Does Merritt Lingard die in Netflix’s Dept. Q? Character’s fate explored

Netflix's Dept. Q in the finale revealed the two siblings, Merritt and Williams, meeting after four years. Merritt Lingard, who was presumed to be killed in the show, is safely rescued from the chambers after years. She had been held captive in a pressure chamber, sedated and controlled, suggesting a part of a larger conspiracy. Therefore, her survival becomes the most emotional and redemptive moment in the series. The season finale gives full justice to it.

Dept. Q, after all the false alarms, was able to catch the kidnappers of Merritt, making this harrowing case the most twisted one. The show has been renewed for a Season 2. Read on to explore Merritt Lingard's character's fate in detail.

Does Merritt Lingard die in Netflix’s Dept. Q?

At first glance, Merritt seemed to have vanished during a ferry ride with her disabled, nonverbal brother, William. Suspicion falls on William after eyewitnesses report an altercation. But Dept. Q soon uncovers that the surface-level story hides something far more disturbing.

William, who has aphasia, draws a bird that Rose misidentifies as a boobrie—linking it to their father’s boat. The drawing is actually of a cormorant, which turns out to be the logo on the hat worn by Merritt's real captor. William remembers it as a heart-wrenching memory, and this works as the clue for the investigating team.

The department follows some false leads when Merritt’s boss, Stephen Burns, and businessman Graham Finch are tied to corruption and violence. Their action showed how deep the rot in the legal system runs. It was revealed later that Merritt was kidnapped and held captive in a pressure chamber by Harry Jennings, someone connected to her past and the prison system she was working to expose.

Along with this, even Sam Haig, thought to be a journalist close to Merritt, was Lyle Jennings, who stole Sam's identity after killing him. This whole time, disguised as Sam, Lyle was keeping an eye on Merritt and her investigation.

Jennings and Merritt had past connections, as shown in Dept. Q

Jennings once had a romantic relationship with Merritt. When Merritt gets to know about her kidnapper, her heart breaks, realizing the intensity of the betrayal that has been done. She outrageously clears the walls in the chamber as a resemblance of erasing the past memories of loving Jennings. Moreover, Jennings' feelings for Merritt were part of a wider cover-up involving abuse and violence against female inmates—crimes Merritt was trying to bring to light before she disappeared.

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After Merritt vanishes, her brother William is placed under the care of Dr. Fiona Wallace, who, under the guise of taking care of William, was actually drugging him. She made herself his guardian, gaining control over his finances.

In the season 1 finale, after years in captivity, Merritt is found alive in a dramatic sequence. Her reunion with William—who is also rescued and returned to the loving care of his former guardian Claire—marks the emotional climax of the series.

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