After last week’s tribute to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, one would be forgiven for hoping Arcadia was a literary reference to Evelyn Waugh or Tom Stoppard, but this episode is a cleverly constructed drama that stands on its own, with a nicely tied whodunnit that leaves you guessing till the end. Artist Simon Hallward is found dead in his burnt-out flat. His room is full of solvents and the police are quick to label the fire an accident, while Morse’s attention is drawn by the Teasmaid next to the victim’s bed. Hallward had dropped out of college to join a nearby commune. Suspicious, Morse and Thursday visit ‘House Beautiful’, run by the high-handed Gideon Finn (Max Bennett) and the spiritual Ayesha (Amelia Clarkson). Thursday takes an immediate and intense dislike to their lifestyle and worries what happens behind closed doors. “Free love?” he snipes, “In my experience, that’s the most expensive kind there is.”
An incident with glass in baby food is soon linked with the fatal collapse of a housewife and the ‘tummy bug’ that plagues Cowley Road Police Station, leading Morse to local supermarket, Richardson’s. Outside the store, protesters object against the food chain’s possible involvement in importing prohibited Rhodesian goods. Morse interrogates political activist Cuthbert Mukamba (Charles Babalola) but discovers that the late Hallward is to blame for poisoning the food supplies – a discovery that has Morse sprinting to the nearby pub to stop Thursday from setting his teeth into one of Win’s sandwiches, as she is a loyal customer at Richardson’s.
As a result, a new character is introduced, the observant WPC Shirley Trewlove (Dakota Blue Richards), and the competence she demonstrates makes Morse take an immediate liking to her. And there are more female encounters: the persistent advances of Annette Richardson are ignored, Joan Thursday still harbours a crush, and Monica Hicks- ostensibly the only nurse in Oxford- keeps crossing his path.
The past trauma still weighs heavily on Morse’s shoulders, who’s more determined but without spry excitement at finding a clue. Yet it is Thursday’s behaviour that worries far more. A man with high morals, it is no secret that he’s willing to fight for what he believes in, but his control is visibly slipping. In contrast, Bright, who has lost his blind faith in his superiors, becomes more loveable and shows genuine concern for his officers. Russell Lewis’s writing and character development are as top notch as we’ve come to expect of him. The dialogue is lively, especially the few quips from Thursday, played straight-faced by Allam. A great debut from director Bryn Higgins too: Arcadia is visually beautiful, as it shows a more homely Oxford, and the supermarket’s pastel colours and Green Shield Stamps provide their own kind of nostalgia.
Endeavour brilliant nothing to match it got every episode love it
Killer one
So we don’t know who the killer was?