History Recap / EndeavourS1E03Rocket

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Why Alice decides not to pursue a relationship with Morse, as she knows he is still in love with Susan. She initially thinks she can live with that as she quite fancied Morse herself when they were students, but ultimately decides against it.

* BrandX: Another fictional [[UsefulNotes/{{Oxbridge}} Oxford college]] in the Morseverse! This is the first and only mention of Curtmantle College, which Eustace Kendrick is said to have attended in the early 1950s before he fled the country when he came under suspicion over the disappearance of Olive Rix. Appropriately given the many nods to ''Film/TheLionInWinter'' in this episode, "Curtmantle" was a nickname of Henry II.

* GoingByTheMatchbook: Or rather, going by the shoes. When going through Percy Malleson's effects, Morse notes that his shoes were custom-made by an Oxford bootmaker. He goes there, and finds that the shoes were actually made over a decade earlier for a student called Eustace Kendrick, who never paid the bill. Enquiries into the past of Eustace Kendrick lead to the hitherto-unsolved disappearance of Olive Rix on Coronation Day.

* RedHerring: The notion that Percy Malleson (the first victim) was [[TheMole secretly spying]] on the rest of the workforce (he wasn't).

* TakeAThirdOption: Henry Broom decides that it's finally time for him to retire -- something he has been delaying for a while following the death of his eldest son Harry who was the obvious candidate to succeed him as chairman of British Imperial. He agrees to let his estranged wife Nora name which of their surviving children should be the new chairman. It looks as though it's a choice between the two boys, Richard and Johnny, although neither of them are without their flaws. In the end, though, Nora goes for their daughter, Estella. Henry is surprised, but gives his approval.

* WholePlotReference: The Broom family are basically the Plantagenet Royal Family as depicted in ''Film/TheLionInWinter''. Patriarch Henry has an estranged wife and three sons -- Harry (deceased), Richard and John. The death of Harry (the favourite) has caused a SuccessionCrisis. On top of that, there's a proposed merger with the French. Their home has the same name as the Plantagenets' palace -- Chinon -- and even their surname refers to Plantagenet, which comes from ''planta genista'', meaning 'broom flower'.

** Joan brings up how [[PapaWolf her father]] seems to disapprove of every boy she wants to date, foreshadowing various sub-plots about her sometimes-rocky love life (and, of course, the Morse/Joan ship).

* GoingByTheMatchbook: Or rather, going by the shoes. When going through Percy Malleson's effects, Morse notes that his shoes were custom-made by an Oxford bootmaker. He goes there, and finds that the shoes were actually made over a decade earlier for a student called Eustace Kendrick, who never paid the bill. Enquiries into the past of Eustace Kendrick lead to the investigation into the disappearance of Olive Rix on Coronation Day.

* TakeAThirdOption: Henry Broom decides that it's finally time for him to retire -- something he has been implied to have been delaying for a while following the death of his eldest son Harry who was the obvious candidate to succeed him as chairman of British Imperial. He agrees to let his estranged wife Nora name which of their surviving children should be the new chairman. It looks as though it's a choice between the two boys, Richard and Johnny, although neither of them are without their flaws. In the end, though, Nora goes for their daughter, Estella. Henry is surprised, but gives his approval.