Endeavour 9th & final season starts 26 February 2023 at 8pm on ITV

[IwantToRetire]

2023’s final trilogy of films will find Endeavour and Thursday entering a new era of change both professionally and personally.

Set in the spring of 1972, the final season’s opening episode is directed by none other than Endeavour star Shaun Evans.

The synopsis for the story reads: “Two unexplained deaths turn up ties to the Oxford Concert Orchestra, while a body discovered in a derelict warehouse stokes fears that ‘London business’ has yet again found its way to Oxford.

“Thursday and Endeavour’s investigation unearths some unsettling connections to cases the duo believed were well and truly behind them.”

britishperioddramas.com/news/endeavour-season-9-release-date-itv-february-2023/

Shaun is currently filming a Bob Marley biopic.

@HappinessDragon

I assume Anton Lesser was sat at his wife's grave. He has retired, probably spent his career assuming his retirement would be spent with his wife but when the time finally came she was already gone so he was contemplating his future without his daughter, without his wife, without his career.

I believe he was visiting his daughter's grave in India because in an earlier episode he was looking at a travel brochure for India.

@IwantToRetire

I thought the child who was presumed to be dead, but then we found had been "given" to a family who wanted a kid was "little Pete". That was why it was meant to be so poignant. (Trying to tie that in to Lewis in Newcastle was just plain silly, and another example of how wanting to make references to the previous tv series, did this series no good).

I think the tie in to Lewis was the body found in the opening episode of this run. I believe the body was that of an Andrew (I think) Lewis who was trying to trace his mother whose body was eventually discovered at Blenhiem Vale. The funeral arrangements were being carried out by a young PC in Newcastle named Lewis.

The funeral arrangements were being carried out by a young PC in Newcastle named Lewis.

@DoraSpenlow

Oh oh! I missed that. What a cool Easter egg/tie in.

So where do we think Thursday & family will go to? Carshall for a bit or disappear straight away. They have the cash to do that now

As there can't be another series featuring Morse (as per the terms of Colin Dexter's will), I'll settle for a Fred Thursday spin off. Roger Allam is such a good actor that just watching him in his retirement pottering around his allotment or putting the kettle on is entertainment enough for me.

Indeed - and I could listen to him reading the telephone directory all day

What was the monet Endeavour handed over to Thursday? If it was the money Thursday had lent to his brother how did he get it back?

money

OH went to delete the recording today I stopped him. I need to see it again

Oh I absolutely loved it, I gasped when they kissed but knew it had to me a fantasy sequence. I am so disappointed with myself that I missed the Lewis reference!!!

I have very impure thoughts about Shaun evans so I nearly went right back to the start but instead I’ve started on Morse (again, though to be fair haven’t watched since they were on the first time! 😂)

Endeavour went (alone) to meet up with the bent copper bastard, instead of going to Joan and Jim's wedding.
To try to find out more, and get back the Thursday's life savings.
He got stabbed, then beaten up, but The Hells Angels turned up and offed the bent copper because he'd killed one of their own in "The Smoke"

Bent copper had been Thursday's bagman in the pilot, but got kicked out/transferred out by Thursday due to being well dodgy.
Hence Endeavour getting to be Thursdays new bag man

But where did the money come from? I thought Thursday had lent it to his dodgy brother.

I did get the Lewis reference but I just found all this silly, aren't I being clever, references to Morse and Lewis stupid. Sorry!

It turned out that the money Thursday loaned to his brother (which nearly ended his marriage) hadn't in fact been needed by his brother, but was part of a plot to compromise him as it made it look like he was trying to help his brother cover up a crime / financial wrong doing.

That's why they were able to pay it back. The "reward" for promising to shut down the Blenhiem Vale investigation.

Endeavour set this up to save not just Thursday but his family from the thread of violence.

And he also, which makes him as guilty as Thursday, arrange an arm's length killing by letting the bikers know (wrongly) that Lott was the one who betrayed their member who was killed.

In the later conversation between Thursday and Endeavour I think they were both agreeing that Thursday shouldn't own up to his killing because his family would again be threatened but this time by the bikers who would want revenge.

In the programme after I did have to laugh at the the bit between Joan & Endeavour-"You dancin'?" "You askin'?"

Well I am sorry we cant have a Morse the McNutt years (was that the name).

Might just have to have Inspector McNutt who endlessly complains about an arrogant "bag man"!

Although still dont think anyone can create a scenario that turns ever so sincere Endeavour into boorish bully Morse.

I don't think Endeavour tipped off the Biker gang? I think they just followed Lott (Bent copper, former bagman of Thursday, before Endeavour took over, had killed one of their gang back in London )

Well unless I started writing my own script I am sure Endeavour said did tip off the gang.

And they were easy to persuade because of his history.

Seriously? Do viewers need to have a knowledge of Shakespearean quotations to understand a police programme.
As I said all the nods to previous events and characters went over my head and I found it all a big smug.

Thanks for that explanation about the money @IwantToRetire .

I thought Endeavour looked surprised (and relieved) when the biker gang turned up but I will watch again more closely.

No, of course not, but it adds to the fun if you can!

The tip-off to the biker gang was telling them that Tomahawk/Peter Williams had been a registered informant in the hope of getting them off the trail of the Thursdays. They killed Lott because he'd been responsible for the killing of another of their gang in London.

Can anyone remember if the ‘Temple of Gods’ quote is also in the Morse series? It was in something I watched recently, think it was Morse but I can’t remember.

Yes I think it was

Yes! Well played. I forgot that. Replayed it and yes I can see the headstone.