What Happened at the end of ‘Line of Duty’ Series 6? (And Will There Be a Series 7?)
series 7 #series7
End of series spoilers below
It’s probably too early to tell at this point, but it’s likely we’ll all look back on series six of Line of Duty as peaking in the middle. The incredible double-hit twist of revealing who DCI Joanne Davidson was related to, as well as the cliffhanger of Kate Fleming going gun-to-gun in a stand-off with Ryan Pilkington, was high-octane drama that just couldn’t be matched by the finale reveal that H was, sort of, Ian Buckells – but also that H didn’t really exist after all. Buckells apparently just sort of fell into the role, and there was a whole network of other bent coppers and OCGs running things. Meh.
If it all felt a bit anticlimactic, even more disappointingly, we didn’t even get to find out what happened to AC-12’s dream team at the end credits, as has been customary in every other finale. So, combined with what we were told written on screen credits vs what we had to glean from the sparse chat at the end, here’s what we know about the characters at the ambiguous end of series six.
In an impassioned statement to a highly apathetic DCS Patricia Carmichael in an effort to appeal his enforced retirement, Hastings railed: “Those in power should be held to account. It devastates me that we’ve stopped standing up for accountability that we’ve stopped caring about truth and integrity.” However, he then realised he was being a hypocrite, and came partially clean about leaking the UCO to Lee Banks – which ended up getting John Corbett murdered. He didn’t mention the dirty £50k he’d bunged to his widow, Steph Corbett, out of guilt, and told Carmichael: “What you do with [the info] is up to you”. It’s looking unlikely Ted will keep his job now, as carrying on would mean he was also responsible for corruption and cover-ups that he has been fighting again his whole career.
Kate Fleming (no on-screen update)
There’s a quick shot of Kate in the therapist’s chair at the end of the episode, where it’s discussed that she’s probably suffering from something like PTSD after seeing so many colleagues killed. You think? She tells the therapist that she’s lucky to have support in the shape of Steve, and the mates get together for a drink to talk about their futures. Kate suggests she might come back to AC-12 (if the whole department hasn’t been made redundant by then) and she may even be his “new gaffer”. She chides him on the need to find a girlfriend, but the obvious connection between her and Jo Davidson was never explained – should she take Steve up on her own advice too?
Steve Arnott (no on-screen update)
Steve finally paid a long-overdue visit to Occupational Health who told him that they’d registered drugs-bust levels of over-the-counter painkillers in his tests. He has his firearms taken off him – hence why he only had a taser in the balaclava men scene – and he tells Kate he still could be suspended or taken off duty because of his addiction. He may or may not continue to see Steph Corbett – so they can have more non-sexual bedtime cuddles – but at least he’s finally admitted the problems to his mate that have plagued him for all these series.
According to the on-screen text: “Criminal proceedings against Terry Boyle have been discontinued. He has been rehoused by social services. An inquiry will examine systemic failures to protect his welfare.”
PC Farida Jatri
“Charges against PC Farida Jatri were withdrawn. She has been reinstated to active service.”
Darren Hunter
The son of Tommy Hunter might finally get his come-uppance: “Darren Hunter is under investigation for the murder of Lawrence Christopher. A cold-case inquiry has yet to be opened officially”. The text runs alongside images of Chris Lomax looking dodgy too.
Joanne Davidson
Finally a happy ending. She’s shown out in the country with a dog and a girlfriend: “Joanne Davidson was enrolled in a Witness Protection programme. Her present whereabouts are classified.”
Ian Buckells
“Ian Buckells has been confined to the Vulnerable Prisoners Unit of an undisclosed maximum security prison…Central Police have submitted an application for public-interest immunity in legal proceedings against Ian Buckells” (he’s then shown smirking). “If successful, no evidence relating to institutionalised corruption will be heard in court.”
Other updates
“Systematic restructuring of anti-corruption units continues, with close colleagues of the Chief Constable [Philip Osborne, boo hiss] appointed to senior positions. Currently AC-12’s powers to curb wrongdoing in public office have never been weaker”.
There’s no news on the golden woman of the series, DC Chloe Bishop, nor Patricia Carmichael. Are they lost forever into the ether? Or will a new series focus on them?
Will there – should there – be a seventh series of Line of Duty?
If the finale fell a little flat, it’s almost irrelevant, as at its peak this series was drawing in 11 million people per episode, which makes it a hard proposition for creator Jed Mercurio and the BBC to walk away from.
Mercurio, as ever, is keeping his cards close to his chest, and told Radio Times: “We’re in a situation where it’s not entirely clear that there will be a seventh series. We would hope there could be. But we’re having to do our planning coming out of COVID, and a whole bunch of other things, around the idea that these things aren’t guaranteed at all now.
“A lot of it depends on the key creatives – that’s me and the main actors – finding new stories to tell within that universe.”
Although he also added: “Line of Duty may have reached ‘the Chandrasekhar Limit’, at which a mass collapses under its own gravitational force.” We’d be inclined to agree.