Ripper Street season 4

Back to East London we go with Ripper Street recently concluding its fourth season on BBC, the channel that once cancelled it before Amazon quickly brought back for a third outing, which was great news to many fans. The first two seasons were great and the third, while not as strong as the second, was certainly enjoyable and brought the series to a point where it could end harmoniously. However, being in the golden age of television, Amazon brings Reid, Drake and Jackson back together with many new faces for season four.

Typical of the show, the characters once again find themselves in bleak and troubled times. Long Susan's future appears short following the events of the last season while Reid returns to London to find more murders and a serial killer amongst a Jewish community. All the while, the troublesome events weigh heavy on Drake now in control of H Devision with two new fresh faces (Neville Longbottom aka Matthew Lewis and Benjamin O'Mahony, who are both great and add new life to the show). Making matters worse for Drake there's trouble at home and Reid, now second in command, leaves him feeling challenged. There's a lot contained within this season and the storytellers do a fantastic job to ensure it all works within a mere seven episodes.

I do find it hard amongst so much going on to pinpoint what made this season great but I think a lot comes from its even-handed direction that is never afraid to go dark and test its characters. That said, some conclusions when a murder is solved do leave a little to be desired when motivations are taken into account but those moments are far and few between. Visually, the show continues to shine and has really benefitted from Amazon's takeover, not wanting to say the first seasons looked bad by any means.

Still, at the heart of it all are the trio with Reid, Drake and Jackson who continue to play-off each other very well. Their chemistry will be missed when the show concludes, as will the other characters brought to life by the strong actors behind them all, and of course the writers. Whereas a show like Suits broke away from its story-of-the-week format and suffered in my opinion, Ripper Street has managed to come out on top combining season long narratives with episodic stories. Now with season five already available, I'm curious to see where the show will go next or even conclude.