Ripper Street Recap: “Tournament of Shadows”

Ripper Street Recap: “Tournament of Shadows”
Original Air Date (BBC): Sunday February 5, 2013
Series 1 Episode 6

by C.S. Kane:

In a riotous episode of this week’s Ripper Street the story revolves around the shadowy ghosts that haunt our Detective Reid (Matthew Macfayden). The episode opens with the clamoring roars of the growing strikers at the dockside and a glimpse into the printing press and meeting house of the union men. We come to learn that communist, intellectual and altruist Joshua Bloom (Ferdinand Kingsley), who is in support of the strikes, has discovered that Russian spies are amongst the brotherhood. As currents of revolution are spread by anarchy loving Morris (Peter Ferndinando) the cause takes a violent turn as Bloom’s shop is blown to smithereens. Through the procedural police work of Reid and Jackson (Adam Rothenberg) a secret cypher is discovered detailing a plot to blow up London along with a strong indication, made known by the surgeon’s autopsy, that Bloom had been stabbed in the heart before the shop had exploded suggesting he was being framed as a murderous extremist.

This all tallies with the testimony regarding the man’s character made by Miss Goren (Lucy Cohu). The supporting character plays another pivotal role this week by allowing Detective Reid to voice his silenced thoughts on the fate of his daughter. It is in stark comparison to the cold reception that he gets from his wife Emily (Amanda Hale) who casts aside her mourning clothes and demands the child’s nursery be cleared. Yet, in the presence of Miss Goren, Reid’s stiff upper lift leaves him and he discusses how his child Matilda’s body was never found and he remains certain she is alive. The romantic encounter between the two seemed inevitable and yet it was ultimately made unbearably uncomfortable thanks to the flabbergasted interruption made by Sergeant Drake (Jerome Flynn).

An interesting sub-plot of this week’s episode was that of the Special Branch involvement regarding the bombing plot. For Reid’s part, he has put himself on their books by failing to cease and desist when directly ordered to do so. His actions are unquestionably the greater but the presence of this covert, powerful and shadowy department is intriguing. I am interested to see if it will feature in future episodes. Furthermore, they seemed to know quite a bit about both Detective Reid and Captain Jackson leaving room for further run-ins.

The climax of this episode was brutal and exciting. With torture scenes, ticking bombs and an eminent dark cloud of chemical death hanging over our protagonists and London it almost felt like a Victorian episode of Spooks or 24. The final show-down scene was again dramatic and impressive. Shadows of guilt characterized this episode and it seems that we will have to wait until further illumination is shone upon the hidden secrets. However, the growing complexity of the characters definitely encourages interest.

C.S. Kane is a writer of horror fiction and a DarkMedia contributor. Kane has a penchant for the paranormal and is a true a sucker for Sci-fi. Interests include reading, writing, watching movies and enjoying good food. Keep up with the darker side of life by following Kane on Twitter at @CS_Kane and via the blog: www.cskaneofficial.blogspot.co.uk