With the opening of a new Thames Valley police barracks and the dispersal of the good old city crew, the EndeavourSeries Six cast has welcomed new faces and bid farewell to familiar ones. From a new Detective Chief Inspector, to the previously elusive Mrs. Bright, this season has introduced four new characters that have proved vital to the storylines of the season – and the development of our beloved boys from Oxford. Read on to learn more about the new faces that Morse has encountered in series 6.
Detective Chief Inspector Ronnie Box
We got a brief introduction to Ronnie Box (Simon Harrison, Everest, London Has Fallen) last series, as the nasty Detective Inspector who locked horns with the Oxford team after he erroneously blamed Trewlove for a botched stakeout. But between seasons Box got a promotion, and came to the forefront of Endeavour’s cast, taking charge of the Thames Valley Station – and Fred Thursday. When he’s not rocking a '70s chic turtleneck-and-sports-jacket ensemble, Box is busy bossing Fred Thursday around and dismissing Morse’s case concerns. To be honest, it’s hard to tell whether Box is a totally black character, or just a morally-grey bureaucrat – but hopefully we’ll have the finale (and series 7) to find out.
Detective Sergeant Alan Jago
Alan Jago (Richard Riddell) is the strong and (mostly) silent type, standing at Box’s shoulder to sneer at Thursday and Morse as the men butt heads over cases. Jago seems to embody the worst of the police force in Thames Valley – not only is he on the take with Box, but he’s also involved with the increase of drug use in town. And while Box often seems conflicted with his own involvement in the town's corruption, and his dismissal of Morse, Jago appears to take pleasure in his belittlement of the old City crew, and resent the work needed for his role. It’ll be interesting to see if he and Box stay a united front as series 6 comes to a close.
Mrs. Bright
With Box now leading the Thames Valley force, we can’t help but wonder where our beloved CS Bright has gone. A demotion to traffic was one part of that mystery, but that’s not all that had changed in Bright’s life. Mrs. Bright (Carol Royle) has finally been brought into the series, and while previous seasons have heard about her social concerns around the Oxford crime cases, this season takes a more personal turn in her and the CS’ life. Soon after meeting Mrs. Bright, we discover she has been diagnosed with cancer, and isn’t expected to live much longer. It’s a tragic plotline for the already downtrodden CS Bright, but through this plotline, we do see how much care CS Bright has for his wife – and how much strength he derives from the relationship.
Viv Wall
The final key character on our list is Viv Wall (Alison Newman). A social worker in Oxford, she gives us an eye into the poorer sectors of a town that is most known for its elite universities. Serving as a case source and a mentor for the maturing Joan Thursday, Wall is a battle-axe. Tough, passionate but with a hint of snark, Wall is a fantastic foil for Morse, and a great role model for Joan. It’s through Wall’s guidance that we see Joan’s passion for change truly becoming realized, and the first hint of feminism in Oxford. While she wasn’t in this series as much as Jago or Box, we do hope that she will become a more prominent character as time goes on.
While these four characters stood out to us most from the Endeavour Series 6 cast, there were a few other reccurring characters introduced, as well as a great deal of one-time appearances. Who was your favorite new face from this season? Let us know on Facebook, or tweet at us with #WGBHEndeavour.
