Sherlock Season 3 Episode 3

[AJL]

I LOVED IT SO MUCH!

[dr.girlfriend]

I'm still processing it, I think!

Things I loved:

Magnussen was a CREEPY villain, even with very limited screentime. I was worried that they wouldn't be able to make a blackmailer "scary" enough, but he was great, as scary as Moriarty but in a much more deliberate rather than unstable way.

John's reaction to Janine was awesome, as were the Sherlock/Janine interactions. That was a nice shout-out to canon (in the original Milverton story Sherlock gets engaged to a housemaid to gain entry into the house, and doesn't see anything wrong with what he had done). I love that she got her own back, and especially by making Sherlock seem like a sex maniac when in fact it's probably the opposite. The newspaper headlines were fantastic ("Seven Times a Night at Baker Street!" "Shag-a-lot Sherlock!" "He Made Me Wear the Hat!")

John's initial reaction to Mary's reveal (e.g., Martin Freeman's acting), and that insight into Watson's psyche (that he seeks out dangerous individuals, even when consciously trying to do the opposite) was great.

I loved the mind palace scenes, Redbeard, etc.  Mycroft seeing Sherlock as a little boy broke my heart.

Things that were not so great:

At this point, I can't tell what is a plot hole and what is part of some larger plan. It seems ludicrous that Mary, a retired rogue merc, just HAPPENED to be working at John's clinic, and yet it was obvious that Magnussen did think Sherlock was dead and didn't put any of his schemes into place until he returned from the dead. I don't know if part of what was on the jump drive was some indication that someone else had put Mary in place to meet John, and she had a change of heart (or a change of employer once Moriarty's network was destroyed), but I suspect that might come out later. That said, it still seems odd that 1.) Magnussen was taunting her at the wedding, when he didn't want anything from her at that point, and apparently had been pressuring her for awhile, if she had already befriended Janine enough to make her Maid of Honor without comment by the time of the wedding). But maybe later we'll find out what Magnussen really wanted from Mary? I've seen a lot of speculation that the actions of the Waters gang (the scenes that opened His Last Vow) will tie in.

I don't understand at ALL why Mary shot Sherlock and left Magnussen alive. Regardless of how Sherlock said it was surgical, Mary saved his life by calling the ambulance, etc., it a.) Was obviously not a shoulder or leg wound or something more easily nonfatal b.) Was actually severe enough that he died on the table. I don't think her explanation that she *didn't* kill Magnussen because John would be a suspect made any sense -- obviously if Sherlock were left alive he could testify. Whether this is bad plotting or Sherlock deliberately misrepresenting Mary's action to "give" her to John is unclear. I think it's also even more unrealistic now that Mary was all, "Oh, I like that guy Sherlock -- you should hang out with him!" in The Empty Hearse. If you have a deep dark secret and someone who is a Secret-Exposer-Extraordinaire comes around, would you *really* be encouraging that?

The Sherlock/John interactions in these three episode have been so ridiculously all-over-the-place, I can't make sense of them. In The Empty Hearse, Sherlock is all callous disregard and manipulation, and John is basically livid at first but completely forgives him without apparently working everything through. By The Sign of Three they are buds, but then Sherlock is basically openly all emotional over John, and John is seemingly oblivious to all of that. Now in this one, John hasn't spoken to Sherlock in a month (and it isn't even clear that he's tried), he has less of a reaction than Molly to Sherlock using drugs again, and especially in the end -- he doesn't seem to be too bothered that Sherlock almost died (at his wife's hand no less), he shows no real reaction to Sherlock killing for him, and when Sherlock makes it clear that he's off on a suicide mission -- even says to his face "we will likely never meet again" -- John is just sort of stoic and they have the formal hand-shake. Whether you're a Johnlock shipper or not, I think it's freakin' confusing what they are trying to convey is going on between these two -- any time you expect an emotional reaction there's not one, and when you think there shouldn't be one there is.

Finally, Moriarty. I think it would be bad writing beyond BELIEF to have him have faked his suicide as well. I really think the writers are faking us out with the video footage and he is not really alive -- that it's his underlings who are doing it (which means that Sherlock and Mycroft were both wrong in thinking they had completely destroyed his network), or maybe even Mycroft or Sherlock themselves who put this in place to end Sherlock's exile. Much as I love Andrew Scott, they just cannot write themselves out of that corner they are in without looking like complete idiots, so I hope they don't even try.

[dr.girlfriend]

And now the gifs (not as many funny ones this time, I don't know if all the gifmakers are traumatized or what):

For the Molly/Lestrade Shippers (Mollstrade? Is there a name for that?)




For the Mycroft/Lestrade shippers: "Greg was late, was all."



Best Tumblr posts:

livia-carica:
John, you are such an awesome, tiny Bamf little motherfucker with your extra seven pounds of rage.

fatherholmes:

What if Jim were to surprise Sherlock during dinner, like randomly come up in a restaurant just like Sherlock did to John, and be like,
“I O U a menu, sir.”
“The chicken is so tender, it’s almost like its stayin’ alive.”
“Ah, lemme pick up that napkin for you sir, shan’t let it FALL.”
“That table is reserved, allow me to find you a MORE PERMANENT DESTINATION.”
“SHERLOCK IT’S NOT EVEN A REAL BEARD, SERIOUSLY?”

[dr.girlfriend]

Jan 13, 2014 22:02:22 GMT -5 @bunnybean said:

SO SO SO GOOD. I didn't see the Mary business coming at all! And HOLY CRAP THE ENDING!!!!!!!! I seriously like cheered.

Now the only sad thing is that we wait 2 more years for more Sherlock!

I don't put ANY STOCK in this because I think coordinating a filming time is a HUGE caveat for these two, but it would be nice!  (For those who don't want to click, it's an article from the Daily Mail saying BBC execs are hoping to rush Sherlock filming for a Christmas 2014 release for Series 4)

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2538467/Sherlock-time-Christmas-BBC-bosses-urge-producers-fast-track-new-episodes.html

[dr.girlfriend]

[Deleted]

I'm all caught up now and have watched all 3 episodes. I liked them. The 3rd episode was great.
About that ending; my DH has never believed that that was the real Moriarty. He always thought that it was just a smart crazy guy that the real Moriarty convinced to be the face. DH is convinced that Moriarty is not one person but an organization. We'll see...
I love Sherlock and Mycroft's relationship. And I love that Redbeard was what calmed him down in his mind palace.
I really enjoyed these 3 episodes and now I'm really sad again that it is already over.

[dr.girlfriend]

Sherlock the "dainty drunk":

[dr.girlfriend]

[doctordonna]

I think that Mycroft and Mary are working together.

[dr.girlfriend]

Bumping just in case. :-)

[pirate]

I am probably the only one, but I just didn't find Magnussen that scary. I was just like, is he seriously flicking John in the face?? Come on, REALLY?? I guess this episode just didn't really hook me, unfortunately. I was also annoyed at Sherlock basically dying, again (but glad it was just for a few moments). Umm, I did like Janine, I guess, lol. I think I'll just go back and rewatch the wedding episode...

[scribellesam]

I didn't really care about Magnusson all that much but I LOVED the Mary storyline. I teared up when they reconciled at Christmas, not gonna lie. "You don't even know my name!" "Is Mary Watson good enough for you?" Waaaaa!

[Myrrhine]

I enjoyed a lot of the episode, but I ended up... not really caring much about Mary. So the lengths Sherlock went to to save her left me cold.

After reading great points like those above about how Mary didn't need to shoot Sherlock and how he basically did die, so she really wasn't that great at not killing him anyway I'm kind of disgusted with her. Sherlock is over it, but I'm not. And any gestures of affection toward her or heroic sacrifice to save is just utterly irritating. I was cool with her and was enjoying the actress's performance until this episode. She is like Dawn to me at this point: someone the main characters deeply love whom I cannot stand.

Anyway, I still liked the return to more focus on the mystery. And I loved Janine and the drug den scenes. And Red Beard.

[mala]

Loved!