Dept. Q | Season 1, Episode 9 | Rescue and Reunion: A Golden Tot Finale

🥔 Welcome back, Couch Potatoes! 🥔

Episode at a Glance

🕵️‍♂️ Creepy Interview Kickoff: We open with Terry Dundee at Godhaven Boys Home interviewing a young Lyle Jennings. The conversation is chilling as Lyle describes his punishments: “Not as bad as the hyperbar though.” Terry presses for details, and Lyle explains, “Hyperbaric chamber. It’s what they put divers in if they get the bends… Our da bought an old one for his business—” and admits his mother used it as punishment. Sometimes, she’d leave them in for hours, turning lights on and off, and Lyle says, “She’d just put us in there and go and get pissed and forget we were in there.” Lyle's responses are both menacing and heartbreaking, exposing layers of trauma and blurred reality.

🗣️ Team Tot Tension: Dept Q gathers at Jamie’s house, piecing together Lyle’s history. Rose is the MVP, tracking Lyle from Rampton’s Enhanced Personality Disorder unit to a ferry job in Longay. The team’s banter is chaotic, with Donna finally snapping, “Will you all shut the *eff* up and let this poor girl finish a sentence for once?” as Rose lays out the proximity between Lyle and the Mhòr property.

🕷️ Moira’s Web: Moira attempts to self-treat her arachnophobia with an audio tape, but she’s interrupted by Detective Bruce. She grills him about the Leith Park shooting and makes it clear that he needs to step up and stop relying on Carl for breaks in the case: “Then *effing* do it, or I will give it to someone else.” Moira’s leadership is no-nonsense, and her anxiety is palpable, but she refuses to let it affect her work.

📞 999 Call Mystery: Constable Cunningham stops by Ailsa Jennings’ house for a wellness check after a suspicious emergency call. Ailsa is cagey, deflecting questions about her bruises and whether her son Lyle is around. The tension is thick as Cunningham probes for the truth, but Ailsa’s cunning and bitterness keep him at bay.

🔥 Hyperbaric Chamber Horror: Cunningham investigates the Jennings property and discovers Merritt trapped inside the hyperbaric chamber. The automated voice warns, “The hyperbaric chamber will begin to heat up as pressure increases. At five atmospheres, or 50 meters depth, the temperature inside the chamber will be around 32 Celsius, or 90 degrees Fahrenheit.” Merritt’s desperate pleas—“Please help me!”—are met with Lyle’s chilling indifference. Cunningham’s complicity in Merritt’s imprisonment is revealed before Lyle kills him to keep the secret buried.

🩸 Complicity Bombshell: The show drops a crispy twist—Cunningham wasn’t just a bystander, he was complicit in Merritt’s imprisonment. “Back then, I thought what’s done is done, that both families had suffered enough.” Small-town rot, guilt, and a reckoning that hits like a hot oil splatter.

🎨 Memory Lane: William’s breakthrough interview reveals it was Lyle, not Harry, who attacked him. “Harry Jennings didn’t attack you. Lyle Jennings did.” Dept Q’s detective work and William’s art finally bring the truth to light.

🧩 Trauma Files Unlocked: Rose and Jamie dig into Lyle’s youth offender file, uncovering a history of animal cruelty, stalking, and a pattern of locking others in the hyperbaric chamber. Jamie sums it up: “Seems like Lyle was born bent the wrong way.” The file also reveals Ailsa’s psychiatric breakdown and the family’s long history of trauma and violence.

⚡ Race Against Time: Carl and Akram, armed with Rose’s intel, break into the Jennings property, discovering Cunningham’s body and realizing Merritt is still trapped. Jamie’s research on hyperbaric chambers becomes their lifeline as they work to stabilize the pressure and save Merritt without causing fatal decompression.

💥 Final Showdown: As Carl and Akram attempt the rescue, Lyle bursts in with a gun. Akram’s quick thinking and precision save the day—he disarms Lyle and ends the threat, allowing them to finally free Merritt from the chamber.

🚁 Rescue & Reunion: Merritt is taken out on a hyperbaric stretcher, with Akram gently reassuring her, “We’re going to take you home now.” William is there to accompany her on the helicopter, and Moira’s presence signals that justice and compassion can coexist, even after so much darkness.

🏠 Found Family Finale: The season closes with Dept Q sharing laughter and healing in Carl’s kitchen, tennis balls and all. Merritt visits the station to thank Moira, and Carl leverages his success to secure promotions and resources for his team. The final elevator scene is a perfect coda—Merritt and Carl crossing paths, both survivors ready to start new chapters.

Totty Takeaways

This finale is a pressure cooker of trauma, justice, and redemption. Every character gets their moment, every secret gets dragged into the light, and the survivors finally get to breathe free air. Dept Q proves that even in the darkest stories, there’s room for rescue, reunion, and a little potato-powered healing.

Please let there be a Season 2!!!!!

🥔 Tator Tot Rating (1 to 5 tots)

Jen: 5 Tots 🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔
Ray: 5 Tots 🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔

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Dept. Q at IMDB

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Email the Show: [email protected]
Email Jen: [email protected]
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