Warning: this article contains spoilers for Dept. Q.
Netflix’s crime drama seriesDept. Qfollows the riveting cold case of Merritt Lingard as a group of Edinburgh detectives piece together the clues of her disappearance. Matthew Goode leadsDept. Q’s castas Carl Morck, an impersonable detective recovering from a gunshot wound that paralyzed his partner and killed the responding police officer. As a result, Morck is assigned to cold cases and eventually comes to work on the case of Merritt Lingard, a lawyer who disappeared four years earlier.
The series is an impressive addition toNetflix’s crime TV show category, and keeps audiences glued to the screen from episode 1. Morck and his team, Akram and Rose, slowly uncover discrepancies in Merritt’s case, leading them to question whether someone on the inside had a hand in her disappearance. Unsurprisingly,Dept. Qquickly became a hit on Netflix, with viewers already hoping for a season 2. While there have been no announcements yet, Morck’s discovery of Merritt and his team’s happy ending rounded out season 1 well.
The Mother And Son Were From Merritt’s Past in Mhor
Image via Netflix
Audiences know fromDept. Qepisode 1 that Merritt Lingard is actually alive and has been held captive in a hyperbaric chamber for the past four years, but it takes the show’s investigators much longer to come to that conclusion. As Morck and his team investigate all the aspects of her disappearance that don’t add up,Merritt is constantly asked by her captor what she did to deserve her punishment. The lawyer recalls past cases where she helped put people away, but refused to help when they needed it; however, none of those instances are accurate.
While it is eventually revealed that Lyle was the one who actually attacked William, Harry took the fall for it, but the Jennings blamed Merritt for his death.
It is only in the final episode that she realizes that her captors are Ailsa and Lyle Jennings, the mother and brother of a boy she dated in high school who died falling off the ferry after attempting to escape their island home. Harry Jennings was accused of severely beating Merritt’s brother William and robbing their house. While it is eventually revealed that Lyle was the one who attacked William, Harry took the fall for it, but the Jennings blamed Merritt for his death.
Both Ailsa and Lyle Jennings were very clearly mentally unwell and unable to see that Merritt was not responsible for what happened to Harry, which was instead a tragic accident brought on by Lyle’s actions. She only learns the identity of her kidnappers right before she is rescued by Morck and Akram,ultimately realizing that her kidnapping was not her fault, and she does not have to feel guilty about Harry or surviving her time in the hyperbaric chamber.
Sam Haig Was Lyle Jennings All Along - Why He Stole The Identity
Or Rather, There Were Two Different Sams
Dept. Qhas a lot of twists and turns that keep viewers guessing who was truly behind Merritt’s disappearance, and perhaps one of the most convoluted is that of Sam Haig’s identity. Morck, Akram, and Rose spend a lot of time trying to uncover the extent of Merritt and Sam’s relationship and who he was outside his job as a reporter, butthey never stop to question whether they are indeed all talking about the same man.
Eventually, the detectives come to realize that the stories they have learned from his friends at the rock climbing center and what they know about his and Merritt’s relationship would put Sam Haig in two different places at once. Through their discoveries and Lyle Jennings' flashbacks,Dept. Qreveals that Sam and Lyle knew each otherfrom a corrections facility as teenagers, butLyle killed Sam after they reconnected and stole his identity to get closer to Merritt.
Was Merritt’s Boss Connected To Covering Up A Crime?
Morck and his team test out every possible suspect in Merritt’s disappearance, including her colleagues at the Crown Office. After learning that Merritt had slept with one of her colleagues, they spoke to him and learned of other suspicions in the department. Meanwhile, they realized that Sam Haig was looking into Merritt’s boss, Stephen Burns, and his potential connection to the defendant in the trial Merritt was prosecuting before she disappeared.Though Burns was not involved in Merritt’s kidnapping, he did have a big secret to hide.
Out of fear for his daughter’s life, Burns allowed the witness to be silenced and Finch to go free.
Just before her disappearance, Merritt was working on the Finch case, in which a husband was accused of killing his wife, though he claimed she had fallen down the stairs. Finch was ultimately found not guilty, but there was more to the story. He had ties to other criminals who had threatened Burns' daughter and had attacked a potential witness. Out of fear for his daughter’s life, Burns allowed the witness to be silenced and Finch to go free.Morck figures this out, though, and eventually leverages it to ask for more funding and a DI rank for Akram.
Who Really Shot Morck?
The ending ofDept. Qseason 1 sees Morck and his team solve Merritt’s case, but the detectives working on solving his own shooting case have far less luck. One of the biggest through-lines of the season is the aftermath of Morck and his partner, Hardy, being shot. This is true both in terms of the case itself being ongoing and in terms of their mental and physical well-being, as Hardy has to do extensive rehab and Morck has to begrudgingly attend therapy. They make progress throughout the season, buttheir case is left unsolved.
Morck’s colleagues who are working on his case miss a lot of details, prompting him to be far more involved than he probably should. By the end ofDept. Qseason 1, they have not yet found the identity of the shooter, butMorck does have a theory that there was more than one person involved. The responding officer faked getting a wellness check call and was simply waiting for officers to arrive, where someone was waiting inside to attack them, making it likely that some officers have connections to the criminal world.
How Dept. Q’s Ending Sets Up Season 2
Morck Is Clearly Ready To Pick A New Cold Case With His Team
Generally,Dept. Qhas a fairly happy ending, as Morck and his team solve Merritt’s case and save her, Morck is finally beginning to have a more positive attitude and a better relationship with his stepson, and Hardy is able to walk again with crutches and joins the cold case team at the office for the first time. However,the series does leave a lot of room to come back to the characters for numerous seasons, given that there are so many cold cases for them to tackle next.
Dept. Qcurrently holds an 84% critics' approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an even better 94% audience approval rating.
Along with theDept. Qteam having a ton of cases to pick and a more positive reputation, there are still a few lingering questions from season 1. The biggest question that season 2 could explore would be who really shot Hardy and Morck and why. It seems like there is a lot of corruption within the police station and in the courts, so those may be more connected than audiences know. Likewise, it would be fun to seeDept. Qfurther explore Morck’s growing relationships with those around him, creating an even more complex view of the character.
Dept. Q
Cast
Dept. Q follows a brash yet brilliant cop who is appointed head of a new police department in Edinburgh. Leading a team of misfits, he tackles cold cases, uncovering old mysteries and long-buried secrets.
