Episode 8 of Dept. Q unfolds with Carl making his way to meet Caroline Kerr, the woman who recently withdrew her testimony concerning the Leith Park shooting. Armed with meticulous research, Carl is ready to lay bare all the concealed facts.
He delves into the intimate relationship between Anderson and Caroline, and unearths the shadowy figure of Eugene Errington, allegedly the kingpin controlling the criminal underworld in the vicinity. A stunning revelation follows: Caroline's child is actually Eugene's, with Charlie, the man in the garage, serving as his loyal underling, casting worried glances their way during their conversation.
However, this dramatic confrontation turns out to be nothing more than a vivid dream. Carl even pulls out a gun and executes the suspect right in the head, solving the case in an instant. As he awakens from his slumber, Carl hastily jots down the dream's fragmented scenes, baffled by their meaning.
Ironically, later in the episode, Carl crashes Rachel's coffee date after secretly attaching a tracker to her phone. She grilled him briefly about his feelings before ushering him out.
Meanwhile, Merritt's captor drags her back into the hyperbaric chamber, spewing a monologue about his supposed care for her and their shared past. He snatches her necklace and exits, just as the camera cuts to the old lady from earlier—wearing a wig and very much alive—watching from the control room.
Merritt has been imprisoned for a staggering four years, as evidenced by the dated camera footage. Throughout this period, her assailants have possession of all the footage of her. Yet, the theft of her necklace appears to have a profound impact on her. Furthermore, suspicions that Merritt was once an accomplice of Harry Jennings in a robbery gain credibility, especially when, in flashback sequences, she confides in Harry about her wealthy family and her brother William being the family's favorite.
We also witness scenes featuring Sam Haig, now reimagined with an added layer of detail, particularly as the narrative resumes in the hotel room right where we had left it. Merritt kindly extends an invitation to Sam, urging him to accompany her and William on the boat, yet he seemingly declines her gesture. It's a tender olive branch she extends, which he fails to grasp. Notably, this moment is crucial as it subtly suggests an undercurrent of genuine emotions between them.
Returning to the present, Merritt regains possession of her necklace, yet a perplexing question lingers: why? Even the elite team Dept Q struggles to piece together the fragmented puzzle of this case, as the clues disconnect seemed and refuse to align cohesively. Carl speculates that Sam Haig may have been simultaneously harming and aiding Merritt, as evidenced by his timely appearance at Godhaven shortly before his demise during the Graham Finch trial.
Now, if we are to trust the evidence, it appears that Chloe and Merritt were both in Sam Haig's presence simultaneously. Could it be that someone was using Haig's name as a cloak of disguise?
As Merritt reaches this realization, she steadfastly refuses to apologize for Harry Jennings's death. She rises to her feet, confronting Ailsa, Harry's mother, and Lyle, his brother, who is revealed to be the captor posing as Sam Haig in disguise, explaining how he evaded detection for so long. Facing them, Merritt asserts that Harry deserved his fate.
Carl and Akram arrive at Godhaven, where Terry Dundee reveals to them the dark truth about Sam Haig: a sociopathic individual who had indulged in an illicit affair with his teacher and defrauded countless souls. Four years prior, Haig reappeared at Godhaven, cloaking his true intentions under the pretense of penning a book about his experiences. In reality, his eyes were locked onto a specific individual. The young victim Sam brutalized was none other than Rocket, a moniker belonging to Lyle Jennings. Jennings is the central figure in those recordings—a video that has the potential to unravel the entire case like a threadbare sweater.
