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Dept. Q – Season 1 Episode 2 Recap & Review
29 May 2025 by Greg Wheeler
Panic Attack
Episode 2 of Dept. Q begins with a look at Merritt’s hellacious ordeal while trapped inside this metal prison. She uses chalk to write different names up on the wall, and settles on a woman called Kirsty Atkins.
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As we find out later in the episode, Merritt put Kirsty behind bars, She was initially a drug addict but she’s been clean for months. She also appears to have known the deceased in the Finch case, and Merritt wants to use her to testify and get a conviction. Merritt also offers a flippant proposal of getting her out, but of course this is all a play as Merritt doesn’t believe Kirsty is telling the truth.
Back in the present, Akram and Carl discuss the Merritt case and try to figure out what could have happened. Moira shows up and checks on the pair, wanting progress on their chosen case. Carl is determined to be as abrasive and difficult as possible, but Akram immediately perks up with the Merritt case.
Carl’s first port of call is an old officer called Fergus Dunbar. He was the man in charge of investigating the Merritt Lingard case and he’s adamant he hasn’t messed up the investigation. William was arrested at the time, but Fergus points out that his condition made it unclear how much help he’d be. Fergus also ordered divers to look through miles of water but found nothing.
Carl realizes that William could be the key here and heads out with Akram to Egley House, where he’s currently being kept. The woman in charge Wallace, is quick to point out that William is not allowed to see people. Apparently some police officers came round before asking questions and left him traumatized.
Carl is not any old officer though and believes he can get through where the others have failed. Unfortunately, William has regressed in recent years and he’s not communicating beyond drawing pictures. However, he’s not in any condition to be opened up to this sort of trauma again.
While Carl gets nowhere with Wallace, he does have more luck with Maggie, the receptionist. Despite claiming William gets no visitors, in reality a woman shows and brings William various trinkets every month called Claire. She’s the old housekeeper we saw briefly in episode 1 and another crucial thread for our characters to follow.
Claire has no love lost for Wallace, and she’s very protective over William. It’s here we learn that had an accident when he was 16 and suffered from serious head trauma, explaining his condition. Merritt never mentioned what happened at the time that caused this, but it could be important to note for later.
The attention then turns to Merritt’s work, and in particular, the Finch case that she lost. Claire was with the family for 12 years, but only for William’s sake. She never really liked Merritt but does confirm that the bond William and Merritt had was so strong that there’s no way she’d jump in the water without William following- or abandon him to this fate.
Carl’s issues away from this cold case continue both with his own personal demons and his situation at home. He has an estranged relationship with his stepson, Jasper. They barely communicate at the best of times, and he’s not been showing up at school. He’s busy at home with a girl whom he’s having sex with and continuously plays loud music.
Carl isn’t sure how to handle this, especially as this past trauma involving the shooting threatens to rear its ugly head at any time. Carl blames himself for what happened but he continues to be standoffish at therapy.
Rachel believes he’s repressing his real feelings and the show does quite a good job of blending this scene with awkward comedy, especially as Carl puts his foot in it over the woman’s looks and her marriage. It’s a brief segment but it also works quite well to give Carl a bit of vulnerability.
In fact, Carl’s real therapy (not that he’d admit it) comes from speaking to Hardy, his partner, in hospital. He’s partially paralyzed as a result of that stray bullet but Carl visits him regularly, partly out of guilt but also to discuss cases. He drops off Merritt’s file and lets the guy have a gander.
Merritt Lingard’s old supervisor, Stephen Burns, shows up to see Carl here. Carl doesn’t have much faith that Merritt is still alive but Moira decides to use this to prop her own publicity up a notch. She speaks to the public about the new department and the Cold Cases they’ll be working on.
Carl is thrown right into the deep end after and has to read a statement regarding Merritt’s disappearance. He fumbles his way through it, struggling to keep it together while William immediately perks up as he watches this, as do the people keeping Merritt hostage.
As for William, he throws the TV out the window and runs away from Egley House. As he does, we cut across to Carl who leaves the press conference, spiralling and struggling to compose himself. Akram is there to see him and understands the guy is having a panic attack.
The Episode Review
Alas, the plot thickens. This episode works to establish the growing bond between Akram and Carl who actually make a pretty good team. It’s clear that Akram is not as useless as everybody in the force is making him out to be, and Carl recognizes these qualities in him, even if he’s not happy with the way he plays by the book.
The Merritt situation is getting interesting here too, especially as we find out that her kidnappers clearly dislike her and are holding her for a reason. They want to make her suffer and from the glimpses we’ve seen of the past, Merritt is tough and has made a lot of enemies along the way. Who has her captive though?
It’s not all deep police work and drama here, because the series also adds just the right amount of comedy to add a touch of levity. It’s a nice way of easing up on the melodrama, and Dept Q balances the tone perfectly so far.
Hopefully the rest of the episodes can follow suit.
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You can read our full season review for Dept Q here!
Episode Rating
(4)
4
CategoriesDrama, thriller, TV Shows
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