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I don't think she knew much at all about what happened with Joan last season. Remember how completely broken she was? No way was Thursday going to tell her anything that would upset her. In the Charlie episode this series, I believe Fred Thursday said that he would have to check with Win before making a major loan. I had the impression at the end that he had actually talked with her -- something she said at the end like, "well, that's that, then." Now I think it just meant, "there they go," but at the time, I think we were meant to think (at least, *I* thought) she was saying, "well, kiss that money goodbye". But I thought it was a few hundred or a thousand pounds, not the Thursdays *entire* life savings. Weren't there pensions for public servants in Britain in the 1960s? I thought the country was socialized enough that no one was expected to live off of their own savings in retirement -- otherwise, most of the country would be working until they dropped dead on the job. Poor Win, I wonder where they were in the ballroom dancing competition at this point? It is November 11 when it ends, and the previous episode was in middle to late October (Olympics went almost to the end of the month).

Another odd moment in this episode -- I found it very strange that Charlie made Thursday come to London to hear that his money was gone, and told him outdoors in the dark. Why not take the train to Oxford and tell him in Oxford? I thought it was going to be some kind of setup for an incident that would hurt Thursday, as I did not know if he would be back next season. Now that I look back on it, there was no reason to drag him to London for a 2-minute discussion when it was the brother who was totally at fault.

Morse really was those boys' worst nightmare -- not a green teacher, as they thought, but an actual hardcore disciplinarian who did not give a fart about whether they liked him and who had no interest in continuing as their teacher! Random thoughts: as someone said above, why did the matron take off the shirt and put it on the ground? Why not dump him with the shirt on? And again, so creepy the the boys would (a) pick up the shirt, (b) take it back to school) and (c) save it to "scare" Morse. Had they been holding on to it for days? I could not figure out why the headmaster was so intent on creating an alibi for himself with his daughter.

Yes, something about a daughter who died as a child. I am not sure if Bright made the connection, but we are meant to infer it.

Yes, I understood your radio reference as well as the Trewlove one! Indeed, both foreshadowing. Honestly, they did not give us much reason to pine for Fancy, except on behalf of Trewlove, who had already put some distance between them.

I really want a flashback to what happened. I feel like they set it up in a way that meant the event would be revisited -- that was too much stagecraft for just a quick gaze by the camera.

In the first class meeting, Morse has the boys read the Icarus story from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, (Morse said "lines 225 to 230," which are the lines where the wax on his wings melts and he plummets to earth). There is a lot of plummeting to earth in this episode (Nero's gang, Ames' gang, Fancy, Ivory, [the drug-killed student], officers killed pre-story in the lorry accident) -- the body count on this episode is more than any two seasons of the "later" Morse series!

I actually meant using the communications radio to contact the station. Trewlove had told the thug visitors in a car that they were attracting attention by parking illegally and using their radio. When you look at the style of those two visiting policemen, it is not surprising that it was Bright's unit that got shuttered. Those bullies and their bullying unit were destined to win. Alas, it happens too often, that professional bullying works.

Heh, I was watching and thinking "Village of the Damned" (1960, British) -- truly low-budget and truly totally creepy children! I don't think Fancy went in on his own -- because he was shot by some unknown third faction/persons, it seems he was ambushed and then deposited on the scene. I did think he was a sitting duck, alone in a car on a street where he was completely visible and the only other car! And on the radio! (We knew from a previous episode that Trewlove advised against using a radio while doing surveillance -- and I realize he had no choice, but her earlier warning was a reminder that he was doing something dangerous). I wonder if they will revisit that crime in a flashback re-enactment next season? It was eerie to see the aftermath of the shootout, but not to see or hear the actual extensive shootout at all.

I think the official term for that is 'stache -- ? Hard to believe there are only 15 or 17 years between groovy Morse and the Morse we originally met in the 1980s.

I spoiler-tagged some information about Bright over in the Media thread.

Yes, that is a lot of information (but no plots!) for the next series. One article linked above said there will be four episodes in the next series. I will spoiler-tag one of the returning characters that I think will make readers of this site happy:

What a wonderful episode, and I'll be so pleased if Thursday is in the next series. Now I can read the Media thread, with pictures from the next season! Secret word in the credits was "Ubermensch," representing the concept of a super Man in German philosophy -- it was one of the references made by the boys who initially talked to Morse. Those schoolboys were utterly creepy. Oh, wow, I just read something cut from the PBS short version: in the British longer version, it is explained that Bright was fond of Trewlove because Bright and his wife had a daughter, Dulcie, who died young. There was a picture in the cut scene of the daughter sitting on a horse in what appears to be India. Holy cow, I just read in one of the British papers that this episode was TWO HOURS LONG in Britain. Can anyone confirm this? That is a LOT to cut out to get to PBS length. ETA: I finally found the running time for this episode on ITV, and it was 89 minutes, so not a full two hours of story. But as another poster pointed out, they show these with commercials on ITV, so the entire programme is actually two hours. But they all are, so this was not a longer episode, contrary to what the British article said. Sorry for the confusion!

Thanks -- caught the end of her hour (I never watch the Sunday shows!). Didn't see the whole dress, but saw what looked like a comfortable white long-sleeve top styled like a business shirt. It did look summery yet professional!

Completely agree, and said this above on 07-21, but with less detail.

Aha! I'll have to watch the show in the app -- that changes the tone of Katy's tweet and her reaction to his handoff to her on Friday evening. ETA: Or.....I could watch the video that Jaded helpfully provided! Thanks! TPTB need to realize that some handoffs are just not meant to happen. (I do like Ari Melber, just not in joke mode.)

There was a Friday evening handoff of Ari Melber (filling in for Rachel) and Katy Tur (filling in for Lawrence O'D), so a reverse of the usual handoff between them, from Ari to Katy. Katy made a point of noting this, and said it was *her* turn to "throw you off your game", so she made it very clear that she does not like the awkward joking that Ari provides. I was trying to find it on video, and no luck, but did see this additional critique *before* the show on her twitter account, to Ari, who had just posted that he was filling for Rachel. Said Katy: "I'm filling in for @Lawrence which means there's a bonus awkward handoff to end the week." Ouch.

Noooo, Rachel was cut off in the middle of a sentence about the new rule about "the NRA does not have to disclose its major donors." Did anyone else experience this interruption? NRA bot or Russian bot taking over my screen? ETA: Noooo, it happened *again* at 34 minutes into the show, in the middle of a sentence about Diane Feinstein. Car commercials both times.

Thanks, and the headline I saw was about the first manned Apollo mission, which was October 11, 1968. (That was when the bowler-hat spy had the papers under his arm. By the way, I assume he doctored the page of phone records that Morse wanted to see early in the episode.)

Well, I'd watch a series of the Bagshot character involved in intrigue. But this was a very different type of episode, and so many subplots. Funny that the dog of the bowler-hat spy was named "Winston", and I thought Morse would end up taking him home. Secret letters at the end spell out: ROYAL PECULIAR -- and those two members of the Royal Peculiar branch were indeed peculiar. It would not have surprised me at all if they had turned on Morse at the end. Who was running away from the shed? And what secret signals were needed in Oxford in 1968? I thought the newspaper headline from from summer 1969 (moon landing?), but I must have seen that wrong, because we are clearly still in summer of 1968.

I completely agree -- I think I commented on her dress above, on the day of the interview. It was a very fresh looking dress, and it worked for the more casual atmosphere of Aspen.

I just saw a promotion for this on my television, and was really having trouble understanding why it was being revived (with two or more of the original characters?), and why on earth is was being set in San Francisco. How very peculiar. I liked "The Bletchley Circle" and I like San Francisco, but together it would be like roast beef in a trifle.

I agree that TPTB must have said that the handoffs are good for keeping viewers tuned into the channel at the hour change. I got screenshots of Katy's three (3!) handoffs yesterday, and they tell the story of when it is a good idea and when it is not. Will try to post later today. I hope MSNBC is paying attention to where the handoffs actually make the viewers look away!

Completely agree! I know Ari is trying to be cute, but it is now coming across like that office worker who keeps complimenting you and not thinking you are appreciative enough about comments you never wanted in the first place. Starts pleasant, but then verges on inappropriate pressure. Two days in a row now, spending way too much time in the handoff about Katy's voice and whether it is holding up. Then trying to make up for the pressure by saying "you are only losing your voice because of the outstanding work you are doing." Just "Bye!" would be fine, Ari.

It took me a while to figure out what the heck this was. Thanks for the alert(?!). For those who care to click, the link goes to a Wonkette piece on Rachel and a video of a lunatic who claims to be right-wing, but who makes the actual right-wing look like The Peace Corps. According to him, Rachel has indicated that we will all show up this weekend and basically have a French Revolution at the White House, complete with guillotine.