#s6 Pylon

[librawritesstuff]

Morsetache Monday: The “WTF did we just see?!” edition

Bonus: watch how Evans turns over the slide at the end…

[oeuvrinarydurian]

Jeez, I can’t stop.

[oeuvrinarydurian]

Clearly, I’m in a melancholy mood.

The desaturation of “Pylon“ is one of my favorite things about the cinematography of S6. Visually, it may be my favorite episode of all nine seasons.

It’s an entirely new cinematic vocabulary. It’s deeply emotive, with the absence of vibrancy, the cool tones, the greys, the flinty skies- it’s striking.

Without getting into a deep analysis, we have this very bucolic environment, with the color reduced, and we have Morse sticking out to a degree that is unusual, even for him. He’s not only isolated in terms of location and community, but even more so by being relegated to a dark, graphic uniform; masking his emotions even further with a colossal mustache. Physically, visually, he could not be less integrated into his environment. 

We’ve already discussed the shot of him in the wheat field with the Connemara in the background today, which is in fact, my all-time favorite shot. However, the third runner-up (2nd is the last shot of “Confection”, which really deserves its own post and will get one) is this, below.

There aren’t enough superlatives to talk about what’s happening here. The dinky police vehicle in that odd shade of turquoise, the massive dead tree, the distant car traversing the screen from right to left, his head down, his hands-usually so animated - limply at rest…if you went out of your way to find an illustration of despairing loneliness, absence and isolation, I don’t know that you could do any better than this. 

[fanficrocks]

Bewildered ‘stache!

He so totally has a “what-the-heck-is-going-on-here” look between the ‘stache and the eyebrows…

[too-antigonish]

Comparative Moustachery*

*Beard inclusive

Era: Early; Quality: Questionable

The Virgin Queen (2006); Wreckers Publicity (c. 2011)

2. Era: Late Early; Quality: Noticeable improvement; enjoyment possibly impaired by I-like-to-play-evil-bastards cognitive dissonance

The Last Weekend (2012)

3) Era: Officially a decade ago; Quality: Definite improvement; note different look of exact same 'tache with three different styles of hair.

Black Comedy & Miss Julie (2014)

4) Era: Series 2 of Endeavour airing; entering main Endeavour era; Quality: high; our first glimpse of this look

Publicity still for BBC Steve Wright interview (2014)

5) Era: S6 of course; Quality: It's the actual Morstache. You either hate it or love it. There's rarely an in between—although sudden, unexplained switches from the first to the second are strangely common.

Endeavour (screenshot (l.) S6E1: Pylon and photo (r.) by endeavourneverland)

6) Era: Late Endeavour era; Quality: High; first time he's used this look in an actual role

Vigil (2021)

7) Era: Era: Late Endeavour era; Quality: Questionable; but the photo on the left makes pretty much anything he may have done for the play worthwhile—and he does look adorable in the stocking cap on the right.

The Manor (2021) (Photo (l.) by Manuel Harlan; Photo (r.) by endeavourneverland)

8) Era: Technically not even here yet (unless you live in Australia or NZ...I think?); Quality: Depends highly on your POV; some find the dirty-hot-psycho look highly appealing; however, many have reached the point of finding *any* look highly appealing—as long as Evans actually appears in something. So the jury is still out.

Knowing me, I probably managed to miss something—but this, in a nutshell, is the journey so far.

Here's wishing us all many years of enjoyment to come.

[oeuvrinarydurian]

I’m crazy about this scene. I love how he shits all over her.

Love me some bitter, broody, bitchy Morse

Jace Lacob: I love the scene at the fete, where Joan tells him that he doesn’t look like himself. ‘Maybe I’m not me, not anymore,’ he says. ‘Things change,’ echoing Thursday’s earlier remark. Why does Morse want to hurt Joan here? Is it just masculine pride after her rejection?

Shaun Evans: Yes it is as simple as that, I think. Also it’s again pushing away. You know, it’s like you said about Thursday. It’s a pushing away. You start something new, you feel terrible about what happened with Fancy. Things aren’t really working out. I mean, this is an incredibly bright guy who’s constantly being shat upon at work, right? And then has been put back in uniform despite having solved all of these cases the cream is not rising. He’s being put out to pasture, back in uniform, utter humiliation, his life isn’t moving in a way that I think it should be. You kind of, in the same way that Thursday, you kind of wanna push people away from you. ‘Ok I’m gonna start fresh. I don’t want you guys close to me to see how humiliating this is.’ But also you know you’ve got to remember that he said, like twice or even more times, he said, ‘Will you marry me?’ He’s followed her up to a roof thinking there’s gonna be a romantic moment, and she’s like, ‘So I’ve got this friend I’d like you to meet.’ I mean there’s gonna come a point where I think you’re like, ‘This is done.’

-- Interview with Masterpiece Theater (2019)

[nativestarwrites]

The final poll! These were the favourite episodes from each of the individual series polls. If you thought picking your favourite from each series was hard... good luck picking an episode here! I'm certainly struggling! Please reblog, I'd love to get as many fans voting as possible! S1 poll had the most votes with 100, lets see if we can beat that! For the curious, the top 3 winners for each series:

Series 1: Fugue 57%, Home 21%, Overture (Pilot) 13% Series 2: Neverland 54.8%, Nocturne 22.6%, Trove 16.1% Series 3: Coda 35.4%, Ride 30.4%, Prey 20.3% Series 4: Canticle 57.7%, Harvest 23.1%, Lazaretto 15.4% Series 5: Icarus 31.8%, Quartet 22.7%, Colours, Passenger, Cartouche all with 13.6% Series 6: Degüello 71.4%, Pylon 17.9%, Apollo 7.1% Series 7: Zenana 63.9%, Raga 25%, Oracle 11.1% Series 8: Terminus 51.4%, Striker 31.4%, Scherzo 17.1% Series 9: Exeunt 55.9%, Uniform 38.2%, Prelude 5.9%

[oeuvrinarydurian]

“‘Robbery? I shit ‘em’, wasn’t it?”

Sassy eyebrows ft. snarky morsetache

[bryndeavour]

Got to do something for me, I can't sit by the window and wait for someone to tell me my life can start.

[mywingsareonwheels]

Observations having watched all of s6 of “Endeavour” yesterday

Here be spoilers

- I still don’t like Ronnie Box at all, but I’m very glad that he made some amends at the end and has the potential to gradually and fully atone and do better. He made an interesting, complex character, beautifully played with a huge amount of nuance (the weakness and the insecurity and the self-deceit and the fear and then at last that moment of courage and self-respect; the way in which he started off patronising and manipulating Thursday but then by the end was clearly desperate for his approval and changing because of his influence) and while I will never be one of his fans myself I have much more of an idea now why he has some. :-) (I’m going to agree with @bryndeavour that s6 Box isn’t really the same character as s5 Box, which is fortunate because s5 Box is just entirely worthless and appalling and bigoted and gross.)

- all four episodes were pretty good, and Pylon and Deguello were phenomenal.

- aaaaaaaah.

- the acting was breathtaking throughout, but oh my Gods Roger Allam. Just. The way in which he seemed small, and so diminished. Suddenly, actually an old man. But then handing back the money to Box made him shed ten years and grow about five inches and it was so profoundly present and yet so subtle. All of the main characters broke me a bit this season, but Fred Thursday above all because just. Ouch. I’ve been a fan of Allam’s for decades, and have been blessed enough to see him live onstage more than once, but however high my expectations of his acting he keeps on sweeping right up past them.

- I completely get why some people really dislike Morse in s6, it’s extremely valid. I don’t, though. In his own way he’s as beaten down and lost as Thursday is, it just manifests differently. Still want to give him a fucking earful for some stuff though, especially the way he talks to Joan in Pylon; I mean I’m not even that much of a Joan fan but bloody hell. Meanwhile I was cheering and wincing in turns when he stood up to Box and Jago over their corrupt and sloppy excuse for policing, and tried desperately and (at least to started with) fruitlessly and rather incompetently to bring Thursday back to himself. Only Morse could make glorious amounts of admiration and devotion and loyalty and love so fricking RUDE and angry and snippy and annoying to the person on the receiving end of it. ;-) He’s stubborn and infuriating and arrogant and very unwell and self-hating and insecure and self-centered and such a git sometimes, and yet so very very kind and good and loyal and heroic and loving and decent too. More and more spikes trying vainly to protect a heart even more raw and bleeding than before. Goodness but I love him. And want to get him some extremely good therapy.

- I love Joan going into social work; she’s so damn good at it! Also her boss is the best. Viv Wall/Dorothea Frazil, anyone? :-)

- I’ve never noticed before quite how good Morse is with kids, and how much he clearly wants one or two of his own, which makes knowing how his life is going to turn out completely heartbreaking. :-( There’s something desperately simple about him sometimes. Beautiful, intelligent woman who lives in a pretty village with a crossword-loving father and a cute small child? A family all suited (when his own family have failed him so badly and both his Cowley family and the Thursdays have fallen apart). Of course he’s going to go after her (and quite adeptly, for once!). Oh. Oh Morse. :-(

- on which note: Morse and Fred need each other so desperately. Aaaah. Seeing them reconciled, and seeing Morse’s quiet joy that Fred and Win are reconciling too... <3 <3 <3

- Strange and Bright and Max are the true heroes of the season though, no question. Especially Strange, who just went up several notches in my estimation. His determination and his dogged detective skills and his courage. His own case board in his own flat because fuck it, if he doesn’t have a station to solve crimes in he’ll make his own. His refusal to give up on his team even when they’d given up on themselves. He’s the main reason everything’s now better for the Cowley team and that Fancy is now avenged. His growth is just wonderful and I’m feeling increasingly like he’s going to end up as a super on merit, not just due to his connections.

- who was mentioning Fancy/Strange as a ship? Anyway, yes.

- Strange and Morse both giving a shit about the deaths of addicts and being furious at what’s being done to them is fucking righteous and good. Given how many people right now in the world do not give a shit about the lives and deaths of addicts and homeless people... that was damn good to see. Morse’s compassion is one of his very best qualities and Strange’s sense of justice is one of his. If there were nothing worse about Jago than his disagreeing with them over the importance of this matter, he’d still be a fucking villain for that alone.

- Bright and Thursday becoming more and more friends is beautiful and makes my heart happy. I love how much they respect each other and understand each other despite their wildly different backgrounds.

- I adore Max with every fibre of my being and am finally ready to start reading a good lot of Max/Morse fic. Dry/disturbing humour and brilliance and kindness and those gloriously gentlemanly (and extremely queer-coded) manners. *chef’s kiss* Also I love how completely he makes it clear that he despises Box and Jago and continues to regard Thursday and Morse as the people he actually is supposed to tell things to without ever being so uncouth as to say so.

- THE CHILDREN WHO SAVED BRIGHT’S LIFE BY BEING HIS FANS OMG. Also that bit where TRAFFIC SAVES THE DAY. That was all just the best pay-off to the pelican ad. :-)

- I am crushing on Shaun Evans so much at this point. :-) (Despite the Morsetache of Sorrow. ;-) ) I am having my usual actor-crush moment of wanting to cast him in basically every Shakespeare play. Especially as Brutus right now. Impressed by his directorial debut too.

- the cinematography in this season was magnificent, especially in Pylon holy shit. It’s just such a beautiful show.

- oh Gods, that tower. :-(

- the Big Damn Hero standoff moments in Deguello were everything that I’d hoped for and then some. <3

- I’m aware that s7 is a lot of people’s least favourite so trying to keep my expectations low as I go into it. But I know at least that the acting will be smashing if nothing else. :-)

[fanficrocks]

Pylon and its various Morsetache moods

The Morsetache of exclusion....

But all too soon, it is back to snarkstache!

Poor Fred - his expression says it all.

[morsesnotes]

Does anyone else sometimes wonder why Endeavour wasn't a bigger deal? I'm not really complaining because if it was at Sherlock levels that would be too much, but I just think about the first time I saw it. My parents were watching Pylon on Masterpiece Mystery, and it blew my mind. The beautiful cinematography, the music, the characters, the story, and yes even with the stache I could tell Shaun was attractive under there, lol. I kept thinking "How...have I never heard of this before?? This is incredible???"

And that was S6! The consistency it had was seriously impressive for how long it went on, the length of each film, and only having one writer.

Something about it is different from any detective show I've seen before. You can feel the amount of love which went into every part of it, and it often does the opposite of what you'd typically expect.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this but I feel like it deserves more appreciation than it gets, and I hope people will keep discovering it now there won't be any new seasons coming out. I think there's a lot of people who'd love it but have no idea it exists.

[mudlark2019]

Endeavour Fandom Meme

I was tagged by @eau1636 and @astridcontramundum.  Thank you, friends!

Top 5 episodes:

Home. For my money, the story structure of this one is watertight. I love how silently and sparsely the scenes of Morse grieving are: it’s almost entirely subtext and inference and Shaun Evans’s face -- those are the ingredients for when the show is at its best, imho.  The scene of Fred and Morse drinking together while Morse tells the story of learning to shoot for rabbits is among my all time favorites.  

Degüello. Just bursting with tension, yet at the heart of it is a fully-fleshed out, good old fashioned “body in the library mystery.”  And then they all end up where they belong in the end!  It was like watching Russell Lewis land a somersault.  

Neverland. Just devastating. Learning about Jakes’s background. The poem at the end is beyond sublime.  

Fugue. I hope Morse gets another nemesis!  This one is just good fun and also has a genuine creep factor.  

Trove. I love how fragile and broken he is in this one.  I love the angst of that, and how worried everyone is about him.  That’s my jam.

Seasons in Order of Preference:

S1, S2, S6, S4, S5, S7, S3

Favorite Scenes. 

Morse falling asleep on the Thursdays’ couch in Fugue is my favorite. The “after rabbits” scene between him and Thursday in Home. “I’ll have to take off my hat” in Trove.  The poem in Neverland.  The fall of the tower in Deguello and its aftermath where Bright takes charge.  The “what day is it” “corned beef” scene in the hospital in Canticle!  Morse picking up DeBryn in all his fishing gear “I didn’t order a taxi.”  All those lovely shots of Morse walking through the field in his uniform in Pylon. Dorothea asking Morse “All well?” after they’ve spent some time together in Harvest.  Win reading Morse’s letter in Zenana.  And I actually love-hate that scene on the rooftop in Passenger so much I find it hard to watch.  His face as he realizes she doesn’t want him...  HIS FACE.  

Favorite Musical Moment

When Morse is sitting in his chair, alone, home from the hospital in Canticle, listening to Verdi’s Messa da Requiem.  And then Joan calls.  

Favorite cinematography.

Pylon.  All those late summer fields.  The horse.  But every episode of this show looks absolutely amazing. 

Favorite Ensemble Character that isn’t Morse.

Do not make me choose between Max and Dorothea, I will not.

Favorite One-Episode Character.

What a great question!  That poor teacher who’s still stuck at Coldwater in Icarus!  I like to think he and the bad dead teacher’s widow eventually have a thing.  

Favorite Morse Look.

I actually like him best as the rumpled wunderkind in an old car coat in the first two seasons, if we’re just talking about character looks.  Season 3 hair OBVIOUSLY.  That boiler suit!  And I was a huge fan of the uniform.  He looked amazing.  And don’t hate me but I did not mind the mustache for a season.

Biggest Disappointment

Not too many, honestly.  This show is a huge treat and they take such care with it that even when it disappoints, there are still lots of things to love.  Like many, I did not especially like S7.  It was too painful watching Morse and Thursday fighting even though I know it’s realistic for two such dissimilar people to have this sort of falling out.  I did LOVE Morse’s letter and Thursday racing to help him. LOVED IT.  I just hope Russ will just skip along past the conflict in S8 and give us another season of them working side by side.  They love each other and this show is about love and partnership.  Give us that!

Speaking of: I also don’t really agree with the overall decision to introduce Ludo and Violetta and tell an over-dramatic opera story.  That’s all in keeping with the show and they did a very good job, but I was still left wondering why any of it was necessary when we have so many stories with our original crew that still need to be told before all’s said and done.  

Provide some Spicy Takes on canon, fandom, anything!

1) My spiciest is that I don’t really care for S3.  I was so angry when Ride aired because it didn’t deal with the devastating fallout of Neverland much at all, except to have Morse give a couple of unusually poorly written speeches confessing all his feelings.  Miss opportunities abounded.  Bixby himself was good fun though -- but the twins plot??  Arcadia is, for my money, the worst episode in the entire show, and Coda did not quite do enough for its very promising premise, nor had Joan’s exit been properly prepared.  

I confess I eventually grew to like the Jaws/Tiger episode though haha

2) Dakota Blue Richards was terrible.  Trewlove could have been a fun character, but she did nothing with the part and was sulky about her role on twitter to boot. I did think she was very good in “Icarus” though.  At least she nailed that.  

Oh shit I’ve ended on such a sour note! lol  To make up for it I pay homage to the memory of George Fancy, cuz Lewis Peek did a great job.  And Ronnie Box, wherever he is (I actually don’t mind that being a question mark at all -- I love it LOVE IT when writers leave things to their audience’s imagination).

Free Space!

I’ve met a lot of wonderful and amazing people through this show, both online and in real life.  Everything about it has felt like a gift, perhaps especially Shaun Evans’s face.  

@tea-cub @melbows @dangerously-human @imaginationtherapy

[oeuvrinarydurian]

I didn’t realize. Happy belated, and thank you for this because it’s a favorite.

Thank you everyone for the lovely birthday wishes/pics/gifs yesterday!

In return, here’s a classic for Catstretch Saturday 💀

[georgefancys]

Endeavour Fandom Meme

alright @bryndeavour tagged me in this literally five seconds ago but i wanna gush about endeavour immediately so

- Top 5 Episodes

Trove, Neverland, Prey, Canticle, Confection. Changes all the time tho (Icarus is not included bc while i really like it, it makes me genuinely depressed when i watch it. rip me)

- Seasons in Order of Preference

S2, S1, S5, S6, S4, S7, S3. Right so: season 2 interests me the most thematically and with the plot arc. Season 1 is just rlly consistently good even though it hasn’t produced any of my top 5, and same with season 5 - i think both of them are just consistently good without any standouts for me? Season 6 i think has a really cool vibe. season 4 is very good except i don’t particularly love Game - i would have said i disliked Harvest too, but I watched it recently for only like the second time and LOVED it so idk what was going on there. Season 7 i honestly think is really good, though i found a lot of problems with it in retrospect (treatment of women and the resolution of Ludo and Violetta’s storyline). Season 3 is WEIRD, because i LOVE Prey and quite like Arcadia. Now im gonna be controversial here: i’m not the BIGGEST fan of Ride. I didn’t like it the first time i watched it, then, since then every time i watched it i liked it more until the last time i watched it when i went back to not particularly loving it...? And i straight up don’t like Coda lmao, after the previous episode had a literal tiger, a shittily-executed bank heist that lasts for half the episode doesn’t really do it for me?

- Favourite Scene(s)

Tiger scene. Sorry to be cliche but tiger scene. The scene where Morse tries to get with Rosalind in Overture. Morse’s father’s death in Home. The ‘you’re not yellow, you’re just blue’ scene in Trove. The scene between Morse in Nick Wilding in Canticle. The LSD scene in Canticle (it’s just so fucking funny). The water-throwing scene in Muse. The fight scene in Passenger. The minefield scene in Colours. The ‘have you eaten?’ ‘of course’ ‘today?’ scene in Quartet. Morse and Isla’s kiss in Confection. The entire finale of Deguello. The scene between Morse and Ludo in Morse’s house in Oracle. Where Strange gets stabbed in Zenana. And my favourite scene in the whole show: the scene where Morse and Thursday are talking to Benny and Clyde in Neverland. Chills the whole time.

- Favourite Musical Piece or Moment

Miserere Mei, Deus in... i think Pylon - i love that piece of music. Jennifer Sometimes in Canticle is a bop. Hard Times from Lewis being in Passenger is a really nice callback. Dies Irae in Harvest is fun. Also, if it counts, i love All Along the Watchtower in the season 5 trailer (and i think it might be in Colours too?)

-  Favourite Cinematography/Imagery (season, ep, whatever)

The entirety of Harvest and Canticle. Arcadia is cool - the lovely typical supermarket, House Beautiful, it all fits with the theme of the episode.

- Favourite Ensemble Character that isn’t Morse

oooooof... probably Shirley and George?? Strange is close, esp. in season 7.

- Favourite One episode Character

Eve Thorne. i would die for her. I like Anthony Donn but honestly he doesn’t have much to do in Ride and half of my love for him is cos of his actor, Samuel Barnett. Also Ellie Bagshot in Quartet - for the Foyle’s War crossover.

- Favourite Morse Look (season, ep, whatever)

The red sweater thing in season 3. The weird boiler suit in season 7. The schoolmaster look in Icarus.

- Biggest disappointment

It’s horrendously un-diverse. They should have got another main female character after Shirley left. And it doesn’t treat the women it has amazingly, either - especially Violetta in Zenana. And it wouldn’t hurt to have some more gay rep - a fair few of the episodes have a gay side character, usually one where you only find their sexuality out in one scene late-on. But there should be a gay main character. Grantchester managed it in its second episode! Even Lewis gave us extremely good fodder for bisexual Hathaway. I really thought Ludo would deliver - i was a fool in man’s shoes. Also, Coda - nothing could top the tiger for me, seemingly.

- Provide some Spicy Takes (on canon, fandom, anything)

MORSESTACHE RIGHTS

I’ve already said it twice but, my dislike for Coda. Also, i know this Riles Up some people (cough cough) but there needs to be more canon gay rep, like there just needs to be.

ALSO - i’ll say this now - i love this fandom because there is never ever drama, and i want it to stay that way, but some of us just wanna watch Endeavour for the vibes, some of us wanna enjoy the wider universe, and both are okay and good! But what we shouldnt do is push people in the former group to watch IM or whatever and it can come across slightly as elitism. But enough of that.

- Free Space! (make up something - anything - you want to share or say)

I write fic - https://archiveofourown.org/users/bexpls/works you may be interested in a Morse/Max or a Morse/Anthony Donn, and one of these days i will get that bi Morse casefic and that gay Fancy fic done.

I ship Fancy/Trewlove to death, but i also love them both being gay and being each others’ wingmen.

Tagging: @petersjakes @fitzrove @jasmiinitee @lieutenantmalcolmreed(ik youve been tagged by ange but i love yall) @endeavourous @endeavourmors @melbows

[jameshathaways]

Endeavour survey results!

First of all, a giant thank you to everybody who took the time to do this, and reblogged to pass it along to others! In the end, 61 people completed the survey, whether answering all questions or just one or two. I was really happy with that considering that we’re a pretty small fandom! I’ll highlight some results under the cut but if you have other questions feel free to ask.

(Note: If you listed more than five responses for the episode questions, or more than three for the character/ship questions, I didn’t tally anything after the initial five (or three). My own responses aren’t included in the tally because I didn’t take the survey myself before collecting results and I felt weird having a tiebreaker vote on anything. Obviously this isn’t meant to be a scientific study or anything, just an informal survey, please don’t come after me for not using the most scientific of methods, et cetera.) 

Favorite Endeavour episodes - 58 responses:

More than half of you (32, to be exact) listed Fugue as one of your favorites. Up next are Neverland (23 votes), Prey (22 votes), and a tie for fourth between Degüello and Nocturne (20 votes each). Fifth place goes to Ride (15 votes). 

After that, it’s Icarus (14 votes), a tie between Canticle and Coda (both 11 votes), a three way tie between Endeavour (Pilot), Home, and Trove (10 votes each), and then a bunch of smaller numbers. Rocket and Cartouche were the only episodes not to get a single vote, but Game, Lazaretto, Apollo, and Confection are barely hanging on with just two votes each.

Bonus info: S2 episodes managed an average of 15.5 votes each. It appears to be our most universally liked series, with even its least voted for episode (Sway) receiving nine votes. In contrast, S4 averaged just five votes per episode, and S5, five and a half. S6 made a bit of a comeback, averaging nearly seven votes per episode, but of the 27 votes casted for S6 episodes, 20 were for Degüello!

For those curious, IMDb currently lists its highest-rated episode as Degüello by quite a large margin (I’m suspicious on that one though, since it aired so recently and doesn’t have nearly as many ranking votes as the other episodes), followed by Neverland, then Coda and Icarus (those two are tied), and followed by another tie between Pylon and Fugue. Ride and Prey are probably the most divisive episodes, with lower rankings than most other episodes on IMDb, but seem to be pretty universally enjoyed on here.

Favorite Endeavour side characters - 61 responses:

Max Debryn was the landslide winner here, with 38 votes! Reginald Bright and Shirley Trewlove were tied with 23 votes each, then it’s Dorothea Frazil with 21 votes. After that, it’s Jim Strange with 17, Peter Jakes with 16, and Joan Thursday with 15. Everybody else received fewer than 10 votes. Joss Bixby was the only character who appeared in just one episode but received votes, and he got four!

Favorite romantic ships - 60 responses:

Max/Morse took this category, with 26 votes, followed by Joan/Morse at 22 votes. No other ship came close, but Win/Fred and Jakes/Morse received 13 votes each, Monica/Morse got 11, and 10 of you voted for Thursday/Morse. 

Other stuff: I haven’t seen much talk of Jim Strange ships on tumblr, but six of you called out Strange/Morse as something you’re shipping these days, and several mentioned Joan/Strange. Femslash ships that got a mention were Win Thursday/Dotty Frazil, Joan/Trewlove, and Joan/Joyce Morse! Joss Bixby/Morse got four votes. We sure do love Ride.

Favorite relationships you don’t ship romantically - 57 responses:

Thursday & Morse were voted for 24 times, DeBryn & Morse got 19, Trewlove & Morse received 14, and Strange & Morse tied with Frazil & Morse at 13 each. The top-voted relationship that doesn’t involve Morse was Bright & Trewlove at six votes. 

Other stuff: If you add up the votes from both relationship questions to get some kind of “ultimate favorite relationship on the show" results, Max and Morse take that one with 45 mentions, followed by Thursday and Morse with 34 mentions, and Joan and Morse with 30 mentions. Technically respondents could have double-listed any relationship they were especially passionate about by listing it as both a romantic and non-romantic ship, though, so that may not be 100% accurate.

Bonus question! Favorite Lewis episodes - 32 responses:

And the Moonbeams Kiss the Sea was far and away the winner here, with 13 votes. Life Born of Fire received 10, and then The Dead of Winter and The Soul of Genius tied with eight each. Then Old Unhappy Far Off Things and The Gift of Promise tied with six each (Lewis sure does love those “The [something] of [something]” titles, huh). After that it’s The Ramblin’ Boy with five votes. And then it dissolves into a messy tie between Counter Culture Blues, Wild Justice, The Quality of Mercy, Expiation, Intelligent Design, and Generation of Vipers, all at four votes. 

Anyway, again, thank you so much to everybody who took the time to do this! I hope somebody else finds the results as interesting as I do. :) Anything surprising? Anything you totally expected? I’d love to hear your thoughts! If you have any specific questions I didn’t answer here, or if you spot a typo or anything (I typed this up pretty quickly), please message me.