Line of Duty needs to buck up to compete with The Capture finale

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Capture season 3 finale.

The Capture season 3 could well be one of the best TV moments of 2026. Frustratingly, not enough people will ever find out.

The BBC thriller returned with a whimper one Sunday morning, with no major rollout or fanfare, despite being by far the smartest scripted show the broadcaster has produced in years.

Its finale may be the most exciting standalone episode of any police drama in recent memory – perhaps aware that, without the recognition it deserves, this could be its swan song, and that it needed to pull out all the stops: big twists, major deaths, and finally some respite for its tireless hero, Rachel Carey (played by Holliday Granger).

Going into the closing hour, Captain William Walker (Killian Scott)’s game was up. Carey had him cornered, forcing him to reveal the truth – confirming what she had suspected all along: that he shot Home Secretary Isaac Turner (Paapa Essiedu) on the orders of the elusive ‘Simon’, whose messages have appeared on various throughout the series.

Simon, it turns out, is an AI dictator capable of predicting the future. It foresaw Turner being handed the keys to Downing Street – an event that would ultimately trigger war.

Walker had also been ordered to kill Carey, but Simon knew he wouldn’t. Instead, he was used as an unwilling pawn to destroy her reputation. Knowing his squad would kill him at the first opportunity, he surgically removed the device connected to his heart, accepting a slow and painful death sentence.

He entered the finale as a misunderstood hero, but it wasn’t to last. During the inquiry into Correction and the exposure of SO15, former Home Secretary Sir Rowan Gill (Andy Nyman) alluded to a female spy within the force. That spy was Gemma Garland (Lia Williams), whose real identity – Jacqueline Goldcross – had been leaked, forcing her to testify at the inquiry herself.

En route to save Carey, who had been ambushed, tortured and held hostage by his former squad, Walker received one final order from Simon: to kill Garland. He stormed the inquiry and shot her dead.

Walker then continued his mission to save Carey, underestimating her loyalty to Garland. In a Shakespearean twist, Carey gunned down her would-be saviour – a moment that perfectly concluded the complex relationship between hero and villain, the latter proving not to be so villainous after all.

In the end, Carey’s hands were tied. She finally succumbed to the logic of Correction: the only way to prove she was right about Turner’s killer was to manipulate CCTV footage of the shooting.

As a result, Carey was promoted to Commander of SO15. With her newfound authority, she chose to overlook DSI Tom Kendricks’ (Nigel Lindsay) betrayal, after he altered CCTV footage to undermine her case against Walker on Simon’s orders.

In the closing moments, Carey’s steely composure finally cracked. She broke down in her sister’s arms, asking her to move into her soulless central London apartment and help make it a home. After taking a selfie, Carey noticed Garland’s reflection in the image – a chilling reminder of the show’s central question: can we trust anything we’ve seen?

The Capture has never been stronger than it is in its third series, and remains an underrated jewel in the BBC’s crown of police thrillers. If this is indeed its final episode, it delivers a landing that few shows ever manage to pull off.

Line of Duty returns later this year after a finale that severely damaged its legacy. Following The Capture, it will need to be much smarter and far more innovative than where it left off.

The Capture has been bold enough to make real sacrifices, with the deaths of Frank Napier and Garland lending genuine jeopardy to its characters – something many police dramas are reluctant to embrace.

It’s been a long time since a finale has genuinely shocked me. Television has become safe, yet audiences crave that gut punch – and The Capture understands that better than most.

It’s no easy feat to wrap up such a complex concept with plausibility, heart, and even moments of humour, but The Capture executes all three perfectly.

God I hope there’s more to come, because The Capture is the BBC at its very best – and deserves to be recognised as the triumph it truly is.

The Capture is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.

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