#morse x jakes

[sircolinmorgan]

"Trust me, it's the same clock."

ENDEAVOUR | ARCADIA.

[windsweptinred]

Coming away from episode one of season nine with a distinct urge to re-read all 234 of the Morse x Jakes fics on A03. With heavy emphasis on the fix its. 😶

[sarkylittlemonster]

Ah yes, my favourite genre. Fruity geniuses.

[mozzzz05]

When Fred discovers Morse’s secret at one of Bixby’s risqué parties, they fumble around how it could affect their relationship. Of course, it only makes Fred more fatherly. But what does this mean when Jakes and Morse start making eyes at each other?

Finally started getting the fic I started writing over a year ago out - most of it’s written but it needs a massive amount of editing & apparently the only thing that will motivate me to do that is to send it out into the world :)

[backyardflames]

Siri, show me 'art'

[librawritesstuff]

Internal Jakes thoughts:

“God, I hate that pedantic, over-intellectualized little prick.”

Also Jakes:

“Why do I want to shag him in the supply closet?”

do you think jakes in the early days ever just said to himself, ugh they're bonding again

very funny to think of how close they'll be in the future because. morse's face here.

[aqueeracademic]

morse being queer (and other commentary) pt 10:

season 3, episode 2, “Arcadia”:

- this is the ULTIMATE morse x jakes episode so listen up!

- i am so dehydrated so this is your reminder to drink water asap

- the men not helping a woman DYING IN THE STREET because they’re too busy being RACIST is so fucked

- like wtf r u doing

- too much i’ll tell u that

- doing too goddam much

- joan is such a daddy’s girl i love her

- i really wish monica and morse worked out

- they’re both familiar with death and familiar with a commitment to a taxing job like they get each other

- in fairness i also wished he’d have worked out with jakes but we all know what happens this episode!

- “you’re very rude.” “no, i’m very busy.”

- werk morse ‼️

- the milk man was not nearly phased enough by that explosion

- TREWLOVE MY BELOVED

- jakes and morse’s hands touched when jakes gave him his beer 🥰🥰🥰

- [thursday] “morse has some reservations about this death by fire.” [jakes] “what’s new?” [morse] “…” [jakes] “no. go on! who was he?”

- husbands. literally husbands

- thursday making fun of jakes for not saying anything inappropriate to Trewlove and jakes laughing while looking at morse while morse blushes

- i’ll be sick!

- morse is so pretty!!!! pretty boy!

- house beautiful is a fuckin cult

- as an avid follower of Abbie Hoffman, i wanted to get defensive about thursday’s stance on free love but he’s right 🙄🙄 besides gideon is an abuser so whatever

- END ILLEGAL REGIME!!

- i don’t like morse being characterized as someone who doesn’t support protest even tho he’s a cop and therefore would definitely be anti protest 🫤

- jakes helping morse move in 🥰🥰

- i’m sick.

- morse thanking him and asking him out for a drink and being upset when he says no 😀 i’m so normal about them 😀

- joan is so cute i’m obsessed w her

- “do the honors”

- i love jakes because he knows he’s leaving so he’s just being overtly nice to morse to be as close to him as possible for his final days

- once again, i’m SICK over them

- jakes approaches morse really slowly because he’s nervous to tell him

- “i’ve been meaning to say…”

- which translates to: “i’ve been wanting to tell you i’m leaving, but i didn’t know how to tell you. you, specifically.”

- “you’re resigning? you kept that quiet.”

- morse is slightly offended that jakes wouldn’t tell him right away. they’re friends, aren’t they? but maybe they’re not. maybe he’s wrong

- “she’s a great girl.” “i’m sure she is.”

- trying to be supportive. smiling and nodding and saying “that’s great news!” despite knowing he’s going to lose jakes to it all

- then again, morse is the only one who knows, really knows, what jakes has been through

- he knows it’s best for jakes to get out while he can

- settle down with a beautiful girl somewhere really far away

- somewhere he’ll never see him again

- and it’s the way that morse’s smile drops as soon as jakes walks away. as soon as jakes invites him to his party and looks for a final time deep in his eyes and touches his shoulder

- his smile drops immediately and he lets him go

- but morse looks back for him. like orpheus he looks back, which only solidifies he’s lost him

- ANYWAYYYYYYYYY‼️‼️‼️

- this woman is so 🤮🤮🤮

- calling a younger man to your house under the guise of an intruder is wild to me

- maybe that’s just me

- the way morse is so CATTY during this scene

- he said when they go low

- i got LOW-ER ‼️🤞

- “i’m sure i’m not the first woman you’ve seen in her underclothes.”

- i’m UNCOMFORTABLE

- i can’t tell if she’s supposed to be older than him or not

- i feel like she is

- “do you not like women?”

- and then he says NOTHING??

- sir she thinks ur gay and ur just gonna take that????

- (he is gay)

- his JAWLINE IN THIS SCENE??? THE HEAVY SWALLOW?? LOOKING DOWN AT HER??

- i’m fucking sick

- so ill.

- he has no reason to have rizz like this

- their house is so ugly

- i hate modern architecture

- morse putting himself in harms way so he can ensure jakes will make it out alive and safe by the end of the week 😐

- “Sudden.” <- him talking about jakes leaving

- the way morse is just so clearly not okay with jakes leaving and doesn’t know how to express it

- strange and trewlove are so truly besties i’m obsessed

- morse and jakes going off together even though they swear they don’t along 🙄

- “second thoughts?”

- no need to sound excited morse

- he’s not staying 🫤🫤 no matter how much you want him to 🫤

- “mind how you go” + “watch yourself” = they care about each other so much

- he called him peter i’m gonna VOMIT

- “peter, you’ve got something to lose!”

- morse acting like his death wouldn’t affect the people around him

- he really thinks he isn’t important it makes me sick

- CALLING HIM PETER??????

- jakes telling a joke immediately so morse knows he’s ok

- i’m so sick

- do you guys think jakes ever called morse by his first name?

- i just wanna know 😀😀

- i swear jakes makes any excuse to just take his jacket off

- always walking around in just his shirt sleeves

- he knows he’s….. he is!

- “bad luck”

- thank u jakes

- always supporting his boyfriend

- morse being so obviously uncomfortable in a religious setting is… relatable

- “because i didn’t want to disappoint her. she’d had enough of that.”

- morse loved his mom so much i’m so not okay

- “‘still your mind’ she’d say. ‘still your mind.’ never had the knack.”

- IM HIM AND HES ME

- update he isn’t against protest work! as long as it follows the law 🙄🙄

- ^he donates to AmnOx

- this lady slapping him and him being completely unphased has me 😧

- like wtf was that

- i understand this lady is miserable but don’t smack people

- she’s so weird

- joan asking morse about jakes just to see how he’s handling it 🫤

- i’m so obsessed w trewlove you don’t get it

- them forcing her to get an abortion just because the father was black and a revolutionary is so 🤮

- can women ever just do what they want to do with their lives?

- this girl is so crazy

- stealing a child and then calling the person calling you out “mean”???

- babes you stole a BABY

- these girls are homosexuals i fear ‼️

- jakes going from a lost boy to a cowboy <3

- morse is so hurt in this episode i’ll never understand it

- he never shows up for jakes when he needs it

- can they just HUG like men

- jakes’ lady being called Hope is SOMETHKNG THAY CAN BE SO PERSONAL

- THE DIALOGUE:

- “It’s hope.” “Make a go of it.” “I mean to.”

- HE MEANS TO GET BETTER. HE MEANS TO HEAL AND HOLD ONTO HOPE OF A BETTER TOMORROW. HE GETS TO GET OUT

- HE GETS TO GET BETTER AND BE FREE

- i’m so sick

- i literally only care about him

- might as well stop watching now

- “you’ll miss him.” “he kept me on my toes. No, i’m glad!… if anyone deserved it.” and then WALKING INTO THE RAIN WHILE THURSDAY WATCHES SADLY??????

- he loved him. and he’ll miss him. and thursday knows it.

- and i’ll miss him too

[sircolinmorgan]

[sebsxphia]

Let's say your job requires that you know morse code. Cue to Jake learning morse code (if he didn't know it already) and fucking you in a pattern that you make out to be 'I love you'. Only after a few months of being together you are surprised to feel the pattern change. 'Will you marry me?' is now thrusted into you on a loop.

And when you both bask in the afterglow, him still deep in you, he carefully lays his weight onto you and brushes your noses together slowly and softly, then goes in for the best kiss you shared up to this point. When he pulls away, he looks deep into your eyes, with the kindest, most love-struck look in his gorgeous eyes and asks "so, will you?"

You give him a longer kiss followed by a peck, twice, before uttering "yes".

*

I'm so sorry the previous one got so sad!! I hope this makes up for it a bit x

-💚

HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THESE? SERIOUSLY? HOW, BECAUSE IM GONNA SCREAM BLOODY MURDER

please never apologise my beloved anon! you know how much i love the angst and you know how much i love these super sweet ones 🥹 i just feel everything about jake and your relationship wouldn’t be traditional and it’s done in the moment, this being a prime example!

thank you so much for this my beloved anon, this was so wonderful to read! 💌

[fitzrove]

Ok so I know my blog hasn't been an Endeavour blog for ages (ppl who still follow me - thanks for hanging on xD) but I'm losing my entire mind right now

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE UPCOMING ENDEAVOUR SERIES 9

JACK LASKEY AS PETER JAKES IS CREDITED FOR TWO OF THE EPISODES !!!!!!!!!! I'M NOT OKAY HE'S RETURNING TO THE ROLE AFTER ALL THESE YEARS 😭😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ IT'S LITERALLY BEEN LIKE WHAT 7 YEARS OMFG

This is like alll of the holidays came early omg honestly this is so explicitly catered to me that I won't be surprised if he and Hope and Morse get poly married in the last ep (joking but fjfkdkdkslld)

I'm dying xD Ajfkdjfksldkdldkfkd

For context if someone following me opened the spoiler and knows nothing abt what's going on - Peter Jakes is my favourite Endeavour character and he left the series mid-s3, back in 2016 (so Jack Laskey, the actor, could film X Company [as pictured in my profile pic]). I've written so much about Jakes and I'm just !!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'VE BEEN JOKING ABOUT HIS RETURN FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS RUSS LEWIS WERE YOU READING MY FUCKING BLOG XD

[percyjacksonstransbrother]

My OC system and co as a randomly generated quote

(alters)

Alex: Hah! 69! You know what that means?

Mira: What?

Ash Gravestone/Emerald Witch: That you're a child.

Azreal: HOW'D YOU GUESS MY IQ!?

........

(alters)

Ash: Everyone, synchronize your watches.

Lilly: I don’t know how to do that.

Azreal: I don’t wear a watch.

Alex: Time is a construct.

.......

(alters)

Alex: *Screams*

Jake: *Screams louder to establish dominance*

Temperance: Should we do something?

Azreal: No, I want to see who wins.

......

(alters)

Ash about Mira: Apparently we’re getting someone new in the group.

Azreal: Are we stealing them?

Alex: New or used?

Ash: Wonderful responses, both of you

......

(system x PJO characters)

Leo Valdez: *Gently taps table*

Azreal: *Taps back*

Percy: What are they doing?

Annabeth (not even looking up from whatever tf she's doing): Morse code.

Leo: *Aggressively taps table*

Azreal: *Slams hands down* YOU TAKE THAT BACK-

......

(alters)

Mira (a little): Is stabbing someone immoral?

Alex (a middle, protector and ex black widow): Not if they consent to it.

Azreal (protector): Depends who you’re stabbing.

Ash (the mom): YES?!?

.....

(system and PJO)

Annabeth Chase: the black widow system isn’t answering their phone

Percy Jackson: I’ll call

Annabeth: Piper and I have both tried six times each, what makes you thi-

Alex (fronting): Hello?

......

(system and PJO)

Percy: On the count of three, what's your favorite cake? One, two, three-

Percy and Jason Grace, in unison: Chocolate cake peanut butter frosting with chocolate chunks!

Amar: Our turn, Al! One, two, three- vanilla!

Alex (freshly out of the Red room), deadpan: I've never had cake, what is cake.

.....

(MCU x PJO OC)

Natasha Romanoff: Why is Alex so sad?

Loki: he took one of those “Which Avenger Are You?” quizzes

Natasha: And...?

Loki: he got Tony. I honestly feel bad for him.

.....

(PJO x system OCS)

Ash: Tonight, one of you will betray us.

Percy: Is it me, Alex?

Alex: No, it’s not you.

Annabeth: Is it me, Alex?

Alex: It’s not you either.

Luke: Is it me, Alexander?

Alex:

Alex, mockingly: Is IT mE Alexander?

........

(alters)

Azreal: Self care is actually getting into fights with randoms in dark alleys.

Ash: No, self care is stuff like taking a bubble bath, or putting on a lot of makeup if you like it, or taking a nice warm nap! :D

Alex: Self care is the burning heat when rage washes over you!! Self care is when you feel the bones crack under your powerful fists!! Self care is the fear in your enemies’ eyes!!!

Percy (overhearing and joining in): Lmao self care is taking your birthday cake just so I can eat the frosting.

Alex: IF YOU TOUCH OUR BIRTHDAY CAKE I’LL MAKE YOU EAT YOUR HANDS!!

......

(system)

Ash: Isn’t it weird that we pay money to see other people?

Temperance: Plane tickets?

Mira: Concert tickets?

Alex: Prostitution?

Ash (holding their broken frames): Glasses. Gods of Olympus we need to g therapy.

.......

(system and Marvel)

Steve: You know those things will kill you, right?

Bucky Barnes, pouring another glass of whiskey: That’s the point.

Wanda, smoking a cigarette: We’re trying to speed up the process.

Jake (8 (fronting): *Nods while eating raw cookie dough*

.......

(alters)

Ash: Dammit, Alexander!

Alex: What?! It wasn’t me!

Ash: Sorry, force of habit. Dammit, Azreal!

Azreal: Not me either.

Ash: Oh...Then who set our cabin on fire?

Jake: *whistles*

........

(system x PJO x Marvel)

Percy: I think we're missing something.

Steve: Teamwork?

Tony: Cohesion?

Ash: A general sense of what we’re doing?

......

(system and PJO)

Cop: captain America you’re receiving a ticket for having three people on one motorcycle.

Steve: Shit.

Alex: Wait, three?

Cop: Yeah?

Natasha: OH MY GOD BUCKY FELL OFF!!!

Sam: no he didn't I pushed him

.....

(system and PJO)

Percy: On a scale from “damn Daniel” to “fre sha vaca do”, how are you feeling?

Peter (Parker): In between “it’s an avocado, thanks” and “how did you defeat Captain America”, but as a solid answer I would say “I don’t need a degree to be a clothing hanger”. How about you, Valdez?

Leo: Probably “road work ahead”.

Ash: as a black widow I speak many languages, and this is none of them.

.........

(system and Marvel)

Alex: Why are your tongues purple?

Natasha: We had slushies. I had a blue one.

Wanda: I had a red one.

Alex: oh

Alex:

Alex: OH

Percy:

Percy: You drank each other's slushes?

Annabeth: oh seaweed brain

......

(system and Marvel)

Natasha: Why are agent Montanegro and Barnes sitting with their backs to each other?

Loki: They had a fight.

Natasha: Then why are they holding hands?

Loki: They get sad when they fight.

(Bucky is Alex's father figure :D)

........

(alters)

*Alex is cooking*

Temperance: Any chance that’s for me?

Alex: It’s for Azreal. I’m planning on making some bad choices tonight, and I need them on my side.

Ash: I never realized the forethought that went into being a disappointment

......

(system x avengers)

Loki: Have you seen a person named 'Azreal' around here?

Tony: Ugh, yes. They made a horrible mess of the blood fountain.

Natasha: It looks fine to me?

Tony: IT USED TO BE WATER!!! I PAYED OVER A MILLION DOLLARS FOR IT!!!

......

(adult alters in the innerworld)

Temperance: You lying, cheating, piece of shit!

Ash: Oh yeah? You’re the idiot who thinks you can get away with everything you do. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD

Temperance: I’m leaving you, and I’M TAKING THE CHILDREN WITH ME

Katrina, picking up the monopoly board: I think we’re gonna stop playing now.

........

(alters)

Temperance: If you bite it and you die, it’s poisonous. If it bites you and you die, it’s venomous.

Ash: What if it bites me and it dies!?

Temperance: Then you’re poisonous. Holy Hera Gravestone, learn to listen.

Jake: What if it bites itself and I die?

Liam: That’s voodoo.

Nike: What if it bites me and someone else dies?

Ash: That’s correlation, not causation.

Richard: What if we bite each other, and neither of us die?

Alex: That’s kinky.

Temperance: Oh my gods I'm sharing a body with idiots.

.....

(alters)

Jake: Hewwo.

Olivia: Hihiiiiii!

Azreal: Greetings, Humans.

Ash: Three kinds of people.

Richard: I want pudding.

Ash: Four kinds of people.

Alex: WHAT’S UP FUCKERS?

Nike: Five kinds of people.

[hekate1308]

Hope: This is my husband Peter. ...

And this is Peter's boyfriend, Morse.

no but Jakes legit invited Morse to America… just…. think about the possibilities 

[hekate1308]

Fictober 2022, #13

Prompt: “I don’t want you to do that”

Fandom: Endeavour

Rating: G

Pairings: Morse/Jakes

Their… arrangement, or whatever you wanted to call it (affair was too… emotional. Partnership implied things that couldn’t be. Relationship… he couldn’t even start thinking about that, because then he would consider other things he should not be thinking about period) worked because they had certain rules.

One of them was that, yes, he and Morse might share certain… moments that could send them to jail if ever discovered, but that didn’t give them any rights or duties regarding each other whatsoever. For example, Peter wasn’t allowed to comment on his drinking, even though he was clearly drinking too much, and Morse couldn’t say anything if he took a girl out now and then.

But sometimes, just sometimes, he really wished he could say something about Morse’s choices. For example today.

Ronnie Colbrain was one of the nastiest mobsters he’d ever come across, and even the Old Man seemed unsettled by what he did to his rivals.

Now, though, they had the chance to get him for kidnapping, but in order to do that, they had to get close by arranging a handover, and Morse, without so much as looking at him, had offered to be the courier.

To say that he was a little angry was an understatement. He hadn’t even so much as mentioned it in the squad room before walking right into the Old Man’s office and arranging it, for crying out loud. The DI, to his credit (or perhaps not so much, considering he was basically Morse’s adoptive father at this point, although they both pretended that wasn’t the case), seemed more than a little uncomfortable with having him do it, but apparently he’d been adamant.

Peter lit a cigarette and pretended that everything was fine, even though it wasn’t.

He told himself that he was just worried for a colleague.

He didn’t quite succeed.

The day dragged on until seven pm, which was the time for the drop-off. Morse had changed out of his suit and into a sweater that looked distractedly good on him, and Peter already needed a new pack of cigarettes.

This didn’t bode well.

In the end, though, everything worked out fine – if you ignored the fact that Morse managed to fall down and scrape his cheek during the arrest – and he knew he should have let things rest, but couldn’t, which was how he found himself in front of Morse’s door that night.

Another breach of their agreement. They never dropped by each other’s places without announcing it first.

Morse opened the door, his eyes widening. “Peter.”

He simply stepped past him, trying to look calm. “I was just wondering why you felt the need to sacrifice yourself yet again.”

“I –“ He looked at him and swallowed, then closed the door as he was shaking his head. “DI Thursday has a family who loves him, Strange has a future… and you’re a sergeant… I seemed like the obvious choice.”

When he put it like that, it did seem like the right thing to do, but Peter still couldn’t agree with him. "I don't want you to do that" the words left his mouth before he could stop himself.

“What?”

He could of course have tried to backtrack, to explain it away, but he just felt tired of it all. So he added, “Just risk your life as if it’s not worth anything.”

“It isn’t. Look at me, I have no one –“

“You have me!”

Morse blinked at him, his mouth hanging open, and if their roles had been reversed, Peter would probably have had the same reaction. They didn’t talk about their… thing. They didn’t interact much outside of their fumbles in the dark. They didn’t pretend this was more than it was.

Only it was starting to dawn on him that it was indeed a lot more than that for him, and that he might be on the best way to ruin it all because why should Morse feel the same way? He certainly wasn’t obligated to, and Peter had no idea what he got up to when they weren’t together, and who with (a flash of white hot jealousy ripped through his gut and oh God, he was in even bigger trouble than he had thought).

The silence lasted one heart beat, two heartbeats…

Then, “Do you really mean that?”

He somehow managed to nod, but how, especially with those beautiful (God, far more beautiful than any man’s had a right to be) eyes on him, he couldn’t say.

“And you – you mean – I – exclusively? You and me?”

He wasn’t completely certain what Morse was asking, but if his hunch was correct, he was all for it (much more so than he would ever have supposed before their talk) so he nodded.

Morse held out a hand and he very slowly and carefully took it.

As he intertwined their fingers, the younger man said, “I’ll try to be more… considerate in the future.”

“All I’m asking for.”

After all, no one knew what the future would bring.

But as he felt Morse’s lips on his, he couldn’t have cared less.

[lyncatya]

i got back into this show after literal years and yet. my otp remains the same 😔

[kindaeccentric]

To be honest, with just a few alterations (or rather additional scenes) Jarse could have been an interesting endgame relationship if we threw out Inspector Morse canon.

Listen,

When Morse and Jakes meet they immediately make assumptions about each other. It's Pride and Prejudice all over again with how they behave, which is pretty much canon, only without overtly romantic undertones. My idea is to add that little bit of edge. Nothing too flashy, it's 60s, until '67 it's even illegal, so it can't be too obvious, a stolen glance over the desk here and a random touch there is enough to make a more proper suggestion. The more Jakes is shown to yearn, the more snappy he is and Morse does not understand, so he ignores it most of the time. Jakes seems to have an unhealthy obsession with him with how he is constantly around and seeks out his company even if only to poke fun at him. Which is also almost canon. And here comes an extra scene. So when they stay late in an empty office working on a case Morse is vigilant. Jakes' eyes are glued on him, but what he says upsets Morse enough to confront him. He doesn't expect a punch-like kiss from a frustrated Jakes. They both are shocked and shaken with what he did and Jakes runs out before Morse can say anything. He leaves Jakes a letter saying he doesn't understand, but will not tell anyone about that little 'mishap'. Jakes closes in on himself after that. He's himself, but something much greater is bothering him. That's when I would introduce Hope for the first time. They meet her by accident. She's not yet Jakes' girlfriend, but she says something kind to him that comforts him. Morse is half-relieved half-jealous, but he doesn't realize it. In the background Morse has his own relationship with Monica, so he decides it's not his business. However, then we have Neverland. Morse, since he decided not to get involved, doesn't realize Jakes is falling apart until he breaks down completely in the pub. Canon. But I would rewrite the ending for Morse to have enough time to comfort him for a moment before he goes to jail. Morse tries to kiss him, but Jakes does not let him, because he's confused about his sexuality, he feels like he was messed up as a child by these men and the same-sex attraction he feels is inherently tied to that and in result bad.

When Morse gets out Jakes is with Hope, but in one scene it's showed even though he genuinely likes her, his eyes still linger on Morse for just a split second before he turns around in shame. He chose to be with her in hopes of fixing his past, because that's what you do as a man in the 60s, you take a wife and have a child. Morse wants to leave police after what happened, but he stays for Jakes. In Arcadia Morse realizes he doesn't want Jakes to leave either. Their goodbye looks the same, only now there's more weight to it. The first draft of the letter Morse writes for him is read in voice over instead of the poem and it's a love sonnet of some kind until he settles in on the canon one. Jakes leaves and Morse stays, bitter, out of spite.

Now, uncharted territory, after season 7 (which I reimagined as Morse getting seduced and falling in love with both Talentis, but essentially being used by Ludo) anything can happen. So I propose season 8 as an investigation in which Endeavour goes to America and meets Jakes again and they have their Brokeback Mountain style romance, only it ends happily, because Hope is a good, understanding woman and always only wanted Peter to be happy, because if he isn't, she can't be either.

And this Endeavour Morse never becomes Inspector Morse.

[morsesnotes]

This is an excellent discussion, and I've really enjoyed reading everybody's interpretations.

A detail which recently occurred to me is that aside from the murder itself, Thursday expertly erases the evidence, takes the case on as normal, and had no intention of ever revealing what happened.

I think Morse was greatly disturbed by the lengths Thursday would go to cover it up and the fact he immediately viewed Morse as an enemy to hide in fear from rather than a trusted partner/friend. Then when you add the stinging comments by Thursday, the implication for Morse is pretty brutal.

With everything else Morse had realized about him over the years -- especially the corruption in S6 -- and knowing his love for him would cause Blenheim Vale to remain unsolved, I think it did break him, and he decided he no longer wanted to operate that way. So he not only shuts down from Thursday, he makes sure he'll never care that much again (until he meets Lewis of course).

Here be yet more Fred Thursday musings ;-)

[Long post and spoilers for all of Endeavour here.]

So, I was thinking yet again (for the billionth time ;-) ) about Fred Thursday and the three people we see him kill over the course of Endeavour while trying to save someone else:-

Mrs Coke-Norris

Ludo Talenti

Raymond Kennitt/Peter Williams

The show seems to be pointing us into believing that the third of those is somehow much, much worse than the first two and I... have a problem with this.

I mean, in all three cases Fred was responding to an immediate threat to life (of someone he cared about, and in the second and third cases also Fred himself). In the case of Mrs C-N Fred was officially on duty which gives him some extra legal cover, but I'd say no extra moral cover.

I'm no legal expert, but from what I understand, under English-and-Welsh law, none of the three were murders; you're looking at manslaughter at worst, at best a good case for self/other-defence, which... is a grey area but certainly a decent defence lawyer could have had a good go.

(It is worth noting, of course, that this is the morseverse and this is Fred Thursday; he's made so many enemies both in the criminal justice system and among criminals, mostly through doing actively good things, that his chances of either a fair trial or then surviving prison are basically non-existent. I think we have to weigh all of Morse's decisions in "Exeunt" with that in mind because there's no way Morse isn't aware of it. Sam's chances of surviving prison for drug-dealing I think we can assume would also be remote, again due to the enemies Fred has made. And I think again, we have to weigh both Fred's and Morse's decisions with that in mind.)

So... yeah. I think there are only three things that you might consider as making the killing of Raymond Kennitt worse than that of Ludo Talenti or Mrs Coke-Norris:-

the use of the knife rather than a gun, which makes it theoretically possible that Fred could have found a way to end the fight that didn't involve killing Kennitt. That does strike me as something that's probably easier to see from a backseat than if you're Fred in the middle of what's happening, but still.

we know Kennitt's horrifying backstory (not that Fred does), and so feel huge amounts of compassion for him even though he's obviously awful in the "present", and sympathy for the grief that Jakes would feel if he knew what had happened. That's inevitable I think, but, well. Can we be sure that Mrs C-N and Ludo aren't child abuse survivors too? (We do know that Fred and Charley both are, though not the details.) All in all, I think this is a show that wants us to feel compassion for as many characters as possible, and I don't want to assume that Mrs C-N and Ludo didn't end up Like That for no reason.

the fact that Fred kills Mrs C-N and Ludo in defense of Morse (the protagonist, Fred's protege, and a character we all love) and kills Kennitt in defense of Sam (a more minor character, and Fred's son). I would hope that Morse wouldn't see it like that and that neither does Russell Lewis because obviously that's a dreadful position to hold, but... yeeeah. It would annoy me a lot if that's part of the reasoning of the show, but protagonist-centered morality is a flaw in an awful lot of fiction, and while Endeavour mostly doesn't give into it, I don't think any writers are immune. So I do have a horrible suspicion that this is the bit that makes the actual difference, even though I really think it shouldn't be. If Fred had killed Kennitt to save Morse rather than Sam... would we as an audience feel differently? (I ask that of myself as well as of anyone else who wants to ask it of themselves! And honestly, I probably would feel better about the killing if it was for Morse, even though rationally I know it's no different!)

I'd actually say that in the case of the killing of Kennitt there are a couple of minor mitigating factors that the first two lack:-

Fred is in the worst state mentally we ever see him in "Exeunt", and is completely falling apart; earlier in the day he had some form of heart episode or possibly severe panic attack. At any rate: he's going through hell and he is ill as a result.

I can't actually remember if he has his gun with him during the fight with Kennitt, but he certainly isn't willing to use it given the situation; the knife is Kennitt's not his, and a weapon you aren't intending to use is for practical purposes not here, so he's... taken on an armed man while essentially unarmed. Fucking berserker that he is. Rather than two people with guns going up against each other.

you can see a moment of decision in Roger's face for the killings of both Mrs C-N and Ludo; by Fred's own account to Morse (which I think we can take as honest) he didn't make any conscious decision to kill Kennitt (see above re awful mental state).

Honesty? I think that killing in immediate self-defence and/or defence-of-other is however as close to necessary and justified as killing ever gets, and I'm inclined to be extremely forgiving about all three deaths. I'm not sure Fred had a real choice in any of the three cases.

What Fred does do in the third case that really is different of course is the cover-up, in misleading everyone, in being an absolute arsehole to Morse when he comes to check on him that night. In all of it it's massively, massively understandable (as he's a) ill, b) still trying to protect Sam). Morse's sense of betrayal though is also massively understandable. Ugh. My heart hurts. *shakes fist at Russell Lewis, and also at Roger and Shaun for being so amazing*

Anyway. Do I have an overall point? Probably: Fred Thursday is a complicated character and I love him and I want to hug him and also throw things at him. He has horrible violent tendencies but he isn't a murderer under English-and-Welsh law, and I don't think s9 makes sense unless we interpret him as very mentally unwell by the end of it. Also: Morse and Thursday both need different jobs, holy shit. Also also: I reckon Morse ended up forgiving Thursday and being in touch with him, because he is pretty fair when given time to process things, and he doesn't have Morse-centered morality. Also also also: Russell Lewis is a meanie and I want more fix-it fics. ;-)