Ripper Street, S5 Ep4 – The Dreaming Dead

Our heroes are back in action as the fourth episode of Ripper Street tackles the consequences of Nathaniel’s killing spree in the previous episode. Grisly truths are revealed and Jedediah Shine finally get his clutches on Edmund Reid.

A forlorn Robin Sumner is discovered by the police to whom he tells his tragic tale. This becomes the springboard into a new investigation into the Golem of Whitechapel, both by Shine and by Reid and Jackson. As expected, when they reach the scene of the crime it has already been cleaned by Dove, but this does not deter Reid and Jackson. They also bump into Shine (whose nameless disease continues to take its toll on him) and for some reason reveal the identity of the killer to him. Nathaniel has somehow survived his stab wound and is kept in hiding by Dove.

For a while, the child Sumner stays in the care of Reid, Susan, and Jackson, but when he sees a newspaper with their faces on wanted posters, he is spooked and runs straight into Dove’s clutches, completing the tragedy of his family. Despite having only known the character for a couple of episodes, his loss is still moving because of the Ripper Street writers’ ability to develop richly-drawn characters. Reid and Jackson discover the poor boy’s body in the river, and this prompts different reactions from them both. Reid is ever the policeman, determined to use the boy as evidence of Dove’s guilt. Jackson feels this more keenly and becomes determined to protect his own family. They clash over this and Jackson leaves Reid behind and the latter buries the body, in a sincere act of compassion.

After this, their paths diverge. Jackson and Susan storm Dove’s house and do away with nasty Mrs. Chudley. They reclaim their son but not before finding Nathaniel there. The bond that developed between him and Susan remains intact and she convinces him to give up the boy. And his opinion of his brother is shattered when Jackson tells him that Robin, whom Dove swore to keep safe, was killed. This doubt in his brother will surely drive Nathaniel to finally break away from the former’s influence.

Meanwhile, Shine sets up an effective trap for Reid by convincing Drummond to light a candle at Mathilda’s window, the sign that she wants to communicate to her father. Reid takes the bait and is effectively captured. What follows is a bloody beating on the steps of the police precinct, as Jedediah Shine takes his revenge on his rival. It’s a gruesome scene between two formidable figures. And though neither of them possesses the brute strength of Bennet Drake, the fight still manages to be an impressive one. And Reid’s capture proves to be Shine’s final accomplishment before he succumbs to his illness.

Mathilda discovers Drum’s betrayal and declares she will never forgive him. And it is only Mathilda’s tearful plea that prevents Shine from crushing Reid’s skull on the pavement of Leman Street.

It makes you wonder why so much police brutality was tolerated. Since Shine was the highest-ranked officer present, people just went with it. And as Ripper Street has proven over the course of more than four seasons, the lines between good and evil, law and crime, are oftentimes blurred in Whitechapel.