At the beginning of the 4th episode, Inspector Shine (Joseph Mawle) speaks with his doctor. It is revealed that Shine has a brain tumor and likely doesn’t have much longer to live. His doctor increases his dosage and heads on his way. After the intro, Frank Thatcher (Benjamin O’Mahony) parades around Whitechapel in his new uniform. He discovers Robin Sumner (Joseph Harmon) crying and complaining about a man eating his uncle’s neck. He immediately escorts the boy to Mimi Morton’s (Lydia Wilson) place. Once there, Edmund (Matthew Macfadyen) berates the boy, while trying to obtain answers about the murder of his family. Reid is escorted out of the room, before Susan (MyAnna Buring) and Jackson (Adam Rothenberg) take over the interrogation. Mimi provides the boy with food and water, before having a conversation with Edmund.

They discuss their inability to interrogate the boy, while Mimi mentions Jackson’s newfound fatherly attitude. Seconds later, Jackson enters and informs the pair the boy has given them information. Jackson and Reid quickly rush to the crime scene. Drum (Matthew Lewis) tells Shine about the boy and his claim that his uncle was killed by another man’s bite. Thatcher explains that the boy took off, before he could catch him. Augustus Dove (Killian Scott) pays a visit to his brother, Nathaniel (Jonas Armstrong), who is recovering from his injuries. Nathaniel pleads with his brother not to harm Robin. Jackson and Reid arrive at the Sumner home and begin looking around. They quickly discover that the house has been cleaned. A rug has gone missing and Jackson believes it might have been used to hide the bodies. They head outside and track the wagon’s trail to the water’s edge. They find the wagon and quickly agree that the bodies have been tossed in the water.

Reid believes they may be able to track the water and find the bodies, before they travel too far. However, their search is interrupted by the arrival of Shine. They follow him back to the Sumner home and Jackson holds him at gunpoint. Shine is handcuffed to the fireplace, before Reid discovers his morphine. Edmund tells Shine about Dove’s brother, before leaving him alone without his drugs. Back at the theater, Robin reads the newspaper about Reid and the others being fugitives. He manages to escape the building, while Mimi showers Susan with compliments. Shine arrives at Dove’s place with the fireplace’s ashtray still attached to his wrist. Augustus sets him free, before they have a conversation about Nathaniel. Dove finally tells the truth about his brother. Shine also learns about Mathilda (Anna Burnett) communicating with her father through the candle. They agree to capture Reid, before discussing the Nathaniel situation.

After Shine departs, Dove calls Drum and tells him to keep an eye out for the Sumner boy. He insists they’ll hand him over to J Division, once he is located. Jackson and Reid learn about the boy’s disappearance when they return to the theater. Reid quickly declares that Robin would’ve trusted Thatcher and probably would have ventured to the police station. Reid continues his work of surveying the water and trying to locate the bodies of the Sumner family. Robin arrives at the police station. Thatcher tries to keep the boy hidden, but Drum spots him. Thatcher is forced to allow Drum to take the boy. Drum makes contact with J Division, while Reid maps out the waterways. After scouring over their map, Reid and Jackson agree that their best bet is Good Luck Hope. They agree to travel there later that night to look for the bodies. J Division offices arrive at the station and collect Robin. He is escorted outside and put inside of a carriage.

As the carriage pulls away, Dove speaks with Robin. Augustus tells Robin he doesn’t need to be afraid anymore. Agatha Chudleigh (Ellie Haddington) is sitting right next to Dove. Shine shoots up more drugs, while bashing Edmund Reid’s picture. Drummond is brought in and questioned about Mathilda’s communications with her father. Shine does his best to convince Drummond to use Mathilda to trap Reid. Drum tells the inspector about the candle. Shine heads out and confronts Mathilda. At first, he plans to force her to trap her father. However, he has a severe headache and is comforted by Mathilda. Shine tells her to leave Whitechapel, before making his exit. Drum returns home early and learns about Shine’s visit. Drum tries to convince Mathilda that her father would be better off captured now. Mathilda refuses to light the candle and betray her father’s trust. That night, Reid and Jackson travel to Good Luck Hope and begin searching through the water.

While they search for the bodies, Drummond meets with Dove. Drum tells Dove about his dilemma and asks for advice. Dove attempts to convince Drum to light the candle on his own. Reid and Jackson pull a body out of the water. They pull back the rug and discover the body of Robin Sumner. Reid insists they can recalculate and find out where the body was dumped into the water. However, Jackson has other ideas. He tells Reid he plans to get Connor and escape the city with his family. Jackson forces Reid to look at the boy’s body. He tells Edmund to push the boy’s body back into the water, before rushing off. Once Jackson leaves, Reid tells Robin that his memories will not be washed away. He buries the boy’s body. Jackson returns to Susan and tells her about Robin. Despite some hesitancy from Susan, she agrees to Jackson’s plan of getting Connor and getting out. Edmund stands outside of daughter’s house and see the candle burning in the window. Inside the house, Mathilda is asleep and Drum stands by the candle.

Reid returns to the theater and learns that Jackson is prepared to carry out his plan in the morning. Edmund also admits he plans to leave Whitechapel. However, he is adamant that he must see his daughter first. Jackson wonders whether or not Mathilda can be trusted. Reid remains convinced that she can be. The pair agrees they did everything they possible could to bring down Dove. In the morning, Susan and Jackson travel to Dove’s mansion. They sneak inside, before Jackson is attacked by Agatha. She rings a bell and alerts everyone inside. Two officers arrive and are quickly shot by Jackson. Susan takes Jackson’s gun and shoots Agatha multiple times. Nathaniel breaks out of his room and grabs Connor. Susan speaks with Nathaniel and tells him about his brother killing Robin. Nathaniel gives Connor to Susan and pleads with Jackson to end him. Jackson and Susan leave without harming Nathaniel. Shine reads Dove’s column in the newspaper.

He gives him a compliment, before the pair agrees today is the day they will capture Edmund Reid. Reid is trapped in the alley. He tells Drummond to tell Mathilda that he understands and that he loves her. Reid surrounds and goes peacefully. He is escorted back to the station. Outside of the station, Shine orders Samuel to remove Reid’s cuffs. He does so, before Shine attacks Reid several times. They begin to fight, while Mathilda watches from the crowd. Reid gets the better of Shine and nearly chokes him to death, before he is distracted by Mathilda’s cries. Shine uses the moment to knock Reid to the ground. Shine prepares to stomp Reid’s head into the ground, but is stopped by Mathilda. She tells Drum that she will never forgive him, before rushing off. Shine rolls Reid into the street and parades him in front of the crowd.

The officers carry Reid inside. Thatcher watches from behind the counter. Shine heads to the opium den and gets high. He grabs his needle and exclaims that he is the master. He also declares that nobody will bring down Jedediah Shine except for Jedediah Shine. He gives himself a lethal dose. Dove arrives and pulls out his razor blade. He prepares to slice Shine’s throat, but is relieved to discover that Shine is already dead.

 

Ripper Street Review

Ripper Street’s 5th season has been one of the best thus far and the 4th episode was no different. Our lead characters were pushed to their limits. Edmund and Jackson were forced to surrender and allow Dove to win. Their children were the strings keeping them attached to Whitechapel. Susan and Jackson solved that problem by escaping with Connor. Reid’s love for his daughter was his downfall. With Reid in jail and Shine out of the picture, Augustus Dove likely believes he is home free.

That is unlikely to happen. He has most likely created more enemies in Drum and Nathaniel. Will Thatcher and Drum team up to save Reid? How will Nathaniel react to Robin’s murder at his brother’s hands? A great episode, which scores a 9 out of 10. Catch up with previous Ripper Street recaps right now!