Arcadia

Um... isn't that question rather easily settled? ... I am afraid you are right and Mycroft will turn out to have been behind the events at the end of His Last Vow, but I do wish he wasn't. I wonder whether I am the only person who would be happy to see Mycroft gone. I could better spare him than Mary by now, I must admit. Because here comes the next bit of absurdity straight from my twisted brain: I have zero trouble with Mary taking a friendly shot at Sherlock but I have not forgiven Mycroft one bit for calmly enjoying the spectacle of his little brother, whom he apparently sees as a child no less, being brutally tortured. That scene went so badly against my grain that I can only begin to imagine the indignation some of you must feel about Mary. But we do believe Mycroft loves Sherlock none the less, don't we? So why can't we believe Mary loves him too, in spite of everything? Oooooooh, I don't know, I think I could argue for hours about whether his eyes are sapphire with a flecks of citrine, or aquamarine with a touch of emerald, or ..... lol I'd hate to see Mycroft gone cuz I soooooo enjoy the fencing between them. And I want to see Sherlock mop the floor with his older brother someday. Intellectually, of course. I'm not sure I actually ascribe to the theory that Mycroft was in on Sherlock's plan -- but if he was, what a real bastard he would have to be, to agree to his brother turning assassin. Mummy would be very upset. Actually, in that case I'd like to see Mummy Holmes go monstrous. On the both of them.

That is quite possibly VERY debatable....

I'd love to see him in one of those sweet British comedies like Hugh Grant used to do; like Love Actually or the Man Who Went Up a Hill.... and, oh, anything that has a happy ending for a change!

Fantasia (Dance of the Hours) Alarm clock.

cake

Okay, I'm awarding A+ to one and all, plus a gold star for promptness. Great discussion all around and I thank everyone for giving me a lot to chew on. It's nice to see people who are not only willing, but able, to discuss something other than the color of Mr. Cumberbatch's eyes. Not that, er, ahem, that's a subject I MIND discussing... Here's a present for one and all, as a thanks for indulging the new girl.

Zain, I think this comes closest to what I feel. I'm very disturbed by the tendency in popular fiction to simply "blow away the baddie." Thanks.

Independence Day. Mittens.

Evita

O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!

Good one! Think how much more this debate would've ramped up if CAM had been a woman! I vote yes. I think Shezza is an equal opportunity avenger.

Me three.

Thanks for that, Ruthy. The recap of HLV that precedes that list is a lovely piece, too, very well done. If anyone else wants to read it, it's here. http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/s129/sherlock/recaps/a542964/sherlock-series-3-finale-his-last-vow-recap.html

Okay, gonna keep stirring the pot here.... Are some lives forfeit because we as a society deem that the evil done by some persons is greater than the evil of taking lives? Obviously, yes, we as a society have and will continue to make that judgement. Over such things are wars fought. But is it different if an individual makes that decision, rather than "we the society"? Can an individual have the "authority" to decide who deserves death? Should one? If yes, where does that authority stop? If no, what should the consequences be for that individual if they take a life anyway? Analyze and discuss. Papers due Friday at 3 p.m. Points will be taken off for poor spelling.

This is just the best thing all day.

But why is Harrison out of uniform? This is yet a different timeline.

My last one! Thanks Tim.

Was that the one with the soundtrack by Clannad? I LOVED that show.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tree

So many great responses! It's Christmas! No counter arguments here, just was a new idea to me and was curious how it played out for others. But I will address a few points... I thought of this as well, as it would explain why he seems so ... dejected(?). Then again, it could be more acting... Oh no, there was no panic there. He'd obviously thought it thru. The only question is ... when? Especially since Irene Adler is a blackmailer as well, but that doesn't seem to bother him... Maybe that's one reason I have so much trouble with the idea that the only solution to CAM is to kill him ... yes, he's odious, ruthless and amoral, but that describes half the politicians on Capitol Hill. That doesn't excuse killing them, however. You play their game, instead, and bring them down in other ways. I guess I wanted Sherlock to defeat CAM with his brain, not his barbarity. (KHAN!!!!!!) Of course, something like that would probably require a great deal more than one episode.... Yah, sorry, after I posted that I looked at the topic heading. Ooops. Oh well. Does it bother me what he did to Janine? Sure, but it's different ... there's no ambiguity as to whether he was being heroic in that moment or not. He was being a louse, we all knew it, even he knew it on some level, he paid for it in the end, and knew he deserved it. And they sort of declared a truce afterwards -- if Janine can forgive him, I'm not gonna quibble. I quite liked Janine, she seemed to be another one who "accepts" Sherlock. I sorta hope they'll end up as friends -- either that, or we never see her again. Not too much in favor of adding more people to the cast, actually.

Our lead actor is on board. http://www.radiotimes.com/news/standard.aspx?slug=2013-12-12%2Fbenedict-cumberbatch-id-like-to-do-a-musical Maybe it's time to start a Kickstarter campaign!

And their conversation while they're smoking in the garden would be hard to explain away. Still, it's an intriguing theory, innit?

Ehrmahgerd.

Von Ryan's Express. A painting.