It's not about me. It's about them who turn to us for help in time of need — weak, defenceless, old, young. Especially the young.
The child abuse conspiracy episode.
December 1966. A boy with a brutal father is reported missing from his home. The body of a journalist is found on a railway line and within days an escaped convict, who had absconded with only a month of his sentence remaining, is found dead. The two men have connections with Blenheim Vale, a disused correctional facility for boys in Kidlington, soon to be redeveloped as a police station. Thursday's and Morse's investigation leads to a property developer and corruption in high places, including missing police evidence from Morse's last three investigations.
This episode contains examples of:
- And That Little Boy Was Me: A variant, as Morse deduces that Little Peter, one of the boys who was abused at Blenheim Vale, grew up to be DS Jakes.
- Brotherhood of Funny Hats: This entire season has played on Morse's distrust and dislike of Freemasonry, and matters come to a head here. Strange has been warned several times by Morse that he would one day have to choose between the police and the Masons, and when push comes to shove, he chooses the latter.
- Call-Back: Morse's new scarf was bought from Burridge's.
- Call-Forward: Several to the original series episode "Masonic Mysteries". We have Morse's warning to Strange (see above), and Thursday referring to an officer called McNutt — who appeared in that episode as a retired mentor of Morse's.
- Consulting Mister Puppet: Benny Topling, a ventriloquist, can only speak about his suppressed childhood trauma (he was one of the boys who was abused at Blenheim Vale) through his dummy.
- Darker and Edgier: Given the abuse of vulnerable boys that is revealed to have been going on at Blenheim Vale, this is easily one of the darkest and most disturbing episodes in the entire Morseverse.
- Downer Ending: Hoo boy. The episode ends with Fred Thursday in a critical condition after getting shot, and Morse arrested for murder.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Thinking about his time at Blenheim Vale causes Jakes to do this, big-time — meaning that he's in no position to help out as matters come to a head.
- Right Behind Me: Strange doesn't realise that Thursday is standing behind him when making a remark about the man.Strange: Oh, the old man won't like that - answering to the likes of Chard! [realises that Thursday's behind him]Thursday: Loose lips, constable. And less of the "old", if you don't mind.
- Shout-Out: A few, as ever.
- The plaque outside the door of the lawyers' office reads: "Vholes, Jaggers, Lightwood, Solicitors". Those three names are names of lawyers in Charles Dickens novels — respectively, Bleak House, Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend.
- One of the officers who arrests Morse at the end is called Gregson. This is the name of one of the inspectors from the Sherlock Holmes stories who always got it wrong.
- Shout-Out to Shakespeare: When Morse says: "When the hurly-burly's done" he's quoting the second witch in Act 1 Scene 1 of Macbeth.
- Title Drop: Early on, we see someone reading Peter Pan, and it's notable that the survivors of Blenheim Vale refer to themselves as the Lost Boys. Later done more cynically by Jakes on entering a council flat; "on tick" and "the never-never" are both British slang terms for having items (usually large household ones like televisions, ovens and washing machines) on hire-purchase, the clear implication from the latter being that the people who had entered into such an arrangement would never actually complete the payments for said items.Jakes: Bloody place. Turns my guts. Bleach, sweat, boiled cabbage. And everything on tick. Never-never-land.
