End of an Era: Final season of ‘Endeavour on Masterpiece’ premieres June 18

May 30, 2023 Alyssa Beno Leave a Comment

The curtain drops on the acclaimed detective series, portraying the early years of brooding, gifted Sgt. Endeavour Morse of Thames Valley police in Oxford. Shaun Evans (Vigil) stars in the title role, with Roger Allam (Murder in Provence) as his streetwise superior, DCI Fred Thursday.

Endeavour: The Final Season brings this hit series to a close in three suspenseful episodes 8 p.m. Sundays, June 18 – July 2 on PBS Wisconsin. Morse and The Last Endeavour, a documentary looking back at Endeavour, will air prior to the final series on Sunday, June 11.

The ninth and final season opens in spring 1972 with DS Morse rejoining the force after an extended leave to treat his drinking problem, brought on by overwork and personal troubles. His first case immerses him in a world he loves –orchestral music – where the performances are divine, but the personnel can be petty, dictatorial and even homicidal.

Also in episode one, which is directed by Evans, Morse and Thursday investigate a gangland slaying targeting a police informant, known to Thursday. As viewers have learned to expect, the surprising amount of mayhem in Oxford is often connected. With growing dread, Morse and Thursday face the prospect that the unresolved Blenheim Vale child abuse scandal from season 2 has resurfaced. In that story, Thursday was shot, and Morse was framed for murder, ending up under arrest. Now the loose ends are starting to intertwine.

Episode two opens with some cases left hanging, followed by a confounding series of new deaths, centered on a group of rowdy aristocratic students and a popular TV crime series, currently in production in the area. Meanwhile, the romantic plot involving Joan Thursday is accelerating toward the altar, even as her ex-soldier brother, Sam, descends into drug abuse and despair.

In episode three it all comes together: the Blenheim Vale affair, Joan’s wedding, and the whole glorious nine seasons of one of the most beguiling and riveting prequels in television history.