User Reviews

Well, that was a marvellous finale to an outstanding series, Endeavour has gone out on a high!

Many long running series end like a damp squib, not so Endeavour. Kudos to all involved, it is rare indeed to see such consistently excellent work over years.

With all 36 Endeavour films you have to pay attention to details right from the start, even more so in this final trio where the never fully resolved Blenham Vale (Neverland) rears its ugly head again. The films are peppered with subtle and not so subtle references to earlier series plus plenty of other Easter eggs. The beauty of the latter is that you can fully enjoy the films even without knowing about them but trying to detect them adds fun when watching again.

Exeunt (I'm sure Colin Dexter would have appreciated that title) gives all the main characters a perfect and often poignant farewell. They have been allowed to develop over the years and all have made the most of that opportunity- the acting has been first class from everyone!

Don't you just adore Dorothea, Max (Shall we say 2 o' clock) and all the Thursday family! Win giving Endeavour her Wednesday special sandwich when saying farewell was scriptwriter Russ Lewis having a last laugh at us because we still don't know what it is!

The bittersweet daydream sequence between Endeavour and Joan was a fitting closure for their never-to-be romance. Joan will be much better off with down-to-earth Jim Strange, who will be there to change the nappies. That scene where Joan gets to drive the car says it all! Btw- in the Morse series the first name of Mrs. Strange is never mentioned (Valerie was Robbie Lewis's wife).

Anton Lesser's Bright was perfection - hearing him recite Prospero's speech is something that stays with you. He had been looking at travel brochures for India, here at the end you see him sitting beside his daughter Dulcie's grave (the tropics...- unforgettable!).

Thankfully the reason why Morse never mentions Thursday was not the one feared by many, Thursday lives and Morse will take Fred's secret to the grave. Touchingly he spared him the knowledge that Tomahawk was Big Pete, that's another secret Endeavour will keep. The final scenes between Endeavour and Thursday are some of the best acting you will ever see. As always with those two everything that wasn't said but could be read in their faces and posture was mesmerizing. I loved the Shakespeare (I know thee not, old man) and the way Thursday says Endeavour, mirroring the pilot. Poignantly the answer is Morse, just Morse.

I had hoped that the eyes-in-mirror scene from the pilot would close the circle: it did and very beautifully and touchingly with the two Jags. Tipping the hat to the first and last of the Morse series with Endeavour singing in the choir (In Paradisum!) and Thursday's funny turn in Lonsdale College was done perfectly, as was the nod to Colin Dexter (Codex crossword setter), the mention of one Robert Lewis up north and a further reference to McNutt.

The many narrative strands and open questions are convincingly solved. I always suspected Fred's loan to his brother Charlie would come back to haunt him and DS Lott was a wrong 'un right from the start (good riddance). There was some deliberate ambiguity like the shot in the churchyard: Not every question gets an answer Fred Thursday said in an earlier film.

Sad to see it end but the quality of the films easily stands up to repeat viewings!

Endeavour fans will be glad to see series 9 as a worthy end to 102 episodes of Morse/Lewis/Endeavour. Endeavour had been going from bad to worse with a poor series 7 and a woeful series 8 ending with the truly appalling Terminus, the worst episode of all 102!.

Russell Lewis sensibly went back to the tried and trusted formula of corruption in the police force which worked so well building up to Neverland (series 2, the best of all 102 episodes!) and Deguello (series 6). The final series was, like series 7, essentially a 3 part serial about the unresolved issues from Neverland and a chance to resolve the futures of the main characters. This was a departure from the original Morse which could all be viewed like a standalone movie. It worked well for regular fans but anyone just watching a single episode would find it hard to follow. As usual Lewis included lots of subtle references within each episode (the Sgt Lewis reference in Exeunt was nice) which added to the intrigue for fans but probably went straight over the heads of most viewers.

The final series and particularly the final episode, Exeunt, were always going to be high on emotion. Episode 1, Prelude, was a return to form without being one of the better episodes, the one murder solved within the episode had a ludicrous murder method but much of the story was setting the scene and building the suspense and tension for the following two episodes. Episode 2, Uniform, built superbly on the suspense and the return of Jakes was a great ending, eventually ending up as best man as Morse was typically absent sorting out everyone's problems. There were great expectations for Exeunt but mostly failed to deliver, the Blenheim Vale scandal fizzled out, Lott a second rate DS on the take in the Pilot was an even less convincing Mr Big than DS Jago in series 6. Fred's false alarm heart attack at the same location as the attack which killed Thaw's Morse was cheap and crass.

The dream sequence at the wedding just made me cringe, there was good on-screen chemistry between Morse and Joan in the early series but they clearly didn't have much in common at all so she was better off with Jim (she liked pop music, dancing, bingo and socialising, Morse liked opera, singing, crosswords and enjoyed being on his own). True Morse fans will know the love of his life was Susan, his fiance at university, when she left him he dropped out just before his finals and never completed his degree. This love was a key part of the Morse episode Dead on Time set many years later and featured in the Endeavour episodes Rocket and Lazaretto, Lewis shouldn't try to re-write Morse history. There were some great storylines surrounding Joan in earlier series but perhaps she should have been sidelined to an occasional character like Sam.

The final episode scored highly as a soap opera, good for sentimental long-time fans, but the murder mystery was very weak (a murdering spree just because he didn't like their letters in a paper was completely ridiculous) and the Blenheim Vale conspiracy disappointed after promising so much in Uniform. The original series never descended into soap opera, it was simply a quality detective drama, yes with complicated and sophisticated plots but the motives always made them believable; something Endeavour often failed to achieve. Too many otherwise excellent Endeavour episodes were spoilt by plot conclusions which were simply ridiculous.

Lewis was at his best in the way he created and developed the Endeavour characters, you could really see how Shaun Evans' Endeavour could turn into John Thaw's Morse, the one exception being that Endeavour was too successful with the opposite sex (the nurse, French photographer, Fred's niece, Ludo's wife ....) whereas much of the popularity of Thaw's Morse was his being completely hopeless whenever he was attracted to a woman; clumsy, naïve and lacking confidence. Viewers have always seen Morse as a great detective but flawed person which helps us to connect with him.

The great success of Endeavour was Roger Allam's Fred Thursday, who became a much loved character, so many memorable one liners! His crime in defence of his son in Exeunt was dramatic, a secret to be kept just between Morse and Fred as they all went their separate ways. Some people see this secret as the reason Fred was never mentioned by the older Morse but there was no reason not to mention Fred, only the secret they shared. Fred as a killer, Morse as an accessory after the fact was unsatisfactory. Thankfully Bright's verse and the Blenheim Palace scene were better choices and a more fitting ending.

Like many series Endeavour's success led to it going on for too long, unlike the original series. The highs of earlier Endeavour series were not to be repeated but Morse will always be one of British TV's great characters thanks mostly to the original series but Endeavour is very much part of that legacy.

Fans and casual watchers have seen throughout Inspector Morse, Inspector Lewis, and Endeavor a melancholy Endeavor Morse character. In Inspector Morse ( which on a timeline occurs after the Endeavor time period) Inspector Morse is single and lonely. I had always hoped he married Joan Thursday, but that sadly she passed away or the marriage didn't last. It was heartbreaking to see Morse, yet again, have things not work out. He cares and gives his life and heart, but not once did I ever see him get a piece of luck one deserves.

I love the character in all the series for the depth of character development by the writers and actors. You are drawn in and there are such deep feelings. One comes to feel a part of the character's journey and emotions. It is truly an amazing work of art.

Thank you to all involved in the three series for the opportunity we were given. One last heartbreaking Wow, and another finale with tears streaming down my face.

Setting the tone for 36 years of delivery of the consistently highest arch of entertainment, it is befitting that this classic prequel ends with Shakespeare. There is no author that better reflects how the seemingly random foibles of fate can ruin the most promising and ardent of young loves. So it is with Morse and Joan Thursday. One feels they two belong together with every fiber of our being, but through a combination of stubbornness, PTSD, and plain old bad luck, have managed to miss each other completely. Since we know Morses future, we also know this is not something he recovers from. He remains alone, doomed to the occasional affair, a tragedy of epic proportions given Morses innate capacity for loving as well as his contributions to society. Thus the character study is complete, and incredibly moving. The love story- for that too is what it is- between Morse and partner Thursday has a similarly impactful denouement, Morse ultimately sacrificing his deeply held moral principles to shield his mentor and friend. The last scene between Morse and Thursday is worthy of the Shakespearean stage. Many a flower...

Well I almost really enjoyed this. I had for many series thought that rather than Fred's death the exit of the Thursdays would be due to a "witness protection" scenario. However in my thoughts that also explained Joan.

I didn't like the Joan/Jim romance that was thrust upon us in the last series. The wedding even less. If all of the Thursday were going to disappear I was hoping for a Joan/Morse romance in the last season then the bitter enforced separation because of something that Thursday had done. And sadly the way Mrs Strange was badly portrayed by both Morse and Lewis in the later Inspector Morse series makes me sad for her future and an obvious mis-alignment for me.

However the last scene especially was worth the price of admission and I had seen quite a few people predict that end or variations.

The murder mystery in this episode was really white noise but I easily forgave them that in the finale.

For the reviewer before me who stopped watching after s3 you missed A LOT of great episodes but were spared the dire S7 and 8 that almost had me stop watching - glad I hung in there.

All loose ends tied up. Packed with tension, regrets and pathos.

The writing team have done a terrific job with continuity over not just several episodes but actual series' and were able to gracefully bring everything to a head.

The bravery and selfless character of Endeavour is once again very evident as he puts himself on the line for Thursday and comes through with flying colours. Thursday's gasp - at which point he had to stop himself from crying - is one of the best moments in TV I've ever seen.

As if that wasn't enough, the final montage along with the poem read by Bright had me sobbing fitfully. Oh how I will miss all of these characters - amazing production throughout and one that ITV has every right to be proud of.

Why the gunshot in the graveyard??

What was the purpose?

What was the writer saying?

Any solutions? This really bothered me.

Of course we immediately think Morse is killing himself. Why else the Russian roulette spin of the bullet chamber?

Nothing clever or cute to make the audience think about that!

How might the result of having the gun to look recently used, play into the plot of the story?

What for?

Why did Thursday even give him the gun?

Did Morse need a gun?

Did he carry one?

Any one ever notice.

If Thursday is going into hiding, he probably should have kept it for he and Win's safety.

Or Thursday should have given it to his son, Sam, if he's going into police work.

And wasn't that a fast life altering turn around in Sam's miserable life. You believe that?

I really liked Morse. I haven't seen the previous tv shows of him. Guess I prefer this age.

And some thought him a loner and loser when it came to girls but Lordy be!, there were romance events in previous seasons. Hot and heavy too.

I have been an endeavor fan since the beginning. The ending was cartoonish at best. So the writers must have been Sopranos fans. The gun shot the black screen oh please!! First how are you have the Morse series if he is dead! Next the very ending singing choir the two jaguar's meeting each other I liked it. Morse and Joan kissing what a graduate moment I was expecting Joan to yell Morse!!!!! And they run off to a bus. However, the absolute best part was the farewell scene with Thursday and when Mrs Thursday gave him a sandwich. The emotional moment when he gave him the money. The emotions I thought he was in tears. When strange told Morse he cannot count on you for anything. I would have decked him. The scene at bleinvale was awesome. In closing I am really going to miss it.

This was so disappointing, lime watching lost and finding out that they were all dead and nothing in the show ever mattered.

Yes I understand that Joan and Morse were not together in Inspector Morse but good grief..... They could have had at least one season together or one episode and then a tragic break up or loss or something. One of the creators said in an interview that the audience would not be found wanting.

Well I am wanting. I am so upset. Fiction doesn't have to mirror reality where we miss out on love or whatever. Why? My heart is broken for Morse. It didn't have to be this way. So stupid to have a daydream about it too. Just nonsense.

At the onset, this review is not politically motivated. It is simply my view of this episode on its merits.

I looked forward to season 9 for a long time and got Acorn for the occasion.

There were some good moments in the series and the actors were superb as always. The wrap of Blenheim Vale was good even though I don't really remember the original episode.

It was nice to see the slim Jim Strange and his marriage to Joan was welcome.

The Sam story line was weak, but it was nice to see Pennyworth.

Here is the problem. The murder mystery was no mystery at all and the motivation was absolutely unworthy of such a great show. Besides, it has been done before.

The ending with red herring of a gunshot didn't do it for me. All in all, not good and a poor ending for a wonderful program.