Spoiler alert: This post contains frequent spoilers for BBC’s Line Of Duty
I don’t know about you, but the past few weeks of my life have been consumed by one thing and one thing only - and that’s the return of one of the UK and Ireland’s most anticipated television dramas, Line Of Duty.
I know many, many people who have only recently discovered this show over the past few months as a way to relieve the boredom of being stuck at home in lockdown. I also know people who have binged the show within a matter of days, giving in to the fear of missing out on those watercooler moments and the endless WhatsApp group chat texts after a new episode. However, my own love for Line Of Duty has been around for a lot longer than these examples.
I admit, as much as it would thrill me to smugly say that I have been hooked on this show since its early BBC Two days in 2012, I was, in fact, a latecomer. One night sometime in 2016, my parents and I were flicking through the recorded section of our Sky box, struggling to choose something to watch, as we so often do. Eventually, we settled on a show that none of us knew a thing about - Line Of Duty. For a little context, my father has a habit of recording shows that only have the faintest mention of police detectives and/or murder - “this sounds good”, he often says, despite knowing absolutely nothing about the show in question. Long story short, we sat down to watch this Line Of Duty show, and by the end of the first episode with Danny Waldron spewing blood left, right and centre, all three of us were hooked. “What is this absolute gem of a show?”, we thought. “How have we missed this? Why have we never heard of this before?”. We quickly realised - through our confusion over the Lindsay-Denton-Steve-Arnott-sextape subplot - that we had missed two previous seasons of the show, so we eventually went back and caught up with the whole thing. Fast forward to 5 years later, and it is still without a doubt one of the best shows on television I’ve ever seen, and the figures don’t lie. It’s the BBC’s biggest drama in over a decade - so much so that it was upgraded to BBC One after just two seasons - and it rakes in close to 10 million viewers with every episode. After nearly a decade of being on air, the show is receiving a cult-like following, with social media platforms like Facebook hosting private groups dedicated to the show with tens of thousands of members. Line Of Duty is a phenomenon, there’s no doubt about that. However, the show is not without its critics.
After the first episode of the current season aired, I was astounded to read countless negative comments such as “that episode was boring” “[Line Of Duty writer] Jed Mercurio has lost his touch”, “it’s getting ridiculous now”, and “it’s time for the show to end”. I couldn’t believe what I was reading because, in my opinion, this show has gotten better with age.
In preparation for the launch of season 6 (and because we had no other plans due to the most recent Covid lockdown restrictions), I managed to convince my parents to do a full Line Of Duty rewatch of all 5 seasons before the new launch on March 21st. They were reluctant at first to say the least, spouting excuses such as “we’ve got other things to watch first” and “we’ve seen it all before, we know what happens”. However, I knew that within the first 10 minutes of the season 6 opener, if they hadn’t had a refresher, my parents would undoubtedly start asking me questions such as “who are they again?” and “what did they do?” and “are they a baddie or not?”. So, yes, my insistence on a rewatch was a tad selfish, but I knew that they would enjoy it in the end... and I was right. By the conclusion of the first season, they were hooked back in like a fish on a rod.
Even though my knowledge of the show (thanks to endless listens of the brilliant Shrine Of Duty podcast) was fairly up to scratch, I was still unbelieveably excited for the excuse to rewatch the show from the very beginning. I wanted to re-immerse myself in the Tedisms, the urgent exit required’s, the shocking moments that you just never see coming (like poor Georgia Trottman getting shoved out the hospital window, or John Corbett’s gruesome throat slit), and, of course, I was excited to bathe in the heartwarming comradery of the AC-12 trio. However, my rewatch of the show really got me thinking about the brilliance of it, and why I loved it so much, and why it is so rewatchable - in spite of its first season being almost a decade old and the motion-sickening shaky-cam style it was filmed on.
First of all, the cast. Mother of God, the cast. To start off, we have the glorious AC-12 trio of Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar), Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) and Steve Arnott (Martin Compston). Let’s just say that I would love to have a drink or two with these three in a bar in Belfast. Ted is one of the most charming characters to grace our TV screens - he can undoubtedly be firm when he needs to be, but at the root of it all, he cares deeply for his “best team” and will do anything to uncover the hidden depths of police corruption. Being brought up close to Northern Ireland myself, Ted’s popular Northern Irish sayings - affectionately nicknamed ‘Tedisms’ - make my heart soar every time one is uttered. My personal favourite? It’s got to be “Jesus, Mary and Joseph”, a phrase that I myself have found muttering a lot over the years.
As for Kate and Steve, the nation’s favourite cop duo, well, they’ve both captured our hearts. These best mates are smart, intuitive, cunning, and would (but hopefully not literally) die for one another. Their friendship is one of the most heartwarming aspects of this show, in amongst all of the tears, scares and shocks. While they’re definitely not perfect (Steve’s randy outings in earlier seasons and Kate’s extra-marital affair comes to mind), they are beloved by us all, and Line Of Duty just wouldn’t be the same without them.
As much as I adore the AC-12 trio, I stand firm over the fact that Line Of Duty’s guest leads are what makes this show so remarkable. It is rare nowadays for a long-running television show such as Line Of Duty to have a new lead each season. After all, you would assume that this quirk would off-balance the chemistry between the cast, or it would frustrate the audience to have to get to know a new character every time. However, for Line Of Duty, these issues are non-existent, and this formula works incredibly well.
Every single one of the show's guest leads has brought something different and exciting to the show. From Lennie James' Tony Gates and Keeley Hawes' Lindsay Denton, to Thandiwe Newton's Roz Huntley and Stephen Graham's John Corbett, each guest lead has been absolutely riveting to watch. Even Daniel Mays' Danny Waldron - who shockingly only survived until the end of the season 3 premiere - still managed to capture the audience's attention for the rest of the season. For me, each guest lead has had something innovative and compelling about them. Season 5's John Corbett had you feeling desperate pity for him, even though he was in too deep with organised crime and had badly injured Ted's innocent ex-wife, Roisin. Season 4's Roz Huntley had the entire nation screaming at the television, as each week she chose another poor innocent soul to frame for her manslaughter of forensic co-ordinator Tim Ifield following a scrappy row at his flat. Season 2's Lindsay Denton had the audience constantly second-guessing whether or not she was in on the conspiracy to murder Tommy Hunter, or whether she was completely innocent of it all. The fact that the truth about Denton was only revealed in the last fifteen minutes or so of the final episode of season 2 meant that fans were left guessing right until the very end. On a lesser show, a long wait for the truth such as this one perhaps would have irritated the viewer and left them wanting to abandon the show out of frustration. However, Line Of Duty is not a lesser show, and because of this, it has retained its loyal viewers.
One of the reasons why there has been a larger volume of criticism than usual surrounding this current season is due to its guest lead - DCI Joanne Davidson, played by Scotswoman Kelly MacDonald. Personally, I am thoroughly enjoying her character, and can fully appreciate why the show's creative team have described her as "AC-12's most enigmatic adversary yet". At the time of publication, we are 3 episodes away from the end of season 6, and even though we know for certain that Davidson is in cahoots with the OCG, it is still very much unclear as to the reasons why. As a result of her character being so enigmatic and aloof, I have seen a few comments slating MacDonald's performance, insisting that she's not up to the task and that her character is 'boring'. However, I have to disagree. From the moment that MacDonald stepped onto our screens, I was captivated by her character. To me, she carries a familiar air reminiscent of Lindsay Denton, a character I adored (and still hold in much high regard). On paper, Davidson is sweet, calm and collected, and has a charming budding relationship with our favourite Kate Fleming. However, in Davidson's private moments in her swanky apartment, she often breaks down in furious tears and has a habit of throwing any object that she can get her hands on. She's difficult to comprehend, and that's why she's so brilliant. Some audience members claim she's boring, but, ironically, if Davidson was a straight-forward character and if we knew everything about her within the first 5 minutes of her appearance, then the show itself would quickly become boring. Who would want that?
Aside from the show's guest leads, it is Jed Mercurio's ingenious writing, shock-inducing bombshells, endless cliffhangers and constant links back to previous storylines that keeps Line Of Duty at the top of its game. So far this season, there have been numerous referrals right back to the events of season 1. Old - and fairly minor - characters have resurfaced to become invaluable ones, such as manipulated Terry Boyle (played wonderfully by Tommy Jessop) and the bone-chilling biker-kid-turned-bent-cop Ryan Pilkington (played terrifyingly by Gregory Piper). We have had intense action sequences (Martin Compston for the next James Bond, anyone?) and cliffhangers that have left me with a severe lack of sleep come Monday morning. Mercurio’s writing is sharp, witty (thanks to brilliant one-liners, usually delivered by the icon that is Ted Hastings) and acronym-heavy. He doesn’t patronise us as viewers and hand everything to us on a silver platter, like so many other shows often do. Instead, he commands you to sit up straight, ban any distractions, and pay attention for the full 60 minutes. Line Of Duty is essential viewing, and it is worthy of every single piece of praise it receives.
If you haven’t gathered by now, I am utterly obsessed with this show. It’s gotten to the point now where it consumes my household's daily conversations, and my father has even gone so far as to create a new text alert for his phone with Ted Hastings saying “you are going down for a long time, fella”. It has taken over our lives for these past few weeks, and it will continue to do so for as long as it exists. For a show that started out on an understated slot on BBC Two, this is a remarkable achievement.
So, I salute you, Jed Mercurio. You have created a masterpiece, and I will be bereft when it all ends, so please, I beg of you, don’t write the final line any time soon.
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