What is Moira up to in ‘Dept Q’?
The hype around Scott Frank’s Dept Q is far from slowing down, and understandably so. With Merritt Lingard finally rescued, the spotlight is now on one of the other complex characters from the Netflix series as fan demand for a second season renewal grows every passing minute. It’s not DCI Carl Morck or his best bud James Hardy but their mysterious boss, Moira Jacobson, who has left viewers stranded on a cliffhanger with quite a few questions.
The primary questions surrounding Merritt’s disappearance have been answered. But Dept Q comprises two simultaneous cases. The loose ends about what went down at the crime scene that left Hardy partially paralysed, a young cop dead, and Morck navigating survivor’s guilt remain unsolved. In fact, the mystery heightens, courtesy of the commanding officer, Moira, whose motivations remain unclear to date.
Moira’s fear of spiders is one thing to begin with. At the beginning of Dept Q, when Moira visits Morck’s substitute court-mandated therapist, Dr Rachel Irving, her phobia is indicated through her uneasy comments regarding the cobweb. Later, she is found investigating and going through case files with a fake spider nearby.
An audio plays in the background about taking the bull by the horns. But whether this is symbolic of something deeper keeps many awake at night.
What about Moira’s fear of spiders in Dept Q?
Moira’s actions have raised question marks from the get-go. If those tapes serve as therapy about facing one’s fear with fortitude, why does she listen to those while looking at the case files? Is it possible that the Leith Park case file, consisting of details of Carl and James’s shooting, has something to be scared of? Well, that’s something ELLE asks, too. But what increases the intrigue even more is Moira’s confiding to Hardy upon his return to Dept Q.
Moira’s sequential glances at the Leith Park case file, coupled with her desire for Hardy to check it without Morck, further raise eyebrows. But the recurring spiders prompt viewers to read between the lines.
What does Moira plan with the Dept Q budget?
Moreover, Moira is allotted a lump sum amount to set up Dept Q. However, all we see is the budget being spent on everything, including computers and TV, except for the department it was meant for. Every time Morck confronts Moira about those, it almost feels like she doesn’t want Dept Q to succeed.
The press conference, which takes Carl aback with an anxiety attack, also confuses viewers. What is it that Moira truly wants for Carl? Just when you assume things don’t look good for the DCI, she is seen protecting him in front of Dr Irving. It’s also revealed that Dr Sonnenberg returns, and perhaps, Moira has something to do with it.
Now, whether it actually helps Carl or makes him rebel, fans know it all. While these points of intersection amplify the daze, the team working on the Leith Park case turn up the anxiety.
What’s with the investigating team Moira assembled for the Leith Park case?
Morck’s character may be demanding, arrogant, and snappy to say the least. However, Dept Q throws several such clues that clear our doubts that Carl is indeed one of the best detectives out there. But is he the only one? Despite trying to maintain their distance from Carl, if it weren’t for him, the entire team on the Leith Park case would still be busy tracking incorrect cues. And to worsen it, Morck was the only one who could figure out that the original victim had no daughter.
Considering a cop was killed, another was left paralysed, and Carl was left half alive, the Leith Park case should be crucial to the department. Not just because of their reputation, but the sheer fact that the shoot-out’s victims were three formidable cops. However, looking at the progress of the team that’s allotted to the case, it almost feels like Moira doesn’t want it to be resolved. Because if she did, why would it take Carl to note the most obvious?
Then again, the lack of progress concerns Moira as much as Morck. Even for a moment, if we believe Carl and Merrit are the most complex characters, Moira has the last laugh. While the motivations behind their characterisation were revealed in time, Moira only piled up more questions. Now Frank has the ultimate chance to address those with a potential second season, but it remains to be seen what Netflix decides on.