Line of Duty Thread 9, no spoilers! Watch along as we find out (?) wtf is going on!

[TedisnotH]

Reporting in, fellas. Let's fill up Thread 8 first though, ok?

@DinosaurDiana

I’ve just rewatched part where they find out who spelled definitely wrong. Ted says ‘let’s see what Carmichael has got to say now’, so I assumed it was her that had written it.

Yes that bit confused me too. I said "Carmichael?!" but DH said they were telling her who it was, not that she was it.

That's because Carmichael, more than once, was pushing for Buckells to be released.

Felt from the beginning as if the script was desperate to repeat previous successes. The desperation showed and the ending was a damp squid.
Viewers followed because they thought it would spark up and it did here and there. Felt as we had been taken on an unnecessary journey.

@AC12theletterofthelaw

Jed has just tweeted an AC-12 banner with the words Carry the Fire.

I am hoping for a season 7 but I do wonder if it’s the original cast bowing out and moving on with Carmichael in charge, Chloe etc.

I also wonder if the blandness of last nights episode wasn’t helped by COVID restricting how and when they filmed.

I think possibly they will all move on to other police jobs while Chloe carries on but the other three will end up involved “behind the lines”.

@LizzieMacQueen

That's because Carmichael, more than once, was pushing for Buckells to be released.

I think this is where it could have been better. Carmichael in ep 6 wanted him released. It could have been better if he was released and they then realised who it was. All this being transferred to AC 12 under armed guard and him just sitting there was just dull.

It's all a bit like The Empire Strikes Back ending where everything is a bit futile. Series 7 will be Return of the Jedi! 🤣

@BeaLola

I wanted it to be Jo by the end - final scene showing her in Witness protection and then putting files/something away, making a call which makes you realise it's her - she's her Fathers daughter and made them all believe she was coerced when really she was orchestrating it all

Oooh!

That would have been good.

'Ian Buckles' / Nigel Boyle just being interviewed on This Morning and they are fawning over him and completely swerving any mention of a lot of LoD viewers being disappointed. I know This Morning isn't know for its cutting edge interviews but still...

Loving all the damp squids flopping about the place

Agree this was not the best series, the Lindsay Denton one was superb her character you felt sorry for and hated in equal measure brilliant writing. Also loved the Dot cotton series, and him saving Kate in the end. Don’t say Steve and Kate are getting together they are mates and this that’s final fella.
Jo spoiled it for me wooden acting and a poor story line. Enjoyed Ted Kate and Steven as usual and loved Teds speech to the ice queen he’s a great character.
Would have been better if the three of them had left and a black OCG van came around the corner, with Jo ( acting at last) giving a smirk to camera! She could have then walked the wee donkey off into the sunset.

@Miraloma

The only loose end for me that hasn't been mentioned is if Ted is still living in a Travelodge, and did they ever fix the toilet?

Yes. Me too.

@Its90minutestonight

I don't get the love for The Shield. I thought it was crap.

So did I, except for an early episode where he beat the sh*t out of a paedophile with a telephone directory to force him to reveal where he'd hidden a child.

Nothing afterwards lived up to that bit.

Just checking in to say I'm still fuming this morning

I think Covid filming actually had a loooot to do with this and probably even affected the script.

The cast and crew size were restricted so Osborne was filmed elsewhere and always in the same way (it occurred to me that maybe the actor was shielding/CV). We never saw the faces of the AFOs etc. in most episodes because the same actors were recycling parts. That made those scenes look really odd and made people read to much into them. Scenes between characters who had to observe SD because not in bubble looked clunky and under developed. They were limited to what they could film indoors, but also how much they could film out on location so kept using the same streets and warehouse type locations. Mexican stand offs easiest option because distancing can be observed.Once you look for it all you see it.

Chloe didn't get much thanks, did she!? Not even an invite to the pub!

Loving Bill Gigolo

I was really glad James Nesbitt wasn’t the big reveal!

My main question - could they not have done more to tone down Lakewell’s tan? He looked like he’d been on the sunbeds - is that an OCG prison perk?

@EvilOnion

Buckell's was never "H" because H was never real.

Buckell's is just another go between, the 4th man in this particular investigation but one of many across the force.

They're everywhere, Jill could've messaged anyone because there are officers in all units who could help pull strings within the force and the OCG.

Indeed. But if two people separately text the same code, several years apart, with the same outcome, then the established procedure in the event of such a text has to be orchestrated according to an overarching protocol established at a higher level.

Yes, there are corrupt officers interspersed widely throughout the police. But an established code that catalyses a specific procedure isn’t an accidental coincidence. Someone puts that procedure in place and ensures that the captains ensure that the foot soldiers know what to do.

I think series 8 will see Carmichael more conflicted in her loyalty to Osborne. She was brought in as his lackey to shut down anti corruption investigation. Ted's confession to her may put her in a dilemma as she has asked what she was to do with the information. Her hard nosed, efficient copper side will I want to investigate yet her loyalty to Osborne will prevent her. So you'll see more nuanced confliction from Carmichael in series 7. I reckon she'll bring Osborne down much to Ted's dismay & that's why he dumped it on her. Her acting was more measured last night, less panto villain & you could see the internal conflict starting to take shape.

Poor Chloe single handedly solved the whole investigation and just gets a "brilliant work Chloe, don't let the door hit you on the way out while we all take the lift with smug grins."

Series 7 not 8

I think I would have preferred - A balaclava clad sniper getting a "Fahrenheit target 1" message on a burner phone then Osbourne would be taken out during his news conference.

Then at the prison the security cameras would all go down and you would see Lee Banks getting a "Fahrenheit target 2" message on a burner phone. Then see him entering Buckells cell.

Then back to Jo in her lovely witness protection cottage destroying a phone and sim card, smiling then walking into the sunset with her golden retriever and new girlfriend.

THIS IS THE ENDING WE NEEDED!

(Also Carmichael getting sacked for using office paperclips to fix a snapped bra strap. "No wonder the stationery costs are so high!")

@ValancyRedfern

The bit I've never been able to believe is that only one police officer misspells definitely.

This was my thought too!

@MaddieElla

Poor Chloe single handedly solved the whole investigation and just gets a "brilliant work Chloe, don't let the door hit you on the way out while we all take the lift with smug grins."

I agree ! Hopefully she will get a bigger role in the final series 🙏🏻

I like some of the mad theories about a series 7, my favourite being that the leader of the Spanish firearms team who raided Thirlwell's house in Spain had exactly the same eyebrows as James Nesbitt, and that as the image was dark and grainy and you never got to see the body of Thirlwell, this apparently points to Thirlwell not being dead but actually leading a fake raid, ready for him to appear in series 7.

Personally I reckon that some of this series was supposed to be set in Spain with Jimmy Nesbit and COVID scuppered it.

Do you think Steve would have taken his waistcoat off if filming in Spain ? 🤣

That dog is really an undercover cat and we all know they can't be trusted.