Dept. Q: Akram starts off quiet, but there’s way more to him than meets the eye

Netflix's latest Scottish thriller, Dept. Q topped the platform's Top 10 charts, proving to be a valuable addition in crime thrillers.

Based on Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen's book series, the show follows Matthew Goode's Carl Mørck as he transforms an old Edinburgh office into Department Q to solve cold cases.

Morck carries the weight of his profession in his own way, and the audience learn about his character throughout the nine episodes.

However, one character remains a mystery long after the show ends: Alexej Manvelov's Akram Salim. The Swedish actor is well-known for his roles in Jack Ryan and Chernobyl.

More on Akram in Dept. Q in our story.

Dept. Q: Akram has a mysterious back story, which remains a secret even after the finale

Scottish thriller Dept. Q bases its story on two protagonists, namely Carl Morck and Merritt Lingard. Through important pieces of history, we learn about the harrowing things that plague the past and present of these two characters, which adds an intriguing sub-plot to the show.

And while the audience is always privy to the backstory about the protagonists, there is one character who mysteriously lurks in the shadows but often breaks character and shows his dark side. That character is none other than Syrian refugee cop Akram Salim.

Akram starts as a quiet supporting character in Dept. Q, who appears to be sweet, unserious, and is almost willing to sweep the department floors to get a badge and a promotion.

While the series only provides breadcrumbs of his backstory in Syria, it is intriguing enough to hook the audience on this character. It was established that Akram was a policeman in his home country of Syria, but he wanted to move to the UK with his wife and two daughters for their education.

However, before the family could have made that move, Akram's wife died back in Syria, and the only backstory Dept. Q provides for this, that she "operated on the wrong person".

This cryptic backstory positions Akram as an intriguing character, who is equally burdened by his past (like Morck), but we do not get a peek into his past even in the finale.

In case you missed it, Akram holds many secrets

While the facts about Dept. Q's protagonists were laid bare, and Akram's character was a revelation. A sweet and kind soul, he, too, had his breaking moments, which showcased another side of his character and revealed that he is capable of more.

When he is interrogating a group of unarmed drug addicts, one of the guys pulls out a knife at him. Still, Akram escapes unfazed from this ordeal, while the guy is hospitalized with a crushed windpipe.

Later, he shoves a man double his size down the stairs without much effort, which is a testament to his dark past, which seldom reaches the surface.

When Morck asks him about his crashing widpipes and stair-shoving skills, insinuating that he, too, loses control, he simply replies:

"Except when I do these things, I am never out of control. I am very much in control."

This one line sums up Akram's character in Dept. Q and long after the show solves all its central mysteries, the character still remains an enigma.

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Also Read: Netflix’s Dept. Q and the Harry Potter movies have a link that no one noticed

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