Last night we bid farewell to the shanty town of Jericho as series one of the ITV drama came to an end.

After eight episodes that largely consisted of beer-swilling, fighting, meaningful gazing across the moors, mob justice and not much actual graft, we were left with a series of cliffhangers and very little viaduct.

After an explosive beginning and a wandering middle, Jericho partially redeemed itself last night with a finale packed with action.

But although the series ended with a murder, lovers torn apart and a dastardly railway agent, I'm not entirely sure I'm bothered about there being a series two.

Here are my final thoughts — and why I'm not desperate for Jericho to return:

It couldn't keep up the pace

The feature-length opening episode of Jericho was great — it packed in the pit explosion, Red's murder (and it's a cover-up), Coates' took charge and immediately seemed a bit iffy, and Mark Addy won bext entrance ever by leaping onto a rock on the moors and basically yelling 'SABOTAGE!' at Jack and Skinny's funeral.

Mark Addy in ITV drama Jericho

Annie's tragic past and struggle to adapt to life as a widowed single mother made you root for her character, and Charles' ambitious plans for the Culverdale Viaduct made it seem like something big was going to happen that would transform the lives of the Jericho dwellers.

ITV drama Jericho

But then, well, it sort of tailed off a bit. The brilliant Mark Addy was barely in it two minutes as Inspector Bamford before Coates' got rid, the Blackwood house lived in a cycle of financial crises, even after Isabella turned up, and the navvies spent more time scrapping than grafting. It seemed to take an age for the real drama to progress, with more focus on sub-plots like Martha's illness, vengeful traders (even if Shameless actor Sean Gilder was excellent) and Alma's fling with a charming Irishman.

The pace slowed considerably — and didn't really pick up again until the finale. And by that point, I was already rolling my eyes at it.

Did anyone really invest in Johnny and Anna?

Pictured: JESSICA RAINE as Annie and HANS MATHESON as Johnny.

When you really think about it, what are the foundations of Johnny and Anna's romance and alleged dying love for each other? 1. They spotted each other when they arrived at the same time. 2. He helped her bury Red's body and protect George. They've spent more time giving each other simpering looks than actually conversing.

And if the slow build up to them finally kissing wasn't torturous enough, when they did finally get together, it was immediately followed by Annie announcing she didn't want to marry him, putting them back in the same daft limbo we've endured for eight weeks.

Pictured: JEANY SPARK as Isabella Lambton and HANS MATHESON as Johnny.

Then there's the 'love triangle' between Annie, Johnny and Isabella. Despite Isabella being the only one truly convinced it exists. The series ended with Johnny going back to Blackwood House, where — shock — Isabella is, leaving Annie as his 'fancy woman in the valley'. But honestly, does anyone care? Do we need more shots of them falling into each other's arms on the moors? I just can't buy into their lovers' struggle anymore. Marry him, Annie, don't marry him — just stop gazing at him.

Charles was a robot

Pictured: DANIEL RIGBY as Charles Blackwood.

He was full of ambition at the start, but once the money ran out, Charles has one expression for the rest of the series: a concerned frown. I didn't dislike him — I just found him a bit dull. Robotic, even. Yes, of course his character was meant to be a bit emotionally repressed, being an upper-class landowner, stiff upper lip and all that, but good god man, when you found out your wife's had it away with your brother, do more than furrow your brow!

Pictured: DANIEL RIGBY as Charles Blackwood.

His (perhaps) dying words were about the viaduct — even though it's brought him nothing but grief, and nearly bankrupted him. His relationship with Johnny seemed to evolve from "I absolutely hate you" to "I'm going to risk my life in a mine to save you" incredibly quickly, and in spite of the fact that their conversations were little more than bit of shouting and face-off grimances.

Coates outshone the others — but what was his motive?

Clarke Peters as Ralph Coates in new ITV series Jericho
Clarke Peters as Ralph Coates in new ITV series Jericho

Clarke Peters stood out as one of the few characters with real depth. His scheming was one of the most interesting parts of the series, and he became more intriguing and sinister as the weeks went on. Current suspicions are that he put Red up to blowing up the pit so he could steal Jack's job and run Jericho, and who else could have murdered Davy?

Pictured:CLARKE PETERS as Coates.
Pictured:CLARKE PETERS as Coates.

His chat with Epiphany about how he knew Easter was her son, not her brother, showed just how clever and observant he was — the more knowledge he has, the easier it is to manipulate those around him and stay in control. And he's a master manipulator.

But what was never really fleshed out was why he was so keen to take over Jericho — I mean, so determined that he could have killed for the job. He mentioned supporting his son, but is that really motive enough for his dastardly deeds?

Won't somebody think of the viaduct?

Pictured:HANS MATHESON as Johnny and TOMMY MCDONNELL as Dagger.

Despite Charles wringing his hands about it all series, that Viaduct seems to look identical to how it did in episode one. Look, I'm not saying I want lots of viaduct-building action, we all know that would get boring. But the entire series has gone by with more scrapping and drinking than actual viaduct-biulding. We see the navvies go off to work, we see them return — but we've had more disruptions (including a short-lived strike and entire day in a kangeroo-court at the Capstick) than days of graft. And presumably the mining project is on hiatus after it nearly killed both landowners in one go.

Do I want Jericho to return?

Pictured:CLARKE PETERS as Coates and HANS MATHESON as Johnny.

I'm not sure. While I'm curious to see the fallout after Davy's murder, and find out if Coates will ever get caught (and why he's doing all this in the first place), I'm not sure I can handle another series of Annie and Johnny to-ing and fro-ing. Or stand-offs between deluded Isabella and jealous Annie.

Overall I think Jericho's biggest flaw was that it promised drama, action and intrigue in episode one — then failed to keep the momentum going. The pace slowed, the characters seemed to have the same conversations on loop and it wasn't until the finale it seemed to find its oomph again. Don't get me wrong — the 'trial of Johnny' episode was more exciting. But the concept was too bizarre to be really taken seriously.

Do I want Jericho to return? Maybe. But I won't be staying in to watch it every Thursday.