I think this is the ropiest bit of work [Jed Mercurio]'s ever sent our way. You could almost smell the desperation: a frantic stitching born, perhaps, of the need both to give his audience something in the manner of a resolution.

Line of Duty really leans into the four seasons that came before it and more connections than ever will be made. If you're thinking those connections are corrupt, yes, that's a good start.

Britain's top-rated show of 2019 beats American procedurals hands down, and you don't need to watch Seasons 1 to 4 (available on Acorn and Hulu) to plunge right into its tense, zigzagging, paranoid story.

[Line Of Duty] is so dense and complicated and interlocking that you can be sure if something doesn't add up, it isn't your failure, which is a relief, as you can never blame the writing.

It may demand a lot of viewers and take risks, but that's what all great dramas should do.

Episode by episode, the plot is thickening, like soup that's been left sitting on a hot stove for too long.