Great Characters Make Great Drama

Detective Inspector Fred Thursday has been an essential presence on the British TV series Endeavour ever since that show—a prequel to the long-running Inspector Morse—debuted back in 2012. Played by highly respected stage actor Roger Allam, Thursday has become Morse’s mentor, his sometimes protector, his friend. But a new teaser for episode three of the sixth and latest series of Endevour, “Confection”—due to show in the UK this coming Sunday, February 24—suggests a darker plot turn for this powerful but tightly held-together man Endeavour fans have come to respect over the years.

It shows DI Thursday making his way slowly through an ominous woodland, revolver in hand, watching out for assailants … and speaking directly to viewers. “I’m the patriarch,” he begins. “The grey hair. The one who’s seen things, done things. The old man you’ve had a feeling for from the off. You will love me. I remind you of your own dad, or the one you wish he’d been. You’ll always find me at the front line. I am the line.” The suggestion in this trailer is that Thursday either commits an act that will change our feelings about him, or he will perish among those great watchful trees.

Although I haven’t yet seen this 90-minute episode, it’s not hard to figure out (with a modicum of Web research) whether Thursday lives or dies in “Confection.” Regardless, the trailer sets it up nicely for a tense and dramatic resolution. It’s only too bad that I shall have to wait until this coming summer to see how it all turns out. That’s when Endeavour, Series 6, will finally reach the States.

For your convenience, I have embedded that trailer below.



READ MORE: “Endeavour: S6EP3, “Confection.” Review + Locations, Literary References, Music etc. SPOILERS,” by Chris Sullivan (Morse, Lewis and Endeavour); “Review: Endeavour (S6 E3/4),” by Chris Jenkins (The Killing Times).