Neverland

With gut-wrenching tension and genuine fear, this episode links to Masonic Mysteries and the Remorseful Day. Even the knowledge that Morse, Max and Strange appear in later stories does nothing to diminish the dark and frightening atmosphere.

As so often with Endeavour, not everything is spelled out in detail and the episode benefits from a second viewing.

A sickening storyline which is treated sensitively for a modern audience but also in keeping with the language and customs of the 1960s. Riveting from beginning to end: Well done to everyone involved in bringing such 'fiction' to light. Absolutely one of the best.

This is a sensational episode. When politicians and police hook up to their mutual "benefit," it puts together a formidable wall of deceit. As Morse and Thursday go through layer after layer of obfuscation, they become prime targets themselves. What we have here is coverup after coverup, primarily based on greed. The bad guys even betray their own families. Back at the "nick," our superintendent is so jaded by his connections to theses people that he literally orders his best people to stand back. Unfortunately, although the cover up continues, there are still shards of glass stuck in the fabric. We have a true cliffhanger setup for another season.

The second season ends in a cliffhanger, which has has become de rigueur with most series since "Dallas."

"Neverland" has interconnected plots: A reporter is found dead after being seen arguing with an Alderman about the site of a former boys' school, Blenheim Vale. A construction company is developing the site as a new police department.

In the second plot, a ten-year-old boy runs away from home.

In the third plot, a man in prison, George Aldridge, escapes and is later found dead. Of interest, Aldridge attended Blenheim Valley School. Morse begins to think that the ten-year-old, Tommy, saw the killer and went into hiding.

Then there's another murder, and as Morse tracks down former students at Blenheim Vale, he learns of situations that occurred there, as well as some evidence that some of Morse and Thursday's colleagues are corrupt.

Very disturbing and well-done episode. At the end, we don't know what the future holds for Morse or Thursday. It will be exciting to see what happens next season.

Having recently been, and just finished being, on a roll reviewing all the episodes of 'Lewis', which generally was very enjoyable before having some disappointments later on, it occurred to me to do the same for 'Inspector Morse's' (one of my favourites for over a decade, and all the episodes were also reviewed in my first year on IMDb eight years ago) prequel series 'Endeavour'.

As said in my review for the entire show two years ago, 'Endeavour' is not just a more than worthy prequel series to one of my favourite detective dramas of all time and goes very well with it, but it is a great series on its own as well. It maintains everything that makes 'Inspector Morse' so good, while also containing enough to make it its own, and in my mind 'Inspector Morse', 'Lewis' and 'Endeavour' go perfectly well together.

Was very impressed by the pilot episode, even with a very understandable slight finding-its-feet feel (that is true of a lot of shows, exceptions like 'Morse' itself, 'A Touch of Frost' and 'Midsomer Murders', which started off great and were remarkably well established, are fairly few. The first season was even better, with all the episodes being outstanding. Season 2 took a darker turn, but once again all the episodes were great (even with "Trove" having one of 'Endeavour's' most far-fetched and over-complicated endings, great episode otherwise), with the weakest one "Sway" still being very good.

Season 2's best episode to me is "Neverland". What an exceptional way to end the season and it is agreed that it is one of the best episodes of 'Endeavour'. It is one of the episodes that both disturbed and moved me most, even more so than two of the show's darkest and most tense "Nocturne" and "Fugue".

Once again, cannot fault the production values. "Neverland" is exquisitely photographed and there is something very nostalgic and charming about the atmospherically evoked 1960s period detail. It was also a genius move to keep Barrington Pheloung on board, with his hauntingly beautiful scoring and immortal 'Inspector Morse' theme.

Writing, as has been said many times in my reviews for the previous 'Endeavour' episodes, is every bit as intelligent, entertaining and tense as the previous episodes and as the best of 'Morse'. The story has tension, a good deal going on and little feels improbable or too obvious while being suitably complicated. There is plenty to be shocked, and there are not many episodes to leave me disturbed or heart-broken but "Neverland" did, especially one of the shocking endings seen for any episode of any show.

Morse and Thursday's father/son relationship, while even stronger later being more entertaining and heartfelt, has a lot of warmth, is so well written within the story and is a large part of the series' appeal and there is some good suspense. How great to see a younger Max and Strange well before he became superintendent.

The pacing is restrained, but that allows the atmosphere to come through, and pretty much all the same it excels in that aspect. The characters are interesting, lead and supporting, with Morse displaying more recognisable character quirks with each episode and as aforementioned it is impossible not to love his relationship with Thursday.

Shaun Evans as ever does some powerful, charismatic work as younger Morse, showing enough loyalty to John Thaw's iconic Morse while making the character his own too. Roger Allam is also superb, his rapport with Evans always compels and entertains but Thursday is quite a sympathetic character, as well as loyal and firm, and Allam does a lot special with a role that could have been less interesting possibly in lesser hands. All the acting is very good.

Overall, exceptional and recommended without hesitation. 10/10 Bethany Cox

The last in this present series doesn't fail to impress.

The understated acting and inspired writing have made this whole series an exceptional viewing experience, and the cliff hanger ending leaves a huge question mark as to the future of the series. To say more may spoil it for those who have not already seen it.

This final program is a somewhat convoluted series of events and as had already been hinted at earlier in the series, inner traitors.

Great tie ins make the everything easy to understand at the finality that is the cliff hanging ending.

Suffice to say, we can only hope that the next series is already in the planning.