I actually like this one much better than "The Blind Banker", to be fair. I think my problem is that it seems so disconnected from the Moriarty plotline. It makes me think there's got to be something else going on here, aside from hallucinogenic drugs and giant beasties traipsing all over the moors of England.
It does give us this photo:
which is foreshadowing at its finest.
This one gives us a flashback by way of intro - clearly a strong connection to the main narrative thread and introducing us to the concept of the Hound through the childhood eyes of terror.
While it's not my favorite episode, here are some things of note:
1. Sherlock's refusal to apologize to Mrs. Hudson. He refuses to, after revealing Mrs. Hudson's unintentional affair with the philandering shopkeeper. She leaves upset and Sherlock refuses to apologize to her, criticizing, or perhaps, envying John's mind for assuming it could be so simple. And yet we see him apologize to Molly, just an episode earlier, for cruelly lashing out about her crush on him. And, the more I think about that scene, the more I'm sure Sherlock knows exactly what he's doing. There's no way a man like Sherlock could not predict or simply read the tag off the gift and know its recipient. He's not jealous of Molly's beau, so what's really going on there?
2. Shaking fingers - "I know the signs". Henry is looking for his first cigarette of the day and Sherlock makes much of his shaking fingers, commenting he recognizes the sign of nicotine withdrawal. Have you ever watched Sherlock's body language? Like really watched it? In Scandal in Belgravia, you can see him shaking his feet/leg repeatedly under his sheet. His finger tick rapidly, particularly when thinking. Very rarely does he stay completely still. In Reichenbach Falls, he sits, feet up, quite relaxed. When else does he ever sit with his feet up? Or completely still? That's certainly not his thinking pose. Does this mean he's drugged at the end? Not in the sense of the hallucinogenic stuff from HOUND; that's got red herring written all over it. Just that there's something else going on with his body language at the end of season finale and we get a clue to it here.
3. I'm a show-off; that's what we do. - I love this line, but I also wonder if it's there for ulterior motives as well. It would be out-of-character for Sherlock not to show-off (i.e. perhaps by asking Molly humbly for help or admitting that he needs her). I'd say look for scenes where Sherlock doesn't show off or can't show off in the finale. Just a thought.
4. Skull and Cross Bones - Another pirate reference (the first one is in Scandal in Belgravia when Mycroft says that his brother has the mind of a philosopher or scientist and yet spends his time acting as a detective. He also comments that initially Sherlock wanted to be a pirate. Do with that what you will.
5. John's blog. I write a blog. Several of them. On average, I get maybe 30 hits a day, more if I write something about Blue Lagoon: The Awakening (that shit is blog GOLD). I have nowhere near the readership of John's blog. Neither does Sherlock. And, yes, John has mysteries and fiction working on his side, but everyone whose anyone in this series seems well-acquainted with John's blog. It's amazing he hasn't monetized it; they could live entirely off that. Here, Dr. Frankland is the avid reader/fan. I feel like John's blog must be getting some outside help in order to be as successful as it seems to be.
6. Much is made of Sherlock's pickpocketing in the first two episodes of this season. First, he nicks the ashtray from the palace and now he's conveniently stolen Mycroft's ID to sneak into Baskerville (which seems unnecessary since Mycroft later gets him 24-hour-access).
7. With your cheekbones and turning up your coat collar to look cool. - I just love this line, but it also speaks to Sherlock's perception of himself and his ego. He knows people are looking at him, watching him, judging him. He wants to project "mysterious" and "cool". It doesn't take a genius to see that.
8. I haven't got friends. I've just got one. - Not true. He has Mrs. Hudson. Lestrade. and John. And Molly. And, in some fucked up way, Moriarty. Definitely not true. But it makes me think of the title change. In the original, it's the Hound of the Baskervilles. Here, it's the HoundS of Baskerville. A nod to the name change more than a moment of truth?
9. Sherlock's "fear" - We get a more emotional side to Sherlock here, with his fear and doubt unsettling him (hand-shaking!). This is either the most human Sherlock has ever been OR this is a set up, a long-con, on Sherlock's part. Making Watson witness his humanity to believe the end he has in store or Reichenbach.
10. Sherlock's mistake - Sherlock assumed the poison was in the sugar, not the in the fog. Making mistakes is distinctly in character for Sherlock, thus his "code" snafu at the end of the season finale isn't particularly out-of-character. Even John says Sherlock is "human" in his blog. I'm not sold entirely on that concept, actually, but it's something to note if you think the out-of-character move is that Sherlock was fallible. Sherlock does say in A Study in Pink that there is always some detail he gets wrong; he's excellent with the big picture, but little things often elude him.
11. Frankland's overly-helpfulness/giving Sherlock his number - it's an old British murder mystery standard that if someone is overly helpful they're probably involved in the murder. Moriarty gives Sherlock his number in The Great Game. Irene practically programs herself into Sherlock's phone. Here, Frankland gives his number. Kitty Riley slips her card to Sherlock in The Reichenbach Fall. Let's just ponder that for a moment, shall we?
12. John's blog entry regarding the episode points out that Sherlock makes Henry look at the body of the dog so that he understands what is real and what is not. I think that is exactly why it is so important that he places John where he does in the Reichenbach fall. John can't see the bloody conclusion, but he must be able to see the body in order to fully believe the lie of Sherlock's death. It's an interesting spin here.
13. Acronyms. HOUND here is a pretty basic acronym of the last name of the drug's founders. This ties into my IOU feeling (that's it something more significant). And the writers love using things from previous episodes to help do that. Liberty, IN also ties into this (IOU could be an abbreviation, of sorts).
See you after the next one.
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