This series had a good exploration of how the police had to deal with controlling law and order in the aftermath of the Ripper murders, with it set six months after the last murder and a new one causing fear of his return. Within this an interesting clash of industrial and technology against the old ways was highlighted. This was also heightened by the police's attempts to control society, including vigilante groups baiting for blood and answers after a Ripper copy cat murder victim is found. The main character DI Edmund Reid, the name of one of the factual policemen that hunted for the Ripper, faces conflict and struggle from Inspector Frederick Abberline (also factual) who was determined and obsessed with identifying the man behind the Ripper mask.
Reid was well developed and complex with a good heart, hard exterior, but not so fused to the use of rough tactics in order to crack a case. The lose of his daughter years earlier and the testing effects it had on his marriage to Emily, leading to him start an affair with Deborah Goren also gave a good deal of depth to the character and a good bit of exploration alongside the other storylines. These storylines including business corruption, the terror caused by a gang, murder as part of pornographic films, the reliability of someone suffering from mental health and the fears of cholera.
The last two episodes really built up the tension and sent it up a gear as the truth around the mystery Dr Homer Jackson and Long Susan emerged. This had been that Jackson or rather Matthew Goode had seduced and run away with Susan or rather Caitlin Swift the daughter of American shipping magnet Theodore P. Swift, who along with members of the Pinkman association try to hunt them. This led to the death of PC Dick Hobbs which caused a lot of shock waves to the force and a showdown between Jackson and Frank Goodnight resulting in Goodnight's death, which came after he framed Jackson as the Ripper but was later released by Reid's determination to get to the truth.
Matthew Macfadyen gave a great portrayal of Reid, providing a complex and connectible character, while other cast members including Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg, MyAnna Burling, Amanda Hale, Charlenee McKenna, Jonathan Barnwell, David Wilnot and David Dawson all provided good performances of their respective characters making it a varied, intriguing and diverse series.
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