Sherlock Rewatch: A Study in Pink (Season One, Episode One)

My family is obsessed with Sherlock. We love him when he's post-Victorian. We love him when he's post-modern. We love him when he's in New York City and Watson is played by an American female.

But we love him most as Benedict Cumberbatch.



My sister and I recently (today, in fact) decided to do an entire series rewatch before the third season premieres. I've been searching for Moffat's mysterious clue (read more about that here) in the second season finale and it seemed like a good idea to review the earlier episodes.

To aid in the process of finding out what would be "out of character" for Sherlock and to ogle the British eye candy that is Benedict Cumberbatch.

I swear I'm not a stalker.

My sister has a pretty amazing theory of her own; I'll let her share that in her reviews. For me, this is about finding things that fit and don't fit; looking for clues to help decipher the one that got away later.

Shall we?

"A Study in Pink" is a decent series introduction. It's quick paced, flashy, and visually stimulating. Plus, I think the set designer is having the best time ever. Seriously, the man or woman who found this deserves to have their hand shaken.

But not if that means they're about to die, which seems to happen to a lot of the people Sherlock shakes hands with.



Here are some basic observations from the episode:

1. The story's "solution" is very much right in our faces from the very beginning. Now, I'd read the novella so I was anticipating a taxi driver/cab driver to be involved, but if you pay attention to the opening montage, the cab or the words "taxi' or "cab" are quite prominent. There is no attempt to hide what's happening; everything is right in front of our eyes. Misdirection is tricky, especially when it is so overt.

2. Germany. There are a lot of German/Germany references in these shows. The obvious one here is "rache" - which is German for revenge. Yes, I know, it's also a spin on the original tale which was, in fact, a murder motivated by revenge. That meaning has been supplanted here. However, considering the deluge of German references in later episodes (including, most notably, the recent minisode which had Sherlock presiding over a jury convened over "special circumstances" in a country which notably doesn't operate on the jury system. One might ask "why not just use a country that does use a jury system?"...I don't know. Something about Germany is significant, even if it's just the beloved birthplace of one of the writers or something).

 The fact that Reichenbach translates to Richard Brook seems to be a clear homage to this episode's subversion of the translation from the original. It makes me wonder a little if other episodes' clues will also get manipulated in "The Reichenbach Fall."

3. Sherlock isn't easily phased. I deliberately watched the final scene between Jeff and Sherlock carefully to gauge Sherlock's reaction when Jeff gets shot. Sherlock is remarkably poised. Not stoic, but not the flailing, coat-sniffing mad man that he is at the end of "The Reichenbach Fall." Important? Probably not, but I feel compelled to mention it.

4. Key words: bored (Jeff asks Sherlock if he is "bored", for example), ordinary, the description of Moriarty as "more than a man", Sherlock's repeated phrase "I have no idea" when we're pretty sure he does.

I'm not sure if there is anything here that I missed too much from previous viewings. We get the sense that Sherlock, from very early on in the show, has an understanding of Moriarty as an organization. If he senses that Moriarty is a criminal mastermind who enjoys game-playing (which is fairly easy to deduce from the facts at hand), then it's simple to assume that Moriarty is targeting Sherlock already ("you've got a fan, Mr. Holmes"). For me, that means everything that happens next happens with Sherlock's anticipation of Moriarty ever-bringing their worlds closer and closer together. He expects a direct confrontation. I would argue, he also probably predicts that their interaction will most likely end in death.

Although, it is tough to kill an organization.

See you after the next episode.