I was pleased because the first season on Endeavour was really great. And fortunately, this season followed suit.
SPOILERS FROM SERIES 1 ARE INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW!
At the beginning of season 2, Morse is just returning to full duty after getting shot in season 1. Season 2 is 4 episodes covering 4 separate cases. Morse jumps right back in to his normal investigative techniques. He's a bit haunted by the shooting, but doesn't let that stop him.
In the first episode, Morse is back on the job and investigate several cases at once. He is convinced they are related, and finds links in the clues that may or may not be there as a concerned Thursday looks on. Morse is having some PTSD like symptoms after being shot and Thursday's not sure the logic is there on all Morse's deductions. They involve a suicide, a missing girl, and the theft of some ancient artifacts. Not all episodes of Endeavour give you clear hints as to who is responsible, and neither should they. But this episode has a great clue or two staring you right in the face if you are really, really paying attention. If you're like me, you'll miss it, but then kick yourself after all is revealed. This episode also introduces Endeavour's neighbor, a nurse who Thursday enlists to take care of him a bit when he is injured (which is convenient, since, like season 1, season 2 is not kind to Morse's body. To quote Alan Cumming, "Maybe that's all in a day's work for a man called Endeavour (creepy eyebrow raise).").
The second episode sees Morse questioning a bunch of school girls who were the only people in a museum during a murder that seems to have connections to murder that occurred 100 years ago on the school grounds. There seems to be a haunting there related to the old murder as well. And if you're paying attention, a clue as to the perpetrator of the killing. Some interesting touches about race come up in the case even as Morse begins to pursue an inter-racial relationship with his neighbor, the nurse Monica Hicks, who once again has more wounds to tend to...
The third episode, and maybe the season's strongest, involves a series of murders of women who are having affairs. The list of suspects in this episode is very, very long and interesting. There are a lot of people working at a department store where the murder weapons (some fine panty-hose) seem to be coming from, and others characters are suspicious as well. There are also some great shots and camera work that I really enjoyed. We also learn a lot about Thursday's time in the war in this episode when someone he used to know from that time becomes part of the investigation.
The final episode brings together a few threads that have been running through the season. It involves some mysterious happenings at a juvy-school for boys that is scheduled to be renovated into a new police station. Some interesting revelations come to light about the old school. This episode has the standard mystery to solve, but also has the same kind of end of a season nature as last year's Endeavour, leaving you with a lot of questions for next season.
There are also a lot of themes that are touched on throughout all four episodes, like a secret society that Strange is interested in joining, Endeavour's new girlfriend, his logical process of trying to link every clue together whether there's a connection or not, and the physical toll of police work, as he is having quite the run of injuries. The flow of each show also more or less has a common thread of logical advancement. The characters are often ahead of the audience in figuring things out and making connections. I was often barely following along until the end when all is revealed and then I could could pick up the pieces. I often have to talk out what happened in order to make sense of it all, but if I can do that at the end, it means I usually just watched a great detective show.
I hope I didn't spoil too much, I was trying to walk a fine line between giving a good feel for the show and the episodes and also leaving a lot to be discovered on your own if you haven't yet watched the show.
I was thinking I might give Endeavour a slightly lowered score, but thinking back on the season, man, it was really good! So much going on! Plus it still gets points for having one of the best show names around. Endeavour is just one word, but it says a lot about the show and the theming to me. Endeavour is one of my favorite shows right now. I think Lewis might be my favorite show on tv, so I guess I'm really into Morse stories although I haven't seen the original Morse. I'm pretty sure I would like it though. Maybe I'll track it down sometime. Endeavour season 2 is a great show, tier 2.
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