After last weeks enticing episode, The Weight of One Mans Heart, Detective Sergeant Bennet Drake (Jerome Flynn) had his story told. Revealing his past indiscretions during the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882 let us understand Drakes character leaving just Captain Homer Jackson (Adam Rothenberg) and Detective Edmund Reid (Matthew Macfadyen) to have their pasts revealed. This week offered varying parts to add to the ever growing picture of both of the characters jigsaw puzzle past but didnt allow us what we grasp for, that will be left to the final two episodes. Tournament of Shadows offer something different to what you might expect from Ripper Street, stepping from the toll of murder as the greed and despicable desire of a man controlled by lust, money and revenge, Ripper Street went political with the depiction of anarchists, unionists, spies and double agents; all surrounding the London Dock Strike of 1889. The ability of the writers to create eight episodes that differ so vastly, on scale of not only plot but emotion and draw, is staggeringly spectacular. Beginning with a death of a seemingly unimportant person as we have come to know from Ripper Street, a Jewish man is killed in what is claimed to be an accidental explosion but it is not only the explosion that is not what it seems. The victim, Joshua Bloom (Ferdinand Kingsley), is actually an anarchist who was being watched by Special Branch. Linked with the striking workers, Bloom is classed as a disease by Commissioner James Monro (Michael McElhatton), who claims that, None of us are safe from this leftist cancer. Reid holds a degree of sympathy to the workers for he acknowledges their rights to strike for better pay and that it is simply a handful of trouble makers to spoil the unionists image. Things grow ever more suspicious as Bloom is shown to have been killed before the bomb exploded. Reids story spirals through unionists, radicals anarchists, Russian spies, corruption, racism and the fear of the left. Jackson is forced to go undercover as a striker due to his history as a Pinkerton, causing a rift between he and Reid to widen as he opposes the idea and Reid threatens to arrest him if he does not comply. This has been common place over the last few weeks as their completely different personalities have clashed, a feature that in my mind looks to be leading to the climax as to Jacksons story. Dont get me wrong for I really enjoy the interactions and overall make-up of our H Division triple entente but what, in my eyes, constitutes the excitement of our leads is their differences; see Jacksons purpose of being a whore-mongering, boozing, layabout contrasting the straight-faced, law upholding personas of Reid and Drake which causes frays to form in their friendship, if you can call it so.
It is quickly shown that a man named Victor Morris (Peter Ferdinando) is leading the anarchists and Jackson impresses him. Speaking to Morris he discusses the events of the Haymarket riots in Chicago, something I did not know about and whos bones are only mentioned. The show has the ability to do this with a variety of subject, mention them briefly alluding to enough for us to understand the basics and carry on with the story. During the conversation of Haymarket, it is told that this real life event involved the striking of unionist that was peaceful until a bomb was thrown at police. Morris and Jackson allude to the Pinkertons (over Pinks) being the architects of the violence, hired by the factory owners because the workers had turned red, and the unionists were falsely blamed and executed. As I stated, it is only the barebones of the event that are covered but I am not the sort of person who simply takes what is said, I researched the event. The Haymarket Affair, was the bombing that took place during a labour demonstration on May 4th 1886, in Chicago. The peaceful rally ending in a dynamite bomb being thrown at police and with the resulting gun fire seven officers and four civilians were killed whilst many were wounded. Eight anarchists were convicted of conspiracy, seven were sentenced to be executed (two of whom had their sentences changed to life in prison and one committed suicide before execution) the other received fifteen years. One theory was that the Pinkertons were behind the bombing, for they were often hired to infiltrate trade unions, keep unionists and anarchists out of factories and to intimidate these who rebelled, although to this day the bombers identity remains ambiguous. A few fans I have conversed with have mentioned their distain at having to independently research the events alluded to in Ripper Street but I for one enjoy getting my teeth into the background, like with the mentioning of the Okhrana. I love the idea that I am needed to interact with the show, learn more about Victorian culture to stay in the loop, while I know others who are simply looking for escapism on a Sunday night rather than to test their brains.
Another story strand that confronts Reid regards his failing relationship with his wife Emily (Amanda Hale). It seems that the loss of their daughter and their differences regarding their optimism over the girls fate, Emily believes their daughter is dead and has grieved whereas Edmund still hold hope, has caused their marriage to have become strained and cold. It is revealed that she had gone missing over a year ago and that Emily feels the time has past for mourning and that their daughters room should be cleared of possessions. Reid has obviously become a workaholic to veil his guilt and grief whilst through the episodes Emily has immersed herself in her work helping abused women, both focusing on work has de-associated them from one another. Building up with the parallel trials with being limited to his duty by his superiors and having his abilities questioned (regarding the failure of capturing the ripper), he emotionally reveals to Miss Goren (Lucy Cohu) the cause of his scarring and the loss of his daughter to both be from a boating accident involving molten debris and Mathilda (the daughter) falling overboard but, with four others, never being found. This for me was the finest scene of the episode, the emotion portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen was enchanting and breathtakingly haunting. What follows was the most intriguing scene the story had to offer, having been building since Gorens introduction in episode two, as Reid and she passionately embraced, seen by Drake to his shock. This occurrence offers a fantastic set up, will Drake tell of this affair? Will Reid leave Emily? Is their marriage doomed? It seems that the final two episodes will offer the answers.
This series is truly fantastic. The narrative is fresh and interesting, twists are plentiful and it never grows stale. Each week offers something new, something tantalising and this week is the same. Our protagonists are backed against the wall by their institution (Reid against Constantine), their enemies (Jackson against Morris) and one another (Reid forcing Jackson into the undercover work). Even though I enjoyed this episode I feel it could not stand up to the highs of the previous, for last weeks was the emotional portrayal of the journey of Drake though loyalty and honour whereas this weeks feel into the routine of the police procedural; it could possibly be because of my favour for Drake and my desire for all of the protagonists secrets to be unveiled though. Russian spies and terrorists felt a bit illogical at the beginning but the writers were able to persuade me that terrorism could be a realistic and interesting twist on the homicide narrative that we have got used to. The episodes structure allows for the audience to get their teeth into the varying developments, the Reids frail marriage, the relationship between Reid and Miss Goren, Reid and Jacksons volatile friendship, Jacksons secrets and the episodes central plot of radicals and bombs. What drew me into this episode the most was DI Reids relationships with those around him due to the fact each is strained; his marriage is cold and distant, Drakes perception of his integrity is questioned by seeing the kiss between Reid and Miss Goren and Reid and Homer Jackson having once again aggressively clashed. The slow revealing of Reid and Jacksons respective pasts offer the intrigue that keeps me invested to the show (well I would probably still be watch for I am an admirer of the production), the biggest revelation coming close to the climax of the episode in which Constantine reveals that Jackson is not this mans real name, he is not a Pinkerton nor has he ever been raising the question of who is this man? A question to be answered next week it seems.
With the end of the episode resulting in a lack of justice for the corrupt, the final lines between Isaac Bloom (brother of the deceased Joshua) and DI Reid seems to offer us a taste of whats to become of Reid and company in the final episodes of the series:
Everything, from the smallest system to the entire world, moves always irretrievably from order into chaos, and theres nothing that can be done about it. You share that belief?
No
Then perhaps you are, after all, a man of faith.
This faith will surely be push to its absolute limits.
Let me know what you thought regarding the portrayal of terrorism in the Victorian age, what you think will become of Edmund and his wife Emily and what you think of the series!