Spoilers Line of duty series 5.

[Captain Shaw]

Anyone on here watching?
Oh poor Maneet Bindra.
Though I 'm a little confuse to why she wrecked her career just so her cousin could keep his admin Job.
I really wished this was one of the shows the BBC would put on I player all at once so I can find out what Ted is up too.

 

[Relayer1]

I really wished this was one of the shows the BBC would put on I player all at once so I can find out what Ted is up too.

So you do.

 

[Starkers]

Ted's just going through a messy divorce. I did wonder if there was skulduggery at work and that Maneet was undercover, and that Ted was behind it (without Kate and Steve knowing).

Wonder if the broken toilet has meaning? Quite literally a busted flush!

Spoiler

I had a feeling early on that Steven Graham was the undercover officer who'd gone native, they overegged the female criminal too much (unless she's undercover too which wouldn't surprise me!)

 

[Captaindemotion]

I only recently discovered LOD (on the back of Bodyguard, with whom it shares a writer) and the wife & I binged on seasons 1 - 4 Netflix. So it’s agony having to watch week by week (albeit a wonderful agony).

It did occur to me a few mins before the actual revelation that they were rather overplaying the female criminal as the UCO. I think Ted as H is also a misdirection but maybe they want us to think that.

As a Belfast resident, it’s always fun to play “spot the location.” I actually walked the dog past the shooting the day they filmed Meena being snatched by the gang about 5 months ago. Pretty sure Ted’ hotel is actually a Travel Lodge in real life, which makes his predicament even more tragic!

 

[Relayer1]

Yeah, it was shot in Birmingham originally. It was fun to spot them driving past the same spot several times in the same scene !

We watched season 4 first (as it was broadcast) not realising it was an ongoing arc - we quickly realised our mistake. We then had to go back and watch seasons 1 to 3...

 

[Starkers]

I think it is a Travel Lodge, seriously if Ted is H there can't be much money in organised crime!

I don't know if it's true, but someone on Twitter was claiming one of the gang was the kid in Season 1?!

 

[John Clark]

I don't know if it's true, but someone on Twitter was claiming one of the gang was the kid in Season 1?!

Yeah, I think it was mentioned on the BBC too.

 

[Captaindemotion]

Oh that’s pretty cool.

 

[Captain Shaw]

I think it is a Travel Lodge, seriously if Ted is H there can't be much money in organised crime!

I don't know if it's true, but someone on Twitter was claiming one of the gang was the kid in Season 1?!

I'll have to re watch series one, because I'm not sure who you are talking about.

 

[John Clark]

Here you go

Spoiler: Which kid?

https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-04-01/line-of-duty-series-five-ryan-balaclava-gang/

 

[Captain Shaw]

Here you go

Spoiler: Which kid?

https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-04-01/line-of-duty-series-five-ryan-balaclava-gang/

Now I remember the little shit.

 

[Captaindemotion]

Episode 2...holy shit.

I need time before I can compose an articulate response to it all.

 

[Starkers]

So...

Spoiler

I'm guessing either Kate included a picture of Hastings, or we're supposed to think she did. I'm guessing the bent copper pointed at a picture of Dot.

Re Corbett, they seem to have flipped things quite dramatically and not entirely sure I'm buying it. He went out of his way to protect coppers this week, yet allowed four to die last week (and it would have been 5 if McQueen hadn't balked at shooting the female officer). It's all very well to suggest they deserved it because they were bent, but not sure any of them were guilty of capital crimes!

On the subject of McQueen, last week she seemed subservient to Corbett, and she looked on the verge of a breakdown, this week she seems higher up the food chain than Corbett and is cool calm and very collected. What gives?

And now we know the female officer was in on the hijack, why'd she look so surprised when there was a doll in the back of the car? Was that not how things were supposed to go down?

Re Kettle Bell, is Hastings going to receive a payment that'll look suspiciously like a payoff?

Is Corbett playing both ends against the middle with a plan to make off with a big haul, leaving the OCG and the police far behind while he and his family disappear somewhere warm?

I seriously didn't want it to end last night!

 

[Captaindemotion]

Now. Breath is back and I can compose my thoughts & wild guesses.

Spoiler: Spoilery speculation

So, Corbett appears to have gone the full Jack Bauer/S7 Tony Almeida undercover, willing to play god & decide who loves or dies in order to get the job done. I kinda believe him as he could’ve killed Steve had he wanted.

(Incidentally, the street with phone box where Maneet directed Steve to from beyond the grave is actually called Tate’s Avenue IRL)

Maybe someone can say more about undercover work than I can but would they really send someone with a family on such a long mission as this?

Although I think Corbett is on the level, I do think that there’s a connection between his being a printer and forger & the reference to him doing that kind of work and to the supposed compensation that the ex-cop is offering Ted. The scene was too close to the reference to Corbett forging legal documents etc to be coincidence, IMHO.

I also think Ted is still a good guy but I think his was the mugshot being picked out at the end. Not because he’s guilty of anything but because he’s being framed and Cafferty has been told to identify him.

Having said that, I also think the whole kettle bell club thing is going to be used to blackmail him somehow and we’ll have to wait and see if it succeeds. Ah, Mercurio, you magnificent SOB.

 

[Captain Shaw]

I just don't know who to trust at the moment.
I do wonder if PCC Rohan Sindwhani is going to play a bigger role.

 

[Captain Shaw]

Twitter's worked out who H is.
Check out @Davidnash71’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/Davidnash71/status/1117534355163951104?s=09
Regi baby

 

[Starkers]

Ha ha, that's going to go over so many people's heads!

It does strike me as ridiculous that secret boss copper would use a codename that was the first initial of his surname. If I was some kind of evil villain I wouldn't use the codename S, so I won't be surprised if whoever H is he (or she) is named Smith or Lewis or something!

Anyway, spoilery stuff.

Spoiler

Well could they throw any more Ted related red herrings our way? To be honest I thought they were overegging the pudding until the scene with the laptop. That isn't something an innocent man does.

When they pulled the balaclava off Hargreaves I genuinely thought it was Ted!

And what the hell is Corbett going to do with Hastings' wife?

Assuming he isn't H, I'm feeling increasingly sorry for Hastings. I have a feeling things are only going to get worse for him, he's now either falling for a scam or getting himself into debt with the OCG

I guessed the PC was bent, right now the biggest question is who's a straight copper?

I don't trust Sam, she did work with Hargreaves after all.

 

[John Clark]

They really do seem to be pushing that angle, especially last night.

@Serial thread killer - Reg as H?

 

[Captain Shaw]

Well I did not see that coming.

Spoiler: ted

Does anyone think Ted is running Lisa and Gill knows about it?

 

[Starkers]

Spoiler

That's what I'm thinking, Mercurio has pulled a fast one and Lisa was an undercover cop all along, being run by Ted.

The question is did Ted effectively order her to murder Corbett? There's apparently going to be a sixth season but I can't see how they can't resolve the whole H scenario this series.

Also wondering if Ted doesn't know exactly what he's doing with the ex copper/bribes etc, going undercover himself!