Line of Duty Seasons 1-6 Review

Line of Duty (2012-)

Season 1 - 5 episodes (2012)
Season 2 - 6 episodes (2014)
Season 3 - 6 episodes (2016)
Season 4 - 6 episodes (2017)
Season 5 - 6 episodes (2019)
Season 6 - 7 episodes (2021)
Rent Line of Duty on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Jed Mercurio
Starring: Lennie James, Martin Compston, Vicky McClure, Keeley Hawes, Adrian Dunbar, Jessica Raine, Craig Parkinson, Daniel Mays, Thandie Newton, Jason Watkins, Stephen Graham, Anna Maxwell Martin, Kelly Macdonald
Rated: TV-14
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Plot
In this British crime drama, a team of elite detectives must investigate police corruption.

Verdict
It's such an engrossing show. Each season is short as there's no filler. Each season focuses on a different suspect as an anti-corruption unit investigates others cops. That leads to lot of ups, downs, and twists. The characters are well developed and layered. Everyone operates in the gray. No one is ever all good or bad and that's realistic. The story is the strongest aspect. We know exactly why characters react as they do. Even when it's not in their best interest, they think it is. When you're caught in a trap, your first instinct is to escape. Some of the best scenes are the interrogations. Sometimes it's explosive, other times suspects walk right into confessing. It's a great show.
Watch It.

Review
This quickly became one of the highest rated dramas in the UK. A seventh season is in production. With a shorter episode count, that leaves no room for the story to st ray. It's a great premise that remains focused. Set in Britain, it's a slight twist to the rules of law seen in American shows. Interrogations especially are intense. Suspects are pressured to reveal their alibis, cautioned that a defense based on 'new information' may harm their case.

Season 1
It's a story concentrated on police corruption. A promising young cop, Steve Arnott (Martin Compston), leads a raid with an unfortunate conclusion. The captain wants to cover it up, but Arnott refuses and is transferred. He's demoted to AC-12, an anti-corruption unit where he's tasked with investigating top cop Tony Gates (Lennie James). Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure), also part of AC-12, goes undercover and joins Gates's unit to expose him. Our introduction to Gates has him stopping a robbery in broad daylight, meeting his mistress Laverty, and then getting cop of the year that night. Things begin to unravel when he covers up his mistress's drunk hit and run.

S1E2: Martin Compston plays Steve Arnott

Gates cuts ties with Laverty, but she spins a story to bring him back. He realizes she has been laundering money, lied to him, and is now using him to cover up her deeds. He ends up framed for her murder, trying to escape that charge and Arnott's investigation. Paranoid, Gates devises a ruse to test his team's loyalty. Fleming passes.

Gates is blackmailed into taking out Arnott. He schedules a meeting with Arnott at a remote location, knowing Arnott won't pass that up. It's a ruse, but Gates pivots just as he's about to walk away to save Arnott.

S1E3:Vicky McClure, Lennie James play Kate Fleming, Tony Gates

The same captain that ordered Arnott to cover up the raid is brought in on the terrorism case. We and Arnott both know that's something Gates made up to get himself out of trouble. While it has no basis, the police leadership want to look good and stopping terrorism does that. Gates arrests the crime boss that's blackmailing him, getting him to admit to several crimes that helps Arnott. Gates is devastated that his misdeeds will become public, while it's also revealed that the crime boss has more than one spy embedded in the police.

It's a solid first season. While it's not a new story, this excels in focusing that story while exploring the shades of gray throughout the department. Gates manipulated charges to make himself and unit look good, but that's nothing different from what we see other police captains doing. Tony's downfall is his mistress. He begins covering up a series of escalating crimes of which he can't extricate himself once he realizes what's actually happening. Arnott's the good guy, but he also makes a few questionable decisions.

Season 2
This season is even better than the first. It's more shades of gray as the season begins with multiple deaths. This spins conspiracies and coverups that reach the top, and the scary thing is that it makes you wonder how many cover ups never see the light of day. When you hold power and grant favors, it's easy to divert justice. It also adds a sense of realism. In this season several cops are willing to be complicit in crimes at the promise of a promotion or favor. If you're only one cop pushing for the truth to be revealed, you'll either get pushed out or worse.

In the first episode police officer Denton (Keeley Hawes) is the only survivor of a witness transport operation that ends in multiple deaths. She's detained as she seems to be hiding something. Everyone thinks she's guilty. Why else would she request no backup nor firearms? We're also led to believe she directed the death of the only witness, but I guessed that was misdirection.

Fleming has a connection to the case and refuses the assignment. Arnott hits it off with his new partner, only for that to end unexpectedly.

In the second episode Fleming and Arnott, with their boss Hastings (Adrian Dunbar), interview Denton. They think they have her trapped, and then she flips it on them. She provides evidence that all of them have broken the rules and could just as easily be portrayed as corrupt like they're doing to her. While that's not definitive proof, it is effective at turning the tables. Denton still ends up in prison, and being a cop in prison is not easy. Denton gets abuse from inmates and guards. It doesn't speak well for the correctional system.

S2E5: Martin Compston, Vicky McClure play Steve Arnott, Kate Fleming

Everybody lies to keep their reputations. Even Arnott states you have to know when to reveal the truth. Dryden leaks that Denton was arrested because he made a traffic ticket for his wife disappear and that's now in the news. Fleming discovers Dryden purposely put Denton on the task force when she told him she was going to expose their illicit relationship. That's when Arnott begins believing Denton.

Dryden is questioned, but he isn't helpful. That's not a surprise. He's covering. Then we have Hasting trying to help Dryden because he promised Hasting a promotion. Everyone is compromised. Akers, an officer killed on the task force received a substantial cash payment before the incident. We find out who attacked the task force from the first episode, and it seems they're now out to get Denton. Things only get worse for Dryden, who may be involved in another crime concerning a missing girl. Dryden is all but done, but Hastings is desperate to protect his promotion that Dryden promises to deliver. The interview with Dryden is a lot of fun. We know they have him, and he's unaware. We can see them leading him. AC-12 even gave Dryden's lawyer the information; he just hasn't read it. Dryden is holding the evidence that will bring him down. That's how you make a detective show exciting. This shows you how critical collecting evidence can be. The cap to that is using it to put away a suspect. When Dryden is faced with his crimes and the consequences, his second thought is to bring down as many people with him, specifically Hastings.

Dryden is forced to resign while Denton is sentenced to prison because she accepted a bribe to transport a witness knowing what would happen. She was specifically left alive to take the fall. Dryden was involved, but since he has rank he gets to avoid a harsher punishment.

This is such a good season. It improves upon everything in the first season while further exploring the invisible lines of ethics. It's all a matter of degrees. Nothing and no one in this show is completely black and white. 

Season 3
A SWAT team chasing a car leads to a foot chase. Waldron (Daniel Mays) gets to the suspect first who subsequently surrenders. Waldron shoots him anyway, lies about it, manipulates the scene to look like self defense, then coerces everyone else on the team to lie and state they saw the event unfold as he describes it.

Waldron isn't done. We see him steal a weapon on a raid and detain a person. By the end of the episode Waldron is dead, and no one, not even the people in the room, can clearly state what happened. It certainly seems like one of Waldron's team killed him, but none of them will reveal what happened. Fleming was the first one on the scene, and none of Waldron's team were even providing first aid. Eventually the team states Waldron shot himself.

Waldron seemed to have some kind of list which he addresses to Arnott. Cottan (Craig Parkinson) searches Waldron's apartment first and takes the list, hiding it. We know he's dirty from last season, but what is he hiding now? He's playing all sides to protect his position.

S3E6: Martin Compston, David Ryan, Craig Parkinson, Adrian Dunbar, Vicky McClure play 
Steve Arnott, Solicitor, Matthew Cottan, Ted Hastings, Kate Fleming

It seems Waldron was out for vengeance, but if he wanted justice served why did he not state why he did this? Brickford, one of Waldron's team, finally states Bains killed Waldron. This team has had so many stories about this event that it's difficult for AC-12 to parse.

Denton appeals her conviction from last season, indicating she had a relationship with Arnott. He denies this, but also refuses to let her play a recording she claims is proof. He's suspended because of the allegations, though he claims he was trying to gain her trust. Later in the season she seems to admit they didn't sleep together, but if that's true what is he protecting? The secondary allegation is that Arnott planted the money that was concluded to be the bribe Denton accepted last season.

Cottan is trying to get Arnott suspended to cover up that he's thwarting the Waldron investigation. Cottan and Fleming start a relationship. I assume he wants to pit her against Arnott, but I was willing to bet she was undercover to find out what Cottan knows. Waldron's revenge extends to former police chief Fairbanks. He denies everything, but it's easy to conclude he's involved. Cottan is protecting someone, but it didn't seem like Fairbanks. While suspended, Arnott teams up with Denton to find Waldron's revenge list.

Cottan continues to tie up loose ends, framing Arnott to take the fall for all of his crimes. While I thought Cottan might get caught, with this show you just never know. Cottan has Arnott all but locked up, but a few gaps in Cottan's story are noticed by Fleming. Hastings also questions Cottan's 'evidence.' They both realize it's too convenient. The district attorney is also tied to the coverup. She was appointed by Fairbanks and his ilk which gives her motive to end the investigation.

Hastings and Fleming doubt Cottan, and they bring him in for an interview. They have a hunch, but they can't prove he's guilty. Last season's interrogations were exciting. I wondered if the final episode would try to match them, but instead it leads to Cottan fleeing the station with armed help during the interview. 

This is such a good show. I rank the seasons as 2, 3, 1. I liked the second the best just with how it paints everyone as covering something up. This show remains exciting with a short episode count and no filler. This doesn't get bogged down in extend backstory or sub plots.

Season 4
Roz Huntley (Thandie Newton) saves a kidnapped woman and even arrests the suspect. Fellow officer Ifield (Jason Watkins) disagrees with her forensic conclusions, asserting she's going after the wrong person. We're given reason to doubt Ifield when he approaches a victim that got away. The disagreement culminates in an argument when Roz visits him at home. I get trying to protect your career, but Ifield's reaction to events is wild. At the end of the first episode, we're left wondering what happened between the two.

AC-12 questions Roz. While she has answers for everything, her conclusions invite questions. She gets removed from her case. Roz shows up at Ifield's house again, but this time it's a crime scene. She calls Arnott off the scene, and I just knew she was going to point the situation in a direction that would help. If she wasn't bent before, she's embracing corruption now. Then again, Ifield was doing the same thing. His planned coverup makes him look like the very person Roz is chasing for her other case. Arnott isn't so sure, visiting Roz's husband. AC-12 doesn't know what happened between them, but we know Arnott is heading in the right direction.

S4E1: Thandie Newton plays Roz Huntley

Roz would rather let her husband think she cheated on him than know what she really did. A masked person attacks Arnott in epiosde three, and that seems like a plot contrivance. There's no reason for a suspect to pop up and create more evidence.

When AC-12 questions Roz again, she turns it around asserting that Hastings is sexist and that's why he's investigating her. Hastings is justified, but being a Mason and not promoting women makes him look wrong. She has a point, even if it is a miscarriage of justice to save herself. She even gets her superior Hilton to sign off on a statement against AC-12. She did that by promising him a relationship that she rescinds once she has what she needs.

The show draws links from Roz's case back to Tony Gates and his girlfriend Laverty. That seems like a stretch. What would the criminal group's stake in Roz's case be? It has nothing to do with them.

Last season Cottan implicated someone with the initial H was orchestrating corruption within the police. Hilton tries to get Hastings fired based on the clue, but that just makes me think Hilton must be guilty. 

Roz scratched her arm between episodes one and two. The wound gets worse the entire season, reaching a critical moment in episode five. It creates a rift between her and her husband, and in retaliation as well as protecting herself, Roz arrests her husband for a murder. Surprisingly, it's Roz's wound that is part of her downfall.

This is another great season. Each one is a twisting mystery, but the strength of the story elevates the show. We understand why Roz committed to every action she undertook. In the moment you try to escape, hoping you can get out, but it's never that easy. She did try to bring down everyone around her though. It's like what they say about a drowning person, they'll sink everyone else around them.

Season 5
A daylight assault on a police detail leaves only one cop alive. Looking into the gang attack, Arnott and Fleming stumble upon a case that's restricted access, deducing an undercover agent is embedded in the gang. It may very well be the criminal that spared the cop.

S5E2: Martin Compston, Vicky McClure play Steve Arnott, Kate Fleming

The undercover isn't quite what we thought. Arnott and Fleming visit Corbett's (Stephen Graham) wife and find nothing. He's staging another raid on police confiscated weapons, and that gets the notice of an unknown bigger boss. Corbett finds Arnott, trying to convince him he's not dirty. He's just trying to find the big players despite his handlers pushing him to chase low level targets. Corbett thinks all of leadership is dirty to some degree, refusing to report in and give them a chance to thwart his case.

The cop that survived in the first episode ends up being part of the crime ring. She identifies who recruited her, and it wasn't Corbett. The AC-12 suspects the corrupt officer's name begins with an H, the infamous culprit that's been in the periphery of this show since the beginning.

S5E4: Stephen Graham plays John Corbett

Corbett hopes to lure the corrupt police officer pulling the strings to his warehouse raid. AC-12 is on stakeout watching the building, but they're called off to provide backup. It's a setup and Corbett shoots the officer that shows up, Hargreaves. Corbett thinks Hastings is dirty. Hastings looks guilty due to massive debt and a failing marriage. He's compromised but allowed to stay on the case anyway. I doubted Hasting was really H, that and the real H wouldn't lose his life savings on a stupid investment. Hastings fervor to catch Corbett looks like revenge, and he takes a big swing in an effort to bring down the crime ring. I suppose Hastings wants a legacy that's not a ruined marriage and terrible investment, but it shouldn't be allowed to continue.

Hasting looks especially guilty, and I wasn't sure how he would get out of it. If he did get arrested, it would give the show real stakes, implying that no one is safe. Hastings's DNA is found on a dead body, only increasing his guilty appearance. The case is all but a slam dunk. We get a twist I don't like. It's too easy of a cop out to save Hastings. I'd have liked this season a lot better without the Scooby Doo ending. 

Season 6
This season is more action oriented, and nearly every episode seems to end on some kind of cliff hanger. It's not bad, but it also seems like the show is pandering. It's still a really good season, but I didn't like this season as much. Part of it, this show has set the bar so high.

Arnott begins investigating Davidson (Kelly Macdonald) after a tip from a jilted lover, Jatri. Davidson is investigating the murder of journalist, and she has a suspect, Boyle. We've seen him before with criminals using him and coercing him into crimes. Our doubt with Davidson derives from her diverting a convoy to investigate a lesser crime. It potentially provided the real criminal time to escape.

S6E5: Kelly Macdonald plays Joanne Davidson

Arnott is on pain killers, struggling with his injury sustained in season four. Fleming recognizes but can't place a new police officer, Pilkington. He was a kid helping out gangsters in the first season. He's still on the organized crime payroll despite his new occupation.

Fleming interferes with Arnott and Hasting's investigation, but it seems that Davidson may have framed Jatri. She also cuts an interview short just as it seemed Boyle was going to provide new information.

Hastings is pushed to retire less he face disciplinary action. The AC-12 is being consolidated, and the bosses never liked how doggedly Hastings pursued the truth.

This show is usually more grounded. We never get police shootouts in broad daylight, but Arnott has a witness we first met in season 4 and the crime group doesn't want him to talk. The problem is that the group is now after Arnott.

Fleming sets a trap for Pilkington so he can't tip off his bosses. Pilkington manages to corner Fleming just as the screen fades to black and a gun shot rings out. Previous seasons didn't inflate the tension like this.

Davidson gets interrogated, but Carmichael seems quick to avoid any questions related to the fourth H. It results in Davidson headed to jail, but she's luckily spared from crooked guards killing her.

The big mystery this season is who is the top man, the fourth H. Finally it's revealed, but it seems a bit too easy, and I'm not sure how that person is actually related to some of these crimes or the other people. It seems like a stunt, but it's worse than I thought. That reveal casts a pall on the season. The fourth person has been built up since nearly the beginning, and the reveal is a flop more than anything. The season ends with the police commissioner stating their is no corruption as he works to cover up the evidence and criminals that would contradict his blatantly false statements. 

This show is so much fun. Seasons remain tight and focused on the plot. Each season unfolds a twisting mystery, and a big part of this show is that even the 'good guys' are only a few steps away from being corrupt. Sometimes they even cross a line, but that grounds this show in reality. Rarely is life so easily divided between black and white. My rank for favorite seasons would be: 2, 4, 5, 3, 1, 6.