Happy Sunday!
If you want to read my review of Sherlock episodes two, The Sign of Three, and three, His Last Vow, click right here! Also, if you want to read my post analyzing Sherlock's character development in series 3, click here!
Beware of the Spoilers!
The long awaited consulting detective has returned to London. We last saw Sherlock Holmes after he plunged off the top of Bart’s Hospital in what appeared to be his suicide. After two years abroad, he has returned to Baker Street. To the surprise of his former friends, he is indeed "not dead." London is under the threat of a terrorist attack, and it is up to Sherlock and his blogger to save the day.
Just like the rest of the world, I fell absolutely head over heels in love with this episode! From the moment it started with that amazing James Bond sequence (And that Sherlock/ Molly kiss! Oh my God!), I knew we were in for a perfect episode. The Empty Hearse was definitely a fan fiction come to life. I must have shouted “Oh My God!” about every five minutes when watching this episode. The Empty Hearse was jammed packed with excitement, comedy, and every fan’s dreams (That Sherlock and Moriarty kiss was like everything! And it was so nice to see Andrew Scott again! I adore that man!). I have to lend a huge round of applause to Mark Gatiss for penning an absolutely brilliant episode. The wait was well worth it! Now, onto the things I loved most about this episode.
Firstly, Sherlock’s character development. The events in The Empty Hearse take place two years after Sherlock’s jump. Since then Sherlock has been wandering around the world solving crimes in secret, which we learned in the mini episode. It would have been silly to have Sherlock return after two years the same man. A change was in order. And a change we got! Yes, he’s is still vile and rude and arrogant, but it’s the subtle changes that really bring out the new personality of Sherlock Holmes. He has become more human, even though Sherlock would deny it. He has developed emotions and attractions and a better sense of what being a human being is. He became frazzled (a word would have never used to describe the old Sherlock) when he learned of John's kidnapping. He displays a little smile of appreciation when Greg gives him that huge hug of welcoming. And he is [a lot] more sensitive and kind towards Molly. He is even genuinely warm and welcoming to Mary. It was wonderful to see him become so much more evolved as a person.
Sherlock also seemed to have lost his “God complex” along the way. He seems to acknowledge his flaws now, which is a huge character development by itself. He repeatedly admitted to not knowing everything; he continuously used the phrase “I don’t know.” Remember when Moriarty called him about using that phrase? Would he have ever admitting to not knowing two years ago? Absolutely not. Of course, none of these changes would have been noticed without the wonderful, brilliant, gorgeous acting from Mr. Cumberbatch. We all know Benedict is the master of subtle acting, and it certainly came into play here. Because of Benedict’s superb acting, the writers don’t have to spell out Sherlock's changes to the audience. It’s clearly there without having to shout, “Look! I’m a new person! Notice my character development!”
Speaking of performances, Martin Freeman killed it! I mean, killed it as John! This episode definitely reminded me why I love this show: the amazing actors! Sherlock and John's reunion was just brilliant, but even better yet was the scene in the underground. An amazing, convincing performance from both actors!
My second favorite thing about this episode had to be the development in the Holmes family dynamics. I am properly obsessed with this new addition to the story! The obvious best bit was the introduction of Mummy and Daddy Holmes. I am obsessedwith this scene. To make Sherlock Holmes’s parents so normal and loving like any other parents was just amazing. And to see Sherlock, who is obviously bored by his mundane parent’s conversation, continue to appease them was incredibly perfect. But most importantly what I loved about this scene was, of course, Benedict’s acting. He turns Sherlock into a little boy when John walks in on him with his parents. It’s very subtle, but if you watch Benedict’s performance here, you really see the child-like state Sherlock returns to. He doesn’t want his friend to see him with his lame parents; he wants to remain cool in John's eyes. He literally looks like a ten year old who has been caught being uncool. Benedict’s reaction was perfect! (Plus, Sherlock’s parents were played by none other than mummy and daddy Cumberbatch! How adorable is that!)
Besides that special cameo, we got to see a huge development in Sherlock and Mycroft’s relationship. I think this addition was such a special thing to add to the story. We learn more about who Mycroft is, the Homles's childhood, and even what made Sherlock the man he is today (being constantly ridicule and put down by his older brother as a child). From Sherlock calling Mycroft out on getting enjoyment from watching him being tortured to fighting over who has to entertain their parents, we see the Holmes brothers acting like… Brothers, even if it is a bit more intense than most people. I loved seeing the two most intelligent humans playing a game of Operation; it really humanized these two geniuses. And that deduction game was just wonderful! It’s interesting to know that the most intelligent and successful detective in London got to be that outstanding at deductions because he wanted to be better than his brother.
Of course, I have to talk about the explanation to the fall. Going in to this episode, I was not looking forward to finding out how he survived unlike most people; it was the things mentioned above that really got me excited to see the show. After two years, it would have been impossible to come up with a solution that would satisfy that intense thirst created by the fans. So I knew that it was either going to super lame or they weren't going to tell us at all. What I was not expecting was three different scenarios. Over the past two years, the theories on how Sherlock survived were plentiful; there were multiple theories online from him flying off into the TARDIS to elaborate plans involving that mysterious truck, a fake concrete block, or the infamous IOU warning.
This episode was clearly written for the fans, and to make it even more exciting they played out some of these crazy theories in the episode. That was a very clever way to build the excitement, but to also keep the audience watching to see what the real solution was. But did we get a real solution? Gatiss plays with your mind a bit, and he makes you question if Sherlock really was telling the truth. I think Sherlock was telling Anderson fragments of the truth, but not the whole truth. (But I mean really, you can’t inflate an entire stunt airbag in three minutes. You just can’t. Moffat and Gatiss are not dumb men by any means; they would have taken that into consideration if this was the real way he survived… They wouldn't have made that stupid of a mistake.) His solution was so silly that it felt like he was lying.
Maybe I’m thinking too much into this (that’s what we do, isn’t it?), but there seems to be some clues in the episode that alludes to him lying. Firstly, like Anderson said, why would Sherlock tell him the truth? More importantly, why would he tell Anderson and not John? It felt odd to me that Sherlock would gratefully tell Anderson how he survived, but when John asked him how he did it he wouldn’t answer. If he told Anderson, a person he absolutely hates, you would think he would tell John. Besides that, we need to look at how he began the explanation with John in the café compared to with Anderson. I may be going out on a limb here, but when he was talking to John he spoke about it as if he had come up the plan himself right there on the spot. Sherlock said something along the lines of, “Once up on the rooftop, I had deduced there were 13 possible ways to survive…” This has a completely different feel than to the explanation he gave to Anderson. He spoke to Anderson about how he and Mycroft worked together in the planning. He constantly used the word "we" when talking with Anderson, compared to the "I" he used with John. I don’t know, maybe he was telling the truth, maybe he wasn’t. Regardless, I don’t expect to a definite answer from either Sherlock or the show runners. Even if they had given a definite answer, remember what Sherlock said: "everyone's a critic;" it would have never been a good enough solution. So, it's probably best this way, don't you think? I do.
There were a few little things I didn't care for, like those horrid transitions (turning the coffee cups into John’s eyes or flying into Ms. Hudson’s tonsils). They were a bit weird. I also thought inserting Sherlock’s explanation into the middle of the bomb scene really took away from the intensity of the scene; it took you out of an emotional moment and into something completely different. But, because the episode was so perfect, I can forgive those little flukes.
The Empty Hearse is definitely my new favorite episode of Sherlock, but I will probably say that again for episode two and three. A fantastic script, pared with a phenomenal cast and excitement that never ended, I give The Empty Hearse 10 out of 10 stars! Absolutely wonderful!
Sorry this one got a bit long. I promise I wasn't anticipating that to happen! Episode two airs tonight at 8.30 GMT, 3.30 EST. It’s John’s wedding, and Sherlock is the best man; this should be good! Comment below and tell me what your favorite part of The Empty Hearse was! If you liked this post why not head over to Bloglovin’ and give me a little follow as well!
Photo Credit: tv.yahoo.com, hypable.com, bbc.co.uk, bakerstreet.wikis.com, thegreekiary.com, finalproblem.tumblr.com, dailymail.co.uk, radiotimes.com, entertainmentoutlook.com
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