Who Was The Kidnapper In Netflix’s Hit Mystery Thriller, ‘Dept Q’?

Netflix’s Dept Q has become one of the most compelling mystery thrillers of the year. The series has been praised for its complex storytelling and striking performances. It is based on a series of books by Jussi Adler-Olsen, bringing the best-selling novels to life in a refreshing way. The narrative, which has been reimagined for a UK setting, follows detective Carl Morck (Matthew Goode). After a tragic incident in the line of duty, he is reassigned to work on cold cases,, which he is luckily skilled at solving. 

The first season of Dept Q centers on the unsolved disappearance of a prosecutor named Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie). She is a central character whose story has much more to it than meets the eye. But with so many layers to the plot, some viewers may be left with more questions than answers, particularly surrounding Merritt’s disappearance. Read on for everything we know about the show’s gripping finale.

Why was Merritt kidnapped?

Although Merritt works as a prosecutor and therefore may be a target in general, the truth about her kidnapping can be found in her troubled past. Viewers come to learn that her disappearance was elaborately planned. As a teenager, Merritt wanted to get away from the island she grew up on (Mhòr). She ultimately devised a plan with her then-boyfriend Harry Jennings (Fraser Saunders). In order to fund their escape, Merritt suggested they steal and sell her mother’s jewelry. Unfortunately, Harry’s staged robbery of the jewelry quickly went awry.  

While defending their family home, Merritt’s brother William (Tom Bulpett) gets into a violent altercation with Harry. The quarrel is interrupted by Harry’s brother, Lyle Jennings (Kai Alexander), who essentially beats William to the brink of death until stopped by Harry. After the fight, while trying to evade the police, Harry falls to his death, which sets off a chain of events many Dept Q viewers didn’t expect.

As an adult, this situation comes back to bite Merritt. Later in the season, the mother of her deceased beau, Ailsa Jennings (Alison Peebles) seeks revenge. This behavior isn’t out of character for her, as viewers learn she is a sadistic, abusive and mentally unstable mother to her sons. As payback for Harry’s death, Alisa and Lyle plot to capture Merritt, blaming her for the loss of their loved one.

What happens to William?

William took a pretty bad beating from Lyle after hearing a noise in his home and reacting to the intruder. Lyle, who was already known as a violent and mentally unstable child, actually made an impact on William’s life forever that night. Due to his injuries from the encounter, Lyle became disabled and suffered from serious head trauma. However, his cooperation with the investigation in Dept Q was an important part of solving his sister’s case. After all of the years that had gone by, he saw Lyle’s driver’s licence, which helped him to identify him from that fateful night. 

‘Dept Q’ ending explained: Who is the killer?

Although he has plenty of help from his mother, the true antagonist of Netflix’s Dept Q is Lyle. He plots on capturing and torturing Merritt for years. Part of his plot involved posing as a local journalist Sam Haig (Steven Miller), who Lyle killed in a staged climbing accident in order to steal his identity. What makes this part of the show even more troubling is that Lyle knew Sam growing up, and remembered that they looked similar. He even went out of his way to establish a romantic relationship with Merritt while posing as Sam. It was her trust in this dangerous poser that led to her being captured. She told Lyle (aka Sam) about her whereabouts, allowing him to abduct her from an island ferry during one of Dept Q‘s most tense moments.

This abduction was followed by Lyle and Ailsa torturing Merritt for four years in a hyperbaric chamber. That is, up until the last episode of Dept Q, when Carl Morck and his assistant Akram Salim (Alexej Manvelov) save her from her nightmarish conditions. In a brawl, Lyle tries to kill the detectives, but instead dies trying to cover up the kidnapping. In this same shuffle, Ailsa tries to escape but is stopped by police. She then quickly shoots herself in the head to avoid the consequences of her heinous actions.

The end of Dept Q jumps ahead three months to show Merritt in recovery from her kidnapping. She goes to the police station to thank her saviors, but Carl is nowhere to be found since he has taken time off work. Those who are curious whether we’ll see more of this Netflix original will be happy to know that the conclusion nods at a potential continuation. On Merritt’s way out, she unknowingly meets Carl, who chooses not to introduce himself. This further establishes him as a mysterious character and shows that he has returned to work with Akram, Rose and Hardy.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Will there be a season two of Dept Q?

As Hello Magazine reports, there has been no official notification of a second season of Dept Q. But since there are 10 books to expand upon, fans may be pleasantly surprised. Also, since there is some mystery about the main character Carl, the first season has set up a rather interesting plotline.

Do you need to read the Dept Q books in order?

If fans are interested in reading the books it is recommended that they read them in order, per Town and Country Magazine.