People seem to over think shows like this. It is not like we need to watch and there will be a test afterwards on logic!

I really liked the old fella in his surgery that John thought was Holmes. I am so used to seeing Holmes dressed up. I actually thought it was Mark Gatiss's voice. Hence I though Mycroft had put on a disguise to bring John around. That had me fooled.

I just wasn't entertained by this. It all felt so silly and up its own arse and simply didn't have a particularly interesting plot.

To be fair, anything involving specialist knowledge in any TV show is always going to cause hair tugging and eye rolling. It's the reason my friends paramedic hubby is banned from watching any and all hospital drama - mainly because it's just him muttering 'well that's killed 'em', 'would never happen', 'that's wrong' and heavy sighing all the way through.

No, they were not SH's theories at all, they were purely fan's ideas (certainly the first 2 anyway, still not sure about the 3rd). SH's 13 possible scenarios are completely separate, and as someone pointed out earlier, are not necessarily all related to the "death fall". The 13 scenarios refer to the total events on the roof, and possibly even other scenarios that never even involved the roof. I don't expect to see these 13 played out - SH clearly wanted to tell Watson, but Watson wasn't interested in the "how".

Yes, I suspect Holmes will go through all but one solution before the last ten minutes of episode 3 are up, and then he'll explain, in confidence to Watson, how it was actually done.

Well, in the Reichenbach Fall episode, when Sherlock "jumped" we saw the hit men put away their weapons, as if they were satisfied that he had done as instructed by Moriarty, and they didn't come after Sherlock's friends. He also had to stay in hiding to prevent them realising he's not dead.

Watson had to be convinced that Sherlock is dead, because he is the expert witness on-site, who can identify the body. Even if everyone else is in on it, the testimony of Watson must have been enough for the "world" to believe he's dead. Otherwise the story line doesn't work at all.

But it's a dramatisation of the stories of arguably the greatest ever fictional detective. You can't make a show like this and not expect people to pick holes in the logic of the script ! A detective story is nothing if the explanation can be picked apart. It's not meant to be mindless dumbed-down telly where you can switch your brain off for 90 minutes and simply enjoy the explosions and special effects. It's supposed to be better than that and something a little more cerebral.

i thought it was excellently thought out.

1- they weren't really possible explanations. they haven't told us what happened. you can't really complain until we have seen the right one. but fooling watson was central to selling the idea. this was made very very clear.

2- yes the rail enthusiast played a major part. what of it? it's daft if holmes gets help?

3- presumably someone would also notice if a carriage went missing at all, or if you filled one with explosives. it was covered up.

The biggest character change for me is John's. I thought he was so arrogant and obnoxious in last night's episode. And I really didn't like that middle finger insult right up to the camera either but maybe I'm being prudish.

I think there's an interview somewhere with Benedict saying that his character has 'regressed' over the two years that he's been away.

If Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss are going down the Dr Who road where they are pandering to online fandom rather than telling the story, then I can see how some may be narked that this happened last night in Sherlock too. It was the first time I'd seen such an approach and it was therefore novel/unique for me. But now that I've sobered up from the hype and expectation of last night, I'm not sure that I like it now tbh. I'll be okay if it is a one off though.

ETA: I think we also need to take into account the different directors in Sherlock, who will obviously have different approaches to character personalities etc.

You can't just say that the denouement of the end of series 2 doesn't matter. It has been bigged up by the creators of the series since it happened. They have been teasing the audience about it and cultivating the situation so that fans may theorise about it. It would certainly be a cop out if they allow the solution to fade away.

I disagree. It can be fun analising it, but it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of watching it for what it is, a fast paced, entertaining romp, with more than just a few laughs.

Ah, yes that's true, I forgot about that. Still, whoever was telling each theory, it was still an overlooked detail that I'd have thought someone it was being told to might have picked up on. Even Lestrade didn't think to ask in the first theory how Holmes kept the streets clear of onlookers (although maybe that was deliberate to be in keeping with his character).

That would be Mycroft and his Men in Suits, more than likely?

I wasn't keen on the episode, at all. The posters who have said 'style over substance' are spot on, imo. The one bright spot though was Martin Freeman's acting.

Yes, I agree with you. If that last theory of How Sherlock faked his death is to be the right one, then it was nothing new. Fans had already given that scenario quite early on from the Reichenbach Fall episode. I was under the impression given by Steven Moffat that nobody online had cracked the theory, that we were all missing it; and that it would be resolved by Moffat et al in the new series. It didn't happen. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, though, as they may still tell us how over the next two episodes, and I'll give them the benefit of the doubt until after I've watched the next two episodes. Should they leave it hanging in the air, then I think I might be disappointed with that.

Whether the third theory is the correct one or not - no one involved in the show is, as part of the publicity about their biggest talking point and head scratcher, going to say- 'ah, we've been rumbled. No need to watch, the clever clogs on DS (or wherever) had it sorted before the end of the credits'

Holmes didn't concoct the theories.

The first was Anderson's, the second the girl at the meeting's, the third I think also Anderson's but we probably can't be sure yet.

The first started off relatively plausibly to try and fool people before getting dafter (the kiss)!

The only 2 possibilities Sherlock mentions are the laundry truck (angle too great to jump into)and Japanese wrestling (a joke based on canon).

How about a mass gassing (as the Baskerville episode), but this time with a gas that wipes out their short term momory, so they don't remember what they've just witnessed.

'Everyone's a critic' Yes Sherlock, I agree.

It was pure class episode, truly well done and the next episode looks just as good.

I don't understand why John's assassin had to be compromised by Mycroft? I thought they all stood down once they saw Sherlock fall to his death?

Also wouldn't John's assassin have seen all the airbag.........aahh I've just answered my own question....DOH!

That wasn't what I meant.

There's a recent Radio Times interview floating about where Steven Moffat has said that the team knew where the Reichenbach Fall episode was to go from the start. Therefore, in my estimation, that means that they know how Sherlock faked his death. This was presumably before the episode aired, so whatever the reaction and theorising afterwards by the fans, Moffat et al already knew. Therefore, we have not seen their 'version' yet. We have only seen fandoms' theories. If some fans have got got the solution right, then why don't they say so? If they haven't, then hopefully the team will tell us so, too. If they leave the solution hanging in the air for all time, then I think that would be lazy writing and they are taking us for a ride whilst laughing at us at the same time.

Just my interpretation up to now, of course. I could very well be wrong.

The laundry truck position was in the 3rd scenario - as yet we don't know if that was Sherlock saying it, or just Anderson's own mind.

I still think the laundry truck is likelier than the big air bed, and with the look alike body thrown onto the pavement, as Sherlock drives off in the back of the truck.

Surely you've been on DS long enough to know that Moffat is to blame for everything wrong with every show, ever?

Hmm. Are you sure that's not too simplistic? I like the idea that 'they' took over all London TV and radio broadcasts and persuaded the population there had been an alien invasion and everyone was to immediately return indoors and/ or under no circumstances venture out.

These guys are masters at the art of PR and media promotion.

I said earlier ... back there ... somewhere ... that I imagine that they will have had The Landing solution storyboarded at the same time as The Fall, and also that there are really relatively few solutions to a sucide-that-isn't in front of a busy hospital - even allowing for Myrcroft and his shady colleagues.

There is also my conspiracy theory that just wonders if the forum/fan discussions were veering off in the wrong direction - or even stumbling on the right one - that they could be tweaked back on track easy enough.

A magic trick is magic trick, after all. Nothing to say that some of the smoke and mirrors weren't employed in real life.