This episode seems to have everything that made the series great: the unbearable weight of society's hierarchies, embodied here by -- of all things! -- the politics of the police. But there's also Morse's curmudgeonly lovability, Strange's predictable difficulties with protocol, Lewis's wanting-to-believe-yet-almost-bailing. It is probably the most noir of the lot: everyone loses, even Morse's debating team. But it is the chemistry between Thaw, Davies, and Colley that is the most mesmerising. Listen to how Kenneth Colley pronounces the initial sibilant of the word 'slab' in his final scene: terrifyingly competent. And of course the signature tune, Puccini's Senza Mamma, nails it.
Review of Second Time Around
