Tuesday 17 January 2017

Sherlock Series 4: Review and Some Thoughts



This post will be FULL OF SPOILERS.

YUP.

MAJOR SPOILERS.

So, if you haven't seen all the three episodes of Sherlock Series 4, stop right now!

STOP!

PAUSE. LEAVE. 'COS, SPOILERS!

Ok. So, if you are still here and want to read, then go right ahead!

Ah.. some context.. (See what we did there? Eh? Eh? Eurus is not the only one who can dish some context!)

Sherlock is easily our favourite show! Like, our (my sister's and mine) most favourite TV show of all time! I am a card-carrying member of the Cumbercollective and have been one since 10 minutes into 'A Study in Pink' (oh yeah!). So, this show is LIFE!

Any year that begins with a measly 3-4 episodes of Sherlock is a good year in my books! What a way to begin the year.. great writing, fantastic acting talent and three juicy mysteries! It is just ever die-hard fan of the show wants after waiting for two plus years for their Sherlock fix! Not enough nicotine patches in the world to capture the level of stimulation that a new season of Sherlock brings.. and I mean intellectual stimulation here.. duh!

While most of the 13 Sherlock episodes are amazing, Series 2 is our hands down favourite! It had, in our opinion, the best storylines, fantastic writing, absolutely wonderful performances and some truly memorable banter between Cumberbatch's Sherlock and Andrew Scott's Moriarty! Oooh! Some writing and acting fireworks right there!

So, anyway, having said that.. let's jump in to Series 4!

THE THINGS WE LOVED! 

Series 4 started out with The Six Thatchers, which is a riff on the title of the original Arthur Conan Doyle story titled The Adventure of the Six Napoleons.  TBH, this wasn't my favourite episode of this series. I found it a little slow and frankly a bit lacklustre. The ending of course was slightly shocking...Mary dying! Now having read the original source material I knew that Mary dies. It isn't ever spelled out clearly but at some point Mary is dead and the boys are back living together. So I was kinda expecting this to happen. Plus I am not overly attached to the character of Mary, so her death wasn't something that affected me gravely.

The Lying Detective  based on the The Adventure of the Lying Detective--which incidentally I read earlier in the evening. This episode was just too dark.. it wasn't awful or anything but it was intense and poignant.. it had it's moments (Mrs.Hudson driving an Aston Martin at breakneck speed!) and of course, it did have an old spark of brilliance and a formidable nemesis in the form of Culverton Smith. However, The Lying Detective was significant because at the end of it, we learn that Sherlock and Mycrofts' much-hinted-at 'the other one' (sibling) is, actually, not a brother but a sister.. A sister whose name means 'The East Wind'.. remember at the end of His Final Vow when Mycroft says 'An east wind is coming?'... Could he possibly have been hinting at the shenanigans of his sister? Hmmm..

The third and final episode of this season aptly titled The Final Problem made me a little nervous. Is this the end of Sherlock? Why such an ominous name? Final?
Ah!

I loved this episode for the most part. My favourite moment has got to be Andrew Scott getting out of that helicopter and dancing to Queen! OMG! #likeaboss
I couldn't stop grinning.
The beginning of the episode was actually scary, what with clowns and little girls running about Mycroft's house! Spooky!
The bits in Sherrinford were intense but sometimes bordered on being a little over-the-top. Like Eurus  being in control of the entire prison system by brainwashing all the guards and doctors was a bit too much. Like really! But the little hoops she made Sherlock, John and Mycroft jump through more than made up for that bit of OTT-ness and was riveting to watch.

The girl in the plane...I kinda had doubts about her. For some reason she just didn't feel real from the very beginning.
How come she was the only one awake on the entire flight?
She never gave Sherlock her name!
She never did tell him where the flight took off and where it was headed.
So not genuine. It never rang true for me and I kinda sensed there was some metaphor or some other kind of explanation for the plane!

The last five minutes of the episode were very heartwarming. We heard via Mary that what mattered was that the 'Baker Street Boys' should get back to doing what they do best- being the last resort for anyone who needed help and a little mystery or two solved! Life returning to normal at 221B was definitely lovely to see!

Also, any review of this episode will be incomplete without calling attention to the massive character and emotional growth that Sherlock has had through the series. From a loner, an almost sociopathic genius with no regard to people's feelings, he has become the man that he is today. A man who is kind and considerate and a man who understands that the heart and the mind don't necessarily have to be at odds for deductive brilliance. In fact, the solution of The Final Problem was almost entirely emotional and intuitive. All things Season 1 Sherlock would have scoffed at.

Also, how freaking adorable was baby Sherlock in that pirate's hat?!!!!
Oh my heart!

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I have really enjoyed this season of Sherlock and like every other fan I cannot wait for the next episode, whenever it may come back on air. 
I hope it's sooner rather than later. 
I cannot wait for the Baker Street Boys to go on more adventures! 

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