nausicaa83 | Back at 221b Baker Street.

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tv: sherlock bbc

Back at 221b Baker Street.

Here it is, guys. The first Sherlock entry in two years. Drumroll and all.

The actual review is under the cut, but I think it needs a little preamble for you to see where I come from. During the last two years, because of various things, I've fallen a lot out of love with Sherlock. I realized I preferred the fandom version to the actual show, which I kept finding more and more troubling. With only six episodes, I only liked four, because one was too racist and one was too sexist. And under the faboulous acting, directing, cinematography, London and all, I came to realize the show missed a heart. In other words, if Elementary was about the Heart of this story, Sherlock was the Brain. That 'something' that I loved came more from fanfics than from the actual canon.

Tie that with a very, very disappointing Doctor Who season by the same showrunner, and I grew bored with the wait. To be fair, I never actually cared how Sherlock even faked his own death. I was more interested in his return, in his reunion with John, in how they could make it work after what he had done. And recent happenings at the screening of the first episode a few weeks back didn't help in bringing back that old joy I found in this show.

That being said, today I came back from therapy, made myself a cuppa, and sat in front of the tv to enjoy the new episode with a huge breath and a clean mind.

First and foremost, I literally just saw it. So I definitely got something wrong, got too excited about some stuff, and stuff that now left me cold will probably work better in a second viewing. In general, I really liked it. I found it weird, and quirky, and cold in some places. But the old feeling was back, the music, the cinematography, the actors in their costumes. I really love Mary. She's not the usual Moffat woman, always with a snarky comeback, flirty and dangerous, and that's a nice change of pace. And I really liked Molly in this, how she got free of her old obsession, four for you girl!

I found it weird how Sherlock could be so cold and unfeeling. Yes, it has been established that's the way he is, but I wasn't expecting him to laugh John's grief off in that scene in the train. I found that scene a bit too cruel even for him, while I liked how oblivious he was to 'human nature' for the rest of the episode.

I really liked Sherlock and Mycroft's scene in Baker Street. Funny, but right now it's probably my favourite part of the episode. And having been established that Mycroft knew everything from the start in the last season, plotting with Sherlock against Moriarty and all, I like that we got an actual scene of them interacting without it being fake. Also loved the touch with the parents.

I liked how they did the death scene over and over again. I think maybe they went a bit too heavy with the repetitions, but it was funny. Also funny how the real explanation was literally the First Theory that ever appeared on tumblr. Air bag, ball in armpit, cyclist, clockwork. Literally the first. I still remember the diagram and the pictures from CSI Whatever explaining how the ball trick works. So I absolutely loved Anderson's comment, it was perfect and a great conclusion to all the theories the fandom went through. Me, I wasn't disappointed because after the tiny-Doctor-inside-a-robot a simple, neat solution was exactly what I wanted, but I bet most people were expecting the Moriarty-in-a-mask thing. So yay for defying expectations and laughing it off with the fans.

I really liked all the nods to canon, especially the guy at John's clinic, that was gold. And the terrorist subplot was interesting without it being too overcomplicated. Although the underground/Underground thing was a bit ridicolous. My first thought was an image of this spy a-la James Bond gargling blood in front of Mycroft "it's an underground network" " colour me surprised" "no, I mean it's the tuuuuuube!" "what? oh well, he's dead, nevermind". And I think it would have had more impact if they'd aired it last November, on the exact anniversary.

All in all, the one thing that gives me pause is how cold the reunion felt. It was literally all on Martin Freeman's shoulders and his brilliant acting. I was hoping for Sherlock to show a bit of remorse, or something, by the end of the episode, but it all turned into a big laugh among friends. I laughed a lot at Sherlock's pathetic attempts at surprising John, and wasn't really expecting anything teary or sentimental, but it felt like all that tension and grief was getting somewhere, except... it didn't. John forgave him because Sherlock emotionally manipulated him, and then shrugged it off because that's what he always does. So I'm really, really glad we got that scene with Mycroft, to show us why Sherlock cares about having John around, although I would have wanted something similar with John too.

But again, I shouldn't come to this show for the heart, but for the brain. The heart I find in fanfics, in how we expand this world talking about it with my friends, that's how it always has been. In conclusion, this episode confirmed what I had already realized about this show during this long, unnecessary wait, and made me appreciate it for what it is. ^^

Comments are much appreciated, I'm downloading a 1080p version for a second viewing, I'm betting it'll feel a lot different now that I've already seen it. ^^

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It honestly felt like such a long time to wait that my enthusiasm had simmered down a bit too. But I did love seeing everyone again, I'd missed the banter and the ridiculous crime-solving immensely, and I found the repetitive explanations pretty fun. But the whole episode did feel oddly clunky, overly emotional in some strange places, with unexpected OOC-feeling moments here and there.

Maybe I need to watch it again too.

Here (http://stardust-made.livejournal.com/129312.html)'s a great review from a friend of mine, who's much better than me at separating headcanon from actual canon and makes a lot of great points.

I think this episode needed to be split in two to flow better. Some things worked perfectly, like Sherlock and Mary, but I've spent two years putting myself in John's shoes at seeing Sherlock alive again, by reading fanfics and making fanmixes and so on, and yep, this feels a lot OOC to me too. And yet I wonder if I can really call it OOC, since they're the writers, they decide how their characters act. And yet, and yet, Sherlock was very kind with Molly, why couldn't he show the same kindness for ten seconds to John too, especially when that dialogue with Mycroft implied how much John meant to him above everyone else?

While I thought the first reunion was pure genius - donde estas Yolanda, Sherlock Du Creff and all - I thought it was going to be a nice counterpoint to the actual reunion, when they would talk about what their separation meant to them, what it meant being together again. Instead, the whole episode kept giving us reunion scenes that all ended like the first one, from an emotional point of view.

Going on a tangent here, but this Mary rocks. She's now my third favourite Mary Morstan, after the Granada one and the Guy Ritchie one. *_________*

Thanks for posting your review, it was an interesting read! Indeed, Sherlock (the devil!) is such a central point of that episode, isn't he? I get the feeling that people will be debating his motives and behaviour for years to come.

Unless the second and the third episode give us more of a character development for him and in the dynamic between him and John? We'll see soon.

frozen_delight said something in her review that ties in quite well with my feelings right now: "I felt that Sherlock was just being such a dick because he was so overwhelmed by everything." It's character-consistent, I think.

You know, I'm getting confused about the resolution. I finished watching the episode convinced that we didn't learn how Sherlock had done it. (You know, my wondering whether Anderson didn't imagine the scene plus them making a point of having John ask Sherlock about it at the very end.) But now some of you say this was the actual resolution...Confused!

I think they left it confusing on purpose. I think Sherlock was being sincere for a change, and then he realized he loved fucking with Anderson's mind too much, and just before leaving he lied and hinted he was full of shit. But since we're not getting any other explanations, and that's the only one that comes from his mouth, I'll take it. I wasn't really that interested to begin with, as you well know, so I thought they had already spent way too much time talking about that, while I agreed with John: less cleverness, more emotions, please. ;)

I think the 'overwhelmed by emotions' thing works perfectly in the restaurant, but felt forced in the train. And I do hope and pray that this is the start of the journey, not the emotional resolution. I hope we'll get scenes with John still angry at Sherlock, and Sherlock being puzzled by his behaviour. Character development, please. *summons Crowley, just in case*

One thing I forgot to write in the review, that was the most boring, bland Moran they could ever come up with. I understand he wasn't the focus of the episode, but in the canon he's as important as Moriarty, and here we didn't get motivations, a background, a spoken line, nothing. I hope they'll explain that as well!

Thanks for your review. I'm glad you liked it, given how many negative thoughts we shared during the past couple of weeks. My own reaction wasn't quite as pleased as yours, though I did enjoy watching it. You've highlighted quite beautifully what struck me as painfully wrong and why I wasn't really emotionally engaged by it all:

I was hoping for Sherlock to show a bit of remorse, or something, by the end of the episode, but it all turned into a big laugh among friends. I laughed a lot at Sherlock's pathetic attempts at surprising John, and wasn't really expecting anything teary or sentimental, but it felt like all that tension and grief was getting somewhere, except... it didn't.

I certainly hope the next to episodes will show us more of Sherlock and John's relationship and make it a little more plausible why John is still hanging out with the truly heartless bastard of a consulting detective.

Character development, please.
Please, please, please!!!

I shouted "stronzo" a lot of times at the screen during the episode (I feel like nothing beats cursing in Italian), but at the end of the train carriage scene I was so appalled I couldn't even swear. It truly made no sense for John not to turn around and walk away from him forever.

But before passing judgment I guess I should wait for the next two episodes. Maybe they still have to really talk, maybe Sherlock was just overwhelmed by emotions and didn't know how to handle them. *crosses fingers*

Thanks for your review!

I enjoyed the program, it didn't feel like 1 1/2 hours at all.

I enjoyed the funny ideas the Sherlock fans. I chuckled at the Moriarty/Sherlock one. I liked Mary as well, very clever, they like each other and she'd worked out the code of the text before reaching baker street.

To be honest, I came away thinking we didn't know how Sherlock did it. I thought he was playing with Anderson, but I suppose that's up to personal opinion. I liked John didn't instantly forgive him. I need a t-shirt that says " I don't shave for Sherlock". I liked his treatment of John on the tube train. Showed him being his usual self, testing people all the time. Loved Sherlock and Mycroft's games, Operation and deduction. Loved them. Loved Mrs Hudson. Loved Sherlock's parents being Benedict's parents.

What didn't I like? Nothing much on first viewing.

I wanted to see more of the new baddie, although I think that's coming in episode 2 +3.

Direi che la tua recensione esprime un buon 90% di quel che ho pensato anch'io! Mi è piaciuto molto, anche se l'ho trovato un po' troppo "affollato" di cose, forse, e, sì, per quanto ho adorato il momento del primo incontro tra Sherlock e John, in effetti forse mi aspettavo qualcosa di più, entro la fine dell'episodio. Voglio dire, Sherlock ha avuto un briciolo di vaga umanità per tutti, persino per Anderson, e sono con John è rimasto la solita autentica merda!XD
A parte questo, in generale mi ha soddisfatta. Adoro Mary, mi è piaciuta Molly, mi è piaciuta anche la svolta di Anderson... E poi vabbè, la qualità tecnica in generale di questa serie è una cosa che ho sempre amato moltissimo.

Capisco il tuo discorso sull'aver riveduto un po' i tuoi sentimenti per questa serie. A me non è successo, in generale il mio approccio alla serie rimane lo stesso (per me è sempre stata una serie che mi fornisce divertimento, richiami geniali al canone e un sacco di Londra, con occasionali feels. In questo, l'episodio non mi ha delusa), però il tuo è un punto di vista che riesco a comprendere.
Spero che i prossimi episodi si mantengano a questo buon livello.

L'ho rivisto ieri sera in 1080p. Cazzarola si vedevano i granelli di polvere!

ANYWAY. Nella seconda visione più o meno riconfermo tutto, tranne forse la mia reazione alla scena nel treno alla fine. Sapendo già cosa sarebbe successo ha bruciato meno, anche se continuo a trovarla una scena davvero OOC perfino per Sherlock. E strana anche la reazione di John che gli sorride così prontamente. Io un altro cazzotto lì ce l'avrei ben visto.

Nella seconda visione perde molto la sottotrama dei terroristi, sembra anche più tonta di prima. Mi dispiace un pò perchè a me i casi fregano poco se c'è tanto character development, ma qui di character development ce n'è stato pochino dove serviva (tra Sherlock e John), e il caso si reggeva su un pun e su un cattivo blando da morire.

Vedremo il prossimo episodio, il cattivo mi incuriosisce e spero che abbia un'entrata in scena degna. *______*

I haven't been able to screw up enough of a give-a-damn to see this next episode. The first show and episode of Sherlock left me with a fever-pitch all-time-high emotional investment in the series. It dampened with The Blind Banker, recovered slightly with the Hellhounds episode, and tanked at Scandal. I might have been recovered with Reichenbach, but after the wait, the thrill is gone ....

In that case, I think you should wait a couple of weeks and see them all in a row, I think you'd appreciate this new season a lot more that way. ^^

Thank you so much for your review!

I think I also need to watch the episode again to get everything right. I had a lot of fun with this episode, but on the other hand I´m really upset with Sherlock HOW cruel he reacts to John... But I still hope for some more feelings in the next episode, that Sherlock is able to TALK to John!

Mary is awesome, I really like her! But I´m a bit confused what happened to Anderson... And we didn´t see Donovan (did we...?!).

But I also loved so much about this episode! Still the characters, the scenes, the pictures. Even if I thought: Oh, that´s James Bond like. Oh, and this is Vendetta like ;)

It sounds like I didn´t enjoy it, but I did, I really did and even if I still need to reflect a few things - I´m still in love with this show!

At the end: One of my fav. scenes: Anthea and Sherlock´s coat and her simple words: "Welcome back, Mr. Holmes." <3

I think that would be probably be the best way to watch this, too. Maybe by then Netflix will carry them.

I think you're right about the fandom being the heart of the series.

Thanks for that, I like reading people's reviews, especially when they have different opinions from me. I like seeing what works and doesn't for different people (and gives a good idea of why writing a TV show is hard.)

I think there was a feeling that it was rushed, we didn't seem to spend very long on anything. I did like Mary though, I was a little worried they'd use her for conflict but I thought she was a lot of fun. But, yes, it seems really weird judging things as OOC when they're canon. But I really wanted to love the reunion, or at least feel lots of things, but it didn't ever actually feel settled and finished.

I like Mary, she pokes fun at everyone and she made me laugh :)

I was 100% sure that Sherlock would have been jealous and rude with her, like he had been with John's other girlfriends in the past. It was great to see them become instant friends, and such a refreshing change. *______*

But yep, it was all a bit rushed, so I'm hoping they'll approach the problem in the next episodes. Besides, there's still stuff left unexplained, like what Sherlock went through when he was dismantling Moriarty's operation. The whole "yeah, he was tortured, definitely more than once because he was so confident he knew how to get out of it, but it's no big deal, a shower, a suit, and he's back as new!" thing was too rushed to be believable. Not all people have traumas in the same way, but it was two years away from the home and family he'd made for the first time, I would have liked to see more of what he was feeling. He acted like he'd just popped out for milk one day and then forgot to come back home until the day after.

Let's hope they'll talk about it a bit in the next two episodes. I get it, they're blokes and they're British, but everybody talks now and then!

On my second viewing some things made a lot more sense, especially with the train scene at the end, that had completely baffled me the first time. And some things still don't add up for everyone: I read that for some viewers Sherlock talking to Anderson is just an hallucination on Anderson's part, while I was convinced Sherlock was really there. And so far I'm convinced that with John's kidnapping the bad guy was targetting Mary, not Sherlock, and that she's hiding something.

We'll see. There's a lot of stuff that still needs explaining, and I'm not satisfied with the character development, I'd like a few more scenes of Sherlock and John talking about their feelings. *shakes fist*

When they said this new season was going to be the funniest yet, they weren't joking. Some scenes made me laugh so much I almost fell off my chair. And the weird theories were a nice touch, I for one didn't find them offensive at all towards the fans, although many on tumblr disagree.

I just wish Mrs Hudsons hit Sherlock over his stupid head with her frying pan, he definitely deserved it. :D

Oh, the hallucination-theory is VERY interesting.
And I can´t wait about some more news about Mary. I´ve read, that the word "Liar" popped up, when Sherlock locked at her!

Waaahh, tomorrow is coming so fast, I need more time to watch the episode from the 1th again ;)

Yes, me too, I expected Sherlock to lay into her based on past behaviour. But it was nice to see that cooperation.

I'm hoping it was just them trying to get back into the swing of it too. I think the problem is definitely that we only get three episodes so if one of them doesn't work, or feels wrong, that's a huge chunk of the season.

He acted like he'd just popped out for milk one day and then forgot to come back home until the day after.

This is the perfect way to describe it. It'd be nice to see Sherlock acting like it's been two years.

I had a fantastic discussion about TEH with my best friend yesterday. She hasn't read the books, so she has a completely different point of view to the series. For example, she found the scene at the clinic unnecessary and boring. And we both agreed there were one too many references to the fandom, all things that wouldn't work in ten years from now.

She also found Anderson's last scene grotesque and offending. At first it didn't bother me, but then I had to agree with her. We're told Anderson's obsession is born from his guilt in causing a colleague's suicide, not in the sterile "how he did it" thing. And yet, when Sherlock forgives him (whether it's true or an hallucination doesn't matter), he has a nervous breakdown because he doesn't know how the magic trick worked. Makes no sense.

Crossing fingers for today's episode! Sadly I fear TEH will be the Blind Banker of this season, the one episode that becomes more and more problematic and hole-riddled with every new viewing that after a while I just forget it exists. And with three episodes it's a tragedy. It's like seven episodes that don't work in one SPN season!

The word 'liar' is quite visible, and the word 'secret' too, although I think it's part of "secret tattoo". Hope we'll get to know more about her tonight! *_____*

I had no idea what to think about the Anderson scene, I don't mind Sherlock's occasional wandering into absurdity but they're usually mostly in character. Not that we've been given all that much character for Anderson, but still.

It really is like almost half a season of Supernatural just not working. I feel like I'm hoarding all the really good episodes.

I was also surprised Lestrade blamed it all on Anderson and Donovan. Sorry, honey, but you're the one who listened to them and signed the arrest papers and all. It felt like he was sad for Sherlock's death, but he didn't blame himself at all. O_O

It all goes back to the fact that with three episodes every two years most of what I think a character is comes actually from meta and discussions on tumblr and most of all fanfics, and I find it weird when it doesn't add up.

Edited 2014-01-08 08:41 (UTC)

I definitely think when there is a ton more fanon than canon that it starts to get a little confusing when the show comes back. You realise all the tiny little things you'd half-accepted as fact were completely non-canon.

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Back at 221b Baker Street.

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