Dept. Q Season 1 Review: A Compelling, Gritty Mystery

Dept. Q Season 1 is a worthy entry into the gritty crime-thriller genre, with a charismatic cast and an enticing, if occasionally predictable mystery.

From The Queen’s Gambit creator and writer Scott Frank, Dept. Q takes advantage of its production design and location to set the mood for the brooding detective Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) to unravel himself and the cold case he has been relegated to solving.

The series makes judicious use of flashbacks to explain the case that Morck has been assigned to — one that the rest of the department has given up on.

If this story sounds familiar, worry not, as the series distinguishes itself sufficiently beyond the “brooding detective becomes reluctantly invested in a cold case with a team of misfits” formula to be quite compelling.

The disappearance of Merritt Lingard, an ambitious prosecutor who made it big after running away from her small hometown, is the central mystery of the show, along with the equally perplexing shooting of Morck and his partner, James Hardy.

Hardy was left paralyzed, and Morck is still racked with guilt (again, classic trope). 

Dept. Q sets itself apart from other crime thrillers with its main team, including Morck and Hardy, who are joined by the unfailingly charming Rose Dickson (Leah Byrne) and the eternally calm and collected Akram Salim (Alexej Manvelov).

Merritt, played by Chloe Pirrie, is an intriguing character.

She is an ambitious, cutthroat, career-driven woman, and the show sometimes relies a little too heavily on the assumption that she would thus be a rather unsympathetic victim. Granted, she is not exactly the most innocent figure, but while the show tries to make us root for her anyway, its justifications for why everyone hates her guts are weak. 

Merritt’s story takes a particularly dark turn as we find out that she has been held in a hyperbaric chamber for the past four years, subjected to psychological and physical torture, all while being very creepily surveilled by her two captors.

Why exactly these two people are doing this to her, beyond just seeking revenge, is never adequately explained. The moments where the show switches to Merritt in the chamber rely more on shock value to move the story forward.

The finale involves some problem-solving from Hardy, Morck, and Akram, as they utilize Hardy’s internet research to figure out how to rescue Merritt. It’s not a very strong part of the plot.

What is strong about the series, though, is its slow unraveling of the mystery.

The story peels more and more layers back at an even pace throughout the nine episodes. Sadly, it leaves too much to wrap up in its hour-long finale (no episode of a show should be more than an hour long).

The production design and feel of the show are also distinct, as we spend a lot of time in the streets of Edinburgh with Morck and his colleagues, as well as in their very retro basement office. 

Once we find out who has kidnapped Merritt, it’s not exactly a surprise to the audience, but Pirrie plays the betrayal and shock well. The timeline of the kidnapping and the switch between Lyle Jennings and the real Sam Haig is unclear, which is a shame considering how carefully the rest of the timeline is pieced together.

The series does make a good choice, however, in keeping the mystery of the shooting of detectives Morck and Hardy separate and open-ended, as it is clear the show is shooting (no pun intended) for a second season.

With the groundwork done in this season, the next could explore more of Carl’s family life and his relationship with this team. 

Matthew Goode does a brilliant job selling his English brooding nature, and my personal favorite of the supporting cast is the understated Alexej Manvelov as Akram. His murky past as a potential police officer in Syria is intriguing, but his measured responses provide an interesting and entertaining contrast to Morck’s expletive-filled outbursts. 

Overall, Dept. Q Season 1 is a well-rounded crime thriller, complete with dark twists and turns and an endearing main cast, setting the groundwork for intriguing future seasons.

—

 

What did you think of this season of Dept. Q? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!

Critic Rating:

Audience Rating:

 

Dept. Q is available to stream on Netflix.

Check out our latest TV recommendations, updated weekly!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!