On January 1st, 2014, the wait finally ended for fans of BBC’s hit TV show Sherlock, which returned for its third season in the UK. The game, dear readers, is back on!
Sherlock is a modern-day television update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in the lead roles of Mr. Holmes and Dr. John Watson. The series began in 2010 and was received with critical acclaim. Freeman’s no-nonsense, dependable Watson is a great foil for Cumberbatch, who plays Sherlock with witty, clever aplomb. (His role in Sherlock was arguably what propelled Cumberbatch into fame. After the wildly successful first season of Sherlock, Cumberbatch went on to star in big titles like War Horse, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hobbit trilogy, and more recently, 12 Years a Slave.)
Sherlock’s premise is based on retellings of famous Conan Doyle tales set in modern day London. 221B Baker Street, Inspector Lestrade, Mrs. Hudson, and all the iconic elements of the original Sherlock Holmes stories are present but given a modern twist. Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes is a self-proclaimed “high functioning sociopath” that prefers to text, uses nicotine patches instead of the canonical cocaine, and has a map of the London underground in his head. The intriguing plotlines, fantastic soundtrack, and fast pacing all serve to make this reboot of a somewhat tired franchise new and fresh. Sherlock’s success can also be attributed to the stunning high quality of each of its episodes, which are few and far between. Each season consists of three hour-and-a-half episodes. So far, there has been a two year wait between each season, a recurring hiatus bemoaned by fans.
The third season begins with an episode called “The Empty Hearse”, a nod to the Conan Doyle story “The Adventure of the Empty House”. (Some spoilers ahead. But not really spoilers if you’ve read the books.) In this episode, the long awaited method by which Sherlock faked his death is finally revealed. Honestly, the fans predicted most of it within days of the last episode of the last season being aired. Nevertheless, we gain some satisfaction in knowing finally how he did it. The reunion of Holmes and Watson was as awkward as expected, with some spectacular acting by Freeman, who has got Watson’s whole “barely suppressed grief/anger/any other strong emotion” demeanor down pat. In this episode, we are also introduced to Mary Morstan, Watson’s girlfriend and soon-to-be-wife (who is played by Amanda Abbington, Freeman’s actual wife). Rather than throwing a wrench into the best-friends-with-slightly-homoerotic-subtext rapport Watson and Sherlock have going on (Even their landlady thought they were gay!), Mary’s character actually accepts them and enables their somewhat ridiculous, always dangerous adventures. This episode, which should have been a somber homecoming episode from beginning to end, actually took a few ridiculous turns in between. Occasionally, it felt like the writers were playing to the fans as we witnessed a dramatic, James-Bond-like kiss between Sherlock and forensic pathologist Molly Hooper and a near kiss between Sherlock and his arch-nemesis, James Moriarty. (Both of which were revealed to actually be fantasies by characters in the show.) But still, this episode demonstrated a lot more absurdist writing and breaks away from the seriousness of previous seasons.
The insanity doesn’t stop; rather, it intensifies in the second episode that aired on January 5th- “The Sign of Three”. This episode takes place largely during John and Mary’s wedding. Anything that goes wrong when you have Sherlock Holmes as a wedding guest invariably goes wrong (notably his botched best man’s speech). Again, the more light-hearted tone of the show continues in the second episode. We get a few great scenes of Watson and Sherlock drunk after Watson’s stag night (or bachelor’s party, in American terms) in which we discover that even the great Sherlock Holmes cannot deduce for his life when under the influence. There is also a huge amount of sappiness and raw emotion in this episode, which makes us wonder if Sherlock is veering away from his uncaring front and actual growing a heart. This is fantastic character development but also puts the future of the show in jeopardy. The first two seasons ran with the formula of Sherlock being a cold, calculating jerk but an efficient, crime-solving jerk aided by his loyal Watson. But now, Watson’s getting married and everything is changing in Sherlock’s life.
With the season already two-thirds over, it is obvious we can’t return to the straight crime-solving, police-procedural formula of the previous seasons. But Sherlock’s genius deduction and unravelling of impossible cases is what was such a huge draw for the series. Now, the story is going in an entirely different direction centered on Sherlock and Watson’s personal lives. It is uncertain whether this new focus will lend the series the same brilliance and quick storytelling it possessed before or just bog it down with unnecessary melodrama. But show creators promise that the third and last episode of this season, “His Last Vow” airing on January 12th, will end with an even bigger cliffhanger than the last. You’ll have to watch and decide for yourself.
