Greg Evans
May 03, 2021
On Sunday, millions sat down to watch the finale to one of the most talked-about British TV shows in years: Line of Duty.
The show about a team of anti-corruption police officers, better known as AC-12, attempting to sniff out ‘bent coppers’ within their police force has attracted a legion of loyal followers since it first aired in 2012.
Written by Jed Mercurio, the show has become synonymous with its many twists and turns, tense action sequences and enigmatic captivating characters such as Ted Hastings, Kate Fleming and Steve Arnott.
The finale to season 7, which many believe will be the last episode ever, promised to unveil who the mysterious ‘H’ figure was who had been controlling ‘bent coppers’ for years as well as several other mysteries.
It really was must-watch television but did it live up to the hype?
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Warning: Major spoilers for Line of Duty ahead:
In short, the overwhelming consensus was that the final episode was a let-down. The revelation that Ian Buckells, a relatively derided character, was the criminal mastermind ‘H’ was less Keyser Soze and more like Rikishi being the person who ran over Steve Austin at Survivor Series 1999.
In addition, there were no further revelations or high-octane actions scenes but just tying up of various loose ends and a lot of talking.
Shortly after the final episode concluded, social media was flooded with people irate about what they had just watched.
I am livid— Owen Jones 🌹 (@Owen Jones 🌹) 1619989471
#LineofDutyFinale https://t.co/dojNhgtwHN— Sam Jordan (@Sam Jordan) 1619989245
BREAKING: Thousands of angry fans gather outside the Line of Duty stadium— Matt Chorley (@Matt Chorley) 1619989918
Disappointing would be an understatement. All the teasing pointed to tonight’s episode being the last ever for the… https://t.co/m0ZAq8aefP— Liam O'Dell (@Liam O'Dell) 1619990723
Buckells? Fuckells more like 😉 cheers everyone see you tomorrow 👍— alistair green (@alistair green) 1619989650
God, that was so bad. I was absolutely SCREAMING at the Great British Bake Off style captions at the end. "Jo David… https://t.co/0AxEocOxSY— Caspar Salmon (@Caspar Salmon) 1619989500
Well I for one love the idea that a badly dressed, incompetent arse can cause so much damage and take so long to ge… https://t.co/XCvkenrM64— Parody Boris Johnson (@Parody Boris Johnson) 1619991701
I assume Bran Stark was "H" from all your reactions.— Jess Phillips MP (@Jess Phillips MP) 1619989314
The Line Of Duty fans are on the pitch. They’re not happy. #LineofDutyFinale https://t.co/pOG3TS8vY3— Adam. (@Adam.) 1620026626
Others seemed baffled that AC-12 managed to discover who H was thanks to a series of typos in his writing.
Now petrified of being caught for a string of high profile murders because of the way I constantly misspell diahrrea— James Felton (@James Felton) 1619991053
So ‘H’ was ‘Buckles’? Hang on, have the last 10 years just been one long fucking spelling mistake? Motha of Godd.… https://t.co/VHQJz65Y68— Desmond Hinks (@Desmond Hinks) 1619990491
At least there were a few things that people liked about the final episode such as the house that Jo Davidson got sent to under witness protection.
fuck me witness protection looks great. #LineOfDuty https://t.co/3L5974EJtd— Scott Bryan (@Scott Bryan) 1619989124
Bold move to release the John Lewis Christmas ad in May. #LineOfDuty https://t.co/v0LPdk8AVO— Lux (@Lux) 1619990674
Can I live with Joanne Davison in witness protection please?— Chloe Hubbard (@Chloe Hubbard) 1619989202
The best bit about #LineofDutyFinale was the completing of Terry Boyle’s storyline. Having been victimised for his… https://t.co/NUKA9O16Jc— sarah o'brien (@sarah o'brien) 1619991713
People did want more fanfare for DS Chloe Bishop, who ultimately cracked who H was.
They could have at least taken Chloe out for a pint. She solved it. #LineofDutyFinale— Lisa Holdsworth (@Lisa Holdsworth) 1619989172
Chloe literally just figured out who H is by herself, after years of AC-12 floundering. An absolute queen. #LineOfDuty #LineofDutyFinale— Morgan Jeffery (@Morgan Jeffery) 1619987232
she deserved better https://t.co/2sORNl7Cfg— ryan john butcher (@ryan john butcher) 1619990675
Hang on a minute though...
what the FUCK https://t.co/4OUI5fBqoL— Dan Douglas (@Dan Douglas) 1619991083
There were many comparisons to other popular shows.
Always weird to me to see Breaking Bad used as the example of “perfect show ending.” Great show, but nothing left t… https://t.co/UysCLfvvBK— Rocco Botte (@Rocco Botte) 1619996109
That Line Of Duty ending will be like the sopranos’ ending. At the time you all think it’s bad but in hindsight it… https://t.co/gdhBKccgb8— Fake Carlton (@Fake Carlton) 1619990664
To reiterate, if you want to watch a realistic show about the perils, challenges, and opportunities of policing, watch ‘The Wire.’— Chloé S. Valdary 📚 (@Chloé S. Valdary 📚) 1619981388
Ultimately can we ever be truly satisfied whenever a show like this comes along which encourages us to pick at every thread and concoct our own wild theories?
The disappointing line of duty finale has really proved that big set-piece, plot-twist TV really struggles in the c… https://t.co/7HlC6G0uty— Luke Bailey (@Luke Bailey) 1619991115
the thing you should be most annoyed at line of duty for is forcing us all to suffer the indignity of watching an o… https://t.co/ic8AnnkxlQ— Stan Account (@Stan Account) 1619994310
Oh well, at least we had fun along the way...
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