All's well that ends well.
Season 4 of McDonald & Dodds opened with a mystery – and no, we're not talking about the two women who had been brutally offed, one a journalist who had been poisoned, the other a shooting victim.
We're referring to DS Dodds's beloved office chair, which was stolen from right under his nose and replaced with a faulty number.
Not only was it profoundly undignified for a member of law enforcement – and one of the smartest, we should add – to suffer to such a heinous crime, Dodds was then forced to endure the ignominy of sitting on a defected perch from which his feet were unable to touch the ground.
Oh, the shame.
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Despite his very best efforts to locate his dearly departed, Dodds was unable to recover his mighty throne, leaving the detective utterly defeated for the first time in recent memory, and with no apparent end in sight to his suffering.
But then, in the episode's final moments, the mystery was revolved when the culprit made an executive decision to reveal herself.
"There's no easy way to share this," said Chief Supt Ormond. "I stole your chair. My own chair malfunctioned, and I like to have my feet on the ground when I'm working."
"Don't we all," responded a stunned Dodds.
But a confession wasn't all she had in store for him.
To atone for her grave sin, Ormond informed Dodds that she'd purchased him a brand new chair – but not just any old chair. Oh no. His boss had secured him the Modulator Mark 4... special edition.
*Cue stirring orchestral swell*
"A Mark 4," he echoed, visibly overcome with emotion.
While the lead duo had successfully uncovered the link between the two murders, this was undoubtedly Dodd's finest career moment to date.
McDonald & Dodds season 4 airs on Sundays on ITV1 and ITVX.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
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