Sherlock: His Last Vow (Series 3, Episode 3) - I MISSED YOU!!!

Okay, I've calmed down a little. Not much, but a little.


Last night's season ender was epic. Not, I think, my favorite all-time Sherlock episode, but certainly an excellent addition to what has been a fairly amazing season.

First things first: I TOLD YOU SO.

While not entirely evil, Mary certainly catapulted into the realm of "complicated" last night. I knew she was way too clever with the code deciphering and the successful playing of both Sherlock and Watson. And, of course, the "liar" and "linguist" warnings from Sherlock's initial reading of her.

I didn't exactly see her shooting Sherlock, though. But my Sherlock-senses were definitely tingling whenever she was on scene.

Things I Loved About Last Night's Episode:

1. Mary - I was worried they were going to straight up villainize her. They didn't. They made her complicated and worthy of a second chance. They also pointed out what everyone already knew: John loves himself a dangerous sociopath. There was no way Mary and he could be happy if she weren't. I'm pretty sure I fist-bumped myself when my earlier deductions were remotely right, though.

2. Moriarty - While it was great to see Moriarty trapped in Sherlock's mind dungeon, it was even greater to see him serve as the perverted deus-ex-machina, saving Sherlock from exile (and, perhaps, most likely death) with his timely return. Of course, there are so many questions here. Is he really back or is this someone using Moriarty's image? How did Moriarty fake his own death? Have the writers decided to go off canon now? It doesn't really matter, of course, since I'm about to pee my pants with excitement about Season 4 regardless.

3. Sherlock fighting death - This entire scene was incredible. My husband said this and I totally agree: they've gotten so much better about showing Sherlock "think" as the seasons go on. Here, it's a mind palace on the brink of collapse. Molly and Mycroft serve as prompters, getting Sherlock to make the necessary calls to save his own life, but it's Moriarty, still tormenting from his padded cell, that really highlights the bond these two sociopaths share, even in death.

4. Molly - Season 3 Molly not only got to kiss Sherlock (albeit in Anderson's fantasy - do with that what you will - although Sherlock did give her a little cheek peck later) but also gets to slap him as well. You go, girl! Molly is braver, feistier, and less likely to suffer fools. When she slaps Sherlock for squandering his gifts, you know it isn't just about that.

5. Sherlock playing human - I'd earlier lamented that they were trying too hard to humanize Sherlock this season, while hoping it was for a greater purpose. Seems it was. While Sherlock clearly has special emotional dispensations for Watson, he is in his element abusing the emotions of Jeanine (last week's bridesmaid) in order to get what he needs/wants. And, of course, we poignantly see him reaffirm his high-functioning sociopathy at the end when he shoots Magnusson in the head. Not a very elegant Holmesian solution, I fear. I hope they won't waste any time on Sherlock feeling guilty about that next season.

6. Christmas - Sherlock's parents are back! This time, for Christmas! And we see just how amazing a Holmes' family Christmas can be. We learn that it's Holmes's mother who is the "genius" (a mathematician turned mommy) - which is probably Moffat's way of saying "See, I'm not a misogynist!' Still, when  Sherlock drugs them all to run off to catch Magnusson, you just feel so warm and fuzzy and right.

7. Wiggins - In season one, one of the homeless network girls was named Wiggins. Which was cute and all, but I was hoping Wiggins would be a far more central figure. Prayers answered! The role gets recast here as a junky with a budding interest in deductions and chemistry.

Things I Didn't Love:

1. Magnusson - Sure, he gets shot in the head, but that's so not satisfying. We watch Sherlock because we want to see him mentally best the baddie. Not shoot them in their mind palaces. This felt like a copout or misdirection solely to get to the amazing punchline of the season. And that's a shame, because the guy playing Magnusson was so creepy he could have been a truly special villain. Instead, we just have to take it from Sherlock that he was the most dangerous opponent they've ever come up against. Having Sherlock win by default (if murder can be considered default) feels most unsatisfactory.

Things I Will Obsess Over:

1. AGRA - I'm guessing these initials are the IOU red-herring of Season Three but I can't help to think that Mary's identity and the mysterious USB are a clue I'm somehow missing. Besides, if nothing else, knowing a rogue agent is on your team to fight Moriarty has got to feel good.

2. Did you miss me? I had a feeling this was coming about halfway through the episode. They've used Andrew Scott a lot this year; for a guy who's supposed to be dead, he certainly was getting a fair bit of screen time. If he's really back, that should be an epic season 4. If he's not, it should still be pretty amazing. But I do worry. Now that Sherlock is a "murderer" - what's the incentive at beating Moriarty at his own game? They sacrificed a little of Sherlock's integrity this season and I don't know how or if they'll be able to successfully reclaim it in any meaningful way.

More after the rewatch!

Sherlock: Sign of Three (Series 3, Episode 2)

Well, well, well, isn't this a horse of a different color? A second or  middle episode that was actually pretty amazing.

The Sign of Three was highly anticipated after Sherlock's auspicious return to television. At least highly anticipated in my home. But I was wary. There are some distinct tonal changes going on - Sherlock and Mycroft are far more human, far more accessible, than they were previously. Also, at times, the show teeters on campy. We saw that in the first episode with the Inspector Clouseau bit. Here, it's a bit more subtle, but I can't remember...well...laughing quite so hard at Sherlock in the past.

Maybe I've just obsessively watched the humor out the older series?

Maybe it's Mary. Can I just say how much I fucking love Mary? I'm serious. She's amazing. She plays both Watson and Sherlock so perfectly. And she doesn't dare try to come between them. I hope it lasts because, dang, is she incredible.

I will give some major spoilers of tonight's episode. Here is your final warning. I won't tell you everything - because I've got small children and they're disruptive only in the 90 minute blocks I take for myself at bedtime. Tonight, it was adventures in potty training.

Don't ask.

Anyways, tonight was John's wedding. It did not disappoint. However, first, we saw the return of Donovan, who I'd hoped was away on traffic duty in Canterbury or something but apparently was not. We see her and Lestrade trying to crack down on an elusive gang of clown-faced bank robbers. They're on the brink of capture and police glory when...Sherlock texts! He needs help! Please! Come right away!

Of course, he's texted enough that we all know he is no danger, but Lestrade, well, Lestrade is sticking truer the canon and is not a very good police detective so he calls for all kinds of major backup at Baker St. where a totally fine Sherlock is in the throws of a "best man speech writing" meltdown.

Poor, Gavin. Er...Graham...uh...Greg.

Of course, the thing with the robbers is either all a very elaborate lead up to that punchline or signs of future trouble to come.

The writers are also doing this weird time-hopping thing that is making it difficult to know what time anything is happening in. Flashbacks are problematic that way. And we've definitely jumped forward from Sherlock's amazing return from the dead.

Sherlock gives an amazing speech, if you're worried. He makes the audience laugh and cry and gives us hope of Sherlock's increasing interest in joining society successfully. Peppered throughout are cases the boys have worked on together, including an unsolved case of a bloody guardsman and a ghost boyfriend. There are also some pretty amazing interviews Sherlock conducts with various members of the wedding party. It's nice to see him connect so vividly with a young child.

I'd totally let him babysit.

I was curious to see how they'd handle the central mystery of the Sign of the Four (the locked room). It was actually pretty clever here, although, I dare say, I'd figured it out. I won't tell you how it's done, just pay attention to the filming. They give a little visual hinting with some of the shots.

I also don't believe for a second that Sherlock would have trouble figuring out the intended target. That took way too long, but was fairly hysterical in the process.

Also fun - Sherlock dancing, Sherlock's bridesmaid friend, Sherlock visualizing his chatroom (and those women!!!), and the drinking scene (Sherlock and John both get wasted and try to solve a crime; it is just as epic as you imagine).

Of course, the major spoiler comes with the pun on the title. Changing the Four to Three in the title is surely designed to have people think of the new John-Mary-Sherlock triangle. Of course, we all forget how much the writers love a good pun.

Mary is off-put by wine. She gets nervous and sick in the morning of her wedding. She's put on some weight.
It doesn't really take a Sherlock to deduce what comes next.

But it's really, really sweet when he does.


See you after the rewatch.

Sherlock Conspiracy Theory Rears Its Ugly (Fake) Head: More Thoughts and Spoilers from "The Empty Hearse"

Okay, I'm sorry, but you see, I've become Anderson.

And this is how I watch Sherlock now.

Because of all my hard time watching and rewatching earlier episodes, I feel like I have a pretty excellent understanding of the Sherlockian universe. So, with all that said, there a few things still bothering me about yesterday's stunning return.

1. The distinct tonal shift from the previous two seasons. Sherlock has always been a little campy (maniacally so with Andrew Scott's depiction of Moriarty) but it read heavily as drama first. Comic relief certainly occurs, but I'm pretty sure I debated crying for John during The Reichenbach Fall. With Sherlock's gleeful return comes a new surge of manic comedy. While some of it holds true to canon (Mrs. Hudson's histrionics with the frying pan, for example), others do not (Sherlock's nod to Inspector Clouseau). Look, I get that Sherlock meets John again when he is in disguise and that dressing up is something he does frequently. But the scene where he dresses up like a waiter and buffoonishly tromps around the restaurant is off-putting to say the least. And a far departure from the ancient bookseller he appears as in "The Empty House." It felt more like Italian farce and it was distinctly more playful than I recall pre-fall Sherlock being.

2. Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary. Or, perhaps, distinctly not contrary at all. That, too, works with the canon - Mary was no shrew; she never tried to stop John from playing with Sherlock and recognized their work as important. But there is something up with Mary, yes? Let's look at another screencap of Sherlock's reading of her:

Here are the words of distinct interest to me: clever, shortsighted, guardian, linguist, secret, and liar. Don't get me wrong; I love that she's a size 12 (American size 8) and bakes her own bread, but those aren't really of importance to anything besides her waistline and the projected depiction of her as nurturing and maternal.

A friend of mine argues that Guardian refers to the newspaper, not the role. I think it could be more than that. We already know her politics lean left, so whether or not she reads the Guardian is of little import (and, yes, I know that newspaper reading is a different thing altogether in England than it is here). That leaves two other possibilities: her personality type (myer-briggs) is Guardian or that she operates in some capacity as a guardian herself (as a nurse, that would not be too great of a stretch. also, in intervening on Sherlock's behalf for John's betterment, she, too, seeks to protect and help her fiance). So, that's something to ponder. We also know she is a liar and I've given my thoughts about that as well. The fact that she's clever and a linguist are also particularly of note to me. If she's a nurse, Mary's linguistic skills might pay off with foreign patients. But a secret, clever, lying linguist with a part-time job? That sounds a little bit like my sister might be right and Mary might have been hired by Mycroft to keep tabs on John while Sherlock's away.

Of course, there's another possibility: that Mary will somehow be connected to the big bad. We know precious little about Mary (I suspect we will have a far better picture after Sunday's Sign of Three when we meet whatever she has by way of friends or extended family). I keep thinking about John's abduction. It doesn't make sense. It bothers me. Why does the mystery man in the shadows want John? And, if it's to get to Sherlock specifically, why send the warning to Mary? Let's ponder our Big Bad a little more, shall we?

3. Magnusson. I saw his name go by the bottom of the screen during the Anderson/Goth girl scene (I knew it was too funny and that they had to be trying to sneak something by me!) and googled him. Turns out, he's Milverton, the worst man in England, the blackmailer. And he operates out of the creepiest Island of Misfit Toys I've ever seen.

If he is a blackmailer, what exactly is he watching for so intently in the final clip from "The Empty Hearse"? Who is he attempting to extort with that video? Surely not John, he's got to be the pawn. But who is the message for? There's got to be something I'm missing here, but what? Is he connected to Mary (blue-eyed, poor eyesight)? Does this mean we need to consider the Holmes brothers more carefully?

4. I keep thinking back to the tonal shift. In particular, the humanizing moments we see between Sherlock and Mycroft. Like the Goth girl scene, the Operation Game made me feel all warm and fuzzy and loved. Which immediately makes me suspicious. Are they giving us this information/insight now to use it against later? To manipulate us? Mycroft would be an excellent target for a new criminal mastermind, particularly a blackmailer. What am I missing in all this soft talk about Mycroft's isolation and lonely heart?

So, those are my new thoughts. More thoughts. Too many thoughts. Loved all the Guy Fawkes bits. Want to make an effigy that looks like this one for next year:

Thanks to my sister for all the obsessive screencaps.

More to follow.

Sherlock: The Empty Hearse (Season 3, Episode 1) - More Thoughts and Spoilers

So, first, a correction. Turns out, like Sherlock, I'm fallible.

Anderson's group is called "The Empty Hearse." This is embarrassing and I'm sure I did catch it the first time around but I assumed the real empty hearse of the story was, of course, a pun on Sherlock's empty grave (or sort of empty grave) and the empty car holding all those explosives under Parliament.

My bad.

To make amends:

Don't say I never gave you anything.

In all fairness, for the real fans, it's the few seconds immediately preceding the kiss which are the most epic - when Sherlock runs his hands through his hair. You're going to want to check out the GIF on the BBC One Tumblr. Christmas came late this year.

So, back to the story. There were a couple of moments I've been thinking about since I wrote my initial reaction.

First, the Holmes bros. It seems the Cold War is thawing between the two boys - so much so that they even engage in a battle of the wits (they play Operation. it is just as awesome as you're now imagining). We even get to see a little deductive reasoning on Mycroft's part, which also allows Sherlock the opportunity to pay him back for the "how would you know" line in "Scandal in Belgravia."

Turns out, our little Mycroft is lonely. Awwww.

Don't go and give him a soul now, Gatiss and Moffat. We like our Holmes boys just a little bit more detached than the average human.

We also get to meet Sherlock and Mycroft's parents - played, quite rightly, by Benedict Cumberbatch's real parents. It was sweet to see the whole family together - a bizarre little Christmas card for true fans - and I think it was sporting of the creators to try guess what Sherlock's parents would actually be like. They're so...normal! And sweet! Except, you know, like Benedict Cumberbatch, they sort of reek of old money, even if there isn't any. When Mycroft has to go with them to see "Les Miz," we all would have paid money to see a scene of that.

But you knew that their parents would have to be loving, if nothing else. Look how coddled Sherlock is! He is, essentially, a petulant child with the brain of a genius and the cheekbones of a gangly, foppish Armani model. For tweaked hyper-geniuses, the Holmes boys certainly are well-adjusted.

After all, they didn't turn into Moriarty.

Too soon?

And, of course, I think we need to consider the possibility that Sherlock lies to Anderson about Project Lazarus. He did say there were 13 possibilities once he reached the rooftop of St. Bart's. If he was really going to use Mycroft the entire time, wasn't there really only one possibility once he was on the roof? Come on, now. Of course, with his ego, he was probably banking on being able to talk Moriarty out of killing him entirely.

And, after giggling with child-like glee, kissing. BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE DO.
in fan-fiction.

But the thing I really want to talk about is the Lestrade hug.

Just kidding, but damn do I hope the slashers are going fucking nuts with that today.

No, this is what I want to talk about:

This took forever to find a screencap of but it's important to me because I knew that we would have to contend with the Mary factor.

Was she too good to be true? Let's look at some of Sherlock's deductions about her: cat lover, bakes own bread, part-time nurse, only child, disillusioned, size 12, lib//dem, secret, tattoo, guardian, shortsighted, and, of course, liar.

In fact, liar shows up a lot (not in this particular pic but in others I've seen). Now, to some degree, we are all liars (I lie all the time, about wanting to read Fancy Nancy books or about wanting to watch Caillou) so we shouldn't all immediately jump on the "Mary is evil" bandwagon. But since she's a liar AND she has a secret, I think we need to maybe brace ourselves for the possibility that...

...maybe Mary is evil.

Blue eyes and shortsighted? Could she somehow be connected to the blue-eyed, glasses-wearing big bad we caught our first glimpse of last night? Or is she lying about wanting to help reconcile John and Sherlock? What are her motives here? Is she as good as she seems or will she break up the band?

I hope not. I hope that she is merely human and loving, if not slightly damaged by the vulnerabilities of life, as are we all.

But, let's face it, this is Moffat and Gatiss we're talking about here.

Bitch is probably evil.