All of this coincides with DoSAC in absolute chaos as both sides of the coalition can barely stand to look at each other. Made worse by the Home Office dumping the blame for a backlog of arrests onto the already stretched team, but they unite to gleefully witness Tucker’s downfall. Meanwhile, ex-opposition leader Nicola Murray has her humiliation dragged out even more when her aide arranges an interview with the chop that’s been taunting her all series. As always, the interactions between all the warring factions of DoSAC are brilliantly brought to life by the superb cast. The quips and jabs come thick and fast and you’ll need a few viewings to take it all in. And the plotting here is just masterful as the threads throughout the whole series come together to an enormously satisfying climax. Though I, like many others, will be sad to see The Thick Of It go, it feels right to end it now. This recent series has strayed a little too far from the naturalistic direction of earlier series by becoming a bit too broad at times. Some of the insults and swears felt a little forced and plot threads were becoming more and more typically “sit-commy”. Not a bad thing in itself but it undermined how believable it was and was in danger of becoming a pantomime version of itself. But on the whole, this was a gripping final series throughout, as petty battles were fought while the state of the nation was in decline. While DoSAC and the opposition were busy trying to score points over each other, a man died and blame was thrown around like a hot potato by those covered in muck. Indeed this final episode has as its background cuts to the police service and the possible outcomes of such actions which sadly sound all too convincing. And it’s this ability to understand and reflect the politics of the day that makes Armando Iannucci one of our greatest living comedy writers. Read Louisa’s review of the previous episode here. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
