Dept. Q Episode 1 Explained: Two mysteries, different times

Dept Q. Season 1 Episode 1 Recap and Review

What happened in Dept Q. Season 1 Episode 1?

Episode one was a study of brilliant misdirection. It began with the case at Leith Park. A young policeman named Anderson went on a routine wellness check, a daughter in Lancaster who got worried about her father, and found the man had been stabbed to death. He called in for assistance, and in walked DCI Carl Morck and DI James Hardy. Morck was a jerk to Anderson, who with three months on the job missed basic police things like checking the windows. When Anderson rushed to do as Morck bid, he was shot dead by a man in black wearing a balaclava. Morck and Hardy were also shot, but they were left alive. 

Four months later, and Morck was back on the job, taking antidepressants, denying that he had anxiety and sleep issues to the therapist he was forced to see, frustrated at the lack of progress in his case. His boss Detective Chief Superintendent Moira Jacobson found something for him, who did not get along with anyone in the station, something to do – head up the newly created department tasked to investigate high profile cold cases. Moira had meant for Morck to work the unit alone, but when he insisted on an assistant, he was sent Akram Salim, a civilian who mostly worked IT, but who had a mysterious past in Syria that gave him sharp investigative skills. It was Akram who chose the case of the missing prosecutor Merritt Lingard as their first case. 

Present-day Morck scenes were interspersed with Merritt’s scenes from four years ago so that initially, it gave the impression that Merritt would be the contact at the Crown office that Moira promised. The slow reveal of the case file Akram left on Morck’s desk was perfectly timed after the last days before Merritt’s disappearance were already laid out. 

Four years ago, Merritt was the lead prosecutor in the murder case against a wealthy businessman named Graham Finch. She was getting threatening phone calls, messages, and emails. Despite Merritt’s confidence, the jury found that the case was nor proven, and Finch was released. 

Afterwards, Merritt decided to take her brother William, who suffered from a neurological condition, on a trip. Whilst they were on the ferry, Merritt received another threatening message, and threw her phone into the water. William imitated what she did and threw his hat too. It was caught by the wind, and William climbed the railing, trying to retrieve it. Brother and sister struggled, and William eventually smacked Merritt onto the floor. Merritt walked away. That was the last time anyone saw her. 

Akram was convinced Merritt was alive and that they could find her. Morck thought she was already dead, and called the case a loser. Meanwhile, a very much alive Merritt was just waking up inside  a hyperbaric chamber. She looked unkempt, her clothes were dirty, but she had a foam, a pillow, and a blanket. A modified voice murmured, ‘Good morning, Merritt’, and there was a shot of two people inside the control room.   

Case details so far

Leith Park Shooting

Caroline Kerr was out walking her baby on the day of the shooting when she saw a man in dark clothing go into the back door of flat number 226. This man walked into a blue compact car whose make she could not identify. Caroline now claimed she made a mistake, and that she was not certain it was the same flat. DCI Logan Bruce, the man in charge of the investigation, thought someone might have threatened her and offered protection, to no avail. Bruce thought the shooter was a professional, as the place was wiped ahead of time; Morck countered that a professional would not have left him and Hardy alive. That was one of the first things I noticed, that the shooter came close and saw that Morck was still alive, their eyes met, and the shooter just left. 

The two young policemen assisting Bruce were Wilson and Clark. Morck could not help himself; he went to their evidence board and asked them if they had checked the CCTV at the McDonald’s nearest to Leith Park. Morck called their attention to a photo of a bag and a cup next to a car. The McDonald’s remnants looked like they were dropped as someone exited the car. What Morck wanted checked out was the possibility that the shooter could have been inside the car eating McDonald’s takeout, watching the house to see who showed up. Bruce’s team’s theory was that there were two separate crimes, one shooting, one stabbing. Morck wanted them to focus on the shooter, on what he did that day, on the McDonald’s CCTV in case there was a man in black who made a similar purchase.  

This was emphasised in Morck’s questioning of Anderson when he and Hardy got to the scene so I wanted to mention it – Anderson found the door open, not unlocked.

Merritt Lingard’s Disappearance 

No further details, outside of the summary above. What we do have are details of Merritt’s home life. She lived in what looked like a remote house with her brother William. They had a housekeeper named Claire whose devotion to William Merritt did not appreciate. When Merritt came home and found William crying and hitting his head against the wall, it looked like his reaction might have been triggered by a photo of him and Merritt as teenagers. William also drew their father’s boat.

Apart from drawing, William also liked to watch TV. That scene with William watching Merritt on TV told us two things: that William liked watching Merrit on TV, and that Merritt did not, since she turned it off.   

Graham Finch Murder Case

The case against Graham Finch indicated that his wife was planning to leave him, and that they argued at dinner. At their home, Graham allegedly pushed her down the stairs, killing her. Merritt’s boss, Lord Advocate Stephen Burns, did not allow Merritt to use the evidence provided by a woman named Kristy, which Merritt had been pushing for. Merritt’s more experienced colleague Liam was not happy with her handling of the case. Graham Finch was effective on the witness stand as he declared his innocence and love for his wife.

Review

This was a brilliantly setup mystery that played with the audience’s expectations until the last few minutes. I truly thought Merritt was going to be assigned to the Q squad following her very public loss of an important case. The reveal via photos in the case file of the day in the ferry that we were just watching happen in real time was an exquisite way to open the cold case department’s first case.

Matthew Goode was an interesting casting choice to play a man who almost instinctively repelled everyone in his orbit. The superiority his therapist immediately clocked dripped every time he spoke to someone inside the department who was not Moira, his words filled with exasperation that people were not performing to his exacting standards. His home life was no better; his relationship with his stepson Jasper and his lodger Martin were strained. 

The one person Morck got along with was his partner Hardy, and their relationship was now layered with trauma and guilt. The crime scene Anderson called in was not theirs, they rolled in and checked it out because that was just something Morck did. The kid he berated was dead. The partner he respected was now unable to walk. 

The repeated use of footage from Anderson’s body cam, along with the football callbacks (Morck and Hardy were discussing football as they went into the scene, Hardy watched football from his bed) underlined how the incident kept replaying inside Morck’s head. His mind kept circling back to the shooting, even as he returned to work, even as he rode the bus which was one of my favourite small touches in this episode. The shooting did not change his personality, but the guilt was ever present, and would bobble to the surface, as it did when he saw photos of young Anderson at the station.

Yet, Morck was not giving up. When he rushed to Hardy’s side following what he thought was a fall and later realised was a suicide attempt, he told his partner in a voice that broke that they would figure it out. Hardy’s, ‘Please mate,’ was shattering, as were those unshed tears as his wife and two boys came in. That was beautiful work by Jamie Sives.

Morck frequently came to Hardy’s bedside, bringing beer and some choice rants about the department. Hardy was resigned to listening, and so he knew all about Morck’s new unit.  

Since she only agreed to the creation of the cold case unit to get her hands on its significant budget – and since no one currently working for her liked him – Moira initially intended for Morck to work the unit alone. When he insisted on an assistant, Moira, through Rose, sent him Akram Salim, who had been bribing Rose with homemade sweets to be allowed into the building so he could ask Moira for a job.

Alexej Manvelov’s Akram walked in with his polite demeanor and his aura of dignity and competence and immediately became one of Dept. Q’s most fascinating characters. When he was sent downstairs to work for a new department, he was not even told what the department was. Morck was furious when he found Akram reading the case files, but Akram’s calm presence and obvious intelligence led him to task his new assistant with sorting and categorising the case files. For all of Morck’s vaunted dislike of most of the human race, he was an excellent judge of talent.

The reveal that Merritt was still alive was preceded with a visual of hellish red, light reflected over a circular overhead window of the prison that held her for four years. The modified voice almost had a playful quality to it, like a (horrific) game. The routine of Merritt casually putting her beddings away and heading to the toilet only added to the bleakness of it all, the muscle memory that had been built through her long incarceration. 

Dept. Q’s debut episode was a masterclass in atmosphere, pacing, and misdirection. With its sharp writing, layered performances, and horror elements, Episode 1 promised a series with a gripping mystery, and an examination of the broken people tasked to solve it. 

Rating: A+

Strays

🔎Hardy to Morck, after he dressed down the inexperienced Anderson: ‘Amazing mentor, you are.’ The dressing down and the shooting were caught on the body cam Anderson wore. 

🔎Morck’s therapist was supposed to be Dr. Sonnenberg, who broke a hip, so Dr. Rachel Irving had to fill in. Morck was already inside the elevator when he saw Dr. Irving, and decided to stay. That was totally because he was attracted to her.

🔎Dr. Irving to Morck: ‘Would you like talking to you?’ Lol.

🔎Morck: ‘I had problems with other human beings long before I was shot.’

🔎Morck took tennis ball shaped stress balls from his therapist’s office. 

🔎Once the money for the new department came in, there were suddenly new phones, computers, even TVs in the station. Meanwhile, the cold case squad was in the dingy basement (‘Shower Quarters’) that had, amongst its charming amenities, a row of urinals.

🔎There was a good shot of Morck coming down to the basement for the first time and looking up to see people actually walking all over his new office. 

🔎Merritt: ‘I firmly believe that those who commit violent crime don’t ever truly get away with it. Um, the court might set them free, but be it conscience, karma, or the universe, they are, ultimately, one way or another, punished for what they’ve done.’

🔎Merritt told her harasser that she had reported the messages, but there was no indication that she did. She was a young woman in a male dominated high profile work, where threats would have been routine. It was entirely believable that she would not have wanted to appear weak or not up to the task to her colleagues and superiors. 

🔎Morck asked for and was given a car as part of his new duties. 

🔎To Recap Lab regulars, yes, the format is different this time. Dept. Q gave us such a fascinating mystery (mysteries) that I wanted to include as many details as possible as it was laid out in the Pilot so we could have fun piecing the clues as we go through the next episodes, and the next seasons. Seriously, Netflix, please give us five seasons, minimum. Thank you for choosing Recap Lab as your companion to TV viewing, and see you on the next one!

Writers: Chandni Lakhani and Scott Frank

Director: Scott Frank

Original Air Date: May 29, 2025

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