[1] A lockbox is discovered beneath the floor of the workshop, containing the weapons used to kill Vella, Laverty and former AC-12 officer Maneet Bindra.

An order for her elimination from the "Fourth Man" is obtained by AC-12, who intercept the van and arrest the OCG hitmen and prison guards.

He tells Carmichael that it was due to wilful institutional blindness that Buckells was able to be promoted so far, despite his apparent incompetence and actual corruption.

[6] Filming took place in Belfast,[7][8] beginning in February 2020,[9] but stopped the following month due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[10] before resuming in September[11] and finishing in November.

[21][22] Following Kew Media's collapse in early 2020,[23] it was announced that ITV Studios would be handling global sales and distribution for Line of Duty's sixth series.

[27] It was the highest overnight audience for a BBC drama since Doctor Who's 2008 Christmas special, "Voyage of the Damned", which was viewed by 11.7 million.

The critical consensus reads, "Unnecessarily dense storytelling and an oversaturation of acronyms gives the sense that this sturdy procedural may be overextending itself, but Kelly Macdonald reports in for duty to provide some fresh blood and intrigue.”.

Singh of The Daily Telegraph gave a perfect rating and described it as an "absolute belter" delivered after "three lacklustre weeks".

[46] Similarly, Louisa Mellor of Den of Geek praised the episode, and described the ambush scene as "tremendous television".

[52] The Times' Ben Dowell gave the episode a four out of five rating,[53] as did Singh of The Daily Telegraph, describing it as "genuine edge-of-the-seat stuff".