"Endeavor" is back for season 3 after a long hiatus - so long, in fact, that we sat there for the part of the episode "Ride" trying to remember why Endeavor had been in prison, and what had happened the last time we saw him, which seemed like 25 years ago. Would it have killed PBS to take one or two minutes of its non-advertising ads to recap the end of Season 2?
Season 3 finds Endeavor out of prison after being set up by corrupt colleagues, living in a shack in the woods, and having some sort of involvement with a rich crowd nearby.
When a young woman is found dead, Morse, not back at work, becomes peripherally involved. He is humiliated about being imprisoned and states that he is through with actual police work. He also blames himself for DI Thursday (Roger Allam) being shot. But DI Thursday points out that the shooting wasn't his fault. That, and an apology from Chief Superintendent Bright (Anton Lesser) gets him back to his desk to work on a complex case that involves another murder.
Season 3's first story is a cross between "The Great Gatsby" and "Prestige," as others have pointed out.
I can't correlate the young Morse with the older one, so I watch this series as if it is a separate entity.
Shaun Evans is wonderful in the lead. I really don't see this person developing into the character played by John Thaw, but he's very effective and attractive. I enjoyed hearing a bit of "Rigoletto" as well while he was enjoying a drink. He and Roger Allam work well together, and Allam's character is a strong one. Here's hoping that nasty Bright is a little nicer to our Morse this season.
Very good, and I'm really glad this series is back.