@merryapril said:

As the season finale _ Icarus_ was drawing to a close with only a couple of minutes remaining, I wondered if the question of who shot George would be brushed aside. I thought to myself, how COULD the writers do such a thing??? ESPECIALLY after having made the distinction about the bullets, which accounted for only a fraction amidst SO much gunfire, resulting in SO much carnage at Eddie Nero's place!!! But not to worry, since it turned out to be a mystery that galvanized the resolve of Morse, Thursday and Strange to find out who did it.

One of Morse's students at Coldwater remarked that the police killed Brett Nero's father, so police corruption may be a scenario our heroes will have to contend with in the future. I have a theory, but it may be too obvious. Any other ideas?

I, too, thought that corrupt police killed Fancy. But I keep asking myself why? Maybe it was a message sent to Bright and Co. to stay away from vice? I just don't know. So, merry, what is your theory?

lennonforever, my theory's the same as yours and I too wonder WHY exactly George was shot. I've been wanting to re-watch the earliest episodes from this season to refresh my memory, but I at least recall George clashing (for lack of a better word) with the "division" officers who were on the Nero case for a while. He was more closely involved with them, having participated in a stakeout IIRC.

I wonder if the reason why will be something fairly obvious, like George came upon a corrupt cop at the scene? It seems too obvious though, and that's not usually the case in Endeavour. Hmm, could a plot twist involve Chief Superintendent Bright somehow???

It's good to have finally learned answers, via the Series/Season 6 finale, regarding George Fancy's murder.

I'd like to at some point rewatch Season 5, as I was new to the Endeavour series (which I began watching at the start of S5) when I watched that season, therefore didn't have familiarity with the various characters, work dynamics, etc. Now, knowing what we learned from the Season 6 finale, it would be interesting to rewatch S5 with fresh eyes.

Incidentally, here's a thread I created regarding the Season 6 finale: https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/44264-endeavour/discuss/5d22de95ef4889000fea2ab4