Are you guys watching Sherlock? (BBC Series)

[Stopwatch]

Where has John's mustache gone? Was that video supposed to happen a few months before Sherlock's return?

I presume it was supposed to occur a few days before the fifth of October. Given the two year comment in the video though I'm not sure which year it's supposed to be. I should possibly try to count back through the blog entries and stuff, but not right now.

[mangaluva]

So.

Season three, episode one.

Spoiler:

ARE THEY GOING TO DANGLE THAT MYSTERY OVER OUR HEADS ALL SODDING SEASON
I mean the season's going to last less than two weeks BUT STILL
I can say that I wholeheartedly approve of John repeatedly trying to strangle Sherlock and then giving him the ol' Glesca Kiss in the end.
I am also pleasantly surprised and massively enjoying the friendship between Mary and Sherlock. Please say she's going to go with them on "business" in future. EPIC CRIMEFIGHTING TRIO, GO! They were pretty good going all GTA together to go find John. I mean, Mary figured out the code in pretty much no time. I'm just wondering who Charles Agustus Milverton (okay, Magnusson now apparently) was going after by trying to burn John. He sent the text to Mary... was he unsure if Sherlock was alive and trying to draw him out?
Also, seriously, while the false envisionings of how Sherlock survived were funny sometimes (especially the Sheriarty one) but I REALLY NEED TO KNOW HOW HE DID IT BECAUSE THEY'VE SHOT DOWN THE ONLY FRAGILE THEORY I HAD WITH MAKING IT UNCLEAR WHETHER OR NOT ANDERSON IMAGINED THAT CONVERSATION

But twelve million points to Sherlock for saying absolutely nothing wrong to Molly or Tom

What did you guys think?

[S.Vineyard]

Two years of waiting over. It was brilliant. I'm happy.

Spoiler:

And imo. it was a good idea that Gattis le the "How did he survive?" question open-ended. Let's face it, two years of speculation. The fans would have NEVER been pleased with the final solution.

[mangaluva]

Spoiler:

AT THIS POINT I REALLY DON'T CARE WHAT THE FINAL SOLUTION IS SO LONG AS THERE IS ONE

[Cider]

Spoiler:

LOL LOL LOL all that fan service lol lol lol

[Conan-chandesune]

Well, this was certainly different from any of the previous episodes. I liked a lot of the stuff.

Spoiler:

I totally called that Sherlock was faking and he had already defused the bomb. Also, Sherlock's solution blurriness was also appreciated. Sherlock and Moriarty kissing was also fun. And i did like Mary's incorporation into the plot and presenting her well. Different but still awesome. GO SHERLOCK!!!!!!

[Jd-]

Just watched it.

Spoiler:

Using the idea of multiple solutions and exploring them within the episode is really great and was quite interesting in a lot of ways. As I was posting in this topic way back when Season 2 actually ended, the way they made the death scene actually didn't lend itself to any one solution: the writers can come up with any solution they want and say, "This is how it happened" and that's that. As such, I never really bothered with theorizing about it (same as I haven't with Akai in Conan; basically the exact same situation from a fan's perspective). The version he told on tape was plausible enough for me, obvious holes and all, and if it had been left at that, I wouldn't have complained. It's very clear now that their main goal was to playfully toy with fans who have been theorizing for years about something that they could change or alter at any time without consequence. I understand it's important to them to please their fanbase, but a lot of that focus seems to have been toward the fanfic-writing, fanart-drawing, Tumblr-sharing crowd. I've never really been into that sort of thing so that angle feels a bit distant and foreign to me.

Also: Derren Brown. Excellent, excellent way to bring him in for a cameo and completely make sense. I only wish that hadn't been so widely spoiled beforehand or else I would have lost it upon seeing that.

As for the new villain, I'm excited about it. If you look back in this topic, I was always a bit disappointed with "Jim" Moriarty in this series only because it felt like a waste of what is one of literature's all-time great antagonists. The earlier Moriarty would've been better without the baggage of his namesake, as he's much more like The Joker than he is a Napoleon of anything. The nature of what happened to John this episode is much more along the lines of what you'd expect from the real Moriarty. I would be fine with the earlier Moriarty just being a protege of the real man, though they seem primed to just make it an unrelated villain altogether, which is fine too. This guy already looks more like Eric Porter's portrayal and Sidney Paget illustrations, so if it goes that direction, I'll consider the "Jim" Moriarty thing worthwhile. Due to the Victorian-era top hat and various circus-like/magic-related paraphernalia, it's likely this villain is a magician sort. I'm OK with that sort of thing for a Moriarty-like villain, actual Moriarty or not.

Still, I'm not sure how I feel about Moran basically being a sideshow character (with no dialogue?). Moran is the entire crux of "The Empty House" and provided a nice tie-up to the old business with Moriarty. That was an expert story decision by Conan Doyle back in the day and gave an actual reason for Holmes to return when he did. Here, Sherlock's return is much more random and lacks very much consequence. I think that, truthfully, Gatiss and Moffat overlooked that part of Holmes's return while really digging into all the fan service they felt they had to deliver on. At least using the "Giant Rat of Sumatra" reference from the canon for the episode was cool, though. (Anyone want to bet that they used North Korea as the scapegoat so that they can more easily sell it to other countries out there, given that North Korea is such a safe target? I wouldn't be surprised at all given how many other properties have done this in recent memory)

Aaaaall that said, I was a bit surprised at the direction some of it took, as the central mystery of the episode felt on the backburner even in the times when it was meant to be the focus. There were a lot of character moments to get through, so that's not all in all a bad thing, but the final resolution wasn't really up to the standards of previous episodes. It felt a little rushed how Sherlock had just come back and then Watson was already kidnapped, but it was OK so long as it pays off later.

All told, it was fun and I expect the next one will be better.

[Stopwatch]

Spoiler:

Just some ramblings.
I think this one was mainly about the reconciliation of John and Sherlock (which tbh I think was handled pretty well all things considered) and that next episode will have more plot. Well, I hope so. That said, I think the fanservice was appreciated :x and some of the humour was pretty good. I really hope Mary doesn't turn out to be evil or dead, but the odds of that not happening seem kind of low IMO :x

And the main villain is being played by Lars Mikkelsen. As in, he is literally Hannibal's brother and why didn't I google to double check this before.

[mangaluva]

Spoiler:

I WANT THEM TO KEEP MARY SO MUCH YOU HAVE NO IDEA I LOVE HER

Also, it's sweet how they cast Benedict Cumberbatch's parents as Sherlock's parents.

[Hime-Chan]

I have the mighty need to facewall after the amount of what the hell?? (not in a bad way) for this episode!!!

Spoiler:

Loads of fun, and since I haven't been on tumblr to avoid spoiler, I really hope that loving Mary is a consensus on the interneeeets!!
Let's hope that they won't let 2 years pass for the next season!!

[Jd-]

Really interesting and I think insightful article addressing one of the major concerns that emerged from the Sherlock premiere.

Just a few hours till the next episode now.

[Stopwatch]

Spoiler: not exactly relevant but tangentially related to the article posted above

That article just reminds me of a(n FB) conversation me and my friend were having about the latest DW episode where she was basically saying to get rid of Moffat because the majority of the fandom sees him as putting in problematic issues (e.g. flat female characters) and if you'd seen the DW Christmas special you would know the plotholes were miles high. But anyway, she said:
"[..] fan feedback is always important-- don't let them write the show, but don't let them hate it."

To which my response was:
"Yeah, it's important, but I think you have to distinguish between the "fandom" and the "general audience" who may just catch it once a week and not think much about it the rest of the time. They're marketing towards the latter."

My opinion is that fandom nods are nice (the "not dead" scene for example) but don't let them run the asylum.

[S.Vineyard]

Ok, I must say that I enjoyed this episode more than the last one. (And I liked the last one.)

Best parts:

Spoiler:

- Drunk Sherlock/John
- "The Woman" Cameo (Even thought it was only in Sherlock's mind palace.)
- The Crime itself
- The Revelation of the "Sign of Three" (Congratulations, John and Mary.^^)

The End was actually a bit sad, when Sherlock secretly left the Wedding. Poor lonely detective.

[mangaluva]

Spoiler:

I did enjoy this episode, and I enjoy all of the John love and I enjoy Mary being Mary and drunk Sherlock and everything

But where the hell was Harry?

Why wasn't she there, getting Sherlock's help to pick up chicks and John encourages it because Sherlock's using all his considerable genius to keep Harry from drinking any alcohol at all? It just would've been lovely to drop the queerbaiting for an episode and finally get some facetime for the canon lesbian.

[Giogio]

Caught the livestream today \o/

Spoiler:

Yep, awesome! Drunk Sherlock XD Also, the elephant in the room.
Well, the crime itself was cool, I'm not so pleased with the killer though. (The photographer? That's just so standard. Were there any hints towards him?)
Also, gotta agree with Manga, Mary is seriously cool. (Didn't really like her in the original stories.) Gotta love how she's all like "Husband is letting me alone during the wedding? Whatever, count me in on the action \o/"