User Reviews

Set in the early seventies this episode starts to connect all the dots from across the timelines whilst continuing to develop these much loved character. Set against the backdrop of A Clockwork Orange and with undertones that reflect this work the episode sets Morse, Thursday, Bright and Strange on a path which for some may have no return. It is testament to the writing that we know the long term fate of Morse and Strange and yet we are left with a sense impending doom. It is not clear if the writing team always had this ending in mind, if not huge credit to a retro-fit that seems to be ticking all the boxes. If you are not an avid Endeavour viewer some of the story telling may loose you, but stick with it. A real classic amongst many classics in this series.

Morse, Thursday and Strange continue their investigations into the death of Thursday's former informant and the death at the college party. Meanwhile, a homeless man is set upon by a bunch of college boys and found dead, a police constable is found dead after having fallen from a building and an artist disappears. A dark mystery from the past re-emerges.

Before this final season was released I was worried that it would be sub-standard as perhaps the producers just wanted to wrap it up and move on. Plenty of great series have overstayed their welcome, going on long after the creativity had dried up and the spark was gone.

I needn't have worried. This season is excellent, almost as good as Season 6 which ended with the Endeavour episode to end all episodes. This makes it even sadder then that it is ending as the quality is clearly top-class.

This episode confirms this quality with some very interesting one-episode mysteries studding a season-wide one that is incredibly intriguing and sees Morse and co battling powers that are much bigger than them. Very much like Season 6 then.

As this episode opens we see a popular television police show, which we later learn is filmed in Oxford. The action then returns to the real world and a group of wealthy students are behaving obnoxiously... this escalates as they attack a tramp. The next day his body is found. His isn't the only mystery for the police to deal with. A uniformed officer is found dead; he looks familiar but his ID number doesn't match anybody from the Oxford area. Elsewhere an artist is reported missing. As the investigation progresses it looks as if there may be connections between the crimes... and a dangerous link to previous events.

I thought this was a really good episode. The opening was fun then we quickly get into multiple mysteries that may or may not be linked and a growing sense of danger as Morse suspects a link to a case everybody involved hoped was over; certainly many people are determined that Morse won't start looking in that direction. The antagonists are an interesting mix. A group of posh students whose antics appear to be inspired by 'A Clockwork Orange', even if it isn't explicitly stated. Corrupt officers who violently try to warn Morse off his investigation and a murderer whose motive is far from obvious. The plots, both ones that only last this episode and those lasting over multiple episodes are intriguing. As always the cast does a really fine job. Overall another great episode; it is just a shame that the series will soon be over.

Endeavour and Thursday have three deaths to solve, a homeless man, who is badly beaten, an actor, then an artist.

As always, I approach an episode of Endeavour with high hopes, Uniform, though perhaps not a classic, was still a very good watch. It's pretty sad to realise that this is the penultimate episode.

A trio of murders, a group of sadistic students and personal problems for almost everyone. It's another cerebral mystery, you need to concentrate, or you will lose track of events.

The ending was satisfying, a little bit of spice added by Morse's encounter with the uniformed Officers.

Some amazing imagery again, the quartet of students looked incredibly menacing, they could almost have come from a horror film.

There are a couple of references to the past once again, I watched series 4's Game a few nights ago, and I'm pretty sure Kent Finn was the name of the writer of The Detective series within this episode, there are also more references to Neverland.

I have really high hopes for next week's final episode, I'm hoping for some sort of closure for Thursday and Bright, and I have always hoped to see McNutt, let's wait and see.

8/10.

Once I see the next episode, I'm going to to go back to the beginning and watch them again. This is another sophisticated plot where one has to keep a close eye and ear on the events. Morse is such a complicated character. He is fragile in one sense but dogged in every other way. He can't back down. He has blown his chances to find the love that was there all the time because of his shyness and timidity in relating to people. And, of course, there is his alcoholism which he has not overcome. This story involves three separate mysteries. The first is about a group of despicable young men who have no respect for human life, attacking the poor and infirm. Someone mentioned "A Clockwork Orange." When I saw them with their plastic masks, it was the first thing I thought. Not only are they dangerous but they are so arrogant and smug when confronted. They are rich and connected and try to intimidate those in authority. The second involves the murder of a man dressed as a policeman. And, finally, an artist who is found drowned. Morse uses his intense investigation techniques, staring for hours at carefully sorted papers and tiny potential clues. Thursday is so conflicted over past events. He is also torn between continuing in his current position or moving up to a higher paying but uprooting administrative situation. He also is dealing with his wayward son who is out of jail but drinking up a storm and embarrassing the family. His daughter, the one Morse has loved and longed for, has settled for a dullard (a nice one certainly and a competent policeman). I have watched every incarnation of Morse over the years and I am sad to see this one end. I wonder if there is anything that could be done to put the character back on the screen.

This season refers to numerous prior investigations from the current and past season that possibly are tied together. The problem for the viewer is that the details of the prior cases are difficult to recall, especially from the last season and therefore the show is hard to follow. I suggest that prior to watching this season, one should re-watch the last one in order to comprehend what is consistently being referred to. In addition, there are several characters that reappear, and although familiar, I had difficulty recalling who they were and their significance to the current show. I suggest paying very close attention to names and small details.

I'm sorry but this is about the third time in the last few series where Max has got the time of death because the victims watch was smashed at the time of death. That device was old hat the day after a writer first used it and it's poor to see it used so many times in a series like this. As for Superintendent Jolly - please?! What a lot of rubbish this has turned out to be. All in all Endeavour has been at best patchy all the way through. A shame really. Yes like all modern dramas the production values are high, but even so they get a lot of the details wrong and it doesn't feel any more like the sixties or seventies than something like Heartbeat did. I like some of the characters, but some of the lines they give them and some of the plots are a bit thin. I think Jim Strange is the best character in it, Thursday was good but he doesn't have much to do in these later episodes, Bright is the same - great actor in Anton Lesser but lines are lame. Morse proper will never be topper and it's still the best if the franchise by a long margin.

Season 9, Episode 2 is extremely difficult (i.e., virtually impossible) to follow. This is a major league error since it is not the failed movie 'Clue.' It is difficult to understand how this occurred. My best guess, since I had no interest in researching the specifics is that the previous production staff were replaced by some or possibility all script writers, producers, directors, and every other qualified staff for those who had very different and strange ideas. And yes, far less quality resulted. What a whale of a mistake.

I was not that happy with Episode One either, but at least some it it could be followed. Episode Two, on the other hand, is unintelligible. What a shame to end this interesting series with a season 9 FLOP. Such a waste of acting talent. Even the actors appear disillusioned with the script.