The worst episodes of Endeavour
Ranked by viewer rating, lows first. Lit marks on the season rail place this list across the run. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
In the midst of the 1971's cruel winter, the foundations of Endeavour and Thursday's relationship are profoundly shaken when Thursday unwittingly discovers the extent of Endeavour's problems are greater than anybody could have suspected.Meanwhile things at home become quite tense for Thursday and Win when they receive disturbing news from abroad.When a snowstorm splits CID, and they independently work to solve the murder of a college don, Thursday enlists the help of Dorothea, while Endeavour finds himself stranded at an abandoned hotel, a pawn in a game of gruesome revenge.
- 02
When Endeavour is called to investigate what at first appears to be a freak accident at Lady Matilda's College, he uncovers a potential link between a series of peculiar incidents across Oxford, and despite Thursday's scepticism, becomes convinced the accidents are the result of foul play. Lady Matilda's meanwhile, is in the midst of a referendum campaign which will decide whether or not the college should become co-educational, and when one of their own is attacked while walking alone on the towpath, the female students become more determined than ever to keep the wolf without the citadel.
- 03
It's spring 1972 and Endeavour's return to Castle Gate coincides with another homecoming, that of the celebrated Oxford Concert Orchestra, led by illustrious composer Sir Alexander Lermontov. A gruesome discovery in a College garden leads Endeavour and Thursday to the orchestra's door, and when a second tragedy hits, they uncover a web of secrets.Meanwhile, grisly London business turns up in Oxford and a criminal from the Smoke is brutally murdered in a derelict warehouse. As the mystery unfolds, Endeavour and Thursday realise there are some unsettling ties to a case the pair had hoped was long since behind them.
- 04
Endeavour learns he'll have to take on a young new apprentice, but the pair barely get time to say their hellos before being thrust into an investigation as a number of sadistic murders accompany the auction of a Faberge egg at an Oxford college.
- 05
As Endeavour sees in the new year – 1970 – at an opera house in Venice, a murder on an Oxford towpath speaks to Thursday's intuition, and convinced he has the man responsible, he vows to bring him to justice. Returning home, Endeavour makes a new acquaintance, and old friendships show signs of strain.Later, when an exciting new educational television programme appeals for Academic presenters, a contentious college project develops into a fatal battle of the sexes. On investigating, Endeavour and Thursday discover a potential link between the department and a young woman's troubling premonitions.
- 06
It's the start of 1971 - though wearied from the events of the past year, there's no chance of 'light duties' at the CID. Crestfallen and rarely without a scotch in hand, Endeavour finds himself right back in the thick of it when an explosive murder at an Oxford college has potentially far-reaching political ramifications. Meanwhile, the IRA have made a threat against the life of the Oxford Wanderers' star striker, and Endeavour is tasked with the duty of acting bodyguard.
- 07
The railway takes centre stage as Endeavour investigates the disappearance of a local woman - with initial fears linking it to the unsolved murder of a teenager, killed several years earlier. Endeavour puts the missing woman's last known movements under scrutiny, while Thursday is absorbed in the investigation of a lorry hijack which he suspects is linked to local gangster Eddie Nero.
- 08
A photoshoot on an army base turns sinister when one of the models is found dead, and the investigation is complicated when Sam Thursday is revealed to be involved. With Thursday side-lined by protocol, Endeavour and Strange take the lead on the investigation for the first time without their mentor. Tensions rise, and the pair clash as their differing opinions push their friendship to breaking point.
- 09
As the highly-anticipated moon landings of Apollo 11 draw near, Endeavour, now at Castle Gate CID, finds himself investigating the death of promising young astrophysicist Adam Drake and girlfriend Christine. Their deaths seeming to be a result of a tragic car accident on first inspection, but when the clues start to point towards foul play, Endeavour enlists the help of an injured Thursday to uncover the truth.
- 10
May 1971, and a cab driver is found dead in his taxi, owing a large debt to a colleague. Investigations into his death leads Endeavour and the team first to a nudist colony, where guests are making the most of the spring sunshine, and later to the heart of a blue movie outfit in London's Soho.Meanwhile at home, Endeavour receives a guest who reminds him of a past he'd sooner forget. As the investigation into the cab driver's murder unfolds, Endeavour starts to retreat from those close to him and appears set on a course of willful self-destruction.
- 11
Endeavour's investigation into a number of untimely death notices in the Oxford Mail, each with a cryptic message, takes him to a series of funerals, then behind the curtain at a funeral directors', before forcing him to confront his own mortality.Thursday is facing more than one confrontation of his own, as his past closes in on him. There's trouble in the present to deal with first, and he resorts to desperate measures to protect those he loves most.At CID, as Strange looks set to transfer to Kidlington, and Bright eyes retirement; where will this leave Endeavour and Thursday?
- 12
When a young secretarial student dies suddenly at home, Endeavour senses that there is more to the case than the initial verdict of heart attack.
- 13
As the shadow of East End villainy falls on Oxford, a hit-and-run accident claims the life of a professor. Endeavour and Thursday must each face their pasts.
- 14
When moral crusader Joy Pettybon receives a death threat, Endeavour must protect her at all costs. Then he is dragged into a war of social attitudes.
- 15
Hollywood glamour comes to Oxford as the stars of a new horror movie sequel begin filming in the city. Meanwhile, the unexplained poisoning of a former detective sergeant leads Endeavour and Thursday to a local cinema, which is playing host the film's stars in a special event.
- 16
The murder of renowned chocolate factory owner Greville Creswell during a local hunt leads Endeavour to the sleepy village of Chigton Green. The chocolate box cottages and idyllic surroundings might seem perfect, but not all is as it first appears.
- 17
As campaigning for the 1970 general election gets underway in Oxford, racial tensions escalate in the city and a clash between two young rival gangs results in tragedy. Initial investigations lead Endeavour and Thursday to the door of a familiar face, where they discover the influence of the British Movement, a right wing organisation hoping to win an Oxford seat.Elsewhere in the city, tragedy strikes a second time, this time an Indian restaurant, where a customer's mysterious disappearance and a shocking murder put even the strongest family loyalties to the test.
- 18
Jeannie Hearne is spirited away in the middle of the night with no explanation. Her body is found the next day in the countryside, alerting the attention of the Oxford City Police. Endeavour may be suspended, but with the case been so close to his home, he begins a investigation of his own.
- 19
An artist dies in a house fire, leaving the Police of Oxford baffled. Endeavour is soon drawn into the world of a Quaker-owned supermarket which only deepens the mystery.
- 20
A missing persons case soon takes on a troubling dimension as Morse finds himself slung into a untamed wilderness in the Oxfordshire countryside.
- 21
Throwing himself into his work to mask the heartache of Joan leaving, Endeavour is quickly consumed by his duties when a research scientist is found drowned.
- 22
Whispers that Cowley General contains a cursed ward - and a seemingly innocuous death - set off a chain of events that lead Endeavour to investigate the dark depths of the hospital. While there, he is forced to confront his own ghosts as he discovers a chilling secret.
- 23
Endeavour suspects a connection between a woman's disappearance and her past employer but another missing persons case demands his attention. This time, it's a notable artist, whose work adorns the covers of a series of paperback mysteries.Meanwhile, reports flood in of stolen cars and wanton criminal damage, as a debauched group of university undergraduates wreak havoc. A murder of a uniformed copper sees Bright command all hands on deck, while, much to Endeavour and Thursday's chagrin the cast of television detective series, Jolly For Short, are in town filming the final series.
- 24
As a multiple murderer haunts the city strangling married women with a silk stocking, Endeavour and DI Thursday's emotional lives are turned upside down.
- 25
As 1966 draws to a close, the body of a disreputable journalist found in mysterious circumstances threatens to expose past horrors. As the investigation deepens, Endeavour and Thursday face corruption in Oxford's corridors of power.
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He's smart, he's good looking, and he's got a great sense of humor.
