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Sherlock (BBC)


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-So was it Charles Magnuson that wrote that telegram to Mary that Sherlock read at her wedding? If so, why did he do that?

Since the telegram isnt mentioned, we cant be sure. The contents of it and Mary's reaction does suggest it though.

I would assume the reason to send a telegram was to serve as a reminder "I still own you", on the happiest day of her life.

One of the moist interesting aspects of the episode is that Sherlock had no obvious suspicions about Mary prior to the scene where she shot him.

But there were a few obvious things he missed then. The telegram is one, but the second, and more obvious one is Janine.

Sherlock starts a relationship with Janine because she is the PA of Magnussen. But she is also a friend of Mary. That is a real obvious link that Sherlock seemed to have missed.

During the wedding, while bonding with Janine, was he already trying to gain access to Magnussen? If he did, how did the telegram not raise any suspicions for him?

This might be the first time the viewer had suspicions that Sherlock did not have. But there is nothing in either episode to conclude that he had any knowledge or suspicion about Mary having some involvement with CAM.

About Moriarty.

We saw him shoot himself on the roof. And unlike Sherlock jumping, there is no obvious way he could have faked that, I think.

So far the series hasn't cheated with any solutions its given regarding cases. Or have they?

The text in Magnussen's eyesight when he is looking at a victim suggested he had some type of Google glasses. Instead it was a visual trick similar to the one they use with Sherlock to tell the viewer watch on his mine. But with CAM it's only ever used in POV shots, while that generally doesn't happen with Sherlock. Also the text had a slight "fisheye' warp applied to it, to add the suggestion it was projected on the lenses of his glasses. So a slight cheat towards the audience.

Knipsel1_zpscd885040.jpg

Season 3 seems to concentrate more then ever about tricking the viewer, which is a trick Moffat overdid in Doctor Who as far as I'm concerned. Sherlock is a show more suited to that, but I hope they don't sacrifice everything just to keep putting us on the wrong foot.

-They should have put the entire Moriarty reveal after the end credits, instead of beginning the credits music, then having the reveal, then having essential nothing we hadn't already seen after the end credits

Why?

What would ultimately be the difference?

The bit with Janine was most unexpected and devilishly funny in the end. Quite a different approach to the character of Holmes.

It's actually straight from one of the stories. The Adventure Of Charles Augustus Milverton, which is the main inspiration for the plot of this episode. In it Sherlock Holmes poses as a plumber and starts a relationship with Milverton's maid to obtain information. Something Watson believes crosses a line. Since we knew CAM was gonna feature in His Last Vow, we could have actually suspected this he was doing this with Janine. :)

Janine's reference to buying a house in Sussex and it having bees is a reference to His Last Bow, the final Holmes story by Conan Doyle, where Holmes retired to the Sussex Downs and keeps bees.

The plot with Watson looking for the son of a neighbor in a crack house and finding Sherlock there comes from The Man With The Twisted Lip. Where Watson find Holmes in an opium den, also on a case.

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Perhaps he wanted so much for Watson and Mary to work out that he made a.....human error.


That is a real obvious link that Sherlock seemed to have missed.

During the wedding, while bonding with Janine, was he already trying to gain access to Magnussen? If he did, how did the telegram not raise any suspicions for him?

This might be the first time the viewer had suspicions that Sherlock did not have. But there is nothing in either episode to conclude that he had any knowledge or suspicion about Mary having some involvement with CAM.

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Sherlock, like it or not, is a high functioning sociopath. Season 3 actually makes of point of mentioning this in every episode.

If people can root for Dexter, or Walter White, or the scores of murderers on GOT, then why would Sherlock killing someone be an issue.

You can root for Dexter because he literally only murders men who have already murdered multiple other men, and then escaped the justice system. You don't root for Walter White. The whole point of the show is that they introduce a likable character that you root for originally, then as the show goes on you realize he in the villain, and you root for his innocent family members to be free of him. As for GOT, the only characters you can really root for at this point are Arya and Daenerys, and I'd hardly call either of them murderers.

Of course, the bigger question is why did Mary even have Magnussen down on his knees instead of just killing him as soon as she found him

My theory on this.

Magnussen isnt only a blackmailer, he is a sadist, loves to humiliate his victims. Doubtless he humiliated Mary in some fashion and she wanted to gte her own back.

Or, she wanted him to give her the file she thought he had on her. (she didnt know about his mind palace obviously)

OK, good points.

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Daenerys has actually been responsible for deaths in the series. And Arya....

she stabbed one guy in the neck after he was talking how he mutilated her brothers corpse, or something like that. And has arranged for people to be killed. By Jaqen, remember.

Really no one has clean hands on that show.

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Yea, but I put what Sherlock did in a different category than what Arya did.

But let's not discuss GOT here. Back to Sherlock. He's standing on Magnussen's porch, with Mycroft and British police surrounding them. Magnussen is taunting them that they will go to jail for trying to sell British secrets to him. Magnussen is also taunting them that he could have Mary killed any time he wants. What would happen if Sherlock did nothing? Surely, Sherlock and Watson wouldn't REALLY go to jail, they'd be fine. And what motivation would Magnussen have for killing Mary at that point? Magnussen craves wealth and power, wealth and power. How would killing Mary get him more of that?

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Stefan, about the Moriarty thing, I think it's just as Blumenkohl explained it before. The Woman likely came back to save Mr.Holmes from death and exile, just like he did for her.

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BTW, I finally went back and read the posts you guys made about the final episode before my post. WTF, what was up with all the spoiler tags? Once an episode has aired, please discuss it openly in this thread! Those who haven't seen it yet know to simply stay out of the thread, like I did! It made it very annoying to read all the posts.

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What would happen if Sherlock did nothing? Surely, Sherlock and Watson wouldn't REALLY go to jail, they'd be fine.

Well if Sherlock did nothing both him and John would go on trail for selling secret information. There is no way Mycroft can prevent this. CAM has his own media empire. Both would probably go to jail for life. Sherlock cares nothing for his own reputation, which is why he had no issues pretending to be a drug addict. But he does care deeply for John, and now Mary.

I dont see how they would NOT go to jail if CAM lived. He has pressure points on just about anyone important in the British empire.

This episode is in many ways the reverse of The Reichenbach Fall, where Sherlock was in control the whole time, and allowed Moriarty to arrange his downfall and set up the meeting on the roof. 13 scenario's, everything planned to perfection.

In His Last Vow, Sherlock screwed up. There were no vaults, there was nothing to trade. He had made a grave error that threatened to see him and John locked up for life, and let CAM continue with his blackmailing games. AND be a threat to Mary.

Stefan, about the Moriarty thing, I think it's just as Blumenkohl explained it before. The Woman likely came back to save Mr.Holmes from death and exile, just like he did for her.

It's possible. though the fact that we are thinking about that at least 18 months before the next episode makes it unlikely.

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I think Mycroft COULD have kept Sherlock and Watson out of jail. In fact - he DID! Kiling Magnussen doesn't change the fact that Sherlock and Watson where still there at his house with Mycroft's laptop! Magnussen being dead or alive shouldn't change the supposed secret-selling charge.

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You can root for Dexter because he literally only murders men who have already murdered multiple other men, and then escaped the justice system. You don't root for Walter White. The whole point of the show is that they introduce a likable character that you root for originally, then as the show goes on you realize he in the villain, and you root for his innocent family members to be free of him. As for GOT, the only characters you can really root for at this point are Arya and Daenerys, and I'd hardly call either of them murderers.

Why can't I root for Jon Snow? Or Tywin Lannister? Whats wrong with rooting for the delicious bad guy? Or, whats wrong with just watching a show for its entertaining and fascinating characters and not bothering about rooting for anyone?

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whats wrong with just watching a show for its entertaining and fascinating characters and not bothering about rooting for anyone?

COMPLETELY agreed.

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I think Mycroft COULD have kept Sherlock and Watson out of jail. In fact - he DID! Kiling Magnussen doesn't change the fact that Sherlock and Watson where still there at his house with Mycroft's laptop! Magnussen being dead or alive shouldn't change the supposed secret-selling charge.

Yes, but killing CAM meant that Mycroft was able to keep it relatively under wraps, and strike a deal with the PM and other politicians, many of them being blackmailed by CAM.

Had CAM lived then he could have used the politicians he owned, including the PM (suggested in the opening scene) to have Sherlock Holmes and John Watson publoically disgraced and locked up. Plus the fact that he ran his own media empire. (basically Magnussen has some elements of Rupert Murdoch)

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Well, the episode didn't make a lot of that clear

I wonder if the Blu ray will have an extended version of the episode... surely they filmed a reference to the wedding telegram, that must have been cut for time?

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Well, watching it I felt it was perfectly clear that CAM had to die the moment it was revealed all the info was in his head.

There was no other way to get out of the situation. I kinda figured John would do it after being pressed too hard.

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Magnussen being dead is the best thing that could happen for our heroes. Mary is safe, the politicians are safe.

But should Sherlock face jail time for his murder is the question.

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Should John face jail time for shooting the taxi driver? After all, there was a 50/50 chance the pill wasn't poisonous, and Sherlock did not HAVE to take it. The gun the taxi driver used wasn't real. Sherlock knew that, but went along anyway for the thrill ride, to solve the puzzle.

But we would all say NO.

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You should revisit it. If John was arrested and charged for it, he would probably have faced jail time.

But to answer your question. I personally don't think they crossed the line, but came very, very very near to it.

I wonder if next season the writers will make Sherlock pay for his sins to some degree. It would actually be very interesting to see him really humbled or humiliated.

In a way thats what CAM did though. For the first time Sherlock could not think his way out of the situation. It would be nice if there are some repercussions, or acknowledgement of that.

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Yes, I was thinking along those lines too. It would be interested in the repercussions were along the lines of things in England where better while Magnussen was alive. IE, he kept the right politicians in line, the right people away from each other, the right information out of the right hands, etc. And now that he's gone, people start making plays, doing things, and now things are worse off than while Magnussen was alive. Something like that.

He was built up too great to be used in one episode, killed off, then never mentioned again.

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LOL didnt you complain less then 3 weeks ago about yet another all powerful super villain ala Moriarty?


When I am talking about repercussions I mean more for Sherlock personally. He killed, because someone got the better of him. He failed. Maybe for once seeing him falling into self-doubt. Second guessing himself, or suffering from the act of committing murder would be an interesting thing to explore.

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Stefan is smart enough to know to not read posts until he had seen it.

Anyways, it wasn't just you, it was an entire page of posts discussing it with spoiler tags on. Craziness!

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Yea, I suggested before having seen Season 3 that it would be nice if Season 3 was three independent stories, since so much of Seasons 1 and 2 was all a results of Moriarty's scheming.

However, now having seen Season 3, I've seen the character they constructed for Charles Augustus Magnussen, and he was great! They did a really good job of building him up as a great villain, and one who was very different than Moriarty. I wouldn't have minded at all if he was a recurring villain for the rest of the series. But of course, they had to kill him off, so now he can't.

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Now, thinking about Moriarty again.

I really can't see of any way they can bring him back without it being a blatant cheat.

What would have even been the point of the roof top scene, dramatically speaking, if neither Sherlock or Moriarty died?

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The footage on the TV shown before the end credits where clearly some kind of digital construction, and his voice was altered, so it certainly could be somebody else using the Moriarty legend.

However, after the end credits, when a live and non-computerized Moriarty looks right at the camera and asks the viewer if we missed him, that's basically indicating he is alive.

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Yea, I suggested before having seen Season 3 that it would be nice if Season 3 was three independent stories, since so much of Seasons 1 and 2 was all a results of Moriarty's scheming.

Well, for me the structure of season one and two is this:

Episodes one and 2 of each season are mainly independent stories, but with a few references built in for the season finale.

-A Study In Pink: introduces the concept of Moriarty without giving much info.

-The Blind Banker: The actual story has nothing at all to do with Moriarty, only the short coda at the end features him.

-The Great Game: Moriarty is the main focus

-A Scandal In Belgravia: Moriarty is seen in the pre-credits scene, which resolves the cliffhanger, and once in the actual story of that episode.

-The Hounds of Baskerville: Moriarty has nothing to do with this story, he is only seen in the end.

-The Reichenbach Fall: Moriarty is the main focus.

Now if we examine season 3.

The Empty Hearse: Introduces the concept of CAM without giving much info

The Sign Of Three: The actual story has nothing at all to do with CAM. But small hints are planted.

His Last Vow: CAM is the main focus of the.

There is no real difference in structure at all.

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It should be noted that the term "sociopath" is psychologically defunct and doesn't accurately describe Sherlock anyway, whether in the BBC iteration, RDJ's portrayal, or the books themselves. There's no catch all term to describe him; he's a genius eccentric.

That said I have no issue with him killing. He's not a superhero with a sense of morality in place mostly only to allow the writers multiple returns of villains... Moffat just does that anyway. ;)

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Guess we'll find out in 2016.

Actually, hopefully the break will be shorter this time since there are no more Hobbit movies being filmed. Maybe September of 2015 for the new season?

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It's probably a new villain using the Moriarty name to accomplish some new goal. Possibly Irene Adler is involved.

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Stefan, about the Moriarty thing, I think it's just as Blumenkohl explained it before. The Woman likely came back to save Mr.Holmes from death and exile, just like he did for her.

But Stefan doesn't believe it for some strange reason...

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Kind of disappointed that if already read here about Mary being dodgy, would have been a big surprise otherwise. It was all very clever as usual.

I think the way it plays out just shows that they expected people to figure out certain things, but kept back enough to turn the whole thing around yet again in the end. Perfectly balanced.

To conclude, a very funny moment:

"I don't understand.

"You should have that on a T-shirt."

[...]

"I still don't understand."

"And that's the back of the T-shirt."

Shut up and take my money!

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It's actually straight from one of the stories. The Adventure Of Charles Augustus Milverton, which is the main inspiration for the plot of this episode. In it Sherlock Holmes poses as a plumber and starts a relationship with Milverton's maid to obtain information. Something Watson believes crosses a line. Since we knew CAM was gonna feature in His Last Vow, we could have actually suspected this he was doing this with Janine. :)

Right, but Doyle's home romances the maid, which they surely got often, and does not go so far as proposing, does he?

Couldn't Janine have just been a stroke of luck? He may have found out about her at the wedding and planned it all from there.

I (and surely most everyone) thought that Holmes' making Magnussen repeat it was all in his mind was meant for Mycroft to give the order to shoot him (because he would have a dish antenna to listen to what they were saying).

Regarding Moriarty: even though Sherlock did mention tracking down his lieutenants to get rid fo them, "The Empty earse" did not feature "The Empty House"'s Colonel Moran; could he now be the one faking Moriarty's return, as part of a posthumous plan Moriarty had set up in case of his demise?

The footage on the TV shown before the end credits where clearly some kind of digital construction, and his voice was altered, so it certainly could be somebody else using the Moriarty legend.

However, after the end credits, when a live and non-computerized Moriarty looks right at the camera and asks the viewer if we missed him, that's basically indicating he is alive.

So my file is missing something. I fail to this the point of what is merely repetition, however.

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I saw episodes 2 and 3 of season 3 the day before. Actually I thought those were an improvement on s3e1 in almost all respects. Both had more focused plots which helped a great deal, not to mention some wonderful writing, interesting settings and superb acting. I can't wait for the next one! :)

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Yup, episode 1 was this season was probably the weakest of all 9 episodes. Something about it was just... off. Luckily episode 2 was one of the best ever, and episode 3 was pretty good too :)

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I am perhaps most unsettled by our high functioning sociopath's murderous finale in episode 3 though. It is undeniably dramatic and tragic but somehow feels a bit wrong for a "hero". I can't for the life of me remember if Holmes killed anyone in the original stories so intentionally.

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Yes Inky, we've been talking about that exact thing for the past page or two. Scroll back and have a good read!

(Also, there's no need to spoiler-block episodes that have already aired :) )

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