It takes a specific sort of tenacious human being to doggedly pursue clues lengthy after issues have stalled, and Netflix‘s newest crime thriller, “Dept Q,” primarily based on the e book sequence by Jussi Adler-Olsen and tailored for tv by “The Queen’s Gambit” creator Scott Frank, revolves round a superb however vexing detective. Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck (a superb Matthew Goode) is gifted, sarcastic and wholly unlikable. Following a horrific incident that destroys what’s left of his emotional stability, he’s assigned to a high-profile chilly case that forces him to confront his inadequacies. Extremely disturbing and thrilling, “Dept. Q” is each a thriller and a psychological examination of how private ache factors seep into our psyches and bleed out when least anticipated. 

“Dept. Q” opens on a seemingly strange day in Edinburgh, Scotland. Carl and his associate, Detective Chief Inspector James Hardy (Jamie Sives), communicate to a younger police officer earlier than coming into a home for a routine wellness test. Showcased via the angle of the patrol cop’s physique digicam, the viewers shortly realizes this check-in isn’t fairly as easy as the lads had initially anticipated. In the lounge, an older man has been stabbed to demise. As Carl berates the rookie about checking the opposite room, a gunman is available in firing, leaving all three males in a pool of blood. 

Elsewhere within the metropolis, Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie), a prosecutor, argues her newest court docket case. A rich delivery magnate is accused of murdering his spouse, and Merritt feels she has all of the proof to get him convicted. Nevertheless, because the trial progresses, Merritt can sense the jury shedding confidence in her argument. Moreover, she’s being inundated with merciless emails and texts threatening her life and the case. Regardless of these menacing warnings, Merritt, who lives an hour exterior of the town and cares for her mentally disabled brother William (Tom Bulpett), shouldn’t be one to ask for assist. 

Flashforwarding 4 months, Carl returns to work. He’s healed bodily, however his psychological well being is frayed. Viewers study the rookie cop is useless, and Hardy stays paralyzed because of the taking pictures. Furthermore, Carl’s colleagues on the police precinct aren’t precisely thrilled together with his return. Bored with his brash angle and horrible bedside method, his boss Detective Chief Superintendent Moira Jacobson (Katie Dickie), exiles him to the basement, making him the only real member of a newly fashioned authorities job pressure, Division Q. Determined to distract the general public from an ever-worsening clearance price, Carl is tasked with fixing the disappearance of a high-profile public servant who vanished 4 years prior.

From right here, “Dept. Q” slices between Carl and Merritt’s storylines. Carl shortly turns into fixated, decided to resolve a seemingly unsolvable crime. As a substitute of confronting his emotions about his near-death expertise, he lashes out at everybody, together with coworkers and potential witnesses. In that very same vein, the threats towards Merritt develop more and more disturbing and intense, even after the accused assassin is acquitted. 

Whereas Merritt is decided to behave as a lone wolf, Carl unwittingly groups up with Akram Salim (Alexej Manvelov), a Syrian immigrant who works within the precinct’s IT division and has secrets and techniques of his personal, and Detective Constable Rose Dickson (Leah Byrne), a younger cadet who had been beforehand sidelined. The unlikely trio begins working backward, reexamining the lacking individual’s case and attempting to find out what avenues and indicators have been beforehand missed. “Dept. Q” is engrossing as a result of its tempo and narrative construction painting the element and persistence wanted to deliver an investigation full circle.

Moreover, as a result of the present sheds mild on Carl and Merritt’s private lives, the viewers is aware of the haunting nature of this sort of work. Although overlong at instances, the nine-episode sequence acts like a fancy maze, unfurling the thriller behind the lacking individual, the online of lies surrounding the taking pictures that injured and emotionally scarred Carl and who’s terrorizing Merritt.

Whereas Merritt retreats inward, more and more paranoid and cautious of everybody, together with her colleagues and even her brother’s caregiver, Carl is vicious and brash, bulldozing his approach ahead. In distinction, Manvelov’s Akram has a relaxed and unassuming viciousness as he typically strikes with out warning, throwing witnesses and suspects off-kilter.  

“Dept. Q” is deeply intense and complicated. Its twists and turns don’t at all times repay, however general, the sequence is a riveting watch. Merritt is pressured to confront a previous she thought she’d outrun, which in flip leads her to look at how her selections have affected her brother. Additionally, as Carl and his crew draw nearer to fixing the thriller, they start to reconcile the non-public and emotional price of the investigation. Darkish with neo-noir parts, the sequence’ central mysteries are riveting, however its characters make it a standout.

“Dept. Q” is now streaming on Netflix.