# Dept. Q - a British crime thriller television series \[Open Spoilers\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [June 11, 2025, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458 "2025-06-11T07:01:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/21 "2025-06-12T04:16:29Z")
I really liked it, as I said in the other threads. I agree with @Left_Hand_of_Dorkness’s quibble, but I can look past it. I love all the members of the team. They really get a chance to shine. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/22 "2025-06-12T06:44:03Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > For anyone reading here put off watching it by the mentions of torture upthread, it is not explicit physical torture-porn, more psychological in nature. Thanks for that. I was put off by the earlier comments, but will probably watch it now. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/23 "2025-06-12T10:35:25Z")
I was so confused, until I noticed that @Elmer_J.Fudd’s avatar looks a lot like mine. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/24 "2025-06-12T11:57:41Z")
Since the thread hasn’t been labeled “open spoilers” yet I’ll spoiler my question just to be safe. As they’re solving Merritt’s disappearance they mention at one point that William recognized Lyle when they were on the ferry. But if William was able to recognize him, why didn’t Merritt also recognize him when he was posing as Sam Haig? AFAIK neither one had seen him since they were all teens. Also the blown-out pupil should have been a big clue. She even mentions to “Sam” at one point “Your eyes are different colors.” ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/25 "2025-06-12T12:21:31Z")
I recently watched the fourth episode but feel I’ve seen enough now to get a pretty good understanding of the show’s flavor. I give it fairly high marks and put it on par with, say, Shetland. I think there’s a distinction to be made between hackneyed cliches and recognizing structural elements that are present and arguably essential. Take for example the character of the detective as an archetype. In mystery literature, the detective character is nearly always somehow in some fashion the Other; they’re unusual; they’re on the outside looking in; not one of us normal people. Beginning early in the creation of the genre, we find Sherlock Holmes is an eccentric genius, later detectives in the genre establish themselves as being outsiders by suffering some sort of tragedy that fills them with a hole that can never be filled, or wound that will never heal. They’re driven to solve mysteries, and doing so allows such a character an escape from their own problems. The fact that the protagonist in Dept Q is an example of the latter I think hardly detracts from enjoying the story. I’m also not going to fault a director for choosing to portray a gray world in a locale that happens to actually be gray and overcast much of the time, and the built environment subfuscous. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/26 "2025-06-12T13:23:51Z")
I think it was the hat William recognized; not the face. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/27 "2025-06-12T13:43:14Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > Take for example the character of the detective as an archetype. In mystery literature, the detective character is nearly always somehow in some fashion the Other; they’re unusual; they’re on the outside looking in; not one of us normal people. Beginning early in the creation of the genre, we find Sherlock Holmes is an eccentric genius, later detectives in the genre establish themselves as being outsiders by suffering some sort of tragedy that fills them with a hole that can never be filled, or wound that will never heal. Not to hijack, but this trope is one of the reasons the original “Fargo” worked so well. The lead cop in “Fargo” was a normal as could be. Back to Dept. Q - I enjoyed it but also had a lot of “huh?” reactions. 1. If our man was such a pill (to put it mildly), why would he have a lodger? Seems someone like him would have not done that. 2. The ex-wife/mother of his step-child shows up once and stomps all over him? Hey, b\*tch, maybe take care or your own child, yah? 3. The whole comic-book level evil lair set-up was over the line for me. So, they’ve been sitting there keeping her in a tube for 4 years?!?! Don’t they have anything else going on in their lives? Maybe a dentist appointment, or a weekend at the beach 🙂? ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/28 "2025-06-12T13:49:45Z")
I would agree that the original Fargo worked as well as it did largely _because_ it turned this convention on its head. It truly stood out in that respect. Re: Dept. Q it’s interesting to note that _everyone_ working in Dept Q is somehow an outsider/broken. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/29 "2025-06-12T14:03:21Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > If our man was such a pill (to put it mildly), why would he have a lodger? Seems someone like him would have not done that. The cops don’t pay that well. He even has to take the bus to work. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/30 "2025-06-12T14:17:07Z")
when the flashbacks happened with merritt, william, and clare, i knew the actor who played clare sounded really familiar… then when in real time they went to her house, i scared the cat when i loudly said “moaning myrtle!”. i was so glad when william reunited with first clare, then merritt. william’s drawing abilities really solved the case. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/31 "2025-06-12T14:30:19Z")
What blew my mind is that the actress who played Moaning Myrtle was so old in those movies. She plays a young ghost really well! ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/32 "2025-06-12T14:30:59Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Also the blown-out pupil should have been a big clue. He got that after Merritt knew him as a kid, after he was beaten in that reform school. If anything it would made him far less recognizable because it is a feature that draws the eye. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/33 "2025-06-12T14:43:16Z")
I thought the blown out pupil was from when his brother kicked him in the head when he was attacking William. So I assumed Merritt would have noticed it when they saw him at Harry’s funeral. But if the eye injury happened later then yeah that makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/34 "2025-06-12T14:50:01Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > then when in real time they went to her house, i scared the cat when i loudly said “moaning myrtle!”. And the Ravenclaw ghost in the same show! It’s practically a reunion. My comments from the other thread, just a couple of weeks ago: > [@Series you've recently watched, are now watching or have given up on](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/6505): > > My wife was out of town Friday and Saturday, and so in between bouts of de-mildewing and painting the bathroom ceiling, I watched all nine episodes of Department Q on Netflix. It’s a mix of very familiar tropes, rough violence, fun ensemble casting, and charming Scottish + English accents, and I obviously enjoyed it. I’d say the character and dialogue writing is a little above average for the genre, which is why I stuck with it. There was a nice touch I forgot about in the show, where you see one of her memories, and she’s a complete jerk in that memory, but then they append another 20 seconds to the scene and it changes completely. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/35 "2025-06-12T17:07:52Z")
moaning myrtle was in ravenclaw! i really like akram. morck might be the loose cannon, but akram is sooooo much more scary. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/36 "2025-06-13T01:05:33Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > So, they’ve been sitting there keeping her in a tube for 4 years?!?! Don’t they have anything else going on in their lives? Maybe a dentist appointment, or a weekend at the beach 🙂? The baddies explicitly come back from some sort of trip in about ep 2 or 3. ---
**Author:** ![groovie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d6d6ee/32.png) [@groovie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groovie)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/37 "2025-06-13T10:37:26Z")
I must add Morck’s ability to park his Ford Sierra was so utterly contrarian, it fitted in well with his character. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/38 "2025-06-13T11:27:51Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The cops don’t pay that well. He even has to take the bus to work. Had to laugh at this. Getting the bus to work is a perfectly normal activity for Europeans, and not a sign of poverty. The bus is often preferable to driving in old cities where parking is a challenge. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/39 "2025-06-13T11:47:53Z")
Unless you’re Morck and just pull into some random spot, or two spots, or onto the sidewalk. He parks like he’s from Hamburg. ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458/40 "2025-06-13T13:19:55Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > and that uniquely British blend of subtle humor and shocking violence. I’m not sure about the subtlety—it starts with a lot of blatant sarcasm, especially in the part I’m still watching. I remember a moment where Morck asks Akram if they have sarcasm in Syria, and Akram flatly replies, “No.” But earlier, when they visit the clinic where Meritt’s brother is kept, Morck uses aggressive interview tactics that produce no tangible results. That’s when Akram dryly comments that he’s learned a lot from his superior—clearly sarcastic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dept-q-a-british-crime-thriller-television-series-open-spoilers/1019458.md?page=3)