TV Review: Line Of Duty, Series 3.2 (BBC2)

If there was a graph to register the jaw dropping moments in tonight’s episode then it would have recorded four extremely high, off the scale readings. It is notable that the severed head in a coolbox didn’t even even come close to episode two’s sensational peaks. Where do we start?

It has to be with the death of Danny Waldron in the opening minutes. Or ‘peak one’ as it’s otherwise known. Not only is it wonderful that this wasn’t another of those fake, quickly resolved cliffhangers but the sheer bravado of killing off the person everyone thought was the new lead this early on is beyond stunning. The way it was handled adds to the gravitas. There was no soaring music, just a view of DC Arnott’s face from the ambulance as the bleeping stopped and a voice says “Life extinct. 08.34”. It was so softly done yet had an impact capable of breaking twitter. Was Danny a bluff by Jed Mercurio? To some extent maybe but the bigger picture of his story might already be etched back in series one.

Just when it seemed to be going all Broadchurch 2 with two separate stories ( a current case and a trial) the cat is let out of the bag and suddenly a volte face towards the camera finds steely Keeley is back in the house. Or in this case prison cell.  That’s right, Lindsay Denton is back (‘peak two!) to mess with our collective consciousness again. It is frankly extraordinary that with all the hype that surrounds shows nowadays they kept the whole thing such a closely guarded secret, serving as a reminder in this spoiler obsessed world that the element of surprise must never be taken for granted. It turns out we are at her retrial and Arnott’s methods are in question, as is every bloody thing in this show.  To be critical, the court case literally came out of nowhere and its introduction felt clunky but the shock factor in the Denton reveal made it worth it. She’s soon playing the jury just as she did us two years ago, Hawes revelling in her all consuming shiftiness. Welcome back Lindsay – you wonderfully problematic creature you.

Peak three is the apparent suicide of Rod after his late night meeting with Hari. Could the family man really be on a murder spree? His world is unravelling as he seems to be paying for the “one mistake” he made. We don’t know what that mistake is yet? Or do we? Don’t worry if you’re not keeping up, there’s a lot to take in and the things we are supposed to take in usually serve as a red herring. Some lines that seem throaway are essential with regard to the plot. A facial expression is also worth its weight in gold. Take Dot’s wry smile as he’s told the Ronan Murphy file is a dead end. It’s wry for reasons we don’t know yet. Feck it. We don’t know anything. There’s plenty to ponder on Cottan alone. Why did he take the list from the envolope? What is his connection to Danny? Was he in the same football team as him? Was that Dot on the phone to Hari at the end? Will he finally be found out for the villain he is? How disrespectful is it to waste a good cup of tea? Then there’s the rest. Is there a peadophile ring connection going on?  What is Hari’s dark secret? And not just the one about him killing Waldron. Is he all set to be the main player this series? Did he kill Rod or was it really suicide? Is Kate’s line of questioning the most unsubtle ever undertaken by a plant? Will Denton find freedom? Is Arnott’s job on the line? Murphy’s dog turned out to be alive but whose going to look after it now? Has anyone else got a headache?

For peak four it is fitting that in this massive circle of deceit we end on Lindsay Denton alone in the cell rehearsing her lines as if she were an actor about to go on stage: “I had no prior knowledge of the operation to remove Tommy Hunter” Yes, Tommy Hunter. We are back there again. The camera closes in on that name as Dot burns the list. An unexpected full circle it may be but Line Of duty isn’t treading old ground, it’s heading in a straight line to classic TV status. 9/10

 

BEST LINES:

Steve: There’s evidence of prolonged torture. The cause of death isn’t clear.

Dot: Cutting his head off can’t have helped.

_ _ _ _

Hastings:  None of my people would plant evidence. They’d know I’d throw the book at them.. followed by the bookshelf”

TV Review: Line Of Duty, Series 3.1 (BBC1)

Television drama has come a long way in recent years, the plodding footsteps of The Bill have long petered out and in its place have charged (pun intended) a plethora of police dramas full of fresh twists and plenty of style in what is now a crowded market. Some with more success than others of course, Suspects should be respected for its attempt to turn the genre on it’s scripted head but sadly the execution was a misfire. We love a good cop show even if most of us don’t love cops. In 2014, Line of Duty proved itself a cut above with the extrordinary story of Lyndsey Denton whose shiftiness was played to a masterful degree by Keeley Hawes. This time round there is a different bad guy to steal the limelight and the lines, on first impressions are much less blurred. This time we know our subject is guilty but what stirs the procedural pot is the question of his motivation and the lives he is dragging into this mess.

There is no misfiring here, certainly not by Danny Waldron who charges ahead of his team and shoots suspect Ronan Murphy in cold blood despite the fact he had discarded his gun. Once his team turn up he convinces them with vicious confidence to alter the crime scene. Rod and Leanne fire hollow shots, Hari doesn’t but is implicated by being there. It’s a sensational opening, holding all the tension and action of a Hollywood thriller but with a naturalistic feel that adds to the atmosphere. The car chase isn’t glamourous or overdone and is all the better for it.

The AC-12 are back, the anti police corruption clan (probably not their official title) remain the same in the shape of DS Arnott, DC Fleming, DS Cottan and supt Ted Hastings.. Their entrance signals a complete shift in pacing as an intense twelve minute interogation scene follows. It’s a sensational exchange of accusations and rebuffing. Twelve non stop minutes of manic wordplay and withering looks and it is a brave move so early on. Mays portayal of Waldron is fierce, showcasing the nastiness and brute ingtelligence that might just get him out of this fix. Simply, he is an arrogant bully but one in a position of power and with weapons at his disposal.

After such an intense opening they are surely playing their aces too early? Not a bit of it. The twists unravel as the politics of everyone involved gets more clouded. Hari won’t testify aganst Waldron and it’s clear there’s a history there. Also, Waldron is snooping outside his house with intention to snipe and that isn’t the act of a good friend really is it? Kate joins the firearm squad to spy information and watches the team falling apart under the pressure of the lies. She also nearly accidently shoots a child but Danny stops her in time so at least he has some boundaries, eh?

Not content with one murder in an hour, Waldron kills another man connected to his first victim, raiding his house, kicking him in the balls then God knows what, as we are spared the gory details. He fed the dog though which was nice of him – even if it will starve anyway once he leaves. So is Danny killing off officer’s of an old case that affected him? Did he, in the speech he delivered when ordering his second victim to take off his clothes, recall previous sexual abuse that had hapeneed to him or someone close? When he says “I was being sent to meet him with a gun” he comes across as a one man police extremist, intent on a justice that the law itself can’t bring. Notably he later says to Martin “When this is all done I will suffer for my actions, I’m under no illusion of a happy ending”.

In all this havoc there was little time for personal stories. There was no hint of the troubles that Hastings had last time round and we only get a smooch in the car park for Martin and a brief phone call home from Kate. This was all about setting up a new case and HOW. In sixty minutes the show achieved the impossible and upped its game further. A bit melodramatic? Absolutely. An edge of the seat, gawp at the screen moment of triumph? No doubt about it. Has it jumped the shark? Not at all. It’s jumped a skyscraper which has twelve double decker buses on top and the result is bloody spectatcular. And that conclusion was bloody and spectacular. 10/10