Dept. Q — Season 2 (2026) continues the dark and emotionally layered journey of Detective Carl Mørck and his small but fiercely determined cold-case unit in Copenhagen. After the harrowing events of the first season, Carl returns to the basement office with a heavier conscience and a deeper understanding of how far the past can reach into the present. The new season opens with the discovery of a sealed political archive containing evidence tied to a missing prosecutor who vanished more than a decade earlier. What first appears to be a bureaucratic oversight soon reveals itself as the tip of a conspiracy involving powerful officials and long-buried secrets.
Carl, still wrestling with guilt and unresolved trauma, is more guarded than ever. His sharp tongue remains, but beneath it lies a growing fear that every case he touches leaves collateral damage. Assad, his loyal and perceptive partner, takes on a more central role this season, using his empathy and quiet intelligence to navigate witnesses who distrust the system. Meanwhile, Rose confronts her own psychological struggles while proving she is indispensable to the team. The dynamic within Department Q deepens, showing how fragile yet resilient this unlikely trio truly is.
The missing prosecutor’s case unfolds through interwoven timelines, revealing fragments of her final investigation. She had been probing into allegations of misconduct within the justice system, and her disappearance coincided with a high-profile corruption trial that abruptly collapsed. As Carl and his team retrace her steps, they encounter former informants who have reinvented themselves, retired officers who refuse to talk, and families still haunted by unanswered questions. Each clue uncovers a network of silence maintained through intimidation and political leverage.
As the stakes rise, the investigation draws unwanted attention from higher authorities. Carl is pressured to close the case quietly, warned that pursuing it could destabilize public trust. The moral tension intensifies as he must choose between professional survival and justice for a woman who risked everything. The season carefully explores themes of institutional rot, loyalty, and the cost of truth, portraying a system that protects itself at any cost.
In the final episodes, shocking revelations force the team into dangerous territory. A hidden recording surfaces, proving the prosecutor was silenced because she came too close to exposing a coordinated cover-up. The confrontation that follows is not just physical but ideological, as Carl challenges the very institution he serves. The resolution is bittersweet: while the truth finally reaches the public, it comes with sacrifices that leave lasting scars.
Season 2 ultimately strengthens the series’ identity as a slow-burning, character-driven crime drama. It blends suspense with emotional depth, reminding viewers that cold cases are never truly cold for those who lived through them. By the end, Department Q stands changed, bound together by shared trauma and a renewed commitment to uncovering the stories others would rather forget.
