Posted in: BBC, TV | Tagged: bbc, line of duty, piers morgan

Disappointed With Line Of Duty Finale? You Weren't Paying Attention

Last night saw the end of the sixth series of Line Of Duty on BBC 1. And so many people are really annoyed at the revelation at the end of the episode. But there you go. That Piers Morgan seems to be the most annoyed, gives you a clue that if you agree with him, you might be wrong.

Nice use of a typo though. Spoilers going forward of course.

The revelation that former Detective Superintendent Ian Buckells was the fourth man, the fourth point of H, was disappointing to so many because he was such a "nothing" character, an incompetent officer who fell upwards. Of course, now we have an idea regarding just how he fell upwards. And it leaves a far more dangerous idea, that someone can do a lot of harm without being a mastermind, that the system is corrupt and continues to be corrupt, without some moustache-twirling in the background.

And now some of his incompetence is revealed to be planning. The moment when he lets Dot Cotton have a word with Tommy Hunter in the back of the police van in the first series? Watch that again and it makes a lot more sense in that context. He has always been there as the big buffoon, hiding in plain sight – and that moment in the interview when his character changes and the facade drops was up there with Keyser Söze… until the team create an interview pincer movement around him.

Hannah Arendt coined the term, the banality of evil, and that is Buckells. Anyone could have been the fourth point of H – anyone could have been the other three points, and they showed us how the OCG had compromised them all with evidence against them, held for a later date.

There were some amazing red herrings. Casting James Nesbitt as a former police superintendent suspect seen only in photographs was probably one of the greatest. Detective Chief Superintendent Patricia Carmichael was never H, she was just doing her job and dealing with an AC-12 that had all sorts of issues and really wouldn't be allowed to carry out the work it did. Of course, she would shut it down.

Of course, there are more Line Of Duty questions to answer. Can the OCG be weeded out of the police? Will Ted Hastings successfully appeal against his forced retirement, or even be put in the dock for revealing that the OCG had a mole and leading to the deal of an officer? And what did Chief Constable Osborne know about the death of Gail Vella, and how did he facilitate Buckells?

Does Jo Davison deserve to live a happy life? What actually happened with Patrick Fairbank? Is that real dementia at play or was Davison lying about her childhood? And if so how long will her witness protection last? Will there ever be a seventh series of Line Of Duty? Yeah, probably.

If you disagree with me, you are wrong. And if you want to interrogate me on this point, I demand to be interviewed by a gossip columnist one rank higher than me. Mother Of God…

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