Sherlock season three finale: A case study

Case History: There was a two year wait after The Reichenbach Fall, the finale of Sherlock’s second season. Sherlock Holmes jumped off a building, but didn’t die, leaving only a frenzy of theories and questions. There was no way writers Steve Moffat and Mark Gatiss (who also plays Mycroft, Sherlock’s elder brother, in the show) could live up to the fans’ expectations. But they did. Not only did they only live up to the expectations, but also vaulted past said expectations. The third season, which concluded last Friday, was the funniest, most personal and most bromantic segment of Sherlock, and it ended gloriously with His Last Vow. The warm and emotional side of Sherlock that we saw in the first two episodes disappeared without a trace in His Last Vow. Scripted by Moffat, it showed Sherlock at his coldest and was perhaps the darkest episode of the series. Also, unlike the first two episodes of this season, this last one was driven by the mystery. If you’re in the tiny section of people who still haven’t seen the Sherlock finale, turn away because spoilers follow. [caption id=“attachment_1348993” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A still from the Sherlock TV series.[/caption] The Facts: Sherlock’s latest threat, the icy, terrifying Charles Augustus Magnussen (Lars Mikkelsen) was the first villain of the series to really make the hair at the back of your neck stand. Magnussen is a media mogul who uses his power scrupulously but evilly. The all too obvious nod to Rupert Murdoch was a fun addition to his character. Unlike other Sherlock villains, Magnussen literally touches his victims, with bodily fluids at that. He has an even more insane skill for deduction than Sherlock and his own gigantic “mind palace” that he uses to blackmail and exploit people. The reveal of Magnussen’s “vaults” (in which Sherlock believes Magnussen stores sensitive information on everyone he blackmails) and the red herring of his 4G LTE glasses shook Sherlock more than Moriarty ever did. Magnussen is a man who can unsettle even Sherlock Holmes, and for the first time since Moriarty shot himself in the face, there was a villain that made Holmes pause. And who is Magnussen, a legitimately scary bloke, afraid of? Mrs Watson, aka Mary Morstan. The first time we see the two of them together, he’s practically blubbering with fear and she’s pointing a gun to his head. John Watson’s propensity for danger and psychopaths has been hinted at repeatedly in the series, but this last episode had Sherlock say it out loud in as many words: Watson’s best friend is a “high functioning sociopath” and he fell in love with a mysterious assassin. Watson loves the adrenaline rush that comes from being in danger, he misses the rush that came from being in such situations during the war, and he can’t handle this truth. The scene in which Watson is made to face this fact plays out beautifully, and Martin Freeman brings so much depth to his character. Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock is at the top of his game, especially in the terrific scene where he hurtles around his mind palace after being shot by Mary. It’s an incredible sequence and props to director Nick Hurran for bringing his own vision into it. Molly and Anderson appearing as the physical manifestations of Sherlock’s inner voice was a nice touch, as was Moriarty appearing as Death, trying to manipulate Sherlock into submitting to the dark side. The Highlights: Revelation of Mrs Hudson’s marijuana addiction and that there are YouTube videos of her exotic dancing. Molly repeatedly slapping Sherlock. Sherlock: “Magnussen is quite simply the most dangerous man we’ve ever encountered and the odds are comprehensively stacked against us.” Watson: “But it’s Christmas!” Sherlock (smiles gleefully) “I feel the same.” [beat] “Oh. You mean it’s actually Christmas.” Sherlock shooting Magnussen to death was all the more fulfilling after the deliciously menacing scene where Magnussen flicks Watson in the eye to display his power over him. In Arthur Conan Doyle’s final mystery “The Last Bow” Sherlock and Watson talk about “the East wind” and part ways forever. That conversation takes place in this episode’s final moments, and you’re led to believe that it’s the end of Sherlock. Slyly, even the end credits drum beats kick in when Sherlock’s flight takes off, and suddenly stop to offer a jaw dropping final twist in the tale – Jim Moriarty’s return. The man appears on every video screen in London and says ‘Miss me?’ Yes, we missed you, you weird evil bastard. The Clues: How the devil is Moriarty back? Right now a lot of people need to wear the T-shirt that Magnussen recommended Watson get: with “I don’t understand” on the front and “I still don’t understand” on the back. Moriarty shot himself. Everyone saw him die. But then, everyone saw Sherlock die too, but #SherlockLives trended on Twitter, and when it’s time for the fourth season premiere, I’m pretty sure #MoriartyLives will trend too. So let’s explore the options: 1) Earlier Sherlock said that he systematically dismantled Moriarty’s network over a period of two years. So Moriarty is not really alive, and someone simply used an old clip to broadcast it all over London as a threat. This could be Sebastian Moran, who in the books was described by Sherlock as the second most dangerous man in the world, the first being Moriarty. Moran was in cahoots with Moriarty and could be the villain of Season 4. 2) Sherlock orchestrated the Moriarty broadcast. Remember, he was being sent to Eastern Europe on a certain suicide mission, so he could have planted the broadcast to make the cops call him back to London. He had hacked into phones in A Study in Pink so this broadcast wouldn’t be that hard for him to pull off. (a) He could’ve used help from Lady Smallwood as a return favour for eliminating Magnussen. (b) When Mycroft arrives in his chopper to see Sherlock pointing a gun at Magnussen, the sniper bellows ‘target is unarmed’, which means the target was always Magnussen. That way Mycroft was always in league with Lady Smallwood and Sherlock. Why else would he bring a top secret suitcase to his parents’ home for Sherlock to steal and give it to Magnussen? 3) The most plausible scenario is that Moriarty is actually back. The broadcast was a GIF image, but he actually shows up after the end credits, and it would be really silly of Moffat and Gatiss to tease Moriarty’s return for a year and then tell you ‘nope it’s someone else’. Possible Theories: 1) Moriarty used a fake gun, although Sherlock spotted a fake gun in A Study in Pink. So Moriarty could’ve used blanks in a real gun. At that range even a blank could injure you, but certainly not kill you. We don’t see any blood spurt or brains getting blown out when he pulls the trigger, and Sherlock doesn’t really examine his body. The liquid coming from the back of his head could well have been apple juice. 2) Moriarty used a real gun and didn’t die (remember the movie Fight Club?). 3) Moriarty is Sherlock’s second brother. There is a scene where Mycroft tells someone about a third sibling and he hints that he did something unpleasant to him. As per the books’ mythology Sherrinford is the third brother and is more cunning and observant than both Sherlock and Mycroft. The Suspects: Steve Moffat and Mark Gatiss are the same guys who at a recent press conference shouted that Moriarty is dead and there was no chance he’d be back. They remain prime suspects in this case for being lying scumbags and awesome showmen.