Based on writer Jussi Adler-Olsen’s book series by the same name, Netflix’s “Dept Q” is a taut thriller propelled by a layered mystery, timely humor, and an eclectically charming cast. Created by Scott Frank (“The Queen’s Gambit,” “Monsieur Spade”), the nine-episode British crime thriller grips your attention early and plays with some clever ruses. With Matthew Goode’s charismatically jaded Carl Morck (like Hugh Laurie’s “House MD”), Alexej Manvelov’s enigmatic Akram, and Leah Byrne’s sharply vibrant Rose, we have a team of investigators we will not mind tuning in to for the foreseeable future. A trifecta we have not seen since the cult-ish “Mindhunter.”
So, the only concern for the show is whether Netflix execs will find it in their heart to allow it to grow into a multi-season series. Meanwhile, let us discuss the show’s ending and the conclusions of its various subplots.
Dept. Q (TV Series 2025) Recap:
When DCI Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) and his partner DI Hardy (Jamie Sives) entered a crime scene, little did they know that it was going to change their lives forever. The killer was still present at the scene. The masked assassin shoots the junior officer, Anderson, killing him instantly, before turning his gun towards Morck and Hardy. The shot did not kill them, but it left them severely wounded. Physically and mentally. Hardy got paralyzed, and Morck, with no significant physical damage, developed survivor’s guilt.
So, when Morck returns to the police department, even more jaded and scathing than before, the chief of police, Moira (Kate Dickie) sees an opportunity to separate him from the rest of the officers. The department has received a significant budget to look into cold cases. Solving an old case seems to be a new fad, and the Scottish police do not like to be left behind. So, Moira assigns Morck a bunch of cold cases and gives him the keys to the basement, which is to be his new office. Morck finds the place to be the remnant of a large bathroom, filled with broken basins and unused urinals. The letter ‘Q’ has survived from the sign that used to say “Shower Quarter.” Thus begins the journey of Department Q.
Morck’s pessimistic reluctance is soon changed when he is assigned Akram (Alexej Manvelov) as his assistant. Akram, a former officer in Syria, is a temporary worker in the IT department of the police. He has been hounding Moira for a transfer to police work. Moira, who could not have asked any of the active officers to join Morck’s team, kills two birds with one stone by sending Akram to the basement. Dept. Q gets one more member soon. Rose (Leah Byrne), who had her own bout of PTSD, is tired of Moira not assigning her any investigative work. So, she volunteers for the dungeons.
As the members of Department Q start to assemble, we are also introduced to Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie). Merritt is a prolific prosecutor who just happens to lose what can only be termed as a slam-dunk case. Merritt lives with her brother, William (Tom Bulpett). William used to be a bright boy, before an ‘accident’ rendered him mentally impaired. He lost his speaking ability. The only way he can communicate is via drawing. The only person to visit the brother and sister in their lavish house is the carer Claire (Shirley Henderson). With the high-profile loss, Merritt decides to take William to Mhor, an island that is also their birthplace. While traveling via the ferry, William loses his cap. This causes William to have a panic attack. In the commotion, he shoves Merritt to the railings.
As Akram finds the perfect first case for Department Q to solve, we realize that Merritt’s events have occurred in the past. Four years in the past, to be precise. It appears that on that day when Merritt got shaved by William on the ferry, she went missing. Nobody has seen her since she left William on the top deck. This is the case Akram picks. With his input, Morck becomes suspicious of the events leading to Merritt’s disappearance as well.
Dept. Q (TV Series 2025) Netflix Ending Explained:
Who Kidnapped Merrit Lingard?
Although “Dept. Q” has plenty of subplots, the primary focus never wavers from the mysterious disappearance of Merritt Lingard. In the current timeline, where Morck and his team start their investigation on her disappearance, we see Merritt locked in a hyperbaric chamber. She has spent the last four years locked in that chamber. Her kidnappers, an old woman and a mysterious man, have not allowed her to die. Not without her realizing who they are. This has been the game for the past four years. The old woman asks Merritt to guess their identity or the reason she is being punished. Failing to do so, Merritt is subjected to torture via the manipulation of air pressure in the chamber.
Merritt has gone through the list of people who could have a grudge against her. It’s the same list that Morck and his team are venturing through. As a ruthless but successful prosecutor, Merritt has made many enemies. But not a single guess from those names seems to hit the right mark. The Q team rattles many cages, ventures into many avenues, but to no avail. However, they learn what destroyed William’s life, back in Mhor. It appears a boy named Harry Jennings, known to be of a quick temper, battered William till he lost consciousness. That beating caused William’s current condition.
Now, the fact is, a young Merritt had been dating Harry at that time. Merritt often wondered, while sleeping with Harry, if she could nick one of her mother’s old jewellery. The ones that were kept locked by her father. To impress Merritt, Harry decided to do the stealing. It is assumed William intervened, and Harry lashed out. Harry died while trying to escape local police. He fell from the ferry and drowned. However, the real truth is revealed when William starts to communicate with Morck and his team.
Harry had a brother named Lyle. Harry loved him as much as Merritt loves William. But Lyle showed tendencies for psychotic cruelties. It was not Harry who battered William. It was Lyle who always followed his big brother everywhere. Harry took the blame to save Lyle. Lyle and Harry’s mother, Ailsa, was cut from the same cloth. Both Ailsa and Lyle blamed Merritt for Harry’s death because it is easier to blame a woman than to look inwards. The Jenningses kidnapped Merritt. Ailsa and Lyle have been responsible for Merritt’s ordeal.
Eventually, Morck and Akram pay a visit to Ailsa Jennings’ trailer. They notice the logo that William described he had seen on the cap of the kidnapper. They discover the hyperbaric chamber, along with the dead body of the local police chief, another handiwork of Lyle. Lyle jumps on them. Akram throws a knife at Lyle’s jugular with accurate results. Akram grabs Lyle’s shotgun and kills him. Morck and Lyle finally rescue Merritt. Ailsa prefers death over police arrests. So, she shoots herself.
What Happened to Sam Haig?
One of the ingenious ruses of “Dept. Q” was the Sam Haig mystery. During their investigation, Morck discovers a relationship between noted journalist Sam Haig and Merritt. It appears they were working to report corruption in the prosecutors’ office. However, Sam Haig dies from an accident, a couple of days after Merritt’s disappearance. This pushes the investigation towards Merritt’s supervisor, the current Lord Advocate, Stephen Burns.
However, the show does a clever ruse regarding the identity of Sam Haig. The Sam we see with Merritt was not Sam at all. It was Lyle, pretending to be Sam. Sam’s relatively low profile reputation allowed Lyle to get away with the masquerade. Sam and Lyle knew each other from spending time in a juvenile correctional facility. When Sam approached Lyle to apologize for beating him when they were young, Lyle realized the potential of his journalistic identity: easy access to Merritt. Using Sam’s identity, Lyle traps Merritt and learns about their house. Eventually, he gets the chance to kidnap Merritt from the ferry. Of course, Ailsa helped. Later, to tie up loose ends, Lyle kills Sam and throws him over a cliff. People assumed it was an accident, as Sam did love rock climbing.
Who Was Responsible for Morck and Hardy’s Shooting?
Morck and Hardy’s shooting is still unsolved by the end of this season. However, Morck’s theory proves to be correct. Initially, it appeared that the three police officers were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. After killing the victim, Archie Allen, the killer somehow stayed and saw no option but to shoot P.C. Anderson, Morck, and Hardy. However, prodded by a reporter’s question, Morck realizes that Archie was a police informer. The locality around Leith Park, where Archie used to stay, is unofficially run by a local ruffian named Eugene.
Although Morck is not supposed to help, he looks into the investigation anyway and finds Anderson to be top of his class. Something that does not sit right with Morck, as Anderson behaved like a novice in front of him. So, Morck starts to ask if Anderson’s ineptitude was an act. When Anderson touched one of the furniture at Archie’s place, it seemed it was due to his foolishness. However, Morck realizes now that Anderson did that to give the impression of foolishness. So when his fingerprints were found at the place, the two senior officers would blame his foolishness. They would never question whether his fingerprints were there from the beginning.
Additionally, Anderson lied about getting a call from Archie’s daughter. Archie did not have a daughter. It seems like Anderson was in touch with Archie for a long time. Perhaps they were both part of Eugene’s operations. It is also likely that Anderson, along with Archie, might have become a problem for Eugene. The current theory is that the shooter targeted Anderson. Anderson was, in fact, the intended victim. Archie was merely a bait. Whether this theory is true or not, we will have to wait for the next season to find out.
What Could Be in Store for Dept. Q Season 2?
Speaking of the second season, it would be a shame of gigantic proportions if “Dept Q” does not get further instalments. The source, the books by Adler-Olsen, have plenty more stories featuring the titular department. The potential is limitless, figuratively speaking. With Goode as the leading man, the show could be Netflix’s House M.D. As the Merritt Lingard case concludes, we see the focus shifting to the shooter case. Officer Hardy makes a comeback as he regains mobility with the help of crutches. Moira entrusts him with the Leith Park shooting case. It is likely Morck will play some role there.
During their Merritt investigation, Morck and his team found that the Graham Finch case, which Merritt had lost before her disappearance, was rigged by Merritt’s supervisor, Stephen Burns. It appears Finch blackmailed Burns with the safety of his daughter to coerce him into undermining Merritt’s case. With the death of the Jenningses, it becomes clear that Graham Finch or Stephen Burns was not involved in the case of Merritt’s kidnapping. So, Morck decides not to throw Burns under the bus. However, in turn, he asks Burns to do him a favour. He asks Burns to make Akram a permanent police officer. Whatever new case comes along the way of Department Q, the polite yet dangerous Akram needs to be at Morck’s side.
