Unsolved crime enigma 'Dept. Q' prioritizes character development over criminal investigation details
Delve into the gritty world of genre narratives, where the same ol' ideas and characters get shuffled about like a well-worn deck of cards. Romance is filled with Cinderellas and Darcys, sci-fi and fantasy keep pumping out Luke Skywalkers and Katniss Everdeens, while cop stories can't get enough of those anti-social loners - from Dirty Harry to Inspector Morse, they're pains in the neck, but darn good at cracking cases.
One such misfit is Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck, the star of the new Netflix series, 'Dept. Q.' Originally from the first of 10 Nordic noir novels by Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen, the story has been revamped by Scott Frank, an industry vet who's penned Spielberg movies, helmed 'The Queen's Gambit,' and more. Frank shifts the setting from Copenhagen to Edinburgh and cranks up the cheekiness factor by making the protagonist, an Englishman, even more insufferable.
Matthew Goode slips into the role of Morck, a DCI who has zero tolerance for fools and truly believes that everyone is, well, a fool. He's still reeling from an ambush that cost one officer their life and left Morck both wounded and guilty about his friend, DCI James Hardy, being paralyzed.
Because his colleagues despise him, the boss cashes him in as head of a brand-new section, Department Q, designed to tackle high-profile cold cases to generate positive PR for the police. The hurdle? Department Q has only one detective - Carl - and is relegated to the precinct's grimy basement.
At first, Carl attacks his mission with his usual cynicism, barely lifting a finger to tackle the stack of cold cases dumped on him. That all changes thanks to Akram (Alexej Manvelov), our Syrian exile who fares better at menial work than most.
Together, Carl and Akram commence investigating the disappearance five years prior of Merritt Lingard, played by Chloe Pirrie. This sharp-witted prosecutor possesses plenty of enemies who might have had good reason to eliminate her - jailbirds, jilted lovers, even her former boss, the corrupt Lord Justice.
Carl and Akram soon gather help from two other team members: Rose (Leah Byrne), a young constable whose ebullience hides her PTSD, and Hardy (Jamie Sives), Carl's immobilized old colleague who excels at online digging between bouts of physical therapy. This grouping of a callous boss with a motley crew echoes 'Slow Horses,' but here it's played sans humor.
Here's the twist: Carl knows not the truth - but we do. Merritt isn't just missing; she's being held captive in some mystified metallic container. As the tale unfolds, both strands - Merritt's investigation and her captivity - intertwine.
In truth, it takes quite a while for the full story to unravel. The original Danish movie, based on 'The Keeper of Lost Causes,' clocked in at 96 minutes. 'Dept. Q' sprawls across nine episodes, totaling over seven hours. If you're after non-stop thrills, you may find yourself dozing off.
Frank focuses more on the characters than the mystery, beginning with the ardently snobby Carl, who spends copious amounts of time sniping with his flatmates, picking fights with local toughs, exchanging barbs with a police therapist (Kelly Macdonald), and dismissing detective colleagues attempting to solve his shooting. Goode, known for his knack for portraying obnoxiously charming misanthropes, captures Carl's cocky arrogance while revealing flashes of genuine human emotion.
The rest of the predominantly Scottish cast shines, too. Byrne imbues Rose with a wounded resilience that's both appealing and relatable, while Steevis invests Hardy with a sense of decency that even Carl has to grudgingly admire. Akram, played by Manvelov, is the standout - his calm, cool demeanor hints at a shadowy past best left unspoken.
Although Carl sees himself as the brains of the operation, it's his team that pulls off the majority of the vital discoveries. This suggests one of the key Nordic themes of 'Dept. Q': trust in teamwork overcomes individual ambition. Carl considers himself the sharpest tool in the shed. But without his crew, he's just a sad sack with a full quiver of intelligence.
Copyright 2025 NPR
Enterprise and entertainment collide in the gritty world of crime dramas, where misfit detectives like Carl Morck from the Netflix series 'Dept. Q' are shuffled about, much like the familiar archetypes in movies and TV shows. Despite his troubles and cynicism, Carl confronts a complex cold case that challenges his beliefs and ultimately reveals the power of teamwork.
