The Q Word – As the episode opens, Mo McIntyre (Michael Shea), Gordy Mackle (Dane Whyte O’Hara), and Anto Donovan (Gerard Jordan) pick up a load of new AK-47s from Libya. After testing one of the guns, Anto says the serial numbers were scrubbed before shipping. Gordy asks if James McIntyre (John Lynch) will realize the guns are missing. Anto tells him that it’s been years since James was there.

MI5 Agent Joseph (Nabil Elouahabi) alerts David “Jonty Johnston (Jonathan Harden) of Charlie 1 being on the move. He places a list of OOBs in sacrosanct status. Jonty asks if it’s going to happen today. Joseph says yes.

Gerard “Gerry” Cliff (Richard Dormer) suggests Aodhan McAllister (Matthew Forsythe) wants to divert attention from the origin of the drugs. Tommy Foster (Nathan Braniff) practices what he will say in Corner’s Court. Gerry warns he will be skinned alive if he isn’t convincing.

Jen Robinson (Hannah McClean) looks at her resignation from the police force when her mum calls. She warns her resignation would be harmful to their reputation. Jen reluctantly agrees to go on duty.

Stevie Neil (Martin McCann) visits Grace Ellis (Sian Brooke). Cal Ellis (Sian Brooke) cuts him off when he tries to apologize.

Annie Conlon (Katherine Devlin) admits to her teammates that she is a police officer. Monica (Maria Quinn) says they already knew. Bridie Conlon (Antoinette Morelli) supports her daughter. Annie warns it isn’t safe for her to stay there. Monica and the team fail to convince her to stay.

Tommy repeats to the Coroner what he and Gerry practiced. The Coroner asks what he did next. He admits he froze until Gerry ordered him to start CPR. She asks why Gerry never assisted him with CPR. He claims Gerry was performing CPR on another victim. She asks if he performed CPR to the best of his ability. He tells her that he is unsure because the victim died. In the hallway, Gerry reminds Tommy that it is Coroner’s Court, not a confessional. Josephine Davies (Laura Hughes) thanks Tommy for his testimony.

Grace questions why she didn’t notice what Cal was going through. Stevie asks why she chose to stay. She admits to falling in love with Belfast. When he describes her as a “weirdo,” she brings up his nickname, “Mystery Man.” He says his wife of a year, Sarah, died from cancer ten years ago. He assures her that Cal will never forget her love. Grabbing his hand, she thanks him. He pleads with her to come back to work.

Jonty apologizes to Jen. She warns it will be much more difficult from here on out. He assures her that their relationship can work after Abigail knows. She asks if Sergeant Helen McNally (Joanne Crawford) told anyone. He claims she threatened to if their relationship continues. She suggests changing departments so their relationship can continue. He reluctantly offers to write her a reference.

McNally informs Annie that Jen has agreed to deny any assault that took place on their shift. The investigation has been terminated. She alerts Tommy that his shooting test has been rescheduled for today at 1pm. Gerry suggests he isn’t ready after testifying in Coroner’s Court. Tommy assures him that it’s okay.

Jen informs Annie that it’s time for her to apply for another position after two years as a constable. McNally asks what one of them wants to cover for Tommy. Annie starts out the door but Jen suggests McNally asked her.

Mo lies to James about a doctor’s visit. James suggests it’s terminal. Tina McIntyre (Abigail McGibbon) asks why he is always down. He curses her. She invites him out for a ride.

McCloskey (Neil Keery) and Quinny (Shane McCaffrey) test Tommy’s shooting skills. Tommy asks to take a bathroom break during the test. Sandra Cliff (Andi Osho) suggests Gerry take a holiday. Tommy repositions and shoots. McCloskey appears surprised his shooting is nearly perfect. He informs the rookies that the PSP and static shooting tests are generally done on the same day.

Grace speaks to Sandra about racial profiling. Sandra assures her that she and Cal are different because Belfast is his home.

Joseph informs MI5 agents, Mark Blundell (Stefan Boehm) and Rachel (Clare Gray) of Mo and Eoin “Sully” O’Sullivan (Art Campion) arriving at the OOB area. Jonty demands McNally to ensure the officers don’t breach the OOB areas. Jen reminds Gerry that they haven’t received a Blue Lights call. He warns that the “Q Word” is dangerous.  She stops to speak with Alan “Happy” Kelly (Paddy Jenkins). She suggests they give him a lift home.

McCloskey explains the PSP rules to the rookies. If they don’t pass the PSP test, they fail the entire exam.

Gerry and Jen take Happy up on a cup of tea. Grace congratulates Stevie with a  hug for getting into the Close Protection Unit. Gerry suggests taking down some of his newspaper clippings. Happy tells him that it’s his way of remembering. He informs them of the Dublin cars visiting The Palace. Gerry jots down the license plate numbers before leaving to call Barney. Tommy tells Aisling (Dearbhaile McKinny) that Gerry’s motto is to “take a beat, always look before you commit.”

Tina suggests James open a pub in Spain when the MI5 operation ends. He warns that Mo won’t last six months once he is gone. She says Mo did it to be like him. Sully’s guy inspects each of the AK-47s.

Aisling and Tommy enter the testing area. A Kill House woman (Bernadette Brown) pleads for help. Tommy tells her to take a beat. She warns a man in the bedroom has a knife. Aisling orders her to stand up, hands above her head, and turn around. Tommy alerts a disarming suspect alert before they remove a knife from the woman’s waistband. While Aisling cuffs the woman, Tommy secures the adjacent room.

Jen warns Gerry that they will be disciplined for entering an OOB area. He tells her that she can stay in the vehicle. She claims to have been warned by her mum that he was a liability.

Tommy and Aisling follow a groaning noise to a man lying on a bed. She starts to step forward but he stops her, pointing to the movement behind the door. When he acknowledges they will be administering first aid, a man with a  baseball bat bursts through the door. A struggle ensues and ends when they handcuff the man. McCloskey says well done before calling in the next team.

Mo and Anto watch as the guns are moved to another vehicle. Sully tosses them a bag of cash. Gerry informs Jen of the Southern vehicles belonging to a Dublin garage for the Ginley crime syndicate. Jen suggests he leave it alone. He enters the OOB area and she follows a short time later. He orders her to stay put while he advances to get a closer look. After watching the activity, he approaches Sully. Joseph alerts of his presence. Sully shoots Gerry multiple times and Jen shoots him. Mo and the others flee the scene. Jen calls in the shooting while Jonty listens on his radio. Grace and Stevie head to The Palace. Jen tries to assure Gerry that he will be okay. Mark and Rachel pack up their surveillance equipment when the operation is aborted.

Tommy, McClosky, and Quinny listen to a frantic Jen reassure Gerry. She pleads with Barney (Frankie McCafferty) to send backup when the episode ends.

 

Blue Lights Review

Mo, Anto, and Gordy receive a batch of new AK-47s to be sold to Sully. James isn’t involved but is well aware of the deal. Joseph orders The Palace off-limits to officers while the deal goes down. Gerry interferes with the gun deal and gets shot by Sully. Jen shoots and kills Sully. MI5 is forced to abort the operation.

Gerry and Tommy testify in Coroner’s Court about their actions during the previous drug overdose, one of which was fatal.

Jonty convinces Jen to not turn in her resignation by agreeing to give her a reference which could secure her a position at another department. He promises to tell his wife so they can be together.

Annie comes clean to her teammates about being a cop and her plan to leave. McNally forces Jen to deny Annie assaulted the pub suspect. Her testimony ends the investigation.

Even on short notice, Tommy passes his shooting test. McCloskey springs the PSP test on the recruits. Tommy teams up with Aisling and passes the test.

The show contradicts itself multiple times regarding police bias. Avoiding the agenda exposes a decent episode. It deserves a 6.5. Get more Blue Lights recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link. Our advertising packages are affordable.