Maybe I Like Grim

(Ummmm that shirt and that suit 🤦‍♀️ )

I absolutely agree that the scene is focused on how Morse feels, in that moment, seeing her as victim of DV, and yes, his offer is very tone-deaf. I think Sara Vickers does her best to counterbalance the scene, but it's absolutely Morse-centric (in both cinematography and emotional emphasis) -- about how her refusal devastates him, and I don't love it for that reason.

One of the reasons I see Joan's DV as a plot device is that it seems both unnecessary and gratuitous. It seems to be there just for Angst level. We never get any exploration of her trauma from being at the bank, because the DV trauma is heaped on-top and takes the focus. I also think it cheapens the way that Ray is taking advantage of her: a situation that was devastating in itself (Thursday's monologue in Muse springs to mind). Speaking of Thursday, I vaguely see RL's connection about the circle of violence: Thursday beating up Ray leads to Ray beating Joan and how it parallels and contrasts the other plots in Harvest; Seth killing Laxman for being "quick with a back-hander;" and Donald Bagley not wanting to commit violence because he "love[s]" peace and his wife more than killing. It's all very neatly done. But I'm a firm believer that significance of stories work when they build on real situations and people: so the disconnect between that here bothers me.

She's highly ashamed of her circumstances, and he's really the only person who knows exactly what she's been through since the bank robbery. He knows about the apartment, about everything (which plays into why she wants to distance herself from him later on), but at this stage I can see her feeling like Morse is the only one who wouldn't judge her. The fact he went out of his way to find her earned her trust.

I would have a bigger problem with it if Joan was established as a character with a strong network of friends from the beginning but she isn't. She's very insular and tied to her family, and I can see that being intentional to show how claustrophobic living at home is for her. It changes in S5 when she starts creating her own life out in the world.

That being said, I WISH Joan from the beginning was given her own established world because the fact we never see her talking to friends or even Win about her life makes her very hard to understand, and it does mean she makes baffling unrealistic decisions.

When everything gets to be too much, both personally and the bigger scale of events happening, it helps to watch a piece of media which isn't designed to be constantly stimulating.

With Endeavour part of that is the fact it's a period piece so the use of technology is minimal, and although the supporting cast changes every episode, they're mainly within the confines of Oxford. There's a strong attention to detail in it feeling like a lived-in world with deep relationships between a small group of characters.

The other part though is specific to how Endeavour is made. It lingers on stillness and quiet in a way that a lot of shows are afraid to do, period or otherwise. It's not particularly cozy, but there's a catharsis in watching a guy going through difficult emotions you can relate to in a way where he's simply sitting in a room contemplating. Not being super dramatic. He's sitting there and you're there too going "Yeah I get it buddy."

The Bay is hit or miss for me - the characters often aren't very likable imo, but this season felt like the most enjoyable so far, and Shaun's directing was a big part of that.

When everything gets to be too much, both personally and the bigger scale of events happening, it helps to watch a piece of media which isn't designed to be constantly stimulating.

With Endeavour part of that is the fact it's a period piece so the use of technology is minimal, and although the supporting cast changes every episode, they're mainly within the confines of Oxford. There's a strong attention to detail in it feeling like a lived-in world with deep relationships between a small group of characters.

The other part though is specific to how Endeavour is made. It lingers on stillness and quiet in a way that a lot of shows are afraid to do, period or otherwise. It's not particularly cozy, but there's a catharsis in watching a guy going through difficult emotions you can relate to in a way where he's simply sitting in a room contemplating. Not being super dramatic. He's sitting there and you're there too going "Yeah I get it buddy."