Line of Duty; fantastic BBC drama-series!

I've had a little bit more time to reflect on all that's been going on in this series so far, and I have to say that it's going a little off the rails. I mentioned in my first ep comments that the ep felt a little pulpy/schlocky and that's only been reinforced so far. I'm not sure they can fix that in the remaining episodes - it's baked in. Indeed, the temptation will be to go even more in that direction by the time the big finish comes. Sadly, I don't think this series will stack up to the excellent predecessors.

 

I managed to stay away from any comments until I saw the episode.
I think a lot depends on how the next episode pans out, in the aftermath..

Spoiler

I can't see how Arnott can credibly survive that fall, if he did he is still out for the rest of this series at least. While I agree not brilliantly executed it was still genuinely shocking - it is a fittingly bold move to potentially kill off what I would suggest is the only central character.

 

But, isn't this the final series? Therefore killing off a regular character would not be such a big deal.

 

Thanks for starting a thread on this show, had no idea series 4 was underway already. Can't wait to catch up tonight.

I felt the end of series 1 was anti-climactic and was much more satisfied with how the show unraveled the later two seasons. Vicky McClure is a cutie in this one.

 

Season 5 has been commissioned.
Line of Duty: Renewed for Season Five; Moves to BBC One for Season Four - canceled TV shows - TV Series Finale

 

Ah okay, thanks. I could have sworn that I read some time ago that this would be the last series. Anyway, good news!

 

I thought wasn't sure either, I remember 4 was commissioned before 3 was made too; but didn't recall mention of 5.

 

I think he's going to survive. Too early for the main guy to go. It was only a few floors up. Maybe a fake death coming up as part of some way to get Huntley.

 

Honestly, if he makes it and isn't severely incapacitated, it will be a near shark-jump moment. Not only was he bashed with a baseball bat, but he fell several flights down a hard concrete stairwell, landing with his head on the sharp edge of a step (not to mention his vertebrae) At a minimum, you're looking at massive internal and possibly brain injuries with , quite likely, some level of paralysis.

If he is to survive, then I would expect to see him sit out the rest of the series in an ICU ward.

 

do you think spoiler is dead?

 

If you don't want spoilers, why are you reading a thread that discusses the show? Honestly, what's so hard about avoiding threads that you know will be about the show?

 

I see that at least one of your post has texted hidden by spoiler, how are you able to do that when posting?

 

There's a spoiler tag drop-down option in that icon to the left of the floppy disk icon.

I do use it occasionally, but generally only for a one-liner type thing. I think it's counterproductive to hide whole paragraphs of discussion in them as it makes post less readable, especially if everyone's doing it over and over.

 

Cheers for that, I'm tempted to give everyone the outcome of this series, although sure to be wrong as I've yet to see episode 3. I'll wait until I've seen 3 before spoiling the whole series, or made a fool of myself, I'll just say AC12 no more, for now

 

Episode 4 was everything this series is best at - one of the best ever interview scenes.

 

Yes, it was a good episode and the interview scene was the highlight and a core strength. Unfortunately, the 'unexpected' twist was telegraphed very early on in the series. To blow my own horn, I had commented here about the casual sexism being a big factor some two episodes ago. It was none too subtle, so this development felt anticlimactic. Still, the interview itself was very well done.

The only real surprise, was the source of the information to Huntley's team, though in retrospect, perhaps not that surprising...

 

This episode had some echoes from series 2/3 where the balance between interviewer and the person being interrogated shifted dramatically every now and then. I've said it before; the main strength of this series are these scenes; from the overlong buzz of the recording equipment to the little tics and glances in the close-ups. I hope one day they dare to start and finish an episode with an interrogation in real-time!

 

Agreed. I did find it curious that no one commented on Huntley's odd posture. All the other people seated around the table used both their arms and hands in presenting material, gesticulating or just resting on the tabletop, while Huntley had a permanently drooping, unmoving left arm, as if it was paralyzed. It looked very odd. If she's already a suspect and they know that the victim inflicted some damage, wouldn't a sharp eyed AC-12er make some kind of a connection?

I'd like to see that - it would have to be towards the end of the series, if not the last episode, as we would need plenty of context to make the extend interrogation work.

 

Steve made it. The recap of the previous episode showed him getting thrown down the stairs and it wasn't from as high up as I remembered from last week. If you pause the episode where's layed out on the stairs it looks like only 1 flight up.

 

They said it was 3 flights in the episode.

 

I know, just saw that part and was going to edit my post.

 

I'm back in real time and this series seems to be losing control of any sense of believability, it's a fun ride but a lot of "Hold on a minute" plot lines. After episode 2 I was predicting the demise of AC12, now I'm thinking that's doubtful as that possibility is already being flagged up in 4.

However we've still we'v got AC12 feeding false information to an ongoing murder inquiry, which diverted their attention and time, whilst using evidence against Huntley, of which she wasn't privy to seek her suspension. The interview scenes, central to the series, are bizarre if your seeking the truth. The federation rep quite rightly pointed out their techniques is more appropriate as a training exercise, to prepare your for a defense barrister's grilling.

 

Thought the interview was preposterous. I know it's dramatic licence, but what the procedure wouldn't - couldn't have - happened like that. The sledgehammer signalling of Ted's sexism/old fashioned values to set him up has also been irritating. I watched Maigret and recorded this to watch later. I got that right, at least. It's still a gripping show, but the love-in that certain critics have for this is bizarre.

 

Yeah, that's been pretty egregious right from the start. And now we have superSteve surviving a three flight drop on concrete stairs with not much more than slight confusion. There have been many unbelievable scenes this time around, stating with the naff jump-scare scene with Huntley opening her eyes in dramatic fashion at the end of ep1.

Also, how is it that these ac-12 officers can still do undercover work when their faces would be well known by now, especially after the last series?

Has Maigret gotten any better? I found it all rather dull and boring in the previous run...

 

I think the slow pace is meant to reflect his approach to things but it can also kill the necessary tension. Of the three I've seen (and I think that's all there is so far), this was by far the best.