Line Of Duty Creator Responds To Finale Backlash With Cryptic Tweet

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

Jed Mercurio appears to have responded following the backlash he received after the 'disappointing' Line of Duty.

Season six of the BBC cop drama aired yesterday evening (2 May), with fans split on how they felt about the ending, namely, the identity of 'H' or the 'Fourth Man'.

In the end, it turned out that DSI Ian Buckells, the bumbling and incompetent fool, was the man behind it all.

Some fans, however, wanted more from the finale, and weren't backward in coming forward about it.

In a tweet following the ending, Mercurio posted a photo of the AC-12 insignia, with the caption: "Carry the fire." It's one of Superintendent Ted Hasting's lines from the finale.

When Hastings came clean to DCS Carmichael that information he leaked resulted in the killing of DS John Corbett, she asked him what he expected her to do with the information.

He responded: "It's up to you - but whatever you do, do it because you care about truth and accountability - because you carry the fire."

Having removed comments from the post, some thought Mercurio's tweet is in response to the criticism levelled at the show for how the plot unfolded.

Quoting the tweet, one fan responded: "No Jed no. YOU carry the fire. And fix this."

Another quoting the tweet wrote: "Even Jed knows the ending was s***, turning off his comments."

Some have taken it to mean that there will be another season coming at some point.

Sharing the tweet, one fan said: "Looks like another season? Hope so. Finale was like a filler episode."

Another chimed in: "New series with Carmichael in charge of AC-?? Leading Chloe and Lomax investigating a new arc? Maybe with a new writer?"

"This has got to be a hint at season 7," commented a third.

While another added: "Well I'm more than happy with ending as main 3 characters are still alive, organised crime still open to investigation, Ted's fighting forced retirement, Kate's going back to AC-12, Steve's getting professional help internally, Terry and Jo safe and Farida back to work allowing Series 7+."

BBC

As yet, there's no word on whether or not there will be a seventh season.

Stars Vicky McClure and Martin Compston have said they 'genuinely' don't know if there will be a seventh season or not.

Speaking on The Jonathan Ross Show, McClure said: "Genuinely don't [know]. We don't know anything, not just saying it for effect."

While Compston added: "That's nothing different for us. Jed always takes months after... there's stuff above our pay grade, analytics, figures and all that kind of thing that comes in. He always takes time off. But I think it is important to say, I think this natural story arc that we've been on for the last six years..."

To which Ross pointed out: "That's coming to an end."

Prompting Compston to continue: "We won't come back just for the sake of it. That's for sure. We'll come back if there's a story to tell. But, so as well, if it ends well maybe sometimes it is best to leave it. But, so, genuinely we don't know."

Topics: Police, Drama, Entertainment, BBC, UK Entertainment, Twitter, Line of Duty

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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