Line of Duty series 2 (the one with Lynsey Denton) can anyone answer a plot question?

[bibbitybobbityyhat]

I started a new thread to ask a specific question about S2, hope that's ok.

I have been watching episodes of Line of Duty on i-player to refresh my memory for the forthcoming S5 [excited emoticon].

I still don't understand the ambush!

Denton and Akers were in it together and there was a plan. So why did there need to be a tracker on Denton's car? How could a tracker help the ambushers anyway, because they crashed into her from the opposite direction so they'd need to be ahead of her to be coming from the opposite direction. And it was a planned ambush - so why the tracker? Why did Denton suddenly go "fuck this" and turn off the road and yet still ended up in the ambush?

Any ideas?

Just placemarking in case anyone knows as I am also rewatching them all on iPlayer getting ready for the new series! Also I forgot Jessica Raine was in this series (briefly) - have just been watching her on Baptiste

I finished s2 last night! There are spoilers below if you haven't finished it....

I thought Denton thought there was going to a be a non-violent handover of the protected witness. That is what Akers told her when she called round her house ('no violence, no guns'), whether Akers believed the same it didn't say. I assume Denton decided she didn't want a part of it so decided to take a different route to the station, I cant remember exactly what she said to Akers about the route before they set off that night.

Im watching episode 5 now and unsure what is going on.

But I’m watching for Arnott💞 😃

More spoilers...

From the conversation in Dentons house between her and Akers, it was going to be a handover of the protected witness to people who would ensure he was punished for the criminal activities he was involved in. So if Denton really believed this she may have gone along with it because she believed it was the right thing to do. Dot had driven Akers to Denton's house, and so was also involved in the plan.

I'd need to rewatch it but didn't they put the tracker on incase she went off the planned course? I can't quite remember

Yes, but why the tracker? Who put the tracker on her car and for what purpose? Why did Denton drive off the planned route (if she did?) and still get caught in the ambush? She knew there was a tracker on her car because she removed it and put it on Akers' car before the police arrived.

Even if you can't re-watch the whole of series 2, I do recommend you watch the last episode. Everything is covered except this one question which seems to be pivotal!

From memory, Denton did not know there was a tracker on her car until the ambush happened,

The tracker was put there to make sure they knew where she was, in case she got cold feet.

When the ambush happened, Denton knew they must have tracked her in order to know she went off course. So she looked for a tracker, found one and stuck it to the other car to avoid it being found on her car, which was bound to be searched.

Didn’t they put the tracker on because they couldn’t be sure she would actually go through with it?

And yes, Denton said Fuck It, and turned off the planned route - only to be met by the ambushes racing towards her (she served out of the way, they crashed into car with Akers and witness as planned) - presumably they were racing along the road Denton turned into, in order to ambush them in the main road? Dunno.

And

Denton understood it to be a smooth handover of the witness - she didnt know there would be guns and violence. At the last minute she decided not to go through with it hence the "fuck this" and turning off the agreed route

They put the tracker on her car incase she didnt go through with it. She realised there was a tracker as she had deviated from the route and they still found her. Therefore she removed it from her vehicle during the fire.

The police thought the tracker was on Akers' vehicle until around episode 5 where they discovered it had been removed from Dentons.

Yep wasn't there a query as to how they knew the car was there, there was the scene about the sat nav saying there were current roadworks and that's when the whole tracker thing came about.

Denton realised once she'd been ambushed that the only way they'd have known was if the car was tracked.

Denton claimed to have gone the other way due to roadworks, but AC12 challenged her on this because the sat nav would have told her that there were no roadworks that night.

This formed some of the suspicion towards her - they suspected she led the convoy into the ambush because she went on an abnormal route. Really she went that route because she thought it would be avoiding the handover

I'd love to see a map of that ambush!

I assume Jed Mecurio had it all plotted out.

"Fuck this" and swerving off course - does that mean Denton did get cold feet? How come? Because she was such a straight cop? So how did the ambushers managed to get in front of her and drive at her from the opposite direction?

I think we need a Mumsnet style diagram .

Yes she chose not to go through with it, I assume because she isn't really a bent copper. Much like her "BECAUSE IM A POLICE OFFICER" sending the list moment shortly before her death in S3.

I think there is a map shown during one of the interviews.

I dont think its unusual that they came at her from the opposite direction - that must have always been the intention.

Were they always going to ambush? Even if she had stayed on course?

www.denofgeek.com/tv/line-of-duty/29796/explaining-the-line-of-duty-series-2-finale

Yes they would always do the ambush because they wanted to kill the person being transported.

They put a tracker on her car in case she backed out as a backup because she was unknown to them and they weren't sure she could be trusted.

But how can they have come at her from the opposite direction when she had gone off course violetroselily? They must have had time to see she'd driven off the planned route and so then got the motorcycle assassins positioned at a point further up the road she'd diverted onto. And what did LD think would happen once she'd changed the plan? Where was she going to end up (in her head?) and what was she going to do with the protected witness and Dakers?

I direct you to document 7 in your folders. Document 7 for the tape is a map showing the location of the safe house, the ambush and 4th Street station

That map shows the quickest route

This is the route Denton took. The ambush vehicle could have been anywhere on that square of roads waiting to ambush her. Once she'd turned onto Long Lane they could have easily caught up with her head on

That’s commitment Violet! It’ll stand you in good stead for promotion wee girl.

Violet, you answered that question to the letter, the letter! Loved DI Denton, what an unforgettable character.

Violet !! thank you for document 7! I am so impressed with your commitment to the cause .

I still don't get how the motorcyclists could have been driving east to west on Long Lane when Denton was driving west to east. But I'm going to put that to bed and just not let it niggle me.

Roll on Series 5. I'm going to re-watch S3 this week.