Kind of agree. No need to carry the H thing on. its not going to keep people watching that wouldn’t anyway.
series 6 comes round in a year or two and everyone will watch it because it’s great tv. Nobody is going to say “no, I know who H is now, I won’t bother”
With another season commissioned we were never going to get the answer to 'h'. I enjoyed tonight's episode, almost entirely contained within an interview scene. Tension gradually building to a decent payoff.
Absolutely brilliant. Loved every dramatic moment.
One, nagging, tiny issue. The Caddy blinked on "H" for the "first letter". And, on the second letter, went straight past A, B, C, D... Anyone seeing that could only conclude that H *isn't* Hastings.
So basically everyone is bent other than Steve and Kate. Ted's not bent but will give the other 50k to Stephen Graham's widow. Jed Mercurio see's everyone in the police as corruptible. So Ryan the kid who tried to cut off Arnott's finger in the vice and called Tony Gates a bent bastard and cut John Corbett throat is joining the police.
Absolutely brilliant. Loved every dramatic moment.
One, nagging, tiny issue. The Caddy blinked on "H" for the "first letter". And, on the second letter, went straight past A, B, C, D... Anyone seeing that could only conclude that H *isn't* Hastings.
Dot Cotton was waiting for i to blink for the second letter.
I thought it was decent. Stephen Graham and the other leads were excellent throughout and as someone else said. The tension and the build up in the interview was excellently handled
That little toad Ryan was always joining the police to be a rascal for the OCG and Lisa McQueen isn't finished yet
Absolutely brilliant. Loved every dramatic moment.
One, nagging, tiny issue. The Caddy blinked on "H" for the "first letter". And, on the second letter, went straight past A, B, C, D... Anyone seeing that could only conclude that H *isn't* Hastings.
Dot Cotton was waiting for i to blink for the second letter.
Maybe. But the point is, if you watch the dying statement in full, you *cannot* conclude that H is Hastings.
Also, if he was spelling out HILTON, why did he do the Morse thing with his thumb and finger?
But my point was simply this: if they were looking at that dying statement and concluding that H is Hastings, they haven't considered the second letter, which shows it can't be.
Last night there was no real shocks other than a knife wielding ginge. Gill was obvious as was the lad joining the police. Ted is lucky to not lose his job for what they know he did and for getting away with setting Corbett up.
It had the air of being seriously dragged out but still enjoying it. Ps the morsecode thing, how do they know he didn't die before tapping it out 76 times?
Think in general people expect to much. The only things holding the show back now are the writers loyalty to the regular cast and general familiarity with the writing style making the story slightly predictable.
In the early days it felt like no one was safe but it was a small show on bbc2. Once it got moved to bbc1 the writer rewarded the cast by not killing them off. Also more people are guessing outcomes and it makes things easier to predict. The show is essentially the same.
Hastings didn't declare to anyone in authority that he received a 'bribe' of 50 grand, he admitted to being a porn addict, he admitted giving instructions to kill (shoot) a man in cold blood .. AND yet he still keeps his job after a reprimand .. no wonder OB is in such a mess ((:>) .. this series was generally underwhelming in my opinion .. let's hope there is a different old horse (plotline) to flog to death in any future series
Hastings didn't declare to anyone in authority that he received a 'bribe' of 50 grand, he admitted to being a porn addict, he admitted giving instructions to kill (shoot) a man in cold blood .. AND yet he still keeps his job after a reprimand .. no wonder OB is in such a mess ((:>) .. this series was generally underwhelming in my opinion .. let's hope there is a different old horse (plotline) to flog to death in any future series
Well, I think Mr Largos excellent theory of Arnotts knob pulling the strings moved a step closer last night. As you rightly said, Hastings admitted being a porn addict. But what if he has been recieving video instructions and having webcam meetings direct with Arnotts winky?
I enjoyed it. Brilliant acting from Adrian Dunbar as always.
Disagree with the idea that there were ‘no shocks’. We’ve all been sat here trying to figure out ‘who’ H is, and the twist being that it isn’t even a specific person.
I do think some people are expecting too much. All in all, it’s still one of the best shows on British television in years.
Avoided this this morning as decided when Series 5 started to go back to Series 1 and churn through the lot. ,managed to catch up a couple,of days ago in time for the finale.
Realise now I had started watching this from Series 2 and so much emanates from Series 1, so glad I did.
echo the thought of people expecting too much. Though not hitting the highs of previous Series, I still thought it was great. Avoiding all talk and articles through the Series really helped in that sense.
The H story has probably run its course now though and if they are to extend it further they will need to take it in a new direction. Brilliant stuff though. Of course it’s far fetched, that’s half the fun, but it is brilliantly wrote and very rare in TV do such prolonged police interviews have you so attentive.
Also watch with subtitles, you take a lot more in.
What an awful final episode. In fact, a poor series. It’s nowhere near the early stuff with Lennie James and Keeley Hawes.
Each season got better up to series 3 at which it peaked. 4 and 5 probably on a par with each other but not as good as the first 3.
Most great series can usually only sustain 2 - Fawlty Towers, The Young Ones, The Office, Fleabag. The law of diminishing returns!
That said, I would contend that series 5 of Breaking Bad is one of the tours de force of all television, and in particular episodes 13-16 are four of the greatest television programmes ever to have been made. Ozymandias is nothing short of exceptional.
Corbett was Hastings illegitimate son hence his reaction when he heard Ann Marie was his mother. That’s why his giving Corbetts wife the 50k
I thought the same when he got so upset and we do know that Ted can be economical with the truth and we assume that 50k was heading towards John Corbett's wife. Now Taxi_lad can we look at the evidence. Even though the only thing Ted gives into is temptation when it's comes to the ladies, I can't see how a 5ft 3in mouthy scouser with a bit of mix race about him can have a 6ft 3in Ginger dad considering the picture of Ann Marie looked like Sharon Horgan. Even for Jed Mercurio that is a difficult scenario but that was clearly the picture that was being drawn. So many comedic layers to LOD.
It's really difficult to make two people talking across a table dramatic but I think Adrian Dunbar and Anna Maxwell Martin did a terrific job. Poor old Hastings is unravelling as the circumstantial evidence is piling up and Anna Maxwell Martin's performance caught Carmichael's mix of ambition, hubris, malice and condescension just right.
Comments
All in favour of another series or 2, but should have wiped the slate clean and found another bunch of bent coppers to investigate next time around.
its not going to keep people watching that wouldn’t anyway.
series 6 comes round in a year or two and everyone will watch it because it’s great tv. Nobody is going to say “no, I know who H is now, I won’t bother”
I enjoyed tonight's episode, almost entirely contained within an interview scene. Tension gradually building to a decent payoff.
One, nagging, tiny issue. The Caddy blinked on "H" for the "first letter". And, on the second letter, went straight past A, B, C, D... Anyone seeing that could only conclude that H *isn't* Hastings.
Jed Mercurio see's everyone in the police as corruptible.
So Ryan the kid who tried to cut off Arnott's finger in the vice and called Tony Gates a bent bastard and cut John Corbett throat is joining the police.
Line of Duty is a comedy drama.
Just another series that wants to leave things hanging with no resolution. There will never be an "answer".
That little toad Ryan was always joining the police to be a rascal for the OCG and Lisa McQueen isn't finished yet
Also, if he was spelling out HILTON, why did he do the Morse thing with his thumb and finger?
But my point was simply this: if they were looking at that dying statement and concluding that H is Hastings, they haven't considered the second letter, which shows it can't be.
It had the air of being seriously dragged out but still enjoying it. Ps the morsecode thing, how do they know he didn't die before tapping it out 76 times?
Most great series can usually only sustain 2 - Fawlty Towers, The Young Ones, The Office, Fleabag. The law of diminishing returns!
In the early days it felt like no one was safe but it was a small show on bbc2. Once it got moved to bbc1 the writer rewarded the cast by not killing them off. Also more people are guessing outcomes and it makes things easier to predict. The show is essentially the same.
As you rightly said, Hastings admitted being a porn addict. But what if he has been recieving video instructions and having webcam meetings direct with Arnotts winky?
Would that not be deemed as porn?
Disagree with the idea that there were ‘no shocks’. We’ve all been sat here trying to figure out ‘who’ H is, and the twist being that it isn’t even a specific person.
I do think some people are expecting too much. All in all, it’s still one of the best shows on British television in years.
Realise now I had started watching this from Series 2 and so much emanates from Series 1, so glad I did.
echo the thought of people expecting too much. Though not hitting the highs of previous Series, I still thought it was great. Avoiding all talk and articles through the Series really helped in that sense.
The H story has probably run its course now though and if they are to extend it further they will need to take it in a new direction. Brilliant stuff though. Of course it’s far fetched, that’s half the fun, but it is brilliantly wrote and very rare in TV do such prolonged police interviews have you so attentive.
Also watch with subtitles, you take a lot more in.
Now Taxi_lad can we look at the evidence.
Even though the only thing Ted gives into is temptation when it's comes to the ladies, I can't see how a 5ft 3in mouthy scouser with a bit of mix race about him can have a 6ft 3in Ginger dad considering the picture of Ann Marie looked like Sharon Horgan. Even for Jed Mercurio that is a difficult scenario but that was clearly the picture that was being drawn. So many comedic layers to LOD.