Line of Duty thread 7: do bent coppers get their comeuppance? This is a spoiler free zone fella!

[MotherOfGodWeeFella]

Thread prepped and ready to go Boss.

Fellas...

And Nige hit Kate with his walking cane

Sorry, my phone had not refreshed! Bit late with that comment

I've £5 on it being Carmichael shooting Pilkington.

Ooh, this moves fast. I'm also watching from the beginning, I'm on Season 3. Thurwell's name is on the bottom of the post-mortem of the Social Worker who was killed looking into the child abuse. Blink and you miss it. Thurwell is also mentioned in the interview with Fairbank. It's certainly suggested that Fairbank is faking the dementia at this point. Very interesting to see Gill, knowing what we know now.

@xmb53

I've £5 on it being Carmichael shooting Pilkington.

What odds have you got?

Nige is Neil Morrissey's best every role imho. I've said it before on these threads. He usually plays lovable rogue or not very bright but endearing characters. Nige was something else. Interesting that a few of the actors who have been in LoD have acted against type. Keeley Hawes being another great example.

I totally agree about Neil Morrissey and Keeley Hawes in this. Nige and Lindsey Denton are both great, complex characters - fascinating but not sympathetic.

That should be - particularly sympathetic

If anyone is rewatching and on S4 I have a question. Well three actually.

1. They never really explored why balaclava man / men were killing sex workers in S4, and keeping trophies. It was a very serial killer esque plot line. Were the trophies only so they could frame someone for the murders?

2. Hana Reznikova was found to be a prostitute who’d had sex with Ifield due to used condoms found - am I remembering rightly they said they found them in a bin, rather than frozen to be kept as collateral? If the latter then maybe all the murdered prostitutes worked for the OCG but then why kill their own sex workers? The OCG’s prostitutes were trafficked and locked in which doesn’t fit with Reznikova as she had two other jobs.

Is it possible that the OCG were covering for someone high up who lives to kill prostitutes, perhaps a senior police officer?

3. The OCG framed Farmer who was in custody. Then thanks to Huntley they had Ifield to frame too. So why did the OCG dump more body parts out of deep freeze after Farmer’s arrest? They might not have realised the newspaper could be dated, but obviously those parts were dumped after his arrest - why go to all that effort to frame someone and then screw it up? Usually they dump body parts to frame someone and they have plenty of DNA on hand to do so, so why didn’t they?

I’m not sure whether all of this is writing that wasn’t thought through or whether it’s a massive clue that’s been overlooked. The plot just doesn’t make sense as it stands unless there’s more to come?

And lastly, Steve was about to be promoted to DI before his accident - why didn’t that happen if he was signed off as fit for work? It was just not mentioned again, and then Kate had been promoted. Harsh.

Nothing to add but only 2 more days to go! Squeeeee!

I was just saying to DH that I bet Nige returns before the end of this series. I think he was one of the really bad bent ones. But then I’ve been way out on every other prediction thus far...

Interesting theory about Carmichael shooting Ryan! I was thinking maybe Ted. Do you all reckon there’s anything to him referring to Kate as ‘his’ officer? Force of habit or Kate deep undercover?

I am about to restart Season 4. The finale of Season 3, the OCG gunman in the back of the vehicle goes to shoot, both Kate and Dot are there, he pushes her out the way. Does that mean she couldn't be bent, or is he saving her as she's more important? Still not sure she could be..

Both Kate and Dot are in the line of fire, I mean. Posting and getting dc ready for after school activity.

*And lastly, Steve was about to be promoted to DI before his accident - why didn’t that happen if he was signed off as fit for work? It was just not mentioned again, and then Kate had been promoted. Harsh.

They needing a DI in work and didn't know how long he'd be off maybe?

Re: Dot pushing Kate out of the way, I think at that point he'd given up, he knew he wanted out but also knew he'd never be free it was a final act to show us he had been groomed, which let's face it despite what he did he'd been groomed from a really young age, divorced. And of course he had a real soft spot for Kate.

@sorryboss

Re: Dot pushing Kate out of the way, I think at that point he'd given up, he knew he wanted out but also knew he'd never be free it was a final act to show us he had been groomed, which let's face it despite what he did he'd been groomed from a really young age, divorced. And of course he had a real soft spot for Kate.

I’d go further and say he was in love with her. The push was his redemption.

I think Kate ended up a DI first because of the comments Roz Huntley made about sexism in AC12. Hastings wanted to prove her wrong.

We saw his cosy pub visit with Steve but refusing to do the same with Kate because it might be seen as inappropriate, and we then saw Roz having a similar off duty chat about careers with Kate while she was undercover, to show the difference between the two senior officers.

Initially Ted promised Steve the promotion following the pub trip, but I reckon was stung by Roz into promoting Kate instead.

Dot took the bullets to save Kate, no doubt. I think his motivation was because he had nothing really left to live for.

Dot had a thing for Kate in Series 1, and when nasty Nige spat at her, he handed her some tissues , the only one who did anything to help.

Re Steve and promotion, I think the whole "thing with Denton and the question mark over did he plant the cash, and her getting set free, wouldn't do his promotion prospects much good

@TedisnotH

Re Steve and promotion, I think the whole "thing with Denton and the question mark over did he plant the cash, and her getting set free, wouldn't do his promotion prospects much good

That was series 2 and 3. By series 4 he was about to be promoted.

In fact, I don't think he passes the exam until series 4.

Would the OCG gunman have tried to shoot Kate if she was H, though? I felt a bit sorry for Dot, by the end, completely groomed and trapped. Looking forward to re watching s4, now.

Okay. I think I've got it now.

Steve's waistcoats are H!! Always in plain sight, seemingly innocuous, always there when something dodgy happens.

W - AC IS TOAST (W being ACC Andrea Wise)

It was under our noses all along!!

"completely groomed and trapped."

I think it was hard to imagine how he had become so enmeshed, but seeing Ryan reinforces it.