TV REVIEW: Ripper Street - The Weight of the World

We, and by that I mean myself and the four others of you still watching it, have now arrived at Episode 5 of the BBC’s Ripper Street. And, having stuck with it from the beginning and genuinely enjoyed a good deal of the series, this week was a bit of a non-event, really.

It wasn’t so much that it came across as a filler episode, but more that I hadn’t the foggiest what was going on for the majority of it, and had run out of energy to try. So if, like me, you spent your Sunday evening shouting ‘but who is he? Since when was he talking to her? What’s he doing over there and WHY IS THERE A HORSE?’ here is a little summary of what actually did happen in 'The Weight of One Man's Heart'.

When a gang of robbers steal some valuable jewels, returning all but one blue sapphire, Inspector Reid is puzzled, convinced that something is not right. Meanwhile, Sergeant Drake has, somewhat inexplicably, fallen in love with Rose the prostitute. She in turn simply wants to be an actress, and would rather like someone to find the cash to help her to do that, thank you very much. Naturally, given his condition, Drake wishes to help, but is saddened, however by the knowledge that he is not ‘a man of means’. The sudden re-appearance, then, of one of his Colonels in the army, complete with revenge plot to steal rather a lot of money, naturally causes him to question his true loyalties, put his head into a bucket of cold water and generally have something of a personal crisis.

All good thoughts, or at least near enough. Matthew Macfadyen takes something of a back seat in this episode, looking particularly brooding and intense at the station whilst his right-hand man wanders around the East End questioning his life choices. Ordinarily, this would be a mistake, given that his character is the strongest in the show by some margin. Jerome Flynn, however, gives the pest performance of the series so far, with his conflicted Bennet Drake just about saving what feels like an over-rushed and under-thought plotline. Iain Glen is suitably tortured as the ex-army villain, whilst Adam Rothenberg is delightfully cocksure and quick witted as ever as Captain Jackson, even appearing relatively sweet at choice moments. No sign of Mrs Reid, and very little of Long Susan, which gave Charlene McKenna’s Rose centre stage in the somewhat limited female character stakes.

The production values, score, and performances, then, remained as strong as ever. What let this episode down was its plot. It wasn’t believable, and felt thrown together and badly thought out. Without the occurrence of a murder, Reid and Co had little to do, leaving the balance of the show hanging by a thread not strong enough to carry it.

And I’m still not entirely sure what the horse was all about. 

-Jen

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