Line of Duty series 5, episode 3 review: Jed Mercurio at his most brilliantly manipulative

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Get our The Life Cinematic email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Deeper and deeper into Jed Mercurio’s pea-soup plot we plunge as the latest Line of Duty treats us to one action-packed set piece, several tense exchanges and a vaguely shocking twist. The surprise is that undercover agent – “UCO” in Line of Duty’s patented copper lingo – John Corbett has been consumed by his paranoia and now considers everyone an enemy. In a satisfying cliffhanger to an episode that veers – and this is arguably Mercurio’s trademark – from unintentionally hysterical to unbearably suspenseful, he turns up on the doorstep of Superintendent Ted Hastings’s soon to be ex-wife. Line of Duty piles bombshell upon bombshell and while it can sometimes feel as if the writer is in an arm’s race with himself, the sheer, gravitation yank of the plot is undeniably irresistible Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only.