Have you Watched ‘Dept. Q’?

Matthew Goode in Dept. Q | Credit: Netflix

Carl (Matthew Goode), a grumpy yet brilliant detective, returns to the force and has his pick of cases to solve. He zeroes in on a cold case, working with an unorthodox team to find a missing woman who disappeared four years earlier.

I’m a sucker for a mystery, especially a British mystery. I don’t know why, but these are some of my favorites in the genre. And Dept. Q is a great entry into this subgenre. This show is pretty dark, as if filmed through the lens and worldview of the world-weary detective. Carl is rather brilliant, but he is also a grump who’s always in a bad mood. He seems to never see the good in people or have any hope for the future (which seems partially understandable given the trauma that he endured).

The entire season is filmed with this grittiness that I think reflects how Carl sees the world. Even when people are kind or good-natured, he doesn’t recognize it. He stomps all over them or mocks them for their kindness. He has been hardened by life, and he seems to expect everyone else to have experienced the same. Still, he’s so intelligent and quick-witted that even in his most awful moments, Carl is still fun to be around. Though he’s an insufferable jerk, he’s one that you want to continue spending time with, an important balance for this show to strike.

Carl isn’t the only character involved in investigating this cold case. We meet Akram (Alexej Manvelov), a Syrian refugee who is seeking a job with the police. He had done some sort of police or police-adjacent work in the past, and in each episode, we learn about a new facet of his unique set of skills. Akram is an important moral compass at times and also brings some really vital skills to this team. I thought this character was a really important one, especially given the dangerous rhetoric around refugees, and Syrian refugees specifically, in recent years.

We also meet Rose (Leah Byrne), a talented young detective who knows that she can do more than her current position allows. She ends up joining Carl’s team, learning a great deal in the process. Though she is young, she contributes a lot to the case and also forces Carl to play the role of a mentor or teacher. She is a wonderful addition to the team that brings toughness, intelligence, and perseverance, which balances Carl out rather well.

Kate Dickie and Matthew Goode in Dept. Q | Credit: Netflix

Dept. Q takes Carl and his team on a number of twists and turns as they seek to look back into the past in order to find what happened to Merritt (Chloe Pirrie). Her life hadn’t been easy, and she had a number of enemies as a result of her work. There are so many lines of inquiry for them to walk down; they are often confused, but that doesn’t stop this team from continuing to press forward. And the way each episode is paced makes you want to keep watching to see if our heroes will be able to solve this mystery once and for all.

For the most part, I think this season is really well-paced. At the end of each episode, I couldn’t wait to watch the next episode. There is so much jam-packed into each one that I needed to know what happened next.

My biggest complaint about the season, however, is the finale. It’s over an hour long and I felt every one of those 71 minutes. This is the only episode that felt like it dragged to me. While there is plenty of tension and drama throughout, I really wanted the episode to end. I longed for a resolution, rather than another obstacle for our heroes to have to overcome. I think that final episode could’ve been 20 minutes shorter, and then it might’ve been the right length.

Even with my disappointment in the length of the season finale, I really enjoyed this show. I was along for the ride as Carl, Akram, and Rose sought to unravel this surprising mystery. It feels as though they are up against the world for the entire season, making them underdogs that you just want to root for.

Dept. Q is a wonderfully thrilling mystery, and I hope that they renew this show for a second season. I would happily watch Carl and his team try to get to the bottom of another impossible mystery.