It's probably a gift of timing that I refreshed myself on the gothic genre by starting to read Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho. I haven't finished reading it but some of the elements for gothic fiction are: seemingly supernatural events, the question of identity/self, fear of the unknown, dreams/premonitions and in some works a corrupt religious character (more or this later). But I'm getting ahead of myself because the series 1 was something completely different. The great thing is, seasons 1-3 are free on Amazon Prime instant video so you can binge watch all in one sitting...or a few.
I've been spoiled by another series (Endeavour) so I've come to expect spectacular cinematography. However, series 1 although liked the best by fans of the series for me was too cheesy with mediocre camera work. It just wasn't refined and and their office seemed shabby and broken down. For what it is, a gimmicky (sudden flashes of random grotesque imagery and camera filtered shots of police cars, etc) it's moderately entertaining. I really liked Chandler (Penry-Jones) and his conflict with Miles (Davis) and how they slowly work through it. Buchan (Pemberton) was really enjoyable for me throughout the entire series but I loved his introduction! He comes off as a hack, looking for fame to shill his amateur expertise on the Ripper but his character revealed unexpected depth. The first series has just three episodes to go over a copycat Ripper killer and conclude the concept. It's a good length, but the episodes never have too much emotional weight or depth and the action/suspense moves fast along. I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch the rest of the series but decided I liked the unique format.
In series 2, instead of directly following the same copycat idea the show takes on a slightly different approach with the Kray brothers featured. Some characters leave the team and a new character joins kind of abruptly but I noticed a slight improvement in the camerawork, lighting and set. I also liked the double agent person and Chandler's boss, who you're never sure if he's more bad or more good. I didn't enjoy this series as much as the first or the others but I appreciated the twist and the last episode was very exciting. I feel that this series was less light-hearted and had a more serious tone and started to delve into the characters more. We learn about Miles's father and there's a touching scene between Miles and Buchan. In fact, the three characters (Miles, Chandler & Buchan) are explored much more and the dynamic between them made this series come to life for me.
Series 3 is where this show quickly became "great" for me. The cinematography was vastly improved with some truly spooky scenes. The first two series were definitely grounded in crime procedural/detective work but this series was were elements of the gothic were introduced. The first case's flash imagery scared me and it led the viewer to believe in some supernatural entity that can disappear into thin air and reappear from nowhere. (I noticed Shaun Evans from Endeavour and had a good nerd moment) The second case introduced a possible love interest for Chandler which I found quite humorous and the scenes with them were shot quite well! With the conclusion of the third case, which played out really well and is one of my favourite episodes - the series establishes a precedent for Chandler that will come back to haunt him in series 4. It also threw in really good red herrings. A lot of the writing for these episodes were a lot more sophisticated compared to series 1. They explore the psychological aspect of different criminals but applies them in a creepy and unique way. I agree with those that call this series more crime horror.
Series 4 is where gothic crime horror would be more appropriate. The series opens up with an excellent setup for how the whole cast are themselves psychologically imbalanced and how they fail to observe a certain character, while the audience is privy. The supporting cast are also wonderfully fleshed out and each of their "undoings" are seemingly resolved in various ways. Not uncommon in gothic tropes, the culprits in the final episode end up being christian doomsday cultists. However, the power of Miles's belief in Catholicism (?) because of his upbringing seems to dispel a ghost/demon and Chandler is appropriated with some strong angelic imagery - which is interesting because he is unable to bring anyone to justice. The final episode is where the supernatural is affirmed and certain things fall into place that are paced just right. In a strange reversal, Miles becomes more attuned to the supernatural/unknown and Buchan becomes the skeptic, logical person who looks to people as the perpetrators not something else. It's too bad this show was cancelled because they took four series to achieve a perfect balance of the gothic and horror with intelligent crime drama. I also really loved the cinematography and set of the last series - it reminded me of BioShock and the palette of dark colors, greens and complex lighting in the evening/night.
Despite the constant changes of genre and style, on the whole Whitechapel feels cohesive and not awkward so I'm super disappointed that there aren't going to be any more episodes ever!
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