‘Endeavour’ Season 8 Episode 2 recap: What happened in ‘Scherzo’?

The eighth season of Endeavour continued in the UK tonight!

ITV’s Inspector Morse prequel series is back with three brand new feature-length episodes, having been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Written by Endeavour creator Russell Lewis, Season 8 sees Shaun Evans reprise his role as DS Endeavour Morse, alongside Roger Allam as DCI Fred Thursday.

Also returning are Anton Lesser (Game of Thrones) as CS Reginald Bright, Sean Rigby (Gunpowder) as DS Jim Strange, James Bradshaw (Close to The Enemy) as Dr Max DeBryn, Abigail Thaw (I Want My Wife Back) as Dorothea Frazil, Caroline O’Neill (Last Tango In Halifax) as Win Thursday, and Sara Vickers (Watchmen) as Joan Thursday.

The year 1971 has just begun and any hope of light duties quickly vanishes as the team, still reeling from the events of the past year, are summoned to investigate the most challenging of cases so far.

Endeavour’s struggle with his inner demons reaches fever pitch, exacerbated by love, lost and guilt weighing on his mind. All the while, the team find themselves right back in the thick of it as crime in Oxford takes on a scale bigger than ever before.

Here’s a plot recap for ‘Scherzo’, which aired on ITV at 8pm on Sunday 19th September 2021:

May 1971, and a cab driver is found dead in his taxi, owing a large debt to a colleague.

Investigations into his death leads Endeavour and the team first to a nudist colony, where guests are making the most of the spring sunshine, and later to the heart of a blue movie outfit in London’s Soho.

Meanwhile at home, Endeavour receives a guest who reminds him of a past he’d sooner forget.

As the investigation into the cab driver’s murder unfolds, Endeavour starts to retreat from those close to him and appears set on a course of willful self-destruction.

Endeavour is available to watch on Amazon Prime and if you’re not already a member you can sign up for a free 30-day trial here!