Recap / Endeavour S 1 E 04 Home

No matter where it starts, every story has its hero. As often as not, a young man on the journey from innocence to experience.

The episode with Morse's father. First broadcast 5 May 2013.

December 1965. Morse, still on general duties and studying for his forthcoming sergeant's exam, investigates an apparent hit-and-run accident that has claimed the life of Professor Coke-Norris of Baidley College. He had been at odds with his peers over the sale of Booth Hill, a piece of college-owned land, to a property development company in conjunction with the city council.

The case is complicated by the appearance in Oxford of a gangster named Vic Kasper who has taken over the Moonlight Rooms nightclub. This reignites a personal feud, as Kasper is an old enemy of Fred Thursday, who thinks that Kasper is somehow involved with the case. Matters become complicated when the body of a cigarette girl from the nightclub is found and evidence of bribery and blackmail over the Booth Hill project emerge.

In the meantime, Morse makes a trip back home to Lincolnshire to visit his dying father.

This episode contains examples of:

• Always Murder: Although it initially looked like an accident, Alistair Coke-Norris was actually murdered. Georgina Bannard is a more obvious example, as she was shot in the head. Both were killed by the same person, Millie Coke-Norris, who also kills Ian Kern towards the end for resisting her advances. She also tries to kill Morse, but only succeeds in shooting him in the leg as she herself is shot and killed by Fred Thursday.
  • Subverted by Cyril Morse, who dies of natural causes.
• Ambiguous Situation: At the end, Fred Thursday drives an injured Morse to his father's house which is stated to be in rural Lincolnshire — at least two hours from Oxford by car (and perhaps more, depending on whereabouts in Lincolnshire, which is a large county). He does not appear to be invited inside. The next morning, Morse goes outside and meets with Fred. Did he spend the night in his car, or go home and then return early the next day?
  • It is mentioned earlier that there is a nearby pub where Morse was planning to stay on his earlier visit, only for Gwen to insist on him staying in the house as she was concerned about what the neighbours might say if she did not put her stepson up. Fred could have stayed there.
• As the Good Book Says...: Morse's half-sister Joyce tells Morse that their father's explanation for why Morse returned to Oxford is simply: "Proverbs 26:11" ^note  "Like a dog that returns to its vomit, the stupid one repeats his foolishness".
• Bait-and-Switch: It looks as though Ian Kern is trying to start a relationship with Millie Coke-Norris after her husband's death. Actually, it's the other way round.
• Berserk Button: Fred Thursday's is well and truly pressed when a wreath is sent to his house.
• Blackmail: Professor Frobisher, the Master of Baidley College, let other academics use Coke-Norris's London flat to conduct extra-marital affairs, and then used his knowledge of said affairs to blackmail them into supporting him over the Booth Hill plan.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Millie Coke-Norris initially comes across as a nice enough person, with Woobie undertones given that her husband's been killed and her daughter is in a permanent vegetative state. But she was pushed to the limit by her husband's resistance to the Booth Hill plans, especially after he told her that there might be a financial benefit to the thing going through.
• The Bus Came Back: Morse, very quickly.
  Thursday: I put you on a train!
  Morse: I got off.
• Call-Forward: When going home to visit his dying father, Morse encounters his stepmother Gwen, with whom he has always had a dreadful relationship, and his half-sister Joyce. Both appear in the original series episode "Cherubim and Seraphim".
  • Morse's dying father looks a lot like John Thaw. According to Word of God, this was the result of makeup rather than a genius casting decision.
  • Towards the end, when Morse is in hospital after getting shot in the leg, reference is made to how he may have issues with his leg when he is older. This is implied to explain why the older Morse has a slight limp, which was actually due to John Thaw having a slight limp.
• The Cavalry: The Thursday-Kasper confrontation is ended by the arrival of several armed police officers, led by Bright.
• Chekhov's Gun: Thursday’s pistol does get fired, but not in his confrontation with the Kaspers. It’s used to shoot Mrs Coke-Norris when she tries to kill Morse.
• Chekhov's Skill: Subverted with Morse's marksmanship, as we only see him using a gun at the police firing range. Instead, Thursday saves his life by shooting the murderer at the end, rather than the other way around.
  • Millie Coke-Norris's driving ability (despite her not having a driving licence) is another example, as a photo of her as a wartime ambulance driver is shown early on.
• Comforting the Widow: Ian Kern, a colleague of Coke-Norris's, seems to be attempting this with his widow. Actually subverted, as he's just trying to be helpful and she is not just trying to seduce him, she actually killed her husband in order to try and do so.
• Contrived Coincidence: Alistair Coke-Norris was a don at Baidley College, which owns Booth Hill, which was given to the college as a bequest by his family five decades ago.
• Corrupt Politician: Coke-Norris had uncovered evidence that Baidley College was bribing Carlisle, the official from the city council, over the Booth Hill development. Actually, it was Vince Kasper doing the bribing via Landesman Construction.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Fred Thursday was transferred from London to Oxford at his own request as he believed that his family was under threat from various London Gangsters.
• Dirty Cop: Mickey Carter wasn't one of these, but he was branded as one after he was killed in order to stall the investigation into his death. Fred Thursday, to his shame, walked away and "let them bury his good name along with his body".
• Disposable Sex Worker: Subverted; Georgina Bannard did sometimes work as a prostitute, but this wasn't why she was killed.
• Dysfunctional Family: There's a reason why Morse has so little to do with his own family ^note  his father Cyril left Morse's mother for another woman (Gwen) with whom he had a daughter (Joyce); Morse stayed with his mother but when she died, Cyril took him in; Morse and his stepmother had a very poor relationship which seems to have bordered on her emotionally abusing him, although he and Joyce are (reasonably) close . This is in complete contrast to the Thursdays, who give Morse a glimpse of the loving, stable family he never had.
• Fictional Counterpart: Baidley College is evidently this for Keble College, given that that's where the college scenes were filmed.
• Foreshadowing: Vince Kasper's crooked dealings involve a local building firm called Landesman Construction, the name of which appears on the billboard for the Booth Hill development. This company will reappear in the Series 2 episode "Neverland".
• Friendship Moment: When saying goodbye to her half-brother, Joyce kisses him on the cheek. Morse is somewhat surprised, as their family have never gone in for affectionate gestures.
• Going by the Matchbook: Among Professor Coke-Norris's personal effects, Morse finds a matchbook with the phone number of a young lady written on it. Said matchbook is from the Moonlight Rooms.
• Headscratchers: How exactly did Millie Coke-Norris come to be in possession of a handgun in the first place? It wouldn't have belonged to her husband, as he was a pacifist who served in a non-combat role in World War II and thus wouldn't have been issued with a service revolver, and she — as an ambulance driver — wouldn't have had one either.
• Hidden Depths: Although he basically had a desk job when he was in the Army, Morse is an excellent shot, which impresses Bright. He later reveals that he was taught to shoot by his father.
• The Informant: Albert the newspaper vendor is the first to tell Thursday that some London types have moved to Oxford. Morse questions the reliability of such a man, but in this instance his information turns out to be accurate.
• I Let Gwen Stacy Die: A platonic example: Fred Thursday has always blamed himself for the death of Mickey Carter, a young constable in London who was killed by Vic Kasper's gang. Fred helped Mickey's widow out financially until she remarried.
• Lipstick Lesbian: Judy Vallens, who was in a relationship with her flatmate Georgina Bannard.
  Thursday: You wouldn't be the first to have your head turned by a working girl.
• London Gangster: Vic Kasper, although he appears to have moved to Oxford partly in order to get away from his fellow-gangsters, the Fletcher brothers. Contrary to what Fred Thursday thinks, Vic really is looking for a more quiet life. His son Vince, on the other hand, is not.
• Mexican Standoff: Between Fred Thursday and Vince Kasper, with both men pointing their guns at different people over the course of the conversation. It ends with no bloodshed.
• Money, Dear Boy: In-universe; the senior dons of Baidley College each stand to gain a substantial yet unspecified sum of money over the sale of Booth Hill. Alistair Coke-Norris's resistance to this costs him his life when he tells his wife about this, as she wants the money; she plans to kill him and then seduce and marry Ian Kern (who gets promoted to her husband's old position after he dies) so she can benefit from his share.
• Murder by Mistake: Georgina Bannard, the second murder victim, was shot by Mrs Coke-Norris because she mistook her for her flatmate Judy Vallens, the woman she wanted to kill as she had information that might have derailed the Booth Hill project. The two don't look alike, but Georgina sometimes used Judy's name as an alias, muddying the waters somewhat.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: At the end of the episode, Morse (who has just had a bullet removed from his leg and lost his father) pours himself a stiff drink. When he's had that, he pours another.
• Never One Murder: Three in this episode, one of them right near the end.
• Not Me This Time: A couple of examples, both involving the Kaspers.
  • Vic Kasper may have previous with Fred Thursday, but he didn't send the wreath to his house. Nor, for that matter, does he have anything to do with Booth Hill. That was Vince, who was acting on his own initiative and without his father's knowledge.
  • The Kaspers may be rather unsavoury types, but they had nothing to do with the murders of Alistair Coke-Norris and Georgina Bannard.
• Not What It Looks Like: Morse doesn't get the chance to explain to Fred Thursday that he's not dating the latter's daughter Joan, which is what Fred assumes; in fact, Joan is dating Sergeant Jakes. As far as Fred's concerned, though, he may not be thrilled by his daughter dating Morse, but it could be a lot worse — she could, for example, be dating Jakes ... this particular story arc was not continued into the next series.
• Papa Wolf: This is the first time we get to see this side of Fred Thursday, who digs out his old service revolver when his family is threatened. it will not be the last time he displays this tendency.
• Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: The reason for Alistair Coke-Norris's resistance to the Booth Hill sale; he felt that he had a personal responsibility as his family used to own the land.
• Secret-Keeper: Morse does not tell Fred Thursday that Jakes has been seeing Joan at the Moonlight Rooms. Jakes is surprised, as he would have gladly told Thursday had the situation been reversed.
• Ship Tease: The ongoing Morse/Joan ship gets started in this episode. Even her father, a man already stated to disapprove of most if not all potential boyfriends, gives his (grudging) blessing — but only because he thinks he might die in his confrontation with Vic Kasper, in addition to which he thinks that Morse is already dating Joan, whereas she is currently more interested in Jakes (a relationship he would most definitely not approve of).
• Shout-Out: A few.
  • When Thursday offers Kasper the chance to leave town before he submits details of his crooked dealings, the gangster asks: "Can I open the box?" This is a reference to Take Your Pick, a TV game show of the time where winning contestants could choose between opening a box to reveal their prize (which could be something valuable, or something totally worthless) or accepting the money offered to them by the show's host.
  • Vic Kaspar is in fear of his London Gangster associates who are identified as the Fletcher brothers, the employers of Get Carter's Villain Protagonist.
  • Morse interviews a taxi driver who works for Speedee Cabs, which is very similar to Speedee Taxis, the cab firm in Carry On Cabby. A cab firm with a similar name, Speedy Taxis, will appear in the Series 8 episode "Scherzo".
  • The name of the site of the land development is Booth Hill. Given that two murders are committed in connection with it, viewers may be reminded of Boot Hill, the traditional name for a cemetery in The Wild West, as featured in many cowboy films and TV shows.
  • Professor Coke-Norris's London flat being used by several of his colleagues to conduct their extra-marital affairs is reminiscent of C.C. "Bud" Baxter's situation in The Apartment, an idea Billy Wilder got from Brief Encounter.
  • Morse compares Thursday's obsession with Vic Kasper to Captain Ahab's obsession with the white whale in Moby-Dick.
    Morse: Has't seen the white whale?