Dept Q SPOILERS Thread

[xsquared]

This thread is for those who have already seen Dept Q in its entirety and want to discuss the plot, as I know that the other thread is still getting new viewers.

OK, now that I've seen it all, we're still non
the wiser about who shot Mork, Hardy and Anderson.

I am loving Akram and want to know what he did in Syria!

No, that was just to stabilise the pressure. They couldn't have depressurised it so quickly because that would have killed Merritt, no? (Hence the hyperbaric stretcher she gets carried away in.) But I don't see how they can just stroll into a room that's 7x normal pressure without being harmed themselves. Merritt had it ramped up gradually, so even though it was harming her, presumably her body had adapted a little.

Sure, but there are limits ... the whole thing reminded me of the scene in Austin Powers where Dr Evil has an elaborate plan to ensnare Austin using a trapdoor and tank full of sharks or something. His son, Scott Evil, says to him: Dad, that's too complicated, I have a gun, we can just shoot him, bang, done. But Dr Evil refuses and of course Austin escapes.

It did make me laugh in Dept Q when you see that Elsa had a gun all along!

I enjoyed this, even though I'm not a huge fan of police dramas, and even less so when it's internal corruption, which I find quite tedious.

I did get a little bogged down in some of the middle episodes and I was convinced Elsa (or is she Ailsa? Lyle's mum) was either Shirley Henderson in a wig OR Lorraine Kelly. (Because she looked like an older version of Shirley who I thought was very underused.)

Anyway, the characterisation lifted it for me (I do have a massive crush on Matthew Goode, so that rather shallowly helped).

When Akram sees Merrit through the porthole and says 'I knew it'....I was like OK, so why didn't you say that eight episodes ago? I guess he was congratulating himself because no one else would.

Also, Morck was SOO dour. He's trying to build a relationship with his step-son (why the air-hostess left her kid with him was just odd) and then he pisses on their Tai-Chi. What a baby. Leave them to it. He had to try and centre himself in that.

Anyway, I liked how Dept Q assembled the misfits and the damaged. Great premise. Bring on the next case!

It was hilarious offensive in equal measures (in the first couple of episodes) to see the police treating a Syrian IT employee as a subservient menial "assistant", displaying the same dismissive racism as a wealth american household might display towards a Latina maid.

And hilarious again that after just a couple of telling utterances he was suddenly (and illegally) able to go around behaving like a sworn-in policeman!!

If they manage to get a third or fourth series my bet is that he will ultimately turn out to have been a regime enforcer for Bashar al-Assad.

Yes to this ^

There was also the trope which I find MASSIVELY irritating in dramas – for every suggestion, question or approach to be met with a 'nope'. eg "I think we should look at this because..." "nope'"
"Maybe so and so can help because"... "Nope".

I would LOVE for someone in a drama to respond with "gosh, that's a really good idea. Let's do it". Or: "interesting theory. Tell me more." Or "you want a job in my department? Sure, let's chat"

The air hostess ex-wife pissed me right off. She dumped her teenage son with his stepfather to travel the world and has the audacity to turn up and tell him all the things he’s doing wrong as a parent.

'I was convinced Elsa (or is she Ailsa? Lyle's mum) was either Shirley Henderson in a wig OR Lorraine Kelly'

I really enjoyed it. I think the observations on this thread are totally reasonable but I couldn’t wait to watch the next episode and that’s a sure sign of a good series for me!

Same here. I can forgive a bit of nonsense for the sake of a good yarn and a bit of escapism..

So was I 😆 And speaking of wigs, what was with the ginger mullet on the young DC? I don't think I could take any police officer with hair like that seriously!

Yes his hair do was quite spectacular. I loved the look and vibe of that police station just such a quirky bunch.

Big fan here too - just finished the last episode last night. I’m having withdrawal symptoms already. ..need some recommendations on what I can binge on next.

I really enjoyed it but had to peek at some of the violence and that cafe scene with stepson and the heavy....gosh, I was paralysed listening to all that revoltingness! Agree with most already said and also that it helps to suspend belief with some shows. I got thoroughly confused at all the young men who were or weren't who they seemed - did we ever see the real Sam? I'm also amazed that Merrit, after 4 years in a pressurised cigar tube with minimum hygiene, had no after effects 3 months later. So much for expensive night and eye creams, thought she'd at least be left with wrinkled elephant skin! And I get that her hair grew longer but what happened to her fingernails in 4 years? (I tend to get bogged down with petty stuff but you've all talked about the meaty bits!) Anyway, loved it, can't wait for another case and Akram could be my new heartthrob 😎

I’m on the last episode and not sure I fully understood it if I’m honest. I’ll hopefully get a recap on YouTube

I’m with you on the violence and the cafe scene @Lifestooshort71 - bit too much for me….. I was starting to wonder if I was the only one!!

The cafe scene terrified me, I think I stopped breathing as it got worse!

I think I figured out who was keeping Merritt captive when Morck and Akram went to Ailsa's caravan but I didn't twig what Sam/Lyle's role in it was, even though I noticed the actor cast as young Lyle looked like adult Sam and young Sam resembled Harry. Adult (real) Sam was Barclay from Strike, wasn't he?

And why did was director of the care home wear a face of makeup so heavy that she looked like she wandered in from the set of Dynasty or some other 80s soap??

And why did was director of the care home wear a face of makeup so heavy that she looked like she wandered in from the set of Dynasty or some other 80s soap??

I didn't really understand her role or what she hoped to gain.

Wasn't she using William's money as she became his guardian when his sister disappeared? Another red herring that led nowhere - agree about the makeup though!

When Akram sees Merrit through the porthole and says 'I knew it'....I was like OK, so why didn't you say that eight episodes ago? I guess he was congratulating himself because no one else would.

He meant I knew it in the sense of 'i knew she was still alive' not 'i knew she was being kept captive in a hyperbaric chamber.'

It's Ailsa, not Elsa. Pronounced Ale-Sa.

I did enjoy the Scottish accents. To the point where I thought there was another character called Carol and kept waiting for them to show up. (Disclaimer - I am not from the UK, so please forgive me).

"We've found your shitter" made me pause for a moment too.

The faffbook algorithms keep showing me interviews with the cast, and they were all laughing that Scottish people can’t pronounce Carl as Carl. Who decided to use that name for a main character in Scotland? 🤭

What does this mean?

Very true! I’m Scottish and work in Scotland, with a Carl and a Carol! Gets confusing! However I think Dept Q is taken from a Scandinavian book!