Sherlock S4 E3 – The Final Problem

By Domoni

The Final Problem was the finale that could be a finale. With the future of Sherlock unclear, they wrote an episode that could wrap up the series and not leave us with an excess of questions. Though it does not end the possibilities for further episodes or specials down the road, the loops have been closed and the questions we have been asking received their answers. This review will contain spoilers.

In the first episode of season 4, we first met Eurus Holmes. Though at the time, we had no idea she was the secret sister of our favorite sociopathic sleuth. In her original appearance, she was simply John Watson’s distraction and flirtation. In episode 2, Eurus reveals herself to John and sets up the conclusion to the big game that she had been planning for years. With her game, we finally got the answer to the great trolling. Is Moriarty dead or alive? Sadly, he is indeed dead. Though a 5 minute conversation between the two brilliant minds set up a chain of events that has John and the Holmes brothers playing through a game that could kill or spare many.

I have to say, this scene stole the entire episode for me.

Since the beginning of Season 1, we knew Sherlock to be one of the most brilliant minds alive. You learn early on, that Mycroft is the more clever of the two brothers. My favorite consulting criminal, Jim Moriarty, could easily compete with either Brother.  Though when he dies in Season 2, that shouldn’t be something they would have to worry about. Until the end of Season 3 when his lovely face flashes on all possible screens in London with the now famous line, Miss Me?  Suddenly, there is someone with an intelligence that eclipses all three of these men. Time to unravel the mystery of Eurus Holmes.

The missing sister was so brilliant, yet insane, that she had to be locked up where she could never have the opportunity to inflict harm on the world. What she did as a small child was so traumatic, that Sherlock changed all of his memories to forget her. When Mycroft took his position of power, he supervised the prison his sister was in. Though being Mycroft, he could not resist using her brilliance as a tool. This meant he had to at times offer her treats.  Her Christmas present 5 years past, was 5 minutes alone with Moriarty himself. In those 5 minutes, she was able to orchestrate all of the insanity that took place in this episode and much of what happened in the last. All to get her beloved brother to play with her.

Once all of her players were on the board, Eurus walked them through multiple life and death decisions designed to make Sherlock remember what exactly she had done. This also brought out the opportunity for Sherlock to completely face who he is even though he has tried so hard to deny how much people actually mean to him. This revelation  brought about by the most heartbreaking moment involving Molly Hooper, the girl who loves Sherlock despite the awful way he treats her.

Everything about this episode was perfect for me. This will go down as my favorite episode by far. As the case is solved, we get a montage of Sherlock and John rebuilding their lives. Mary reads her letter over the images of the friends working on crimes as well as Sherlock building a familial connection with his sister and then including their entire family.  As the credits begin to role, Sherlock has fully evolved into the brilliant man with heart that Doyle created so long ago.  If this is the end of the consulting detective and his blogging pal, it went out beautifully.

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Sherlock S4 E2 – The Lying Detective

By Domoni

Season 4 of Sherlock opened with a bang. After a long hiatus, it was wonderful to jump right back into the brilliant minds of Gatiss and Sherlock and enjoy a romp, that ended up breaking hearts. This review will break down episode 2, The Lying Detective and will be full of spoilers for the entire series. If you haven’t caught up, what are you waiting for?

Sherlock needs a shower, shave and some sober time.

In the last episode, viewers got to watch John and Mary start their family. Mary’s assassin past came back to haunt them and Sherlock stepped in to save her. Until she stepped in to save him, by taking a bullet to the chest.  Episode one left John, Sherlock and the crew a mess with broken hearts and misplaced anger and guilt. The episode closed with a DVD of Mary asking Sherlock to save John.

This week we have an episode helmed by Moffat, which always warns me to expect some sort of twist. A still heartbroken, guilt ridden John is seeing a new therapist. Though he is choosing not to disclose his constant interaction with the figment of his dead wife. Sherlock seems broken, mainlining cocaine and throwing himself deeper into the pit than we have seen him to date. When the daughter of the wealthy, powerful and super creepy Culverton Smith, shows up at 221 B with the mystery du jour, supposedly the game is on.

Together again in a fancy car.

This episode had its good moments, but it mostly fell flat for me. Benedict Cumberbatch shined as the brilliant Holmes in a blasted out of his mind on drugs, sort of way. Even high as a kite, Sherlock is 3 steps ahead of his companions. So, he manipulates things and has John by his side, accusing Smith of being a serial killer. The man has conferences with his nearest and dearest where he drugs them with medications that addle the memory, so that he can confess without ever being caught in his crimes. He donated a wing to a hospital, so he could arrange secret rooms and corridors, all to make killing easier and his favorite room is the morgue. So Culverton Smith is the bad guy, no big shock. Personally this guy felt like a villain to me, but more like a creepy pedophile than a serial killer. The scene in the kids wing didn’t help with that.

Dude was born to play creepy.

Finding out that Sherlock has thrown himself down the deepest darkest pit, so that John would pull him out because it was Mary’s last wish, was a kick to the heart. She knew the men and how they would handle her death and she knew they needed each other. When John reveals that he feels he wasn’t a good man and never deserved her, I felt some vindication about the bus girl text relationship. The emotions have peaked and the boys are buddies again, role credits, right? Did you forget Moffat wrote this?

After all is said and done, John returns to his therapist.  Twist and shout, she’s not a therapist at all. She’s a Holmes. A hint at a third sibling, assumed brother, was sprinkled through the episode. Who else could trick Sherlock into thinking he had it figured out and leave him confused, then a sibling. Apparently, the Holmes parents had the uber brilliant genes, because it looks like they pumped out a third genius and this one is the psychopath to Sherlocks sociopath. As Sherlock pieces together that he missed something and we get another jolt of Moriarty mystery thrown in as a tease, Euros Holmes has John at gunpoint and pulls the trigger. Role credits. What wait, we can’t end two episodes in a row with dead Watsons, that does not please me.

Watching John kick the crap out of Sherlock didn’t make me happy either!

This episode was not my favorite but it was a decent one and it fit well with the last. The final sibling twist at the end detracted from the story for me. Two subtle hints that Moriarty was involved, Miss me on the note and Euros mentioning she had been connected with Culverton Smith by a mutual acquaintance, keep the Moriarty Mystery in the air as we wait on the third episode of season 4, but it felt like a gimmick that was not really needed. Honestly, if they had saved the reveal for the next episode and just let sleeping dogs lie, I would have been happier with the conclusion of this episode. It didn’t fit the flow for me and having the reveal wait, while we mulled over the therapist, as we mulled over bus girl for the last week, would have amped up the expectations of the final episode.

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Sherlock S4 E1 – The Six Thatchers

By Domoni

Click Image to Pre-order Series 4 on Amazon

 

Sherlock is back! If you missed it as much as I did, you may have already watched the latest episode more than once. In this review I am going to break down my thoughts, prepare for spoilers from past and current episodes. If you haven’t watched the newest episode, turn back now. I enjoyed a New Year’s binge to be up to speed and have the older episodes fresh on my mind before season 4 started. Which I highly recommend.  You can skip the Abominable bride, as that was generally a dream sequence and nothing of consequence pertaining to this episode took place.

Mark Gatiss took the reins with this episode and the game is on, in very fine form.  Sherlock holds nothing back and there is no time to reacclimate yourself. This episode picks up directly at the end of season 3 (which first aired in January of 2014). Sherlock has just murdered Charles Augustus Magnussen, Mycroft has arranged for Sherlock to be exiled. When all the screens in London show Moriarty’s face, he is immediately returned to set to work figuring out what the long dead (season 2 ep3 The Reichenbach Falls, which aired way back in January of 2012) nemeses has left behind.

Remember Reichenbach Falls?

The long-anticipated return of Sherlock, brought a lot of build up with it. What can the evil Moriarty (brilliantly portrayed by Andrew Scott) have left in his wake and how will it affect Sherlock and Watson? This episode kept me on the edge of my seat. Sherlock works through small cases and you think the big story has been found when Lestrade asks for assistance on a case. While investigating the strange death of a young man, Sherlock is drawn to the table where a missing bust of Margaret Thatcher steals the spotlight. Can it be related to Moriarty?

When more identical busts are found smashed, the game is on. Or is it? It must be the missing Black Pearl of the Borgias, Mycroft was harping about. That’s related to Moriarty, right?  Find the final bust and all will be revealed! Except it is not. A new twist, a memory stick identical to Mary’s is what was in the bust. Now the case is actually started, this episode is really about Mary Watson and her secret agent past. We were distracted by the newlyweds and their new baby, we didn’t realize they were the story.

Watson, you see but you do not observe.

I very much enjoyed getting a deeper glimpse into the past of Mary Watson.  When one of her old mercenary partners resurfaces wishing to kill her for her betrayal, Mary leaves her new husband and child to move the target away from them. Sherlock and Watson will have none of that of course and follow her. Which leads her old friend to her.  Though honestly, how well do you plan on staying hidden when you give your newborn daughter your real name? Though the assassin is killed, Sherlock believes he has a lead on who may have set up Mary’s team, 6 long years ago and caused the death of all of them and the hostages they had been sent to save.

Time for a twist! Sherlock is mistaken! He assumed the British woman mentioned was Lady Smallwood and then it hits him, the Lady’s secretary Norbury. The quiet little old ladies make such good villains.  The final confrontation has all the players rushing to the London Aquarium. When Sherlock pushes a little too far and of course offends Norbury, she fires her gun and the ever-heroic Mary throws herself in the way of the bullet.  Sherlock fails in his vow to protect the Watson family and a devastated John (gonna regret the bus lady for a long time now aren’t we Johnny boy) pushes him away.

Asking Sherlock to be godfather probably lead to your death Mary.

After my initial heartbreak at the death of Mary and anger at seeing another strong female fridged had passed, my brain tried to process all of this in the special way any Sherlock episode requires. Is Mary dead? Watching the buildup of this episode, which was really about the Watsons all along, it was hard to swallow her death.  Knowing that death is not necessarily a death on this show made it more confusing. Considering the rumors that this will be the final full season of Sherlock and reportedly the darkest of all, it is quite likely she really is gone.

Now we must wait to see how the players rebound, which they must, because Moriarty still has to be dealt with. Sherlock will take on his biggest case ever, the case to Save John Watson. Luckily, our wait is only a week before we get to see what happens next. That may be enough time to recover and watch The Six Thatchers a few more times to find any other clues.

I will pass on rating this show on a scale and simply say I loved it over all and cannot wait to see what the rest of this season brings.

(This page uses affiliate links to help support the cost of maintaining the blog. Purchasing a product through a provided link may provide us with a small fee to help us keep doing what we do. Thanks for your support)