Ripper Street

Season 1 – 100% – Every unforgettable crime story needs an attractive setting and a compelling main character. When instead of one main hero, three come along, it's a pleasure, but it doesn't prepare me for the fact that Victorian crime can captivate me perfectly, over and over again. The determined Edmund, the fragile tough guy Drake, and the unruly Doctor Jackson form a perfect personality triangle that leads the viewer through dirty London and its most remote alleys. And from an inconspicuous start, this has a shot at becoming an authentic British classic within just a few episodes. Shall we? Season 2 – 100% – For some, this may seem like CSI: London, but for me, it's one of the brightest gems of British television. It literally shocks me that something so perfectly crafted, with clever plots and dialogue, and with realistic character development, won its battle for new episodes only through acquisition by Amazon. The whole core trio (which along with Susan is more of a quartet) engages in a battle against unscrupulous elements of Whitechapel, against an unforgiving destiny, and against villains led by the unbeatable, slimy, and breathtaking Jedediah Shine, portrayed perfectly by Joseph Mawle. And they do it so well that all eight elaborate episodes feel desperately short. I dare not predict whether such a high bar can remain untouched in the future. Season 3 – 90% – Many gloomy investigations in places even dirtier than before, an emotionally charged overarching storyline, and an unexpected side joke that kills even more because of its surprising placement. Even after the previous season, which was already highly intense and personal, the tireless hounds from H Division manage to find new ways to torture their own souls. In episodes where the cast is incomplete for plot reasons, the series gains credibility and realism instead of its usual exceptionalism. I applaud this daring and, after the very definite final minutes, I'm surprised that the main creator Richard Warlow takes the risk to continue further. Considering the quality, I can't wait for everything we have to look forward to. Season 4 – 90% – Among the nerve-wracking moments with unpredictable new characters and Mathilda's adorable search for her own life path, apart from the usual strong dialogue, which has no equal in the genre, there is more longing: longing for a happier past, for the happiness that could have been and isn't, for the times when London wasn't cheerful, but still had something magical and unmistakable. I received the decision not to wrap it up after three seasons with immense relief, because here we slowly move from a provisional ending into something palpably melancholic. Season 5 – 100% – A staggering experience that, besides unraveling the central two-season mystery, contains surprising returns, the best performances I have seen in the series so far, and in the last episode in particular, so many truths about life that even a day after watching it, I can't think about anything else for more than five minutes apart from the final Occurrence Reports. About how some people belong together, no matter what happens in their lives, no matter how many times fate separates them. About how some simply have a destiny to exist somewhere, even if a thousand storms, which could (and maybe should) carry them far away, pass through that place. About how a mission can be the strongest thing in life. And last but not least, about how I expected a suspenseful crime show from Ripper Street years ago and got a hundred times more. (23.06.2013) (weniger) (mehr)