Line of Duty Series 2 Episode 6 Review

Line of Duty Series 2 Episode 6 Review

*This review contains spoilers*

With the finale of Line of Duty Series 2 comes the end of yet another TV show I wished that I had known about at the time it was first broadcast. Over the past six episodes, we've seen twist and turn, guilt and innocence, drama and heartbreak, right until the very end. Is it a satisfying ending? Very much so, even though it's one that I expect has probably polarised opinion.

In the end, it turns out that yes, DI Lynsey Denton was guilty. Except she wasn't, sort of. She was, technically, but not morally. And even technically, she was only sort of.

Basically, Denton was approached by DS Akers, after she had seen Alex Lawrence (Tommy Hunter was Series 1 in his Witness Protection guise) beating up Carly Kirk, who had just been kicked out of DCC Dryden's car when he realised that Denton had seen the two of them together (still following?). Akers wants to give Hunter over to other underground bad guys, to stop him being able to harm girls like Carly (as he has been granted immunity, he apparently cannot be convicted of any crimes), and wants Denton to help do this, giving her a wad of cash. It turns out that DI Cottan is also in on this (we know he is The Caddy from previous episodes). On the night of the ambush, Denton changes her mind and goes off on a different route, only for the assassins (Prassad and Cole) to find them anyway, due to a tracker planted on her car, which she finds and switches on to the car carrying Akers, Hunter and the two (innocent) police officers.

That's it basically, if you can follow that rather garbled explanation. Why did Denton change her mind last minute? Presumably with an attack of conscience (though Hunter was an evil shit who liked beating kids, Denton is still a professional, and was still sending him to death and torture). Dryden, therefore, is innocent of any involvement in the conspiracy, and Cottan ordered the hits on the other officers and Akers to eliminate anyone who knew of his involvement - Hunter is dead, which was the end goal, and Denton was spared as she didn't know of his involvement, and there was also someone for him to focus the investigation on. 

It's fairly watertight, though I still think that Dryden's manner in offering a promotion to Supt Hastings in the previous episode was too much of a red herring, as he wouldn't have acted so shiftily if he didn't have any involvement. Still, that's a fairly minor quibble. The real story is that, according to the end of episode notes, Denton pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to murder, but was found guilty by a majority. The evidence all points to her, of course (nicely done, Cottan), but it's still a tragedy as this is someone who ultimately trying to save young girls from a monster. All done in the wrong manner, of course, and it led to the death of four police officers (including Georgia from Episode 1), but her only involvement in a conspiracy was to hand Hunter over to other criminals, which was all he deserved. No one ever said that Line of Duty was trying to make a pleasant drama. 

Throughout all of this, the acting has been superb. Keeley Hawes morally ambiguous Denton has helped keep us guessing right until the very end, with an incredible range of extremes in her performance, from the almost psychopathic attack on her neighbour, to the despair at her mother's death. Vicky McClure as DC Fleming and Martin Compston as DS Arnott have been the two rocks holding the investigation together, fighting their own demons as they go along, particularly Fleming with the breakdown of her marriage and having to live in her car. Supt Hastings, played by Adrian Dunbar, is rightly earning many plaudits as the officer who is desperate to advance in his career to help save his marriage and financial woes, but knows that doing the right thing will scupper all those. Mark Bonnar as DCC Dryden was particularly brilliant in the interview of Episode 5, going from the cold man in charge, to the wreck at the end as he sees his world crashing down around him. I can't emphasise just how much I like Craig Parkinson in anything, but he's wonderful as DI Cottan, who is surely going to keep getting away with things with each progressive season until it all crumbles down at the very end.

The individual moments of this episode probably don't matter compared with the ending that closes the story, but there were some definite highlights. Watching Fleming hammer on her front door when she learns her husband has changed the locks (something that normally happens to the man) is heartbreaking, when you realise just what a disrupted home life she's been hiding. Arnott's reveal that he's been playing Denton (though how far back we don't know) is also top notch, helping to reconcile the two work colleagues who appeared to have been drifting apart. Hastings telling Dryden that he would throw the book at him, as other charges around him are dropped, tops off Hasting's character arc for the series perfectly.

Standing above them, though, it couldn't really be anything but the grand reveal of the truth. The flashback in Denton's head, and in particular the brutal nature of Carly Kirk's kidnapping, are what we've wanted to know about all along, and the knowledge that Denton is ultimately innocent finally puts our minds at rest. If we were in her position, given the chance to rid the world of a scumbag who targets teenage girls, wouldn't we try to do something? There's a lot to sympathise with her about it, and it's clear why she felt she couldn't come forward - Hunter is dead, which was the ultimate goal, and if she could have held out a bit longer without the money she was paid being found, there was no evidence to put her away.

Line of Duty has been utterly superb, right from the beginning. I'm desperate to catch Series 1 now (hurry up and return it please, library folk), and desperate to catch Series 3 as soon as it airs. I've not been this impressed by a UK drama since Spooks (discounting Doctor Who), and with Prey impressing equally on ITV at the moment, it's a very strong time for UK television.

Roll on, Series 3!