Line of Duty
The Assault
TV Flash files “The Assault” as hour 2 of 36 in the TV Flash guide — Line of Duty (2012–2021) on BBC, season 1, episode 2, aired 2012-07-03, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E02: listed hour 2 of 36 in the Line of Duty guide, hour 2 of 5 in season 1. It aired 2012-07-03 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “A Disastrous Affair” (S01E01). Next is “In the Trap” (S01E03).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Having been duped into covering up Jackie's crime, Gates is desperate to sever ties with her. But, as Arnott and Fleming close in on his secret, Gates is plunged into an even more dangerous situation than he first thought.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Assault sit in the Line of Duty guide?
S01E02 is listed hour 2 of 36 — hour 2 of 5 in season 1, season 1 episode 2.
When did Line of Duty S01E02 air?
The Assault aired 2012-07-03 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Do I need to watch every series in order?
AC-12's long game of institutional rot rewards order. Guest antagonists change; Hastings, Steve, and Kate are the through-line. Skipping a series drops a rung on the conspiracy ladder.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Jed Mercurio's AC-12 interview rooms are gladiatorial: bent coppers, Hastings catchphrases, institutional rot that keeps climbing. British procedural paranoia as national event, scaled all the way to finale mania. Dialogue-heavy thriller craft — the anti-corruption unit as sport, and watercooler television that never needed a car chase.
The first look is an interview-room fluorescent that does more than a car chase. Jed Mercurio's BBC anti-corruption unit AC-12 interrogates bent coppers while institutional rot climbs higher — Martin Compston's Steve Arnott, Vicky McClure's Kate Fleming, Adrian Dunbar's Ted Hastings, plus guest-copper turns from Lennie James, Thandie Newton, Stephen Graham. Long interview scenes are gladiatorial. Catchphrases entered British vernacular. Tessa's tags will gif *Mother of God* until the H speculation Olympics…
Filed against
- Martin Compston as Steve Arnott
Martin Compston sat in the interview room as Steve Arnott on Line of Duty — Jed Mercurio’s AC-12 gladiatorial hours, bent coppers, Hastings catchphrases, institutional rot that keeps climbing. British procedural paranoia as national…
- Vicky McClure as Kate Fleming
Vicky McClure’s Kate Fleming sat Line of Duty’s AC-12 interview rooms like a gladiator — Jed Mercurio’s bent-copper paranoia, Hastings catchphrases, institutional rot that keeps climbing. British procedural as national event, scaled all…
- Adrian Dunbar as Ted Hastings
Adrian Dunbar’s Ted Hastings made Line of Duty’s AC-12 interview rooms a national sport — bent coppers, catchphrases, institutional rot that keeps climbing, Jed Mercurio’s dialogue-heavy thriller as event television. Finale mania…
- Lennie James as Tony Gates
Lennie James's Tony Gates walked Line of Duty into AC-12's gladiatorial interview rooms — Jed Mercurio's bent-copper paranoia, Hastings catchphrases, institutional rot that keeps climbing, British procedural as national event. TV Flash…
- Thandie Newton as Roz Huntley
Thandie Newton interrogated Line of Duty as Roz Huntley — AC-12 interview rooms as gladiatorial sport, bent coppers, institutional rot that keeps climbing, British procedural paranoia as national event. Dialogue-heavy thriller craft. TV…
- Stephen Graham as John Corbett
Stephen Graham’s John Corbett walked Line of Duty’s AC-12 interview rooms like a gladiator — bent coppers, Hastings catchphrases, institutional rot that keeps climbing — then co-signed Adolescence’s four-episode continuous-take trap.…