueen is another undercover officer presumably placed in the OCG to monitor Corbett as he had become a liability.

I've thought from the initial reveal that Corbett was the embedded officer that McQueen was in a Heart of Darkness situation.  The first episode's twist only worked because she was sold to us so heavily as the insider, and revealing that we were right the first time is the kind of thing that's right up this series' alley.

My guess is that Hastings is 'H', but that he's not the 'top man' - he's pretty much been doing the same thing Corbett was up to, but with a longer and wider view of how high shizzle goes.  Corbett was right, but for the wrong reasons.

Edit:  Should actually pay attention to that 'new replies have been posted' thing!  Yeah, I think several of us are all pretty much on the same page, even if the handwriting differs.

And another thing:  I'm expecting Ted's misery room to be raided in the next episode, and the fact that he isn't in possession of a big bag of moody money to be an unexpected kick in the balls for whoever is pulling the strings.

rjd2

H is either chappy who is giving Hastings the cash or the lady he is riding.

John getting his throat cut by Lee was somewhat telegraphed I thought , but still a nice ending nonetheless.

Waking Life

Hilton wasn't a suicide (or heavily hinted not to be), which means there is likely to be someone else involved. Hastings filling some sort of vacuum as a deep undercover crime operation doesn't make sense, as he is primarily interested in corrupt officers. It's basically spelled out (hahaha) now that he's operating the laptop and MacQueen is his insider, so where does this leave all the threads?

He knows H is Jill and looking to catch her with MacQueen. But in that case, what would Jill (or any permutation of the H character if not her) be doing in the meantime in terms of committing actual corruption? Does she not have contact with the gang, given it's the one linked to Dot essentially? And then where does Hargreaves come in from knowing about the raid? (that must goes beyond his apparent sex blackmailing). The Irish angle is likely to be brushed away as coincidence I suspect, as it seems to be a means to plant suspicion that Hastings is the actual villain. It's definitely all murky and I'm not sure how satisfactorily it will be resolved. I doubt it will be in two episodes either so probably another series for the long game story.

One other thing that sticks with me though is what Adrian Dunbar said before it aired. I don't recall the specific wording, but something along the lines that it wouldn't be red herrings anymore.

Waking Life

Just to clarify, all of the above obviously assumes Hastings isn't the grand mastermind, which would cause retrospective issues and is undermined by the very end of the episode (as well as definately).

Rev+

I kind of doubt a grand mastermind would go by the initial of their actual name, but this a deeply silly series.

HRH it is then.

BlodwynPig


dallasman

Fuck. I thought it was trundling along nicely enough but getting a little bored of all the Hastings clues. "I'm leaning towards muffins" was a nice light hearted moment. Then the standoff with Arnott and Corbett threatened to become a little too Hollywood, like the climax of s4 with Kate supercopping through empty streets. I thought they resolved that moment just the right side of silly, but come on: The Big Bad Bent Copper at the top didn't get where he is without immediately learning about such an operation, and the OCG know Arnott by name, even if they couldn't have visual evidence of Corbett meeting up with coppers. Ergo, Arnott only telling Hastings means squat.

Enjoyed the chilling revisit with s1 characters. Thought the freezer bit was a little cheesy, but that kid is such a scary psycho bastard, he injected some real menace as the ep went on.

The last ten minutes - everything from the girls getting off the bus - were some of the best/worst TV minutes in recent memory. Just a medley of gut punches straight into the end titles. I could totally see multiple likely outcomes, and obviously wanted McQueen to make the right choice, but I had no idea what to expect until he kicked in the door. The brief relief mixed in with the brutality really made for a knockout ending. Seemed sort of inevitable, and you could quibble he made that plunge awful quick, but it was fucking tense man, and now I'm fascinated to see what McQueen makes of the new situation. Still more than half a series to go.

BlodwynPig

only 2 more episodes mate.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

The sixth and final episode of this series is a 90 minute special, so we've still got two and a half hours to go!

dallasman

Ah, that's right. Makes more sense, given where the story's at.

Phil_A

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on April 22, 2019, 02:58:35 AM
The sixth and final episode of this series is a 90 minute special, so we've still got two and a half hours to go!

Fantastic, I hope that means we're due an extended interview room scene in the final episode. Come on, Jed.

Fambo Number Mive

There's a theory on Twitter that H isn't a person but a reference to the H-blocks in the Maze

It's interesting how Lisa McQueen was portrayed as someone with some remaining decency in ep1 but by last night's episode is shown to be a vile human being.

How realistic do you think Line of Duty is? I find it all very believable. Perhaps this is a seperate thread.

BlodwynPig

If she was vile she wouldnt have broken down like that at the end. Powerful performance by the actress.

Jerzy Bondov

I'm enjoying this series a lot but there's a distinct lack of two vital elements: long interrogation scenes, and Steve knobbing birds.

Quote from: BlodwynPig on April 22, 2019, 02:56:07 AM
only 2 more episodes mate.

yeah, they've gone for the 'Old Tom Baker 6 parter' approach. Think there will be a significant change in *something* at the start of next week's episode.

rasta-spouse

That was a dark episode with the exploited mentally handicapped chap with the body in the freezer. Do crims do that then? That, the trafficking, and then the closer - dark stuff.

Quote from: rasta-spouse on April 23, 2019, 11:10:21 AM
That was a dark episode with the exploited mentally handicapped chap with the body in the freezer. Do crims do that then? That, the trafficking, and then the closer - dark stuff.

quality cameo by Gina McKee though.

notjosh

Quite like the idea that Kate is H, but is there anything to actually back it up? Steve's ex did give her a bit of a loaded look this week, but besides that the most compelling factor is that she hasn't done anything yet this series.

MidnightShambler

Quote from: notjosh on April 23, 2019, 11:39:25 AM
Quite like the idea that Kate is H, but is there anything to actually back it up? Steve's ex did give her a bit of a loaded look this week, but besides that the most compelling factor is that she hasn't done anything yet this series.

I'm leaning towards it being her (at the moment) for exactly the same reason, she's done fuck all yet. And her having the affair with the dead bent copper's husband has just been forgotten about, that was quite convenient to have got the inside track on the witness protection.

I absolutely didn't see Corbett getting killed coming though. And it was chilling how they did it, the shock when he opened that door and it was the bloke just making noises. Fucking great telly.

Blinder Data

Corbett making the plunge to bring in McQueen did feel it happened a bit too quickly, as that would have blown everything for him. But I guess he was thrown off by the last conversation with "H" and so thought might as well get what he could?

Kate being H feels a bit mad, but I guess it's possible. Personally I don't think any of the core cast will be revealed to be bent.

BTW there were spoilers of of a sort in all the papers yesterday. I didn't read them in detail but it looks like Anna Maxwell-Martin will join the cast next week.

BlodwynPig

Christ, not her. BBC made flesh.

Jerzy Bondov


Blinder Data

Quote from: BlodwynPig on April 24, 2019, 02:00:57 PM
Christ, not her. BBC made flesh.

She's been great in everything I've seen her in. Lighten up, misery guts!

Jerzy Bondov

Literally one of our best actors. Have a word.

BlodwynPig

An awful human being. One of the worst. Clown show.