Things are starting to unravel in the world of Line Of Duty. One of the most dramatic episodes in the history of the series has left us reeling. Quite frankly, we’re no longer sure who is on whose side, if there are even sides anymore or if there is even a line (of duty) to cross? 

As my old uni lecturer used to say – after removing whatever small amount of fun might have existed in an explanation of dialectic materialism (no idea what it is to this day) – “Anyone have any questions, queries, problems?” Our hands shoot up - just a few professor. 

Let’s start at the beginning…

Is Jane Cafferty protecting someone?

In classic Line of Duty style, an answer only leads to more questions. Cafferty fingers Dot, who conveniently died in series four – so how or why did she do that? Either she was recruited during series four (possible), or she knows by doing so she will close off her line of enquiry, thus protecting the real villain. 

Oh and who’s that looking relieved when he finds out? Clue: it begins with ‘H’, ends with ‘Astings’.

What’s this Kettle Bell thing?

And who is this guy claiming to be an ex-copper trying to convince Ted Hastings he needs to drop another £100k. 

Don’t trust him Ted, we smell a con.

Could Lisa be a UCO?

So, Ted closes his laptop as soon as Corbett and Lisa hang up on the mysterious OCG leader. I mean, he could have been checking his emails or working on his sitcom idea – but what are the chances, eh? 

But what does that actually mean? Lisa has obviously been taking orders from him for a while, “You know what to do” he tells her, so does that mean she could be in even deeper cover working for Hastings? 

When she says she doesn’t know who is at the other end of the laptop, does she mean that, or is she bluffing? 

And when Corbett asks if he’s one of them, or one of us she answers with the enigmatic, “The same thing, if you’re bent enough.” 

Is everyone in Line Of Duty just a bent copper, trying to find other bent coppers? My brain hurts…!

Actually are Steve and Kate the only non-bent coppers?

Steve is caught between a rock (Corbett) and a hard place (his professional integrity). When he finally confides in Kate, she defends Hastings, and her next move is to go straight to the gaffer. So they have just told H they are on to him and the Eastfield robbery which is also a set up to catch H is compromised. 

Still following? Basically, in doing the right thing Steve has stopped H from getting a heist AND Corbett from catching H – top police work – albeit without knowing it.

Has anyone ever actually heard of an Electronic Disposal Centre?

After hearing he’s been rumbled, Ted ‘H’ Hastings pops his dodgy laptop in bubble wrap and hot steps it to his nearest, fully-signposted Electronic Disposal Centre. (Anyone else ever heard of or seen one of these? No, us neither.)

Why do so many people have names beginning with H?

The raid, which is a set up, but also a raid and also a set up, was set up. And the bent copper they trapped? DCS Hargreaves, seriously ‘H’argreaves? How very ‘H’elpful for the real ‘H’. But there’s a twist to this. Hargreaves is a member of the serious crime squad and was the boss of DS Sam Railston, the former flame of Steve Arnott who is trying to rekindle their romance. 

“I guess that’s why you never called, if you were investigating him?” she asks. “Yeah totes,” he says, hiding the fact that they had zero clue about Hargreaves. 

Could she be trying to get back into Steve’s life for nefarious reasons, to gain info on the investigation perhaps? This could prove tricky.

What the hell is Biggeloe’s deal?

Like a femme fatale from a Thirties film noir, the moment Gill Biggeloe swans into the episode you can hear the voiceover, “From the minute she walked into my office I knew the dame was trouble.” 

First, she puts Ted on the back foot, tying him in knots over the investigation, Fleming’s promotion and accusing him of being a sexist. And then she tells Ted to sort his shit out, in not so many words.

You would think that would be enough for anyone to just be like, ‘okay, I’ll just not go there’. But, of course, that’s exactly what Ted does - in fact, he takes it a whole step further and meets her for dinner. A dinner which starts with her again having a massive go at him and telling him he should take early retirement. Awkward.

Fair enough, as Ted says, “It’s only dinner.” 

But it’s not! He takes her ‘home’ - or should we say, back to the hotel room he now calls home. Oh Ted, this cannot end well.

So, what are we left with? Nothing basically. 

Everyone seems to be playing everyone else off against each other, whether they are a corrupt copper or not. No one is safe, no one is to be trusted, everyone is chasing shadows, or their own tails, or the shadows of their own tails.

Corbett’s convinced he’s been double-triple-crossed by everyone and has gone full rogue, he’s playing things by his own rules now, which, by the looks of things means putting on a bad accent and kidnapping Hastings’ ex-wife. 

Where the hell is this going to go? We literally have no idea. Here’s wishing our life away till next Sunday.

Line Of Duty continues Sunday, 9pm, BBC One.

Images: BBC