Dept. Q, starring Matthew Goode as Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Carl Morck, is a British crime drama that explores Morck's personal and professional struggles as he investigates a cold case. Now available on Netflix, Dept. Q also delves into the case that left Morck injured; his partner, DCI Hardy (Jamie Sives), paralyzed, and another young police officer, PC Anderson, dead.
Created by Scott Frank and Chandni Lakhani, Dept. Q is based on the Danish crime novels by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Additional cast members include Kelly Macdonald as Dr. Rachel Irving, Morck's mandated therapist; Alexej Manvelov as Akram Salim, Morck's assistant; Kate Dickie as Constable Moira Jacobson, Morke's self-interested bos who relegates him to the dregs of the department as the head of Department Q; and Chloe Pirrie as Edinburgh solicitor Merritt Lingard, the woman for whom Morck searches.
By the end of Dept. Q, distinguishing between friend and foe is difficult for Morck and the audience alike. Ultimately, Dept. Q culminates with the truth about Merritt Lingard's disappearance and leaves clues about what's next for Department Q.
The Disappearance of Merritt Lingard Is the Overarching Mystery of 'Dept. Q'
Four years before DCI Carl Morck becomes the head of Department Q, solicitor Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie) vanishes while on a ferry with her brother, William (Tom Bulpett). William, brain-damaged from a beating when he was a teen, was institutionalized when Merritt went missing. He's among the people in Merritt's life that DCI Morck talks to as he and Akram Salim (Alexej Manvelov) become increasingly convinced Merritt is still alive.
DCI Morck, Akram, and Detective Constable Rose Dickson (Leah Byrne) get help from an injured DCI Harding from his hospital bed. Together, they learn about the Lingards' past in Mohr, Scotland. They also explore relationships Merritt had before she vanished, especially the one with Sam Haig, a deceased journalist.
Ultimately, Merritt's disappearance traces back to when Merritt and William were teens. Merritt had been involved with Harry Jennings (Fraser Saunders) and helped him and his brother, Lyle, plan a robbery of her family home. During the robbery, Lyle beat William so severely that he was left disabled, and Harry was killed. Because Lyle and his mother, Ailsa, blame Merritt for Harry's death, they kidnap her and stash her in a hyperbaric chamber as punishment.
Lyle and his mother torment Merritt during her time in the hyperbaric chamber, constantly trying to get her to guess why she's there. It's revealed that Ailsa kept Lyle and Harry in the chamber when they were young to punish them. When Rose learns that Lyle once kept a boy there for several days when he was younger, she tells Morck and Akram. They find Merritt, and they save her. In the process, Morck saves Akram's life by jumping in front of him after Lyle shoots at them.
Lyle Jennings and Sam Haig (Were and) Weren't the Same Person
Department Q, the group of misfits working out of the former locker room of the police department, follows several leads when searching for Merritt Lingard. One of these involved Sam Haig, a journalist who purportedly fell during a climbing accident. DCI Morck, Akram, and Rose learn that Sam and Lyle Jennings knew each other because they were both at an institution for troubled young men called Godhaven years earlier. They reconnected as adults. Lyle assumed Sam's identity and later killed him. It was Lyle who befriended Merritt, pretending to be Sam all along.
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Lyle is the ultimate villain in Dept. Q, but he's also the one who leaves a trail of clues behind. In addition to his connection with Sam, Lyle's hat bears the logo of the shipping company, Shorebird Ocean Symptoms. William Lingard saw the cormorant, an aquatic bird, before and during the kidnapping of his sister and drew it numerous times. This leads DCI Morck and Akram to the company grounds and to the site of the hyperbaric chamber.
When DCI Morck and Akram find Merritt, they enlist DCI Hardy to coach them via phone to depressurize it. Lyle appears to try to stop them, brandishing a shotgun. DCI Morck takes a bullet to the arm but shoots and kills Lyle in the process. Lyle's mother tries to flee but is stopped by a police car. At that point, she takes her own life.
The Identity of the Man Who Shot DCIs Morck and Hardy Is Still Unknown
While DCI Carl Morck builds his Department Q, navigates the tricky waters of being a step-father to his ex-wife's son, Jasper (Aaron McVeigh), and tries to deal with his own trauma. He constantly checks in on the investigation into the shooting that left him and DCI Hardy injured and another officer dead. He revisits the day he was shot in his head and in his dreams, reaching out to his therapist to try to help him find an answer to what happened that day.
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DCI Morck emerges from Department Q's basement headquarters to talk to the investigators looking into the day of the shooting, but is unsatisfied by their lack of progress. He does some digging of his own, uncovering Lord Advocate Stephen Burns (Mark Bonnar), who was Merritt's supervisor, intentionally left out a witness in the case against accused murderer Graham Finch. This does not connect to DCI Morck's shooting, but the traumatized detective uses it to blackmail Burns.
What does connect to the day of DCI Morck's shooting, however, is a possible connection between PC Anderson, the young officer who was killed, and local crime boss Eugene Errington. While it was never confirmed, the implication at the end of the show was that PC Anderson may have killed the stabbing victim DCIs Morck and Hardy were with when they were shot.
Dept. Q ends on a fairly positive note. It's revealed that Merritt is on the road to recovery, DCI Hardy has regained partial mobility in his legs, and Akram will be promoted. It's blackmail that leads to the latter, and, in the process, DCI Morck also extorts a new car out of Lord Advocate Burns.
Stream on Netflix.
Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Like Follow Followed Dept. Q TV-MA Crime Drama Mystery Thriller Release Date May 29, 2025 Network Netflix Cast See All Matthew Goode DCI Carl Morck Chloe Pirrie Merritt Lingard Jamie Sives DS Hardy Alexej Manvelov Akram Salim
Creator(s) Scott Frank Powered by Expand Collapse