No, have to watch these twice, partly because I tend to be sleepy on Sunday evenings and party because I am not quick witted enough to follow it all the first time.

There’s actually a lot of callbacks to the first couple of series which I’ve not seen in years, wondering whether to rewatch them. The guardian episode guides are quite good for this sort of thing. 

Yes it would be too obvious, there had better be a top quality pay off. I think there's another series planned already tho.

There is another series green lit. I read an article by Mercurio saying if it wasn’t, then they would wrap everything up this year, but as it is, they won’t. 

Agree too obvious re Hastings, but then he played the top obvious card a bit with the bodyguard as well. 

My money, Hastings knows he is being set up by the investment people and is doing his own undercover there. 

OR, kate is undercover against AC12 (hence repeated references that she “used” to do it), and it goes back to that lady chief commissioner she went to see in series 3 (I think) when they were worried about ted being a mason. 

I think superintendent Powell who is in charge of the undercover operation is as dodgy as fook as is the scouse officer who has gone rogue.

hastings is up to something but I don’t know what, or he maybe being asked to turn a blind eye to stuff . And increasingly superintendent Hargreave’s from the murder squad is probably at it . It maybe there are 2/3 crooked H bent officers ?

Powell could be married with a maiden name beginning with H.

Or H could be a high-level politician.

Hastings can't be H (imo) but someone could be trying to set him up.

Guardian postulates that the picture she identified might be Tommy Hunter, who was killed by being burnt beyond recognition. 

Agree with Kimmy, but would a superbaddy identify him/herself by his real initial to recruit desperate police officers? Or if H is a real clue, maybe a Henry or a Harriet?

Great teaser of a laptop open on ted’s hotel room table with screen looking a bit like the one the crims had......

again I think it is a red herring ........

Well yes......

The “H” thing comes from when Dot was dying, Kate asked him to identify the mr/ms big baddy. He couldnt speak (cos dying, etc) and she went through the alphabet and asked him to blink at the correct letter.  He blinked at H.  

So its not an identifyer put about by H themselves.  Could be a first name initial, ofc.  Or a nickname.  

Or another red herring 

I lose track

i still think Vicky McClure is a one note actor. Maybe that’s ideal for playing a copper

If Hastings is H then he’s not doing very well out of it, he’s flat broke.

The man who came and said he could turn around his prev poor investment which led to his divorce ( Kettlebells something) - this is same MO as when Vinny was approached by the company he got into debt with and who turned out to be from the OCG, as a first approach. So Hastings is maybe being approached by OCG now rather than already H in past. At one point the baddies said something about needing more help at the top.

if John whazisname UCO survives this series I bet he ends up in AC12 for next series as scorched earth type straight cop.

re the photo Kate produced, why was there a photo of Hastings conveniently lying around in a drawer by the suspects board?? Had Steve/Kate pinned him up on the board in the prev series?

also. AC12 seemed v keen to assume this OCG was same as H’s OCG. IT was shown to be so last night, in the end, but before that all they had was “ balaclava men” to link it.

I think the OCG,if they are being assisted then it is probably by an executive officer,someone certainly higher than a superintendent like Hastings.

The scouse UCO, I just cannot be sure as to whether he is straight or not, but given how he has effectively overseen/authorised murders, he must be rogue, and will probably leave in a hail of bullets.

re the photo Kate produced, why was there a photo of Hastings conveniently lying around in a drawer by the suspects board?? Had Steve/Kate pinned him up on the board in the prev series?

I think so, cos Hastings begins with an "H".

*reports to thread*!! FACT:

- Yep, Hastings' photo was around having previously been on the dodgy coppers board from being invetigated in a previous series.

PREDICTIONS:

- "H" wont be a name at all but a nickname like the Caddy.

- Hastings will be fuly investigated as Arnott was and he's not disclosed his latest dire financial situation - naughty naughty.Maybe in the turmoil of the divroce he won't question the dodgy "retired" cop nwo looking into the property scam and will get in so-deep before realising..

- Sam i.e. Arnott's ex-girlf is being suspiciously keen after dumping him for the whole Denton situation. I reckon she's bent and trying to get to him. They will sh**g lots before he realises this.

- I think the shock death may be Kate. (SHOCK!) They're building it up with the happy family routine. That also leaves Steve to get promoted in the next series.

- Powell is dodgy. Not sure on the female UCA or Scouser bloke yet. The Baddies will figure one of them out tho and they'll be for the chop.

At least she can act wooden enough to pass for dead.

Kate, got lucky she is an awful actress, and as someone said earlier she is only capable of playing copper parts.

Last series was compelling but this one is just daft.

Acting and dialogue v. poor - Arnott going into a briefing room and basically explaining to Vicky everything that that has just happened - like she (or we) are complete idiots.

The criminal 'gang' is just a load of card-board cut-outs. 

And as if chief hoodlum could possibly gather together about 20 assorted blokes all armed with (and trained to use) automatic weapons just like that, without any risk of a leak.

And if they have so many of the damned weapons why do they need to nick any more?

And would they really be going around in the same black Range Rovers with all the ANPR  software about nowadays.

Jed M is spreading himself much too thinly recently and it really shows...

Marshall, I did think some of what you had written in that it was pushing at the bounds of reality.

But then I recalled, whilst at Uni and law school, I clerked a number of seriously complicated, lengthy drug trials , some of which lasted 9 months, with multiple defendants whee the charges were conspiracy to import and supply hundreds of kilos of coke, and the selling and transportation of miltary style assault weapons, along with the laundering and seizing of millions of pounds of cash. With a couple of defendabts being found in posession of £ 2 million pounds of cash.

There was a specially appointed security cleared judge, ditto the Barristers for the crown ( all three of them? PII applications a plenty, matters concerning national security, under cover officers giving evidence behind screens and only permitted to give limited evidence.

What became clear, some of the officers went rogue. Loads of coke and cash went missing, from seizure to trial. Bent officers resigning, two of the defendants were undercover officers, who were remanded in custody pending trial, where they continued to infiltrate the gang, etc, etc. Two officers were released not guilty within the first week of trial. One of the trials collpapsed, with several defendants walking free, followig the likely discovery of tampering of evidence, and obtaining evidence unlawfully, etc, etc. Special branch being implicated with nefarious activities.

It was something like out of a movie. I suspect this happens every week up and down the country, god only knows the full details of what the police were up to, safe to say Ministers, and very senior officers didn't want the exposure....

here’s another theory - maybe the Powell woman acts so shifty cos she also suspects Hastings, who popped up pronto at first meeting and steve/kate such ac12 lapdogs

Am back on series 3. 

Martin Compston, Adrian Dunbar and Keeley Hawes are great.

Kate and DI Cotton are not.

There are too few people for the plot, it is like one of those ridiculous movies where the defence counsel points at the judge and says ' It was you! You killed her!' 

The picture she identified was Dot, who is alive and in witness protection HTH