Back at 221b Baker Street.

[nausicaa83]

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. ^^

Comments

[entangled-now.livejournal.com]

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.

[nausicaa83.livejournal.com]

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. *_________*

[entangled-now.livejournal.com]

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 :)

[nausicaa83.livejournal.com]

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!

[entangled-now.livejournal.com]

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.

[nausicaa83.livejournal.com]

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!

[entangled-now.livejournal.com]

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.

[nausicaa83.livejournal.com]

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.

[entangled-now.livejournal.com]

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.