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It's been one hell of a week of mysteries, revelations, and resurrections.
For the last few days, I have been binge-watching BBC's Sherlock in all the available hours that I have at hand. It's a show that has been on my hard drive for years but only got to now. Why did it take me so long? I have no idea. It seems like I have a habit of prolonging books and TV Shows that are worthy to be experienced; and Sherlock was one great experience.
I loved this show from the very first episode, "A Study In Pink", and I will always love it. I will write posts of all the other BBC's Sherlock episodes in the next few weeks but for now I want to talk about the most recent one, "The Final Problem". And as much as it pains me to say it, I was disappointed.
I never thought I would be disappointed with a Sherlock episode but here it is. I desperately hoped this wasn't the case but like what Dr. Watson said several times in "The Lying Detective", "It is what it is".
Before I continue on, I would just like to say that I will be discussing this episode in full detail so there will be spoilers ahead. A LOT OF SPOILERS. So if you have not watched the episode, please don't read this. Go watch the episode first then come back here and read.
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If you are still reading this I'm assuming that you have watched every second of episode 3 and will hopefully understand my problems with the episode. It is not the acting, God no. If anything, the acting was the very best part of this episode. Cumberbatch, Freeman, Gatiss and all of the people in the cast were amazing as always. They were class acts and there is no denying it. The main problem lies with the some parts of the plot, the script itself. There were just so many large and confusing plot holes and twists that were too ridiculous and rushed for even Sherlock to be exempted from.
The plot holes and twists really became apparent to me after the episode. During the episode itself, there was an urgent and intense atmosphere present that helps with blocking out the questions that were popping up in your head. But the episode can't go on forever. Eventually you start thinking back, you re-watch the scenes in your head, and you just go "Wait a minute....?".
From Sherlock and John being completely fine after jumping at a height that if not kill them, severely injure them to the revelation of the little girl in the plane being a metaphor for Eurus, there were just a lot of things that didn't feel right. There was also that thing with Eurus having some kind of mind-control power that affects everyone who speaks to her. That just....that didn't make sense at all. Maybe they could have gotten away with it if they didn't make her influence permanent but no. Apparently once you speak to her, you are under her control no matter what. Eurus and Moriarty managing to scheme and predict what will happen years from now with Sherlock, John, and Mycroft in FIVE MINUTES was also pretty hard to swallow. Unless they met up somewhere down the road before Moriarty killed himself then this will always be hard to believe. Sherlock Holmes, the consulting detective of London, not noticing there was no glass wall in front of him while talking to his sister for the first time, was also hard to believe. And is it just me or was the whole thing about Eurus being Sherlock and Mycroft's sister a little too rushed and sudden?
I appreciate them wanting to create this "big fight feel" so to speak. To make this episode feel like the ending of all endings but really, I would rather have a simple but well-made plot. You don't need to bombard the audience with twist after twist after twist especially if its not needed. Use the characters. Great characters always elevate a simple plot to something more. Give them a good context and it will be fine.
I don't want to sound like I hated this entire episode because I didn't. Like I mentioned before the cast was as wonderful as ever but I want to take this time and congratulate the actress playing Eurus Holmes. Sian Brooke. She embodied the character really well. She played multiple characters, in fact, and each one believable and great. That is no doubt a really difficult task but it seemed effortless from the way she flawlessly executed everything. The characters are obviously another great component. I will be doing another post for Sherlock and John's character arcs soon because that deserves a whole post by itself but safe to say they have grown so much since the first episode and I can't help but feel happy and proud at how far they've come. Mycroft was simply great in this episode, his best episode actually (which, I admit, was an easy decision because we see more of him here than we've ever seen before ) and Eurus, yes Eurus, was good as well. I liked the concept of her character. I like how she was this clever individual that takes Sherlock by surprise and could be a force that is much more dangerous than Moriarty and Magnussen combined. I don't necessary agree with how she was connected to Sherlock (simply because it was not executed neatly) and what her character was made to do in some scenes but I like the very essence of her. I would also like to give not only this episode but the entire Series 4 credit for arguably being the most emotionally heavy; especially concerning Sherlock Holmes. I cried in some scenes of "The Final Problem" and well....I pretty much cried in all three episodes of Series 4 (which has not happened before in any other series).
The stuff that remains if you remove all the plot holes and confusing twists I really enjoyed. The scene between Molly and Sherlock was simply heartbreaking. We've seen this one-sided crush of Molly since the first season so we know how painful this was for her character. Its obvious from Cumberbatch's acting as well that this was trying for Sherlock, who would hate to hurt his friend more that he already has. My favorite scene perhaps would be the one between Sherlock, John, and Mycroft; when Eurus demanded Sherlock to either kill his friend or his brother. This is my favorite simply because it showed some humanity in Mycroft. It showed that he cares about Sherlock no matter how much he says that him being his brother does not affect his decisions. I was practically screaming my head off when Mycroft began telling Sherlock how he wanted his funeral to go. I love Mycroft and even though he deserves a few punches in numerous scenes throughout the show, his character is just a joy to watch as well as his dynamic with Sherlock. The scene where we learn that Redbeard was not a dog but an actual person Eurus killed due to her jealousy was actually pretty effective too. Quite chilling in fact. The montage at the end might be irritating for others but for me it showed progress for both Sherlock and John after weeks of stress and pain. I am still questioning why Molly is perfectly fine seeing Sherlock after she confessed that she still loved him but other than that it was nice seeing everyone move on. The scene between Eurus and Sherlock playing the violin together was also quite sweet. You saw them connect and bond now, something Eurus wanted since she was a child. And of course, I can't go on without mentioning Jim Moriarty's reappearance. No other villain in this show has been more charismatic or more beautifully set-up than Moriarty. Every scene with him was a treat. I loved seeing him back, being his unpredictable and psychotic self, for even for just a few scenes.
"The Final Problem" had a lot of positive and negative moments that just collided with each other more than any BBC's Sherlock episode in history. As a whole....it was alright but also disappointing. I have been used to expecting mind-blowing and unbelievable series finales from Sherlock because of the first three; compared to those, and to every other episode in fact, this one is the weakest. Although, that does not mean it was horrible or contained no good at all. I just had more misses than any other. I guess I should add the expectation I had of "The Final Problem" being as good, if not better, as "The Reichenbach Fall" in the reasons why I am disappointed in this episode; but really can you blame me? This is probably going to be the final episode of the whole show. It certainly felt that way after the montage in the end, at least. Can you blame me for expecting the best episode from the very last?
Nonetheless, the disappointment I felt after this episode does not diminish the love I feel for BBC's Sherlock. In case this really is the last series we are going to get (and I won't be surprised if it is) I would like to say that Sherlock really is one of the greatest shows out there and it deserves all the awards and acclaim it has received over the years. This is definitely not bad television. Sherlock will forever be one of my favorite shows and no doubt I will be re-watching its episodes repeatedly long after this.
6/10
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