His third sin isn't really fair on him, but as Jackson points out; 'He ain't Hobbs. He ain't...' Hobbs, the baby-faced H Division P.C. was one of the most memorable characters in season one, a character who grew under the gruff guidance of Drake to be a wonderful addition to the Leman Street team. Having made us invest in him, the Ripper Street writers then destroyed us by killing off Hobbs at the end of season one, leaving most of us crying out 'Why?!' Hobbs was diligent, brave and just so cute, which is what made his death so devastating. Small touches, such as finding out after his demise that he had a young wife, only made the whole thing more tragic (Goddamnit Ripper Street writers you play our emotions like a fiddle!). In contrast, Flight is too old to be cute as a button, slightly shifty-looking and, as we've covered above, quite irritating. He really doesn't do anything to fill the Hobbs-shaped hole in our hearts. Nonetheless, inexperience, smugness and not being Hobbs doesn't necessarily add up to being a bad copper. But it is his final act in the episode that seals his fate as being perhaps the worst policeman ever...
Thanks to his annoying need to prove himself and his smug pronouncements, Constable Flight decides to stay up all night, presumably prowling the streets of Whitechapel looking for more doss houses in which to get beaten up. Again, nothing criminal about that you might think. But the next day, events take a turn for the worse and Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man, comes to Reid as a witness to Shine's murder of Linklater. Reid charges Constable Flight to escort Merrick back to his room at the hospital and guard him until they can fetch Inspector Abberline to hear his account of the murder. It's a pretty simple job sit outside Merrick's room and make sure no one comes in to try and kill him. But, because Flight has been running around fighting crime the previous evening rather than getting some beauty sleep, he's nodding off the moment it gets dark. It's a terrible moment that has you on your feet, screaming at the TV; 'WAKE UP YOU TIT!' Sure enough, Shine manages to sneak past Flight as he's snoring away and gets into Merrick's room to kill him. Shine's cruelly slow murder of the Elephant Man leaves you horrified and it's near impossible not to want to punch Constable Flight for his negligence. The episode ends without any emphasis on Flight's failure, however I'm sure we'll see some sort of repercussions in the next episode. He's got a lot of work to claw his way out of the hole he's put himself in and, at this point, it seems doubtful that he'll ever be worthy of H Division.
Think Flight's not so bad? Or that I've missed something out? Leave a comment below and let us know.