Line of Duty thread 4 (No spoilers, please!)

[TedisnotH]

Ok, I've started a new one in anticipation of Thread 3 filling up tonight, part way through the episode!

Doesn’t look like the same person to me at all. Also Wise is police, not a nominal. If it’s her then it’s poor.

I agree with this.

So many outlandish theories on here! 😂😂

@NoWordForFluffy

We can definitely add Nick Huntley to the list of suspects, alrighty I doubt it’s him - not sure what it would mean as he had no OCG connection

No we can't. He wasn't arrested long enough ago. And he'd have struggled to qualify as a solicitor with a criminal past (not impossible, depending on the crime, but I can't see it).

I don’t think Steve’s comment about her DNA not being run against that database mean it’s definitely someone older. I think that was in the script so that they could say why it wasn’t picked up previously, but we shall see.

Jed has a big task on his hands here - if it’s actually a woman or a recent addition to the database or someone young, viewers are going to be pissed.

Seems like it can only be Tommy Hunter really, or maybe Corbett if Steve meant a comparison on the police database wasn’t picked up earlier and now he’s only on the nominal database after his records were wiped. Maybe.

Beyond that it’s going to be a stretch. None of the others are old enough surely.

So, it looks like her mum is woman trying to get mother of God sacked.

But.. That's not the person in the photo mother of God saw

That's definitely a man.. A very dangerous corrupt man who we then can link to the mum photo

Or the person is someone who was killed or manipulated by ocg because macdonald is scared not benefitting from it... She's definitely trapped and blackmailed and scared.

Someone close to her was killed and perhaps not a baddy... But enough to then drag her mum... Into it which is why there is pressure to disband a 12.

So many outlandish theories on here!

Indeed, that’s half the fun :o

Although it does sometimes make the actual episodes a bit anticlimactic as whatever does happen has usually been suggested already 😂

Speaking of outlandish theories - someone said previously about Danny Waldron and Jo living on the same street at some point? I’d not noticed that (don’t even know where it was observed - seriously good detective work there fella!). I don’t know how it could be relevant (don’t think Jo could be anything to do with the children’s home, it was all boys. But maybe there was something to do with care leavers on that street - halfway house kind of thing? (If that’s the right term)

So I guess we know who’ll be heading up the new downsized anti-corruption operation. What a shocker (not really).

I’m just trying to think logically. Jo seems to be being blackmailed. She doesn’t seem happy about her involvement, is getting upset and wants out.

So would it even make sense for her to be a relative of an OCG member? Especially one already dead. Unless she’s being blackmailed over that - eg do this or we will tell them you’re Hunter’s daughter. But would she give enough of a shit about that really? It’s hardly like having your DNA on a murder victim is it?

But I can’t think who else it would be, other than Boyle. That would make sense because they’re threatening to frame him for a murder, except they did frame him so... why’s she still in?

Her being related to a disgraced bent cop would make more sense but then it’s apparently not.

Also I’ve been waiting to return to the list for so long but having rewatched S3 I think it was only to prove Fairbanks was a child molester.

And he'd have struggled to qualify as a solicitor with a criminal past (not impossible, depending on the crime, but I can't see it).

They seem to manage to get into the police!

FWIW I don't think it's Huntley : ted wouldn't recognise him,and you can't have a whole nation going 'who??'

Has Hunter even been mentioned this series? Scriptwriters usually make sure that we have been -even if fleetingly- reminded of the person by name or face. Which is why the CC makes sense (even though we are told it can't be a police person)...

It’s amazed/saddened me they didn’t go back to the list more after s3. It’s mentioned by Hastings in s4 (or maybe early s5?) in the DCC/ACC office that they’ve been trying to work through it but not getting anywhere. I know they wanted to bring in new exciting storylines I just thought it would be a bigger thing in anti corruption - even if all the names weren’t policemen, it still points to a bigger cover up by police and it can’t just have been Fairbank. Maybe the other victim refused to help anymore after the shock of seeing Fairbank’s photo (wouldn’t blame him, that was one of the most horrible heartbreaking scenes in the show :().

Always been a little disgruntled that none of the list are female - it certainly happens - but maybe that points to the whole men protecting each other, Masonic/old boys club type stuff.

I assume Ryan was abused while he was groomed for the OCG too though, and maybe that will somehow come back to him if the list comes up again.

FWIW I don't think it's Huntley : ted wouldn't recognise him,and you can't have a whole nation going 'who??'*

Ted interviewed him a couple of times so he would. I doubt it’s him though for all the reasons mentioned above.

I’m just trying to figure out who would make sense with the plot and relate to her blackmail. I can only come up with Terry Boyle. Maybe the kid in the robbery but she certainly hid it well if she was worried her child was shot - she was distressed by the shooting but paid no attention when balaclavas were removed. Hunter maybe, but that’s not a brilliant point for blackmail.

This may have been mentioned but I thought that Steve and Chloe looked a little fearful( or embarrassed ?) to be revealing the DNA match to Ted . Sort of "sorry sir ,it's ...someone close to you "

I even thought it was going to be him . He'd be a nominal wouldn't he from his earlier arrest ?

I don’t think it’s Nick Huntley. Roz wasn’t an important character in terms of the overall story arc across the 6/7 series.

Definitely not Terry Boyle.. She had no emotion when he was nealry killed etc.. But she was upset when her ex was harmed.

Definitely black mail, trapped.. Someone big... Forcing her hand..

@Cocacola12

Message deleted by MNHQ as it could be a spoiler and the MNHQer is no more happy about having read it than anyone else! ;D

THANK YOU, MNHQ! I’m annoyed about that too.

Could people please stop posting spoilers!

Giving details (e.g. cast details) from upcoming episodes before the episode has aired is a spoiler! I’ve consciously avoided all tv listings because I don’t want to know who is in the episode until I’m watching the episode.

The thread title specifically and politely requests ‘no spoilers, please’

Always been a little disgruntled that none of the list are female - it certainly happens - but maybe that points to the whole men protecting each other, Masonic/old boys club type stuff.

Danny Waldron’s list?

It was a list of members of a paedophile ring who had sexually abused him while he was in care. You’re ‘disgruntled’ that he wasn’t subjected to ‘equal opportunities’ abuse by women as well as men?

I haven't watched again yet, and need to. I tend to agree with @cheekyweeshite on this. I don't think Jo is related to a member of the OCG (past or present) but she is being used to bring someone else down due to her connections. I think it's Buckells and she's done that. He's now out of the way (for the time being). With Buckells out of the way the bentness can continue. He''ll be tried but he'll be terrifed to testify after having seen what happened to Lakewell when he spoke (to Vella or to Steve).

I'm still trying to get my head around who it could have been who tipped off whoever it was inside the prison to ensure that Banks, Lakewell and Buckells were in the same place at the same time to enact that scene of Lakewell's death. Who was it who charged Buckells? Who placed him in that particular place in that particular prison at the exact time that Lakewell was being returned? Who knew that Lakewell would cop out of talking to AC12 to place him back in prison to be conveniently murdered in front of Buckells?

I also think it's the end of the List storyline and that the point of the List was to bring down Fairbank. There may be other bent coppers on that list, or OCG members, but the storyline was mainly about abuse at Sands' View, Danny and bent coppers.

There were other boys in Danny's photo too - other than Joe, none of them seem to have come forward, and Joe only seemed to be doing so under duress.

Brilliant storyline though - S3 was the best so far imho. It makes sense to me to leave some strings dangling and issues unresolved because that's what real life is like.

I wonder if that spoiler was what I've just heard on the radio. Not happy.

For Ted's 'Mother of God' reaction, the DNA link must be quite an explosive character known to Ted

@Buggerthebotox

I haven't watched again yet, and need to. I tend to agree with *@cheekyweeshite* on this. I don't think Jo is related to a member of the OCG (past or present) but she is being used to bring someone else down due to her connections. I think it's Buckells and she's done that. He's now out of the way (for the time being). With Buckells out of the way the bentness can continue. He''ll be tried but he'll be terrifed to testify after having seen what happened to Lakewell when he spoke (to Vella or to Steve).

I'm still trying to get my head around who it could have been who tipped off whoever it was inside the prison to ensure that Banks, Lakewell and Buckells were in the same place at the same time to enact that scene of Lakewell's death. Who was it who charged Buckells? Who placed him in that particular place in that particular prison at the exact time that Lakewell was being returned? Who knew that Lakewell would cop out of talking to AC12 to place him back in prison to be conveniently murdered in front of Buckells?

I’m sure the OCG could bring down Buckells quite easily - high odds they’ve got a condom full of his DNA in the freezer (still trying to get my head round that one - do they write the names on the condoms or what?).

So we know in the past the OCG have used various means to blackmail someone:
Evidence of an affair
Evidence of gambling debts
Child molestation

Or they’ve exploited a police officer’s need to protect the vulnerable (as with Denton)

Or they’ve exploited a family relationship with threats to a relative (eg Maneet). This seems most likely here. So it could make sense that her relative is in custody and at risk. But then it can’t be Lakewell as they would have just killed off their collateral.

In terms of the plot, I don’t think just the DNA link could be the source of the blackmail - it’s not very strong is it? It would put you under suspicion sure, but would it make you throw a murder investigation and frame other police officers, even one you care about?

She’s in what appears to be a safe house for a reason - eg you can’t go home until you divert this investigation away from the real culprits.

@MysteriousAffairAtStyles

Always been a little disgruntled that none of the list are female - it certainly happens - but maybe that points to the whole men protecting each other, Masonic/old boys club type stuff.

Danny Waldron’s list?

It was a list of members of a paedophile ring who had sexually abused him while he was in care. You’re ‘disgruntled’ that he wasn’t subjected to ‘equal opportunities’ abuse by women as well as men?

Oh god no that’s not what I meant at all! I’m saying that the list being all men doesn’t represent the fact that female child abusers exist and are more common than people assume

That’s a personal thing though, due to horrific things that happened to someone close to me. Incidentally records about that were burnt and destroyed too like the sands view records. So I’m aware it’s a sore spot for me and I’m biased. Also as I said - Masonic etc men protecting each other, maybe female abusers are more likely in the home/family compared to organised rings arranged by men.

Lots of crazy theories. But what we know to be true is this DNA match is a) a man b) had their DNA taken before 1999 when Jo joined the force c) not any of the bent coppers since 1999 as if they were in the nominal list they wouldn't have a job. d) someone well known to Ted so presumably quite a prolific offender.

So it's not Ryan, Jake, Corbett, Dot, Ted, Wise

If we are going on totally crazy theories saville was allegedly investigated in the 80s, no charges brought and the police files lost.... I mean no way would the BBC let Jed write that in but ooh what a twist.

I've seen a few PPs say that there is definitely going to be a series 7 is this true because I've tried Googling it and I can only find Jed Mercurio saying its not guaranteed or confirmed?

@peridito

This may have been mentioned but I thought that Steve and Chloe looked a little fearful( or embarrassed ?) to be revealing the DNA match to Ted . Sort of "sorry sir ,it's ...someone close to you "

I even thought it was going to be him . He'd be a nominal wouldn't he from his earlier arrest ?

This was my instinctive reaction, too - that it must be Ted himself. They did look embarrassed, and as if the information was specifically pertinent to The Gaffer.

Otherwise, I'd be almost satisfied with it being Terry Boyle or the boy robber in custody - but I can see the age thing might make that unlikely.