Line of Duty, season 6 episode 5 recap: Davidson is in deep but who fired those cliffhanger shots?

Where do we even begin? Deep breath…

The results of the DNA test are in….

As widely predicted, the DNA results have shown that DCI Joanne Davidson (Kelly Macdonald) is a blood relative of the late Tommy Hunter, the OCG kingpin turned police informant and fellow Glaswegian. And, as Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) handily informed us, her “runs of homozygosity” make the findings very interesting, very interesting indeed.

What do you mean – “what are runs of homozygosity”?

In a nutshell: Davidson and Hunter are not just related, but are very closely related. Father? Brother? In any case, Davidson was well placed on Operation Lighthouse to throw the scent off whatever the murdered journalist Gail Vella was investigating. Which was very handy for Hunter. No, not that Hunter…

Gail Vella was investigating everything

Literally everything. In fact, the easiest summary of what Vella was investigating would be to say that she was investigating Line of Duty (is Jed Mercurio “H”?). The ever resourceful DC Chloe Bishop (Shalom Brune-Franklin) dug about like a frenzied mole this week and discovered that the day after Vella’s murder, the journalist was due to interview the disgraced Patrick Fairbank (George Costigan).

Fairbank, now in a low security prison on grounds of ill health, was the high-ranking officer implicated in the Sands View Boys’ Home abuse scandal, but he was of little help to Bishop and Arnott.

However, it did not stop there – Vella also attempted to interview every cast member in Line of Duty history: Manish Prasad, Hari Bains, Roz Huntley, Tina Tranter, Jane Cafferty, Jill Biggeloe and Lisa McQueen. None of these rascals would talk. But former OCG heavy Lee Banks (last seen throttling Jimmy Lakewell) did talk. And Banks discovered what Vella was really investigating. And he told his brother, Carl Banks. Who told the OCG. Who told him to kill Vella. Which he did. Straightforward? Not a bit of it…

It’s all about the death in police custody of Lawrence Christopher

Jimmy Lakewell (Patrick Baladi), as we guessed, did indeed give Arnott a droplet of info during last week’s tense convoy scene. Namely, that Vella was looking into the suspicious death of Lawrence Christopher, a young black man killed in police custody in 2003 (the parallels with the murder of Stephen Lawrence, who did not die in police custody, are too numerous to mention).

Here are the facts as we know them: Christopher, an architect with no previous history with the police, was attacked by a gang of white youths outside a railway station in April 2003. When he was found by the police, he was confused and uncooperative. He died later that night in police custody, with the post mortem discovering an undiagnosed fracture to his skull. The police at the time said the attack was gang-related, dragged their heels over finding the youths (who had been identified by many witnesses) and generally made a mess of the investigation.

Footage seen later showed the custody officers mocking Christopher and making monkey noises as he lay dying. The gang of youths were let off and given anonymity. The custody officers were given compensation and early retirement. A shameful episode, as Hastings said, but where does it all fit in…?

Well, blow me down, it’s James Nesbitt

Here’s where it starts to get really complicated. The SIO (Senior Investigating Officer) who made such a cack-handed job of the Christopher investigation was none of other than DCI Marcus Thurwell. If you recognise that name, give yourself a huge gold star and a promotion to Acting DI – he was last referenced in series three, in conjunction with the Sands View Boys’ Home scandal. Thurwell was the SIO into the “suicide” of the Sands View whistleblower, Oliver Stephens-Lloyd.

He had taken early retirement and was last spotted swanning about in deck shoes on a jetty in Spain, where he bears an uncanny resemblance to James Nesbitt (the actor who only a few weeks back was complaining he had never been cast in Line of Duty – fellas, he’s played us). So, Vella was about to dig out the ugly truth about the death of Lawrence Christopher – did Lee and Carl Banks tip off Thurwell? Is Thurwell “H”? Does “H” stand for “Him from Cold Feet”?

• Read more: Line of Duty, season 6 episode 5 review

This goes to the top – the very top

Not complicated enough for you? Okay. Also on Thurwell’s team for the Christopher investigation were none other than DCI Ian Buckells (Nigel Boyle), bent copper and OCG fall guy, and Chief Constable Philip Osborne (Owen Teale), the police chief who is currently putting the kibosh on all anti-corruption investigations and closing AC-12. Blimey, this goes deep.

But why was the Christopher killing covered up in the first place? Surely throwing a few racist custody officers and/or gang of ne’er-do-wells under the bus would have been easier? Well… One of the racist thugs who attacked Christopher was Darren Hunter, son of OCG head honcho Tommy Hunter, who it seems must have put pressure on Thurwell (and possibly Buckells and Osborne) to ensure his boy walked free.

That boy, of course, we now know is related to DCI Joanne Davidson, the SIO on Operation Lighthouse, the investigation into the murder of Gail Vella, who it seems was killed for digging into the death of Lawrence Christopher… Making sense yet?

Ted Hastings is back in the frame

Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) would be proud of Arnott, who has doggedly followed his hunch about a bent copper. Unfortunately for Hastings, that bent copper is him. Arnott received the forensics report on the cash he found in Steph Corbett’s attic and, lo and behold, it was the same cash given to Hastings in that dodgy deal from series five. But why would Hastings give £50,000 to John Corbett’s widow?

Arnott discovered the truth (or, as this is Line of Duty, the temporary truth) in his prison chat with Lee Banks, who informed Arnott it was Hastings who told him that Corbett was an undercover police officer. So: whether deliberately or not, Hastings got Corbett killed, and the £50,000 is guilt money.

Hasting’s behaviour is growing increasingly suspicious too, especially when ordering that AC-12 do not apprehend the nefarious PC Ryan Pilkington (Gregory Piper). Arnott smelt a big rat. But we know the truth, don’t we boys and girls? In his chat with PCC Rohan Sindwhani (Ace Bhatti), who has been effectively forced to resign by the public bullishness of Osborne, Hastings was given the green light go full throttle to root out “H” once and for all.

Pilkington is his route to H – bring him in now and the bent copper will keep shtum. How Hastings explains his involvement in Corbett’s death, however…

Boo, hiss! It’s Patricia Carmichael!

“For those of you who for whatever inexplicable reason don’t know, I’m Detective Superintendent Patricia Carmichael.” She’s back. Anna Maxwell Martin’s absolute rotter of a DSI returned and, of course, she’s taking Hastings’s job, and taking delight in belittling the Ulsterman at every turn: “I don’t mind ma’am or boss. I’m not a big fan of guvnor or gaffer,” she told her new underlings.

She had only catastrophic news for Ted: she has told the CPS to drop the charges against Buckells, she’s stopped all AC-12 surveillance immediately (Davidson, Pilkington and Terry Boyle) and she’s starting her new role a month early, while Hastings is still in situ. Mother of God, it’s an outrage.

The big question is: is Carmichael corrupt or simply a malicious jobsworth carrying out orders from Osborne (who may or may not be corrupt). In any case, what a delight to see Maxwell Martin back and barking orders.

“Put the gun down, stop trying to act like the big man, you’re a little boy”

You tell him, Kate! Yes, it’s another Jed Mercurio cliffhanger – now we have a week to wait for the results of a Mexican stand-off between DI Kate Fleming (Kate McClure) and the rascal Pilkington. Two shots were fired, but by whom?

Davidson told the naughty OCG chatroom that she wanted out, but whoever is the other side of that laptop (and thanks to that use of “definately” we are led to believe that it is “H” him/herself) had one more job for her – getting rid of the pesky Fleming, who had masterminded that thrilling raid on the OCG gun workshop.

And lest Davidson get cold feet – she tried to force Fleming into a transfer rather than killing her – little Ryan Pilkington attempted to ensure the job got done.

Why on earth Fleming thought meeting Davidson – who, yes, she clearly likes, but she knows is bent – in a dark, empty lorry park was a good idea, is beyond me. But she did manage to text the cavalry. Did they make it in time?

Tedism of the week

A tip of the police issue cap to “We will be left holding a sprat when we should have landed a mackerel” and a certain reference to diesel. But seeing as she has usurped him in the show, we’ll give Tedism of the Week to Patricia Carmichael: “What needs protecting is the anti-corruption budget, which you are going through like there’s no tomorrow – which in your case actually does apply.” Ouch.

Idle thoughts of the week

• Is James Nesbitt actually going to come into the show? Or is this one big in-joke from Jed?

• Shalom Brune-Franklin hasn’t been given much to do, apart from be Police Bot 3000, but she handled the Lawrence Christopher scene beautifully. Her rage simmered.

• 24 officers to run surveillance on one person? I’m with Carmichael – slash the budget!

• No room above to mention the excellent workshop operation scene, but two thoughts: DS Lomax (Perry Fitzpatrick) was performatively sulky about it all, which made me wonder if he was in on it with Fleming. And, PS Pilkington was extremely sulky about it – Ryan! A little subtlety please! They’re not supposed to know you’re bent.

• Anyone else press pause on the shot of Hasting’s Sergeants Course class photo? I’ve scoured it for clues. Found: none.

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