I loved it as well.

Nice to see a drama such as Sherlock being able to take such a diversion from the typical "same-old" approach and make the characters as part of the investigative plots. Especially with Moriarty gone in Series 3.

It was clever, intuitive, flowed as it should and kept me entertained. However, Series 3 has gone so deep into each character, Series 4 should not follow the same line.

I don't think Mycroft knew that Magnussen's data was all in his head. Therefore he was a necessary evil.

Personally I would have preferred Mycroft to find out that it was all in his head and he be the one to kill him at the end. As Mycroft was in Magnussen's pocket, as Magnussen claimed that he owned him.
And the fact that I'm not sure how I sit with Sherlock simply murdering someone in cold blood. It just doesn't feel right. Where with Mycroft it feels better suited to the character.

This wasn't risk taking this was just massive misdirection imo.

"Yes Sherlocks clever way of sorting out the Magnusson threat was to kill him..something Mary attempted an hour ago but what makes it different for Sherlock is....OH LOOK ITS MORIARTY !!!"

I LOVED the finale and I shrieked as loudly as Mrs Hudson when Moriarty's face flashed up on the screen at the end! Fab!

When the 'dummy' in the alley turned out to be John, that was a genuine surprise - I never saw it coming!

Loved the tour of Sherlock's mind palace! How touching was it that John was the reason Sherlock fought to come back?

A lovely moment when Mycroft confessed his true affection for his brother - so sweet!

And I was SO relieved that we weren't left hanging re. Sherlock's punishment!

I have only a couple of niggles:
1) Mary should have died or left the country - when John's chair reappeared, I was so happy at the prospect of the boys flat-sharing once again! I would much prefer the focus to be back on them as a (platonic) couple, as in the first two series. And I think that Mary was forgiven far too easily for shooting Sherlock. I don't care how carefully she aimed - she still put his life in danger. But in the end, it boils down to this: for me, most of the charm of the series is derived from the 'odd couple' dynamic of Sherlock and John. Mary disrupts that dynamic. She has to go!!
2) John should have hugged Sherlock at the end! A handshake? What the hell? When he thought he was never going to see him again? (I kept thinking of his utter devastation at the end of Series 2...) It should have been a hug!

Is that Elementary series any good?

I'm curious about whether the writers wanted us to like Mary by the end. I'd be fine never seeing her again, but I get the impression they wanted the audience to root for them as a couple by the final shot.

Moffat will wait 2 years, then the next Sherlock episode will be 60 seconds long consisting of Sherlock shooting Moriaty in the face. Maximum trolling.

And is quite content to know nothing about it .
Add that to the fact he's not bothered how Sherlock pulled off his magic trick and I find that the most unbelievable of anything over the last 3 episodes.

Really enjoyed it though I would've liked to have seen more of CAM in episodes 1 and 2, he didn't really work as a villain for me (but he was very, very creepy)
Sherlock's poor "girlfriend/ fiance" what a swine you were Sherlock! I like how they have left Sherlock's sexuality ambigous (one for the shippers I think!)
Go Molly and those slaps!
Just who is the other brother?
The return of Moriaty.. yep, I missed you, Jim. I like my villains a bit over the top.

Well we don't need an explanation to Sherlock's fall any longer.

Maybe that was the answer. No explanation needed other than "Moriarty survives a gunshot to the head, so why can't Sherlock survive a jump from a building?".

There's also the issue that killing a notable public figure is filled with risks. Can you imagine the UK Government deciding to kill Rupert Murdoch for example?


It wasn't necessarily Sherlock's plan to kill him though. Surely the point of that was that Sherlock was outplayed and just ran out of options?

Watched a few series and it is more of a procedural and they do take some liberties which I won't spoil for you.

But the essential thing us that you don't feel cheated watching it.

It's not promising greatness or being lauded as genius epic tv..It's just very very good.

So why did John's chair reappear then? I really thought they would be back together flat sharing. I agree with all that you say, but it looks like we have to tolerate her now.

Why the hell would you watch something you actually expect to be bad? I've never done that in my life.
Very strange.

Now, now.

Maybe. But if it really is a trick for Sherlock to dodge exile, then it'd be a pretty sneaky tease from the writers I think, considering how many fans of the show really *have* missed Moriarty. Also, wouldn't Sherlock be 're-exiled' pretty quickly? To maintain the ruse, he'd have to fake mastercriminal level crimes, surely? I suppose that could be where they're going with it...

Personally, I enjoyed the episode. Magnussen was incredibly creepy (the face licking and use of the fireplace to relieve himself especially) and I loved the way they had things like an imaginary Molly instructing Sherlock on the best way to fall after being shot - that was a nice and different way to show his thought processes. There were aspects I didn't like - as with the other episodes this series - but overall it was still great tv.

I do feel that this latest series has been a departure for Sherlock - definitely lighter on the 'case' side of things and the deductions were easier for the audience I think. Assuming there is another series coming, I hope they bring back a bit more of the mystery and deduction. The frustrating thing with shows like this is the sheer lack of episodes. Arguably one of the best shows Britain is making at the moment and yet we've only had 9 episodes. So we feel more strongly about the episodes we do get, and any weaker stories stand out more.

Maybe Moriarty will turn out to be, Colonel James Moriarty, Professor Moriarty brother.

Or do something crazy and have moriarty live but have half his face missing and firing a blank gun in his mouth.

Maybe Magnessum does have some blackmail material out in the public domain, ala wikileaks.

Moffat has said 4 is planned out already. We will have to wait and see.

So he shot him...like Mary proposed to do an hour before.

Essentially when it came down to it he had no better solution than anyone else.

Surely the point was that if the Appledore vaults were physical (or computerised), there would be back-ups and plans for Magnusson's demise. He made sure that everyone believed that he kept physical copies (e.g. the letters he showed Sherlock). Therefore, the powers-that-be assumed that they couldn't simply take him out by killing him. Sherlock had to prove that it was all in Magnusson's mind, before he could finally kill him.

At least I think it's that straight-forward.

I had quite high hopes for it too. Unfortunately the mystery/case never really got going, IMO. It was on for one-and-a-half hours and what really happened? We were introduced to Magnusson blackmailing Lindsay Duncan. We found out Mary had a dark past. Mary shot Sherlock. Watson forgave Mary. Uh...Sherlock shot Magnusson and Moriarty's face was shown at the end. It was all just 'meh'. I didn't care about any of it. For example, when Sherlock confronts Mary in Magnusson's office I was hoping for a great scene between the two of them. Instead she shoots him and then we're subjected to an almost endless, fatuous sequence of Sherlock trying 'reason' his way into surviving. The ending was equally trite. In a move that reminded me of the simplistic 'off switch' in episode one, Sherlock decides to 'solve' the case by shooting Magnusson dead. Big deal. It rarely felt like the stakes were high or that anyone was really in any danger or jeopardy.

I'm glad people have enjoyed this series but I know I haven't, and people I know haven't enjoyed it either for similar reasons.

She wasn't a shoehorned in love interest. That was the bridesmaid at the wedding. Who was only a bridesmaid at the wedding because Mary had befriended her in order to get to Magnussen.

It takes a few episodes to find its feet but it's not bad as a US police procedural. Not a patch on Sherlock though.

I thought they explained this in the show when they did the 'Mary is the client' scene. John's chair needed to be there so he could sit in it and listen to the client so Sherlock put it there.

Because he was outplayed.

He went into the house with a plan. That plan didn't work. He was outplayed so he fell back on the only option left open to protect those he cares about.

I like that Sherlock shot him at the end. Magnusson was evil, but the authorities clearly couldn't or wouldn't touch him, so killing him was the only way for them to remove the threats he'd just made against Watson and his family. Sherlock has already fake killed himself to protect Watson, and dragged himself back to life to protect Watson, so I can believe he'd kill a slime ball like Magnusson to protect him too.