Season2#3 Behind Bars: Summary and Review

Lindsay Denton is denied the bail and is put behind the bars in custody. In the prison, she is victimized by prisoners and staff. They burn her hands badly and threat her not to speak to the administrative authorities. Meanwhile, Ted Hastings requests witness protection records from Dryden.

 

Steve Arnott and Kate Fleming discover the identity of the dead witness. He was known as Tommy Hunter, the gang leader previously arrested by DCI Tony Gates in season one.

 

Mathew Cottan believes and claims that Jayne Akers is the actual mole who betrayed the escort. Jayne Akers is the liaison officer as well.

 

On the other hand, Lindsay Denton already knows about Kate Fleming’s affair with Jayne Akers’ husband and now Cottan also has similar suspicions. Lindsay Denton’s accusations cause friction between Ted Hastings and Steve Arnott.

 

Press is occupied by Dryden’s driving offence. So, to save himself and to draw attention away from him, Dryden strikes a deal and leaks the information naming Lindsay Denton as the officer under investigation by AC-12.

 

Kate Fleming discovers a body at the site where Lindsay Denton stole her phone to blow her cover. Fleming assumes that the body is that of the missing girl named Carly. This leads to the re-investigation of Denton by Fleming.

 

During the investigation, Denton claims that Dryden, who is a married man, had an affair with her and now he might be trying to set her up. Fleming makes a call and discovers that Denton and Dryden actually did work together previously and Denton might be telling the truth. Meanwhile, from forensic accountants, Cottan gets to know that Jane Akers received a large amount of cash just before she was killed.

 

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I think it would be a bleak drama indeed to show Denton framed but so straitjacketed by cover-ups and procedure she’s unable to ultimately prove her innocence, but then “Line of Duty” isn’t afraid of being bleak. One of the things I'm most enjoying about this second season is the fact that there are so many possible villains to choose from as it is quite complicated to tell who the good guy is and who the bad one is.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

I think episode 3 was a study in human disintegration. Between Lindsay Denton descending symbolically through successive floors of police departments to her cell at the end of the hour, to her hearing those words from Arnott at the end of this “I believe you”, she was systematically broken.

 

Each time Denton appeared in front of that glass, a little more of her had been damaged and taken away, and that was heart breaking for the viewers, at least for me. Her final interview in this episode, showed her - hair unwashed, face bruised, hands bandaged – as a police officer who is stripped of her career, freedom and personhood. It is the third episode of the season and I'm still not quite sure if she's guilty, innocent or perhaps even both.

 

Well, speaking of injustice and one-note characters, we had two surprises this episode. The first surprise was the reappearance of crooked copper DI ‘Dot’ Cottan, and the second, confirmation that the expired witness was series one villain Tommy Hunter who was arrested by Tony. That’s why I should add that anyone jumping straight in to series two would be advised to catch up on the first run before next episode, because it’s clear the two stories are more interwoven than they first appeared.

 

I am quite sure that everyone’s villain-meter is swinging towards reptilian Deputy Chief Constable Dryden, who’s caught in a driving offense scandal, and attempts to distract press attention away from him by putting the spotlight on Lindsay Denton. I think there’s more to that speeding scandal than it may seem.

Also, the disclosure that Dryden had a five-year affair with Denton and that someone with an influence is trying to silence her surely indicates that Dryden is up to no good. But I also think that painting him as the villain now, at only the halfway point, is quite early. As for now, if this show “Line of Duty” has taught us one thing it’s that we shouldn’t try to second guess it as it will only make the twists and turns that are more shocking.

 

 

So at the end, this episode raised many questions. At this moment in time, do you believe DI Lindsay Denton is innocent or not? What did you think? Is Dryden the real bad guy now? Or is it Dot Cottan? Or are you still inclining towards Denton?

 

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