This episode opens with an attractive young woman boarding the last bus home; there are a few other passengers aboard. She disembarks at the end of the route and is apparently followed by the bus conductor. The next day a body is found; it is isn't the woman though; it is a university don. Thursday and Strange are on the case as Morse is 'unwell' due to his drinking. Shortly afterwards Thursday tells Morse he needs help and tells him to take four weeks off, starting immediately. As he leaves he spots the woman boarding the night bus again; as she hadn't yet given a statement he boards. The bus doesn't reach its destination. It hits a snow drift. The woman suggests going to an abandoned hotel she worked at eight years previously. The hotel was the sight of a notorious mass murder involving an escaped psychiatric patient... it soon becomes clear that there is a killer there now; were they there already or are they one of the passengers? While all this is going on there is tension and upset in the Thursday household when it emerges their son, who is serving in Northern Ireland, has disappeared.
I can understand why this is a divisive episode; personally I really liked it. The bus load of passengers in the old hotel is classic murder-mystery territory that could have come from the pen of Agatha Christie. The snowbound setting is suitably claustrophobic and the tension is palpable as the body count rises. It does of course require more than a little suspension of disbelief; the hotel is in remarkable good condition for a building abandoned eight years previously... even the bar remains fully stocked! The central mystery should keep viewers guessing till near the end; it certainly provided me with a good surprise. The cast did a fine job; particularly the main cast. Shaun Even was on great form as Morse; a character dealing with inner demons as well as trying to solve a murder and Roger Allum was great as Thursday; particularly in the family scenes talking about his missing son. I enjoyed the 'Halloween' references; they were impressive because they were done in a way that won't leave viewers who haven't seen that film feeling that they are missing something. Overall a really good episode; I look forward to the next season.