Following Drake’s (Jerome Flynn) discovery of one of Shine’s (Joseph Mawle) murder victims, Reid (Matthew Macfadyen) found himself tantalizingly close to gaining enough evidence for a conviction. While Best (David Dawson) did the dirty on Reid by outing his affair with Jane Cobden (Leanne Best), Reid was far more concerned with his case and soon enough had uncovered Shine’s connection to Silas Duggan (Frank Harper) – now shacked up with Susan (MyAnna Buring) and intent upon making her his woman for life.

The answer to Reid’s prayers seemed to lie with young Constable Flight (Damian Molony), revealed as an ally of Shine’s last week. Guilt-stricken and desperate to extricate himself from further wrongdoing, Flight took himself to Reid to confess, only for his statement to be proved inadmissible after the discovery of his criminal past.

Elsewhere, Jackson and his brother Daniel came up with a plan to rid themselves of both that hefty stolen diamond and Silas Duggan in one go. In perhaps the most chilling scene of the series so far, we saw Susan tempted into Jackson’s plan not by the promise of love or freedom but the notion of revenge. By the time Silas Duggan had met his grisly end at the hands of some South African heavies, Susan had completed her transformation into hard-hearted ice queen – goading Duggan in his dying moments and spitefully assuring Jackson that she was done with him for good.

Indeed, if this series has centred on anything, it’s the concept of transformation. Early on in ‘Our Betrayal – Part 2’, we saw Reid chastised as “lacking the stomach for another man’s torment”. By the end of the episode, Reid stood watching Drake pummel Shine to a pulp, rabidly cheering his sergeant on to murder the man who might otherwise escape justice. Drake, on the other hand, was seen to be growing tired of his work – aware perhaps, after the death of his wife, that there was already too much violence in this world.

Inevitably, a lot of questions went unanswered. As the credits rolled we wondered what would become of Shine; whether this was the end for Drake’s career in the police; whether Jane would be able to forgive Reid; whether Susan would remain resolute in her newfound hardness and – of course – whether Rose (Charlene McKenna) and Drake would ever be reunited. Perhaps the biggest question mark, though, and the strand given least space in this final episode, was the story of Flight’s transition from Shine’s mole to wannabe goodie. We heard briefly of his dark deeds and saw evidence of his desire to become a good man but, agonizingly, were denied an opportunity for true redemption.

It’s a wonder how a series as witty, entertaining and poignant could be ripped so brutally from our television schedules. Until somebody sees sense and commissions a third series, we doff our bowlers to everyone involved.

Ripper Street might be gone for now – and possibly even for good – but it’s not a series that’ll be quickly forgotten.

Aired at 9pm on Monday 16 December 2013 on BBC One.

> Buy Series 1 on DVD on Amazon.

> Order Series 2 on DVD on Amazon.

Watch the Series 2 trailer…

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