Dept. Q Review: Absorbing Slow Burning Mystery

Dept. Q is about broken people. It is a slow paced, almost methodical take on the mystery drama. It won’t be for everyone. For those who do vibe with this will take heart from what I think in my limited experience is a realistic and heartfelt take on damaged people trying to live and work while solving what many classed as an unsolvable case.

Dept. Q features many dark themes, such as verbal and physical abuse, plenty of profane language, psychological conditions mainly being PTSD, depression and suicide. I feel you should know this before watching.

I found Dept. Q to be very human – imperfect, intriguing, enjoyable & worth watching.

Dept. Q is set in Scotland and is based on the Danish book series of the same name by Jussi Adler-Olsen. It is available to watch on Netflix. It was released in May 2025 and has subsequently been renewed for Season 2.

Anyone who enjoys a crime mystery or two might enjoy Unsolved Cases: The Scarlet Hyacinth, which Laura Speller reviewed on the Nintendo Switch.

Story: Multifaceted & Drip-Fed

Dept. Q starts with a bang. Literally. DCI Carl Morck, his partner DCI James Hardy and a PC constable are ambushed at a murder scene. It was quite the beginning. Sometime after the “Leith Park” incident, DCI Carl Morck is cleared to come back to work. His partner is still in hospital. His boss, Chief Moira Jacobson has been forced by the higherups into pursuing “Cold Cases”. It apparently makes for good press attention. It also comes with a bigger budget. And it’s a way of keeping an eye on Carl.

Cue Carl being shoved into the downstairs downstairs offices by himself to review these cases. Out of sight, out of mind. He also has court appointed therapy sessions with Dr. Rachel Irving, which provide little comfort. He soon gets himself some help: Akram Salim, a Syrian refugee who helped their own police force. DC Rose Dickson, looking for prove to herself and others that she deserves to do field work after a traumatic accident. And finally, his old partner James Hardy, who is determined to help from the sidelines.  

The team slowly comes together and has a good dynamic between each other. Rose & Hardy play off each other well: apprentice learning from the mentor. Could also almost say Carl is Sherlock: moody, impulsive, arrogant, brilliant to Akram’s Watson: quiet, composed, knowledgeable, great backup.

Dept. Q will not be for everyone. And that’s okay. It likes to take it’s time. It’s methodical in it’s approach to police work: look around, ask questions and ask them again. And there is a lot to take in story wise. As the team explore the case, just who is…..

Carl, Akram and Rose interview a suspect in their case. They work well together.

Merritt Lingard

An extremely successful prosecutor in Scotland, Merritt is aloof, determined, ruthless and cold. However, to others, she is also attractive. Nothing stands in her way if she’s looking to get something. And the story focuses a great deal of time in flashback’s regarding Merritt and who she was. She has a brother that she took good care of; may be the only person she truly cared for. Other people are disposable, can be used. There were details from her previous cases. Then there is a lot of detail regarding her upbringing and who she knew; how she dealt with people in the past are just as important as the present.

Merritt is shown throughout the series to be calculating & ruthless.

Carl Morck

A man, recovering from the “Leith Park” incident, standing on the precipice of collapse. He must try and take care of himself, which he doesn’t do well. Depression, anger, resentment eat away at him. And he has a lot of responsibilities. Looking out for his partner, who almost died. His wayward stepson who doesn’t talk to him and wants to waste his education. Solving this case. Dealing with everyone who already thinks he’s “difficult to work with.” A police chief who has his back but also grilling him for results. A therapist who has to analyse him, which requires him to open, to heal him.

I initially thought the commentary on how stubborn Carl is to be “told not shown”, if I talk to people and they say, “you’re annoying”, it would naturally annoy me. Over time, this theme was more nuanced; as plot strands evolve, the responsibility and pressure is applied to Carl, it felt natural and realistic that he was prone to outbursts and shown to be under the strain. However, having nuanced that Carl is also on the verge of a breakdown, i had sympathy for this character and his portrayal by Matthew Goode.

In describing this story, I really enjoyed watching it. Seeing the deconstruction of Carl, I empathised with him. It’s a serious show with a lot thrown into the mix, from the case, to his family life, to his team. And we see the side of Merritt’s life as well. The first three episodes set the tone, the middle is a little egregious with the red herrings but it’s great for the final three episodes.

The team chewing over what to do next.

Characters & Performances: Excellent Portrayals

Matthew Goode is DCI Carl Morck and nails the title role. To be fair, I recall him from The Good Wife which I really enjoyed, so there was an affinity for the actor. However, the crushing weight of himself and everything else around him, was felt. It felt raw. Genuinely like a man trying to do his job well, while also clinging to life by his fingertips.

Alexej Manvelov was Akram Salim and to be honest, was the MVP. Was even better. Had never seen the actor before, but his quiet, polite, reserved manner clashed against the military training background of his character. Some of the things he gets up to, made you take notice of him. He was also the yin to Carl’s yang; could see details and think of strategies that others could not.

James Sieves as DCI Hardy was good, they had him in it more than I anticipated and has a good character arc, as does Leah Byrne as DC Rose Dickson. Both were very likable and had good character progression to boot.

Chloe Pirrie, as well as Bobby Rainsford, were Merritt Lingard. Both were great, Bobby especially I thought, who had less screen time but I felt was uncanny in personality to her older counterpart. They brought Merritt to life and showed off a very complicated women who had a rough upbringing but became this sharp prosecutor who in the end, could trust no one.

Kelly MacDonald, Kate Dickie, Mark Bonnar, Steven Miller with Kai Alexander as well as a host of other recurring roles were all very good. Solid and well-acted across the board.

Akram is a great foil for Carl, who in his own words, says he’s “a great copper”

Cinematography & Sound: Nice Locations With Good Music When Used

Dept. Q for the most part was made in Edinburgh. Several locations were shown: inside and outside of court, Egley House Care Home, the pier of Shorebird Shipping Company. There is a section on a ferry, it was nice to see the loch. There were scenes inside cafés, hotels, houses. Obviously there was the Police Department offices and the basement used for “Department Q”. It was all nicely shot, especially the locations where they did long camera pans. Certain areas, like Dept. Q especially had a dingy hue about them which I liked.

Music was played a certain point and was nice on the ears. Played at important points, there were piano pieces as well as orchestral music which wouldn’t have been out of place in a Hollywood film. Carl’s stepson was shown to also like certain music as part of his “rebel” label, the song Spit of You by Sam Fender perfectly encapsulates Jasper and Carl’s relationship at that point in time.

Carl & Lord Advocate Stephen Burns have a chat outside the High Court in Edinburgh

Editing & Pacing: Unwieldy

Dept. Q’s actual editing of scenes, how long they took was good. Most of them are a couple of minutes long, kept the action flowing. Some were longer the further into the series we got. I understood why as we were usually dealing with important information.

The pacing of episodes, or specifically their length, might put people off. The opening episode packs a lot in, but it’s over an hour long. The episodes 2-7 are fine, roughly 50 minutes, some being faster than others. Some do feel as though the fill out the quota. The penultimate episode felt the tightest, it happens to be the shortest. While the finale was the longest, it felt the need to explain how everything came together. It is a satisfying conclusion but overall, I think a little trimming wouldn’t have hurt, but I was never bored.