Blue Lights series 4 ending: Devastating closure of Blackthorn police station, and what this means for a possible series 5
We're not crying, you're crying...
Blue Lights series 4 has come to a brutal ending, with our favourite first response officers scattering as Belfast’s Blackthorn police station closed as a result of cuts.
We’ll be angry once we’ve stopped crying. Throughout the latest episodes, the station faced the risk of closure. And the threat became a reality in the final episode.
However, the brilliant crime drama still managed to deliver a message of hope, forgiveness, and redemption. Series 4 saw all our favourite officers face some of the most challenging times of their career. Not least Sandra Cliff, who discovered to what extent some of her fellow police officers were partly to blame for her husband Gerry’s death.
And that Gerry Cliff stand-alone episode? Bravo! The writers – and cast – deserve all the awards. Here’s the ending of Blue Lights series 4 unpacked, what happened to the Ginley cartel, and what we know about a series 5.
***Warning: spoilers from the ending of Blue Lights series 4 ahead***
What happened in the ending of Blue Lights series 4?
The penultimate episode of Blue Lights series 4 saw Annie involved in a bomb blast intended for anti-migrant protestor Katie Close. The final instalment of the series picked up exactly seconds later, with Annie and Katie both lying injured on the floor.
Luckily, Annie survived the explosion, while Katie ended up in ICU where she eventually recuperated. Annie had ultimately saved her life. Of course, by this point, we knew that a lot of the tension and conflict in Belfast had been created by the drug-running Ginley clan.
They were behind the violent protests at the migrant centre, also behind the threatening letters to Katie, and the bomb at her house. The criminal family, with Dana Morgan at their head, were “throwing sand in the police’s faces to blind them”.
It was all a distraction from what they were really doing. They were a cartel shifting huge quantities of drugs across the country. But the ending of Blue Lights series 4 saw Dana Morgan – the head of the snake – finally cut off.
Although it’s only a matter of time before another criminal organisation takes over, it was a victory all the same.
Blackthorn’s use of James McIntyre as an operative ‘investigated’
In triumphant scenes, the office of the police ombudsman announced “a major investigation into state collusion allegedly involving a high level Republican informant”.
Of course, this was down to the hard work of Sandra Cliff, former cop Jen Robinson, David ‘Jonty’ Johnston, and Helen McNally. But ultimately, it was a result of Gerry Cliff’s secret investigation into James McIntyre, the man ‘recruited’ as an informant by Paul ‘Colly’ Collins.
James worked with the police and later MI5 over a 30 year period – a storyline tackled in all four seasons of Blue Lights. James subsequently “built a criminal empire” while being protected by the police.
Ombudsman Geraldine Gilroy confronted Chief Superintendent Nicola Robinson, accusing her of working with the “agent of chaos” James McIntyre. In turn, she defended their actions. She told Geraldine: “We recruited an agent during The Troubles. He saved lives. Some of our agents did bad things. That’s why they were credible. We were supposed to recruit choir boys?”
Of course, Colly and Nicola had crossed a line. And their careers were over because of it. But Colly had one last trick up his sleeve, and he went down fighting. It was Colly’s actions that led to the downfall of Dana Morgan. It was hard to hate him.
What happened to the McIntyres?
Once the truth came out about James McIntyre being a police informant, wife Tina McIntyre and their son Mo were targets of dissidents furious that James was a “tout”, aka a police informant.
And there was none so desperate as John O’Boyle, whose son Ciaran died in a car accident in series 3. “Beside himself with grief” over his son, he had nothing to lose anymore. Having shot the Ginley’s solicitor to discover the address of Tina and Mo, he drove there with one thing on his mind – revenge.
But luckily for Tina, Aisling was protecting her. Having been at the scene of Ciaran’s death, she had a special relationship with his dad John. She managed to talk John down as he pointed a gun at Tina’s head.
What happened to Dana Morgan, and the Ginleys?
In the Blue Lights series 4 ending, Colly’s plan to bring down Dana Morgan paid off. He promised Tina and Mo a new life under witness protection if they helped bring down Dana and the Ginleys – the whole operation. Meanwhile, the “spooks” moved James to an English prison to protect him. The McIntyres had landed on their feet. Again.
As for Tina’s right hand man Lee Thompson, he was a “dead man walking” until Colly stepped in… Lee set up a meeting to return Dana’s shipment of drugs. But the police were waiting for them (as arranged). Lee agreed to play ball in exchange for serving four or five years in a loyalist ward in jail. But he’d be alive. And, when he’d served his time, he’d be welcomed back into the family fold as agreed by his uncle Robert McKendry (aka Rab). It was as close to a happy ending as Lee was ever going to get.
In the series 4 finale of Blue Lights, Dana Morgan was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to import drugs under section 3 of the misuse of drugs act.
Did Blackthorn police station close for good?
Tragically, despite the drug cartel being stopped in its tracks – for a while at least – it wasn’t a happy ending in Blue Lights series 4. Blackthorn police station was closed, and all the officers relocated. Despite Helen’s attempts to prevent the closure, she “failed”. This, according to writers Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, is an all-too real problem affecting policing in Belfast today.
The closing moments of the Blue Lights series 4 ending saw the police officers start their last ever shift at Blackthorn. It felt very final.
Even as the future of Annie, Tommy, and Shane looked uncertain, there was still reason to celebrate. Grace officially became a detective, and things got better from there… The always lovely Stevie proposed with a diamond ring – in a cake, of course! As Grace accepted, they sealed their engagement with a kiss.
And the series ended with Stevie’s fateful last words. As Grace said “so this is the end”, Stevie replied: “The end here.” He subsequently toasted to “new beginnings”.
Something in your eye? Us too.
What else happened in the ending of Blue Lights series 4?
- Paul ‘Colly’ Collins arranged for Annie Conlon to have a proper threat assessment. In series 1, she was told her life was in danger because of the Ginley family, and it was unsafe for her to return home. Thanks to Shane, Colly prioritised Annie’s assessment, and it was subsequently downgraded. She would be able to return home, although tragically her beloved mum Bridie died in series 3. Her death was an emotional storyline for Annie, who struggled with grief. She even received a chilling death threat (a bullet in a package) during her mother’s wake.
- Nicola Robinson met up with her daughter Jen, knowing she ultimately contributed to her downfall. But she forgave her. Instead, she used the opportunity to become closer to her daughter. The future looked bright for the pair, after years of estrangement.
- Although we don’t know what the future holds for Annie, and Shane, we have high hopes. Surely we’re not the only ones who detected a frisson of romance. We’re here for it.
- Tommy and Aisling split up earlier in the series, but it was clear that the pair would remain good friends who looked out for each other. They’d been through too much together.
- Sandra had honoured the memory of her late husband Gerry Cliff by instigating the ombudsman investigation. Sadly, the murder trial had collapsed but, from beyond the grave, Gerry had instigated change.
Is there a series 5 of Blue Lights?
The BBC has not confirmed if there’ll be a series 5 of Blue Lights. But we will riot if there isn’t. The police drama is arguably one of the best series on TV, up there with Happy Valley, Broadchurch, and Line of Duty.
With Blackthorn police station closed, a series 5 would have to look very different. But the characters are too beloved to let go. Where will the first responders end up? We need to know.
A spokesperson for Blue Lights told us the decision on a series 4 is in the hands of the BBC. They added: “We all think there are more stories to tell, so fingers crossed it gets another commission… Or two.”
