You remember the beep. That long, sustained electronic tone that signals the start of an interview under caution in AC-12. If you watched Line of Duty 2 back when it first aired on BBC Two, you probably remember the absolute tension of Lindsay Denton sitting across from Ted Hastings. Honestly, it changed how we watch crime dramas. We weren't just looking for a "whodunnit" anymore. We were looking for the cracks in the armor of a police officer who might—or might not—be a cold-blooded killer.
Jed Mercurio is a master of the slow burn, but the second series of this show was where the "Line of Duty" phenomenon really caught fire. It moved the needle from a solid procedural to a national obsession. Why? Because of Keeley Hawes. Her performance as DI Lindsay Denton was a masterclass in ambiguity. You spent half the series wanting to hug her and the other half wanting to run for your life.
The Ambiguity of Lindsay Denton in Line of Duty 2
Most shows give you a villain. They give you a hero. Line of Duty 2 gave us a woman who lived in a damp flat, ate cold pasta out of a tin, and looked like she hadn't slept since the late nineties. She was the only survivor of a brutal ambush on a police convoy. The witness she was protecting was killed, and three of her colleagues were slaughtered.
Naturally, Steve Arnott and Kate Fleming think she's the inside person. It looks like a slam dunk.
But then Mercurio does that thing he does so well. He shows us her life. We see the bullying she endures from other officers. We see her desperation. Suddenly, the "bent copper" narrative feels... messy. It’s not just about corruption; it’s about a person being crushed by a system that’s supposedly there to uphold the law. You’re watching her and thinking, "She’s too pathetic to be a mastermind." Then she flips a switch and outsmarts AC-12 in the interview room, and you realize she’s the smartest person in the building.
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That’s the brilliance of this specific season. It forces the audience to confront their own biases. We want to believe the underdog, but in the world of anti-corruption, the underdog is often the one biting your hand off.
Breaking Down the Interrogation Scenes
The "glass box" interviews are the heart of the show. In Line of Duty 2, these scenes expanded. They became marathon sessions of psychological warfare. Most TV shows use action sequences to provide thrills. Here, the action is a document being slid across a table. It’s a timestamp on a CCTV feed.
Think about the technicality of it. The writers used real PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence Act) 1984 terminology. When Hastings says they are "interviewing under caution," it isn't just flavor text. It sets the legal stakes.
- The silence is used as a weapon.
- The camera stays tight on Denton’s face, catching every involuntary twitch of her eye.
- The pacing of the dialogue isn't fast-paced "Aaron Sorkin" style; it's rhythmic and grueling.
Denton didn't just defend herself. She attacked. She brought up Steve Arnott's past indiscretions. She questioned Kate Fleming's integrity. It was the first time we saw AC-12 truly on the back foot. It made the investigators feel vulnerable, which is exactly what a high-stakes sequel should do.
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The Reality of Police Corruption vs. Fiction
While the show is high drama, it draws from a very real history of British policing. The concept of the "Supergrass" and the fallout of the real-life investigation into the death of Stephen Lawrence influenced the atmosphere of the series. The show suggests that corruption isn't always a "Big Bad" like a Bond villain. Sometimes, it’s just a series of small, bad choices made by tired people.
In Line of Duty 2, the corruption is deeply personal. It’s about debts. It’s about unrequited feelings. It’s about the crushing weight of a mortgage. When you look at real-world cases handled by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the motives often mirror these mundane struggles.
The show gets the "feel" of the bureaucracy right. The paperwork, the internal politics, the way senior officers protect their own "stats" over the truth—that’s where the real grit lies. It’s not just about who pulled the trigger; it’s about who signed the form that allowed the trigger to be pulled.
Why the Ending Still Divides Fans
No spoilers for the few who haven't binged it yet, but the resolution of Denton’s arc in this series was polarizing. Some felt she was a victim of circumstance. Others saw her as a manipulative sociopath who deserved everything she got.
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That division is exactly why the show works. If everyone agreed, it wouldn't be worth talking about ten years later. The "Line of Duty" universe expanded massively after this, bringing in bigger stars and more complex conspiracies involving "H," but many purists still point to the second series as the peak. It was more contained. It felt more dangerous because the scale was smaller and the betrayals felt more intimate.
How to Watch and What to Look For
If you’re going back for a rewatch or diving in for the first time, keep your eyes on the background. Mercurio loves to hide "Easter eggs" in the files and on the screens.
- Watch the eyes. Keeley Hawes does incredible work with her gaze. Watch when she looks down versus when she stares Hastings in the eye. It tells a different story than her words.
- Listen to the jargon. Terms like "Reg 15" (a notice of investigation) and "DIR" (Digital Interview Recording) are used correctly. Knowing what they mean adds a layer of realism to the shouting matches.
- Note the lighting. Notice how the lighting in the AC-12 offices feels clinical and cold, while the scenes in the "real world" are often muddy and dark. It’s a visual representation of the line between the law and the street.
The series is currently available on various streaming platforms like BBC iPlayer or BritBox depending on your region. It consists of six episodes. Each one is a brick in a wall that eventually falls on everyone involved.
Moving Forward With the AC-12 Lore
To truly get the most out of Line of Duty 2, you have to look at it as the bridge between the experimental first season and the blockbuster seasons that followed. It established the "Template." The long interviews, the shock deaths of major characters, and the blurring of the line between "good" and "bad" cops all became staples here.
If you want to understand the modern British TV landscape, you have to start here. It’s not just a cop show. It’s a study of how power corrupts even the most seemingly ordinary people.
Next time you’re watching, pay attention to the blue files. They hold more secrets than the dialogue ever will. Start by re-examining the first interview in episode one and compare it to the final confrontation. The shift in power dynamics is a masterclass in screenwriting. Go find the clues you missed the first time; they are definitely there, buried under the "Mother of God" exclamations and the sound of the beep.