While one of the best things about Dept Q was that it actually tied up the main mystery of what happened to Merritt Lingard, the tantalising thing was that it also left us wanting more. There’s still loads of questions about what really happened to Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) and James Hardy (Jamie Sives) at that shooting - and another thing that’s unresolved is the part that their commanding officer, Moira Jacobson (played by Kate Dickie) may have to play in it.

Yes - the part she may have to play, we said it. Maybe we’ve been watching too many detective dramas (Line of Duty we blame you) but when it comes to who you can trust in your local grizzly police department full of troubled souls, it's usually a short list. And so, with that in mind - and all that strange spider stuff - we had to get a few thoughts and theories off our chest.

What’s with the spiders?

At several points through the last episodes of Dept Q, we see Moira doing some kind of immersion therapy with spiders. Her fear of spiders is signposted at the beginning of the series and then we continue to see her surveying case files with a fake spider nearby and some kind of audio playing, designed to help you conquer your fears.

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But what does it all mean? Is it just one of those detective-y quirks they like to write into gritty dramas? Or should we start drawing big clumsy metaphors about Moira being trapped in a spider's web? Is she at the heart of something she doesn't know how to get out of?

Could it be that Moira uses the spider fear tapes when she's looking at something that she really fears? Like double immersion therapy. If that was the case, it would signal that when Moira is looking at the Leith Park case file (the one that pertains to Carl and James' shooting), there's something in there she's really scared of. What is it she sees and fears? And if that's the case...

Why does Moira want James to look at the Leith Park case file without Carl?

As the new Dept Q team assemble in their toilet basement home, we see Hardy returning to the office for the first time, when he's approached by Jacobson.

'Hardy, when you get yourself all sorted down there, I have something I'd like you to look at,' she says.

'Something for me and Carl?' says Hardy.

'Something for you.'

Returning to her desk, Jacobson looks meaningfully at the Leith Park file and closes it, revealing that spider again. Why does she want Hardy to look at the case file without Morck? Could it just be that she thinks he offers a different point of view - or is she worried that Morck is leading the case in a certain way and she's worried that he's the one who could be covering something up?

Is Moira bungling the budgets?

What's going on with all the new computers and screens? And why can't Dept Q get any of the budget that's theirs?

With the department suffering from slashed budgets and low conviction rates, Jacobson seems to open Dept Q to unlock a new budget stream, which she then uses to spend on everyone but them.

It could just be a case of smart spreadsheeting and unlocking funds to do more community policing, but it seems like the cash is being wastefully thrown about - we feel like there's more to it. Is Moira setting Carl up to fail - see also the press conference she throws him into, knowing full well he's not ready for it.

Has Moira deliberately put a rubbish team on the Leith Park case?

Sure, we're supposed to believe Carl Morck is one of the best detectives on the Edinburgh force, but it does feel like the team investigating the shooting of their colleague are perhaps deliberately sub-par.

Why did it take Morck to realise there was never a daughter that could've called in a welfare check on the original victim? That seems like a day one discovery.

Are we supposed to believe that Morck is the only decent detective on the force - or has Jacobson deliberately chosen a team who will overlook certain details?


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