Dept. Q just wrapped up its first run on Netflix, so how did this moody Scottish cop series end, and what does it mean for a possible season 2?
Caution: This article contains SPOILERS for Dept. Q Season 1
This new Netflix Scottish drama opens with a bang, literally. Edinburgh Detectives Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) and Hardy (James Sives) are checking out a murder victim's home, only to be ambushed. Carl is shot through the throat while Hardy is left paralyzed, and another officer is killed.
Months later, Carl is back on the force where his already sardonic attitude has now become a bitter man, lashing out at everyone. Seeking to get him out of their hair, Detective Chief Superintendent Moira Jacobson (Kate Dickie) “promotes” Carl to Dept. Q, a new division meant to focus on cold cases. In reality, it’s a dingy basement setting with barely any budget where other troublesome cops are sent.
Carl is thus leading a pack that includes Syrian cop Akram (Alexej Manvelov) and quirky Detective Constable Rose (Leah Byrne). Despite his sardonic attitude, Carl is pushed to take on the case of Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie), a prosecutor missing for four years. Between her job and a harsh attitude that makes Morck look warm-hearted, there are plenty of suspects to go around.
What does the Merritt case involve in Dept. Q?
The Dept. Q case took several twists and turns before the viewer discovered that Merritt was alive, having been kept in an underground hyperbaric chamber for the last four years. She tried to escape a few times, but it was futile with a mysterious electronic voice taunting her on how she deserved this.
Flashbacks showed Merritt had a boyfriend named Harry, which went south when she believed he brutally beat her brother William in a robbery, giving him brain damage with Harry dying soon after. Merritt also seemed to be involved with a reporter named Sam Haig.
During all this, Morck believed Merritt’s boss, Stephen Burns (Mark Bonner), was corrupt and aided in messing up a high-profile murder trial.
Who kidnapped Merritt in Dept. Q?
Eventually, Merritt’s kidnappers were revealed as the man she believed was Sam Haig, but actually Lyle, Harry’s brother, aided by his mother, Alisa. Lyle was clearly affected by his mother abusing the two sons, including locking them in this very chamber. That made Lyle violent and it turned out that he was the one who gave William that savage beating.
The two blamed Merritt for Harry’s death and wanted her to suffer. When Detective Cunningham found her, it looked like Merritt was saved…until it turned out the constable was in on the whole thing. It seems he was under the impression Lyle had already killed Merritt years before, part of some confusing deal that ended with Lyle beating the cop to death with a hammer.
The cops had figured out that Lyle had killed the real Sam Haig and took his identity as part of his plan to trap Meritt. Now, with the cops closing in, Alisa and Lyle figured it was time to finally kill Merritt.
In a thrilling encounter, Carl and Akram showed up at the house. When Lyle shot at them, Carl took the bullet for his partner. That gave Akram the chance to kill Lyle. Alisa ended up shooting herself to avoid being arrested.
How does Dept. Q end and what does it mean for season 2?
Three months later, Merritt had reunited with William and getting her life back on track. Morck confronted Burns on his corruption, with Burns claiming some goons threatened his daughter. Morck blackmailed Burns to keep this quiet in exchange for Burns getting Dept. Q the funding they should have had.
There was a bitter turn for Akram as his heroics did allow his citizenship application to be fast-tracked. Sadly, this came with word Akram’s wife had operated on the wrong person in Syria and led to her death. The season ended with Morck, Akram, and Rose in the new Q offices along with Hardy, who was now walking on braces, and not happy to realize the office needed stairs to get to.
So that ended the first season with the promise of a possible season 2 tackling a new mystery. There is still a lingering question of Carl trying to find out who shot him and Hardy, with hints the officer who was killed may have been dirty and somehow involved. That’s a clear setup for season 2, as well as how Morck still needs a lot of therapy from Dr. Irving (Kelly MacDonald).
While we await a new season, at least Dept. Q wrapped up its first mystery well and the promise of more drama to come!
Dept. Q streaming on Netflix.
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