‘Days lost, I know not how, / I shall retrieve them now; / Now I shall keep the vow / I never kept before.’ So read some lines from A. E. Housman’s poem ‘How Clear, How Lovely Bright’. It is this poem that Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans) read as part of an announcement that series nine of ITV’s critically-acclaimed drama Endeavour would be its last. For a young detective sergeant struggling with alcoholism and the pain of unrequited love, the topic of keeping vows came into sharp focus during the first two episodes of the ninth series; Endeavour breaks the vow of sobriety at the end of ‘Prelude’, the first episode, something sparked by Joan Thursday’s (Sara Vickers) impending wedding vows which cause so much hurt. Of course, for Evans, who plays a young Inspector Morse, the final lines of Housman’s poem – ‘How hopeless under ground / Falls the remorseful day’ – were particularly significant. ‘The Remorseful Day’ lent itself to the title of the final novel in Colin Dexter’s Morse series, and to the final episode of Inspector Morse which aired in 2000. Now, ‘Exeunt’, the last ever episode of Endeavour, will air on 12 March 2023.
From its pilot episode in 2012, Endeavour has built an international fanbase and continually moves its audiences. A prequel to Inspector Morse, set between the years of 1965 and 1972, the show has only gone from strength to strength. No matter the storyline, no matter the crime, the acting in each episode registers emotion on an entirely unique scale. The performances of Shaun Evans (Detective Sergeant Endeavour Morse), Roger Allam (Detective Chief Inspector Fred Thursday), and Anton Lesser (Police Chief Superintendent Reginald Bright) time and time again bring Russ Lewis’s scripts to life with the most ferocious feeling and sentiment. That Abigail Thaw – daughter of John Thaw, who played the eponymous Inspector Morse from 1987 to 2000 – takes on the role of Dorothea Frazil, editor of the Oxford Mail, is just one of the ways Endeavour hangs so beautifully as part of the Morse franchise. The presence of Thaw is never far away, then, reminding us all that Endeavour had an ending even before it began. Lewis and the team have handled this adeptly; in his final conversation with Thursday in series eight, Endeavour surveys the snowy landscape and observes ‘it’s beginning to thaw’, masterfully recognising that the end was nigh and Thaw’s Morse would soon step into the breach. Beyond playing a piece in the wider Morse and Lewis puzzle, though, it is the sheer quality of Endeavour that always shines through. Aching with feeling, riddle-like plots, a stunning score – thanks to Matthew Slater – and, of course, the breathtaking scenery of Oxford, each two-hour episode is the perfect mixture of all these ingredients.
‘Prelude’ really was a return to classic Endeavour – an orchestra made up of characters as highly strung as their violins and violas allowed Morse to throw himself back into the world of classical music which has been suffused throughout the earlier series, particularly recalling series seven which saw a jaunt to Venice centred on the opera. This first episode also emphasised the return of the ‘London business’ which so troubles Police Chief Superintendent Bright and threatens the stability of Oxford life. The transfer of this professional crime from the bigger city to the smaller one has been constantly played on. Here, however, there was a hint that it may come closer to home, as Fred Thursday’s days in the Met come back to haunt him in the figure of Mickey Flood. A testament to the artistic wonder of Endeavour more generally, melancholic shades of blue pervaded this episode – stretching from Morse’s deep navy clothes, to the turquoise cups the orchestra members drank out of, and the midnight blue streaming through the windows in the final scene, such consistency emphasises just how well-crafted the films are. Evans also took on the role of director for ‘Prelude’, a role that clearly suits him just fine.
‘Uniform’, the second episode of this final series, was perhaps some of the best television I’ve watched. It was fast and furious from the get-go – elitist Oxford students mixed with London gang crime, artists, the homeless community, and Blenheim Vale, the case which has gone unsolved for many series, all came together and made for spectacular viewing. There were meta moments when the team were drawn onto the set of a TV crime series as part of their inquiries – the episode opened under the appearance of the ‘Jolly Joliphant’ show instead. Relationships between all of the characters held extraordinary weight; Joan and Sam’s conversation in the park was especially moving. What was particularly troubling moving towards the final episode was the references to serving in the line of duty, with lingering shots over DCI Fred Thursday’s face. Ronnie Box, an ex-cop who flees the country at the end of ‘Uniform’ due to a nasty threat, warns Thursday that he’s a ‘dead man’ if he wades any further into this wider investigation of London business. We are now expertly poised for a sublime final showdown.
From a personal perspective, like many other fans of the show, Endeavour will continue to occupy a special place in my heart. Besides being a hopeless romantic, not just for Endeavour and Joan’s relationship, but for the romance of an older Oxford altogether, the beauty which is imbued into this television series inspires me more than I can say. To have watched Endeavour while dreaming about getting a place at Oxford, to now, a few weeks before finishing my degree here and watching the final series, does feel pretty special. It has punctuated these key moments of my life and so will forever be wrapped up in my love for this city. I was lucky enough to be in Oxford when the filming for series nine was taking place last May – watching the whole team at work was enthralling. It was also such a pleasure to attend ‘MorseFest’ on 4 March to mark the end of this TV triumph. Abigail Thaw and Anton Lesser spoke wonderfully about the series, reflecting on their personal memories working on the show. It’s clear that Team Endeavour is extremely tight-knit, something that was heartwarming to hear about.
It is not certain what the final episode of Endeavour will have in store. While previews will come out over the course of this week, who knows how Lewis and team will decide to tie things up? Do Strange and Joan get hitched? Does Fred Thursday move on to his final post, getting a safe happy ever after? Does DCI Bright successfully retire? Does Morse stay in Oxford, or move on? One thing I do know, though, is that it will be done with such care, such tenderness, that we needn’t worry. Forever pulled between love and loss, youth and old age, guilt and innocence, truth and fakery, Endeavour has never just dealt in binaries, instead carefully exploring the many shades and complexities in between. Lesser articulated perfectly why Endeavour should be cherished; it deals with what is left unspoken just as much as that which is. The dialogue aches with sentences and stories unfinished, partially probed but then submerged under the surface. We get close to Endeavour telling Joan that she means the world to him, but those last couple of words – ‘you mean the world to me’ – never surface. At the end of ‘Prelude’, Thursday tells Morse it’s good to have him back following his restorative tour of the West Country, adding ‘I’ve –’ but suddenly breaking off. ‘I’ve missed you’ seems to be the sentiment being expressed here, but we never actually get it. The pull between suppression and expression can be traced throughout the entire series, leaving audience members with such palpable frustration. This is what makes Endeavour so impressive.
And so, while Endeavour’s own remorseful day creeps ever closer, we are left with a deeper appreciation of this city; a deeper love of the arts; and a deeper gratitude for everything that storytelling, in all of its guises, can give to us. Housman opens ‘How Clear, How Lovely Bright’ by praising ‘How beautiful to sight / Those beams of morning play’. It was at the end of series eight that Lewis delivered another masterstroke of writing – Fred Thursday reminds Morse that the sun always comes up, it might just take a little longer sometimes. The sun does seem to be taking a while to make an appearance in this series, as we plunge ever deeper into nasty crimes of old, and the violence of the big city. Let’s just hope that somehow, our favourite characters get to bask in the sunshine once more before the curtain falls on Endeavour forever.