Dept. Q

This week I binged a police show set in Scotland. For some reason, I could understand what they were saying, Scottish being one of those accents I usually don’t quite get. Of course I still used the subtitles, but it was nice to watch the actors’ face more than the text. This one surprised me because it put me in mind of several other shows or book series, some of them paranormal in nature even though there’s not a smidgen of paranormal stuff in this show.

Edinburgh homicide detective Morck (with no Mindy, sorry) and his partner are called into an odd crime scene. While they’re casually viewing the dead guy with a butcher knife sticking out the top of his head, something totally unexpected and shocking happens. I won’t spoil it, but I feel a little bad even telling you something happens in this scene. A few months later he is tasked to head a new cold case department, with his “new” office downstairs in an ancient locker room, complete with a wall of urinals. One of the few faded letters still legible on the door is “q”, hence the title. Despite his reticence, he falls into investigating an old case that may not have actually been a suicide.

To say I was shocked in the opening sequence is an understatement, and it really hooked me on watching what happened next. What happens next is a nine episode series that really could have been eight, or even seven, episodes where the ever growing Department Q falls deeper and deeper into an investigation that reveals a lot about the characters even as they follow a slippery trail leading to a destination mysterious even to them. Morck (Matthew Goode, A Discovery of Witches, The Crown, Imagine Me and You) is a character very reminiscent of the doctor in House. He’s brilliant, best at what he does, and almost no one likes him or gets along with him well, including his teenage son, his boss, and every other police office in Edinburgh. I’ve never seen this actor turn in a poor performance, and this show is no exception. I would love to smack some sense into Morck. The supporting cast grows and grows as the investigation continues and I enjoyed every single one of them. Shout out to Chloe Pirrie (Carnival Row, The Queen’s Gambit), who plays an absolutely fearsomely brave character here.

Every character in the show is not what they seem at first, sometimes with a rather shocking reveal, other times slowly transforming into something different than they began. For instance, I really hated Morck’s boss at the beginning, but she surprised me. The absolute sickos who are the bad guys in this show floored me. The filmmakers are super cagey about revealing them, and it did bug me but dang it all it really paid off. There is also some mind boggling time play that dropped my jaw as well. Normally this bugs me to no end, but it’s so well done here I was impressed. Yes, my jaw actually dropped. There were some loud words to accompany.

The nuts and bolts of the story, like cinematography and art direction are spot on, but wow, the costuming. Normally I only pay a little attention to that, but it has a strong place in this show. Makeup is important, as well. You’ll understand if you watch. This show wouldn’t be nearly as strong without great writing, as they lay on layer after layer and have a wonderfully twisty story that will surprise and keep you on your seat at the very beginning and the wowza very end.

Set in Edinburgh, Scotland, this police procedural will test your ability to handle surprises, twists, and the occasionally gory scene. You will probably dislike the lead character, but you’re supposed to so don’t worry about that. I absolutely recommend this if you enjoy great ensemble police work with a wide and diverse cast. Because it’s Netflix, don’t hold your breath for a season two, but this one is so good I really don’t mind too much.

Triggers: gory violence and torture

Available on: Netflix

LINKS:

• Dept. Q – Official Netflix Site
• Dept. Q – IMDB
• Dept. Q – Wikipedia
• Books – Department Q – Penquin Website
• Scandinavian Movies – Department Q Trilogy – Amazon

CFR: In Addition

I am a huge fan of this series!! I am so thrilled that Cranky reviewed this.

Dept. Q is great. Twists, turns, can’t predict anything, and great acting, as well a story crafting. Just wow! Plus it had a very very satisfying ending.

Note: I really like the character Akram Salim played by Alexej Manvelov. I love how gentle Akram is. However. Well. Do Not Try To Fight Him. You will lose. I love that.

Go watch it!