Every now and then in the fandom of an historical show I find myself compelled to type "historical context" (even though I know it is generally useless).
The Thursdays when we first met them were the British version of an American baby boomer family - war was over, they survived, they had kiddies, Fred's move to Oxford made his career somewhat safer, and they had a house and a good retirement program in the works.
Then, tragedy -- the Sixties.
Joan had a starter job at a bank: nice boss, nice boyfriend, and suddenly the bank is robbed, the boss is killed, and the boyfriend had been pumping her for inside information so his gang could rob the place. She felt used, stupid, and guilty, and not having grown up in an era of true crime novels, tv, and podcasts, she was as easily duped as the next person. In fact, it was customary in such case to blame her as a fool, or an accomplice playing the poor pitiful me card. So, having followed all the rules that society said were the milestones of a good llife, she ran away and broke more rules.
Sam finished school and joined the army, a young man's milestsone. All right and well enough, but post-war British Army meant Northern Ireland. If you are old enough to remember, the British in NI were as welcome as the US in Vietnam. Fred worrying about Sam and Win living for the weekly letter takes me back to the year my uncle was deployed in Vietnam. He was Air Force, he was an HQ REMF, he worked and lived in the middle of a huge base, and my grandfather spent every waking moment glued to the news and waiting for a knock at the door (Uncle came home just fine, and went on to be Career).
Fred believed his brother's latest grift, even though it was stupid. And it was still apparently a guy thing that The Man made all the money decisions all by himself (that one I've never understood, as it's the smartest one in our family who does that, including my mother and both grandmothers). He put their old age to absurd risk and he's lucky she didn't make sandwiches with rancid food.
And as for Win, she followed all the rules and the societal guarantees didn't happen. Win is an example of someone who can be good and kind and even long-suffering, but doesn't have the internal fortitude to Keep Buggering On - that was all supposed to end with the war, or at least with rationing.
Sam will make it or not, be scarred or not, we will probably get no more of a hint then they can squeeze into the final season. Joan has worked her way into her future; her experience as a useful idiot to an unscupulous man and as chattel to a rich jackass have prepared her to help women and families in crisis - if nothing else it has given her an unsentimental attitude toward drunks - and I really loved her with Strange. Strange is actively living his life and life choices, and will indeed by CS someday. Fred and Win will probably survive into retirement, but it wo't be the happy dancing they were planning.
And that's the Thursdays. I never expected Endeavour to have a happy ending, as Morse pretty much established that.
Bright is my favorite though. With the unending sad life events, which he persistently responds to with Grace, and his unfailing decency, I so 💖 him. He was a hardass at the beginning, but his response to Morse's father's dying put him firmly on the list of people I wish were my boss. His response to the collapsed building was immediate and perfect. And now he's living out the rest of his career with serenity, running interference with upstairs, checking the pulse of his cops, including Morse and Thursday - dammit, why was he never my boss?
Sorry/not sorry for the length, but I guess this is my farewell ode to the series (even though I WILL be watching series 9).
Edited July 4, 2022 by kassygreenencG1vNJzZmien6fCrr%2BNqamipZWptq6x0WeaqKVfqbyxtcJob3JtZml6prrDnpivp6WnfLGtxp5mam1f