Dept. Q–”Slow Horses” Wannabe?

Written and directed by American Scott Frank (of “Queen’s Gambit”), the Netflix series Dept Q in nine episodes is based on Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen’s  crime thriller The Keeper of Lost Causes.

Filmed in Edinburgh, Dept. Q opens with a terrifying misfiring (literally) of a crime scene gone wrong.  Detective Morck (Matthew Goode of “Downton Abbey” and “The Crown”) and two of his colleagues are trapped by a masked murderer and left for dead.

Morck is carrying the burden of  this tragic incident, unable to openly discuss what happened  on the job.  Therapy sessions are mandated with Dr. Irving (Kelly Macdonald of “Boardwalk Empire” and “Line of Duty”), who has a low tolerance for his galling obstreperous attitude. One colleague (Jamie Sives), who suffered terribly in the aftermath of the shootout involving Morck, has to  join discussions with Morck by video from his hospital bed. 

What to do with this odd, curmudgeonly misanthrope who has PTSD from what happened in the opening scene?  Morck’s boss, Moira Jacobson (Kate Dickie from “Game of Thrones”) comes up with the brilliant idea of creating Dept. Q, a department exclusively for Morck with a budget provided to solve cold-cases and improve the police department’s image and track record.  Determined to remain a police detective and deny what collateral psychological damage he is suffering, Morck accepts the demeaning assignment.

Now relegated to the grungy bowels of the basement where the showers and toilets once were, Morck has purportedly been given a generous budget but no staff to solve any hand-picked cold-case of his choosing.  Enter Akram Salim (Swedish actor Alexej Manvelov of “Top Dog”), a recent Syrian refugee with a dubious past and desperate for a job.  Hired begrudgingly to pore over years of cold cases, Salim, with a cool aplomb but lethal insight,  is remarkable in assessing which cold-case hot-headed Morck should investigate.   Soon Salim becomes Morck’s indispensable partner.

Then another outcast is added to Dept. Q.  Rose (Leah Byrne),  a former constable who suffered a nervous breakdown, was demoted by Moira to a department assistant.  Eager to demonstrate her investigative skills, Rose soon displays an uncanny sense for a missing person’s past and persona.

The missing person selected by Akram as their initial cold case is Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie), a brilliant but unpopular attorney who has alienated her colleagues,  especially her boss, Royal Advocate Stephen Burns (Mark Bonnar of “Guilt” and “Shetland”).  Now Merritt is nowhere to be found, presumed dead four years ago, perhaps by suicide.  Dept Q thinks she may still be alive.

The convolutions of the narrative, with frequently extreme plot holes (e.g. how did Salim and Morck know to go to that site?) may be too much for some fans of Nordic noir.    Like “Slow Horses” with which Dept. Q seems inevitably compared,  this viewer expected a similarly humorous, subversive, and darkly cynical view of government institutions, particularly law enforcement, in a masterfully constructed mystery.

But the comparison fails on several levels.  While both series deal with outcasts who epitomize the genre’s “brilliant detectives with extreme character flaws and unenviable personal lives”, the set-up for the solving of the crime just is not tightly linked from one clue or red herring to the next. Dots remain to be connected but are missing, like Merritt.

And Goode’s character is so flawed and hateful, that his expected redemption as a detective with integrity and a heart of gold is to slow in developing, this viewer lost interest and patience. In the ninth episode, all is revealed:  Morck is good by nature. We learn how Merritt went missing, who is the culprit and why.   

Finally, in the ninth episode, there is some sentimental release, at the cost of an extremely sluggish pace.  Goode’s performance, while proficient, feels a little dull and hopeless.   

The entire cast definitely gives excellent performances (including the underserved Kelly Macdonald in a lackluster role)–especially Alexej Manvelov, who is a standout in every scene.  However,  there really are no fully developed character dynamics throughout the nine episodes.  Why is Morck such an unfeeling parent?   Why does Moira give Morck a second chance, even though it is a humiliating assignment, when she can’t stand the guy?  How is Akram seemingly the most resilient, well-adjusted misfit in Dept Q, given his brutal but sparsely detailed past in Syria?  

While “Slow Horses” is finely tuned storytelling which answers more questions than it raises, Dept. Q is its poor shadow.  A season two is planned and hopefully, will be more than a solid B drama.  

Availability:  Netflix

Note:  There is a 2013 Danish movie called “The Keeper of Lost Causes” available on Prime (AMC+).