Line of Duty, episode 5 – An amputation, a new body, and the return of Arnott
Oh, handy Thandie. Oh, true blue Ted. Oh, everyone. Line Of Duty’s penultimate instalment was a pacy thrill-ride, taking in grisly woodland discoveries, dying declarations and more disabled cops than an Ironside lookalike contest. Here are all the talking points from episode five.
Not-so-handy Thandie after all
This was a rollercoaster episode for DCI Roz Huntley (Thandie Newton). After her table-turning, mic-dropping performance in last week’s AC-12 interview, the icy antagonist was suddenly put on the back foot by the discovery of more female remains in the woods. Would they prove that neither Michael Farmer nor forensic boffin Tim Ifield (Jason Watkins) could be the culprit?
Meanwhile, that nasty left arm injury, which hurty Huntley has been nursing for four episodes now, wasn’t getting any better. Indeed, as husband Nick (Lee Ingleby) supportively and sympathetically said: “That thing on your wrist is starting to stink.” Luckily, none of the professional sleuths around Huntley seemed to notice she was only using one arm and necking pills straight from the bottle.
She could barely conceal her relief, then, when it turned out the dismembered limbs belonged to Balaclava Man’s second victim, Leonie Collersdale. Sure, there were some differences in decomposition rates and how they’d been packaged up, but Huntley could still pin Leonie’s murder on Farmer, Ifield or some unholy team-up of the two.
However, things soon began to unravel for the dreadlocked detective. The date on the newspapers used to wrap the body parts proved they were buried after Ifield’s death and while Farmer was in custody. And that wrist wound was getting so bad, Huntley vomited, had delirious hallucinations (cue a fleeting return for Jason Watkins) and fainted when she tried to change the dressing.
By the time she regained consciousness, Huntley was in hospital, with the sickening realisation that her hand had been amputated to save her life from MRSA and sepsis. Newton portrayed her character’s distress powerfully in this gut-punch scene. Regardless of manipulative Huntley’s evil machinations, you couldn’t help feeling sorry for her.
She was soon back on the warpath, though, blaming the bullied and bewildered Nick for her disfigurement, before coldly arresting him for Ifield’s murder. She was last seen planting evidence on one of his jumpers - presumably tell-tale black balaclava fibres. Yep, even a one-handed Huntley is still a formidable foe.
Arnott’s back but will he walk again?
AC-12’s terrier-in-chief DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) was last seen in intensive care after what keeps being called “his fall” - like he’s an old lady who tripped on a paving stone, rather than a cop who was beaten with a baseball bat, then chucked down three flights of stairs.
So it was a surprise to viewers, as well as his AC-12 colleagues, when Arnott arrived in the office in a wheelchair, keen to return to work on restricted duties. He’s not quite ready but ever dedicated (OK, obsessed), he’s pulled the wool over occupational health department’s eyes because alleged serial killer Michael Farmer’s future is on the line. Also, it’s now personal between Arnott and Balaclava Man.
He’s putting a brave face on it - in denial, if you prefer - but Arnott has swollen vertebrae and might never regain full mobility. In a touching scene, he eventually admitted as much to DS Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure), who hugged him as he wept. The pair had their differences this series but it was good to see them being best mates again.
One sartorial side effect of Steve’s injuries is that he’s no longer wearing his trademark waistcoats. Too tricky to button up? Or was this detail meant to symbolise his diminished physical powers and decreased cockiness? Either way, it could mean two officers who’ve been disabled by this brutal case.
The best British TV shows of all time
Conspiracy goes right back to series one
Last week, we had a callback to series two and three, with Huntley citing DI Lindsay Denton (Keeley Hawes). Now writer Jed Mercurio went even further back, rewarding longtime Line Of Duty fans with a storyline linking back to 2012’s debut run.
When it became clear that this latest batch of Leonie Collersdale’s remains has been kept in frozen storage, it rang a bell with Arnott. His first case after being recruited to AC-12 involved the mysterious disappearance of dodgy, money-laundering property developer Jackie Laverty (Gina McKee), presumed murdered by her gangland associates.
Her body was kept in a deep freeze - along with incriminating DNA - to blackmail DCI Tony Gates (Lennie James) into covertly working for the criminal fraternity. And who was Gates' station chief back then? A certain Derek Hilton (Paul Higgins) - at the time Chief Superintendent, now Assistant Chief Constable.
Furthermore, both Arnott and Laverty were attacked by balaclava-clad thugs wielding baseball bats - just like Arnott in that fateful lift a fortnight ago. Does this mean the same organised crime syndicate is behind this case? Are AC-12 battling a corruption conspiracy that’s been operating for at least five years?
The Caddy was back too. Kind of
Despite Huntley declining to sleep with him last week, slippery ACC Hilton was still defending her, taking AC-12 off the case and trying to close them down. Something to hide himself, perhaps? The plot thickened when Hilton insisted on seeing the dying declaration recorded by DI Matthew Cottan (Craig Parkinson) at the climax of the last series - obtaining it by foul means when fair didn’t work.
“Dot” Cottan was the corrupt officer embedded within the police force, codenamed “The Caddy”, working on behalf of the criminal fraternity across the first three series. Recorded by Fleming as Cottan died from a bullet wound, his last gasp evidence put a paedophile policeman behind bars. But asked for the name of the top dog in the clandestine network of corrupt officers, Cottan only managed to communicate through blinking that it began with “H”.
Since Supt Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) recruited Cottan to AC-12 and worked with him for two years before he was rumbled, Hilton accused Hastings of being prime suspect and gave him a taste of his own medicine by serving him with a “Reg 15” (a Regulation 15 notice, advising that a complaint has been made or a conduct matter has come to light which warrants investigation).
Spluttering with outrage, Hastings pointed out there are eight serving senior officers who could be in the frame, including Hilton himself, plus others who have retired or relocated. It seems they both suspect each other - but Hilton is holding most of the cards.
Outmanoeuvred and outranked, Hastings seemed rather defeated during this epsiode - but there were glimpses of the old crusading cop we’ve come to love. See lines like, “What are you waiting for? The number 19 bus?”, “Now we’re sucking on diesel” and “This department’s been watertight for years, fella, and now it’s leaking like a colander.”
So it’s Hastings vs Hilton in a battle of the Hs. As Hastings determinedly declared: “If we go down, we go down fighting.”
Maneet framed Jamie before bowing out
Last week, we were left open-mouthed at the revelation that AC-12’s cult heroine, WPC Maneet Bindra (Maya Sondhi), was the one giving Hilton and Huntley ammunition to use against the unit.
Now Maneet tricked AC-12 newbie DC Jamie Desford (Royce Pierreson) into handing over his computer log-on (a neat touch how his username was “jamienotjames”), then used his terminal to download the classified Caddy file.
Maneet met Hilton in another dark alley, handed him the USB stick and told him “I’m finished”. Wracked by guilt, she promptly took early maternity leave and was last seen sobbing in the lift as she exited AC-12, possibly for good. We’re still convinced Maneet is essentially one of the good guys, so hopefully her storyline will have one last twist.
Meanwhile, DC Desford also left AC-12 under a cloud. Shut out of the investigation following the Huntley interrogation shambles and now accused of accessing confidential files, he angrily countered that he’d been scapegoated before storming out. Surely Desford will soon twig that it was Maneet who clicked on the Caddy files under his username?
Are we any closer to unmasking Balaclava Man?
On the advice of his half-asleep solicitor, Michael Farmer was on the verge of changing his plea to guilty in a bid to minimise a potential prison sentence. It was therefore a masterstroke by Arnott to recruit Farmer’s beloved grandmother to talk him out of it. “Not guilty, Nanna,” insisted Farmer in a sweetly affecting scene.
Farmer also wants his old lawyer back - the one from his first conviction at age 16. Guess who? Step forward Jimmy Lakewell (Patrick Baladi), who also happens to be Nick Huntley’s brief, buddy and former colleague.
Narky, sarky Lakewell was on fine form again, after last week’s request that Hastings “dial down the Ian Paisley”. This time he accused Kate of “making a tit of herself” and witheringly put down wheelchair-bound Arnott with “Listen, Ironside”.
Did Lakewell identify Farmer all those years ago as someone who could be framed? A loner on the sex offenders register, with a fixed routine, who was unlikely to have an alibi? If AC-12 join the dots, they might finally grill Lakewell over the possibility that he’s Balaclava Man - or at least connected to the gangland figures behind him.
Toady Jodie deserves comeuppance
She’s partly another victim of Huntley’s manipulations but speccy sidekick DC Jodie Taylor (Claudia Jessie) was particularly infuriating this week. She ferried her boss around when she checked herself out of hospital, broke protocol to tell Huntley about her husband’s anonymous interview and even arrested Nick on Roz’s orders.
“This is incredibly brave and honest of you, m’am,” smarmed toady Jodie, her bifocals steaming up with brown-nosed infatuation. Let’s hope she finally gets a wake-up call next week.
Not all Huntley’s underlings were so easily fooled, though. When she declined to share the new forensic findings with the team, grimly granite-faced DS Neil Tyler (Mark Stobbart) acted on his growing suspicions and went to AC-12 as an anonymous source. Good work, tidy-bearded Easter Island statue.
Tantalisingly poised for the finale
This penultimate episode was mostly procedural and office-based - cue lots of door-slamming and moody gazing through glass partitions - but really ramped up the action during its final third, with the shock of “that” amputated hand and the frantic race to find the Huntleys.
It’s all left beautifully balanced for next week’s sixth and concluding episode. Will Nick Huntley, Hana Reznikova or Michael Farmer go down? Will hands-free Roz Huntley get away with her web of lies? And who will come out on top in the H-based battle between heroic Hastings and boo-hiss Hilton?
There’s lots for Mercurio to wrap up and it promises to be a fascinating, nerve-fraying finale. Seven days suddenly seems a long time to wait but we’ll see you back here next Monday for a post-mortem.
