Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio has broken his silence after the fan backlash at Sunday’s stunning series finale (May 2).
Many fans were disappointed at the revelation Ian Buckells was the final ‘H’ or ‘The Fourth Man’ in the hit BBC One crime drama.
While the backlash was fierce, 55-year-old Jed finally broke his silence on social media.
We're honoured and flattered by the viewing figures for #LineofDuty6. We knew attempting to explore the real nature of corruption in our society wouldn't appeal to everyone, but we do sincerely thank you all for watching. It's been our privilege to share your Sunday nights. https://t.co/mDvNckFdAO
— Jed Mercurio (@jed_mercurio) May 3, 2021
What did Jed Mercurio say after the Line of Duty finale?
Many fans were hoping for someone more menacing to be the shady corrupt cop, rather than incompetent Buckells.
As fans continued to feel shortchanged at the big reveal, the BBC made its own reveal.
The episode attracted almost 13million overnight viewers, and Jed responded to this record-breaking figure.
Read more: Line of Duty finale: The 7 big clues we missed that Buckells is H aka The Fourth Man
“We’re honoured and flattered by the viewing figures for #LineofDuty6.
“We knew attempting to explore the real nature of corruption in our society wouldn’t appeal to everyone, but we do sincerely thank you all for watching.
“It’s been our privilege to share your Sunday nights.”
Important decision
Yesterday (Monday May 3) Jed also took the time to explain further why Buckells had to be the (fourth) man.
“I suppose it was really down to the decision to kind of hold him to account, sort of mid-season.
“You know there were suspicions around him in the first two episodes and then Jo points the finger at him, AC-12 get him in, they charge him, off he goes to prison, and it feels like he’s done and dusted.
“And I think that if we kept him as part of the action, all the way through, then it would have been very hard to misdirect the audience, so we were trying to present other candidates to take the focus away from him.
“But it was always really important to me that it was someone who had been in season one, someone who had been there the whole time.”
How did viewers react to the reveal?
After Buckells was revealed to be the final bent copper in the clandestine network of corrupt policemen, fans took to social media to air their shock and, in some case, anger.
Read more: Line of Duty finale: Bitterly disappointed fans share their anger as others rejoice in its genius
“It would have been better if H from Steps was H rather than Ian bloody Buckells,” one Twitter user wrote.
Another sighed: “Turns out ‘AC’ stands for anti-climax.”
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