Any censored crime drama can easily have a place on my watch list compared to Apple TV’s excellent slow horse, but once Dept. QQ hit Netflix, and I played the game without hesitation. The reason I’m so eager to dive is that I live in Edinburgh, the city of the new detective exhibition.
Edinburgh is often used as a shooting location, but most of the time it just provides picturesque and/or historical context for TV shows or movies – more about aesthetic effects than playing a key role in the plot.
The Q department is different. Carl Morck, a tired detective played by Matthew Goode of the Grizzlies, is recovering from a shooting that killed a cop, almost killing him and paralyzing his partner in the summons, who is tasked with running a new division, dabbing in a new division and exploring the cold case in Edinburgh. Good’s situation in connection with the shooting is related to cases in Edinburgh’s judicial system and criminal underworld.
Here, the city not only offers a beautiful skyline—it is pulled into the foreground, with the main participants moving between Edinburgh’s famous Royal Mile and the grand courts in the city that visitors have never seen before. As someone named Edinburgh, I am familiar with landmarks, but I don’t know the city I see on the show at all. This is not to say that this is not accurate.
Edinburgh Castle is obviously a familiar sight to me.
Of course, Edinburgh is not a hotbed of violent crime compared to other cities in the UK, and definitely compared to cities in the US. In the five years I lived here, I remember only one fatal shooting. But I also fully admit that most organized crime is often hidden from the sight of those who are not immersed in this world.
Sometimes, violence, police attacks or trial spillovers make anxiety induced doubts through the community and make headlines. But artistic portrayal, while often exaggerated, can expose us to versions that may still be hidden.
As a city known for its beauty, often considered gentlemanly and calm, it is interesting to see that Edinburgh is portrayed as a place more important than the tourist ideal. Since the 1996 film Train magazine, people have had fewer views on the city.
The Q Department was not even initially set in Edinburgh – it was actually adapted from the Danish novel of the same name – but as a resident, I appreciate that it provides a different perspective in places I know and love. For example, it’s also interesting to find parts of the town I’m very familiar with, for example, from Castle View outside my favorite independent record store.
The Q department has a lot of flaws, from the little lad (can a local journalist afford a Porsche?) to pacing issues, especially in episode one. The plot is so fleshy that it gets complicated at times. But, despite this, I found myself staying up late and sleeping, watching “only one plot” – my husband and I would glimpse each other sideways, fully aware that we succumbed to a full-blown orgy.
Is this perfect? No, am I already craving after Season 2? Absolutely. Do I hope Edinburgh will be bigger in future episodes? I asked nicely – yes, please.
