‘Line of Duty’ Season 6 Episode 2 Recap: Forced to Be Bent?

In Line of Duty Season Six, Episode Two, directed by Daniel Nettheim, Kate is caught between her new boss Jo and her trusted friend Steve.

Episode two begins with Superintendent Ted Hastings briefing all of AC-12 on the probe of Operation Lighthouse. Meanwhile, Farida watches Chris inform Jo and Kate that the deceased CHIS’ is twenty-two-year-old Alistair Oldroyd. Homophobic “Ross Turner” threatened Alistair’s life. Ross boasted that he murdered Gail Vella. Jo tells Chris that he needs to find a witness who saw “Ross” threaten Alistair, who can identify him as Carl or Terry.

Kate and Jo talk about the possibility that Alistair was murdered. Kate thinks a member of their task force leaked information. Jo tells Kate that they should keep all their knowledge about the murder case close to the vest.

Jo notices that Farida is speaking to Ian alone. After Farida leaves, Ian motions for Jo to come into his office. The police constable just asked for a transfer. Ian is upset because Farida is an experienced constable. Jo lies, telling him that Farida is not competent. She will write Farida a glowing recommendation, and then she will be “some other station’s problem.”

Gail’s news reports on AC-12’s investigations are harrowing but don’t show anything controversial or new. Ted is confused about why anybody would want to hire a contract killer like Carl to murder Gail for these reports. Steve is suspicious when Ted secretly meets up with Steph Corbett. Steph is the widow of corrupt undercover cop John Corbett who helped clear Ted’s name.

Later, Chloe and Steve interview Haran Nadaraja, Gail’s producer at MN News. Haran explains that Gail was working on a serial podcast about police corruption. Gail already interviewed a few high-ranking police officials. Haran tells Steve and Chloe that he had told original murder detectives that he suspected that the killer stole all of her podcast data. The detectives ignored him.

Ted feels like Steve is on to something since the original team never looked into Gail’s journalism as a motive for murder. He orders Steve to confiscate all the evidence from Gail’s murder case. Also, Ted promotes Steve to the rank of Detective Inspector.

Steve tells Kate that they are moving forward with their investigation of Jo’s misconduct. He wants Kate to feed him information about Jo, but she refuses. Operation Lighthouse finds a deceased Carl. Alistair’s fingerprints are all over the knife next to his body. Kate thinks the fact they found the blade so quickly is suspicious. Jo shrugs it off.

Though the strangest thing is Farida’s replacement is PC Ryan Pilkington. Ryan was first on Line of Duty Season One as a young boy recruited into the Organized Crime Group. Kate recognizes Ryan but can’t place him.

Carl’s death leads Ted to order Steve to seize all evidence from Hillside Lane Station’s Operation Lighthouse. Jo thwarts Steve from lawfully taking all the documents for his investigation by calling for the Detective Chief Constable to restrict access to their records to stop leaks. Steve angrily leaves the offices. Kate told Jo about the inquiry before Steve could come in.

Ted is called in for a meeting with PCC Rohan Sindwhani and DCC Andrea Wise, who instructs him to pretend the AC-12 investigation is a formal review of the case. Ted is frustrated that he has play politics.

Angered by the temporary blockage of his case, Ted orders the team to serve Jo with regulation 15 papers.

Chloe and Steve go straight back to Hillside Lane Station to successfully confiscate all of Operation Lighthouse’s case files. Chloe serves Jo with a regulation 15 notice. The shaken Jo has to report to AC-12 for questioning within ten days.

Steve visits Steph to figure out if there is anything fishy happening. He notes that Steph and her daughters could afford their expensive house after the breadwinner John died.

Jo and Kate drink at a pub together after work to vent about AC-12. There is sexual tension between the two women who plan to hang out during the weekend.

The next day Amanda Yao, cybercrime officer, reports to Steve that both Gail’s desktop computer and laptop are nearly void of data. Steve thinks the devices are plants to hide the robbery.

Ted, Chloe, and Steve all interrogate Jo in front of her police federation representative. They question Jo about the armed robbery that led to the two-hour delay of the arrest and the wrong order leading to three hours with no surveillance of the Beechwood House flat. Ted and Steve believe Carl is a contract killer hired by organized crime to assassinate Gail.

When Jo questions the motive for a contract killing, Chloe shares their new evidence, proving Gail’s devices were planted by the robbers to throw them all off.

Ted puts together all AC-12’s proof of corruption to point out all the issues that lead to the deaths of key witnesses and suspects who could help solve Gail’s murder. There must be a leak from Operation Lighthouse for organized crime to pull all this off.

AC-12 plans to search Jo’s house and office for burner phones to prove she leaked the information about Ross’s arrest for organized crime. Jo tells Ted that he should search the home and desk of everybody who could have leaked the information. When they do, Chloe finds multiple burner phones in Farida’s flat. The moment the team officially interviews Farida, she accuses Jo of planting the phones. She admits to dating Jo and the fact, her superior office just broke up with her. The couple even lived together.

Farida is arrested, leaving everybody confused about whose telling the truth. Farida or Jo? Jo has to be released from jail.

Jo may have been forced into being a corrupt cop. She bursts into tears after picking up a burner phone from a gangster-looking fellow. Watch Line of Duty Season 6 on BritBox!