IQ192

you made me remember Sh talking about bribes and the camera pans to Anderson , and we get a shifty look .On the crime scene later Sh asks for Anderson to work it ? odd and OOC ? Can i say Anderson is rat faced also....or too cruel ? On Bow porcelain idk , i say it as bow rhyming with no. :S I'm really convinced that it wasn't Anderson at all. I think it was the cop in the pink shirt (nameless, but you see him in the episode). Actually, I think Anderson will probably change his attitude next series...he was never a bad guy, just jealous of Sherlock. Now think of how you would feel if someone you had always wanted to see get in trouble because he was better than you kills himself...and it's partly your fault. I don't think anyone would take that lightly. And Moffat said "bow" as in "take a bow"...so it can't rhyme with "no". It's definitely "bao". yes agree @ Andersons character and obv. he remains in the show so if...w/e not caught.But with each word of the script and camera so scrutinised and pressured , both timewise and for meaning i think there must be something in that moment somewhere. Was it something they cut for the US vesion i wonder ....if so not important.

Has anyone said they think it was done with mirrors ? Apart from me ....heh I do think it was the magic mirror trick , but can't expand on it .

Think it would be in their style to change it to something in the title like Vow , with the bow cue thing just being a referance to the plot , like rat and wedding. So we are probably going be looking at something like His Last ......something ryhming with bow. Vow...How...Cow ? lol Ether way i think we get thenext word on Fri.

heh ok @TY@Carol... On the radio i think maybe it is Mycroft , does seem to indicate him keeping an eye on things / having a man in the inside/area maybe. I considered the US codes with SH in Florida with Mrs H in mind , thinking he would know them . Would be amusing if area 27 turned out to be Baker St. area tho , or if it was St Barts , an indication it was time for what happened next maybe . Still likely coincidence. BytheBy . Have added a short edit. addition @first post on why /themes , if interested . <3

Heh yea@C , that time John had hidden them and Sherlock cldn,t find , later John throws thm@him . Been wondering if anyone has any thoughts on the moment Sherlock asked John to look at the stars ? Do you think he was looking at the neck/height angles when John was looking up.......or something more ? Also when they are in cuffs by the police car , a call over the radio , all units to area 27 ? all units respond....or similar...got all the polices attention for a moment giving SH/J the chance for escape . Mycrofts doing ? or Moriarty maybe ? or something happening for real .... i tried to find out what the radio code meant but idk there isnt a uk one ,,,, could b a kidnap / hostage in the usa tho which is interesting.......ideas anyone ? btw can anyone /point me at an admin or make me an adult......ty >.>

yeahs they did and i kno , idk why its bugging me! Another thing i'v been wondering bout , seems a bit duh but idk , so last fri i was watching the bbc repeat ASIB for the clues / word.....and waiting and waiting and finally 15/16 mins a red H in caps pops up in the corner....so waited and waited and waited and waited..................and then i was thinking well wow its halfway and 1 letter , and my son says haha a red H you know what that is..... Meaning a red herring...so we lol and arrrgh some and anyway eventually we get the I and S and duh as suspected make his . So anyways...what was bugging me is i cant ever rem seeing RED letters like that before used on the beeb , so why red ? the subtitles are white/blue/yellow and smaller . These red letters were in like a black backround , i cant be certain but i seem to recall a bit of red around the edge like a frame too. so hmmm did anyone else actually see them ? This has made me think of the red circle case with the lodger.........and maybe a person in 221b ties in , but then again! could be significant could be nothing. Thoughts anyone?

lol@thanks but i have read the canon quite a few times over the years..... Looks like a purple dragon and a manga style kid on the t shirt to me , but hmmmm maybeeeee. As I understood it the name mix up happened because ACD liked to write in cafe's and sometimes when they got busy , or it was winter and he had a tipple of brandy in his coffee he got..... Distracted . He had johns wife calling john james too at times tho that was the second wife no one mentions Maybe we should look into into Mofftiss's drinkng habbits heh . It is obvious @lol Moff@Co are having fun with the legends and fandoms , as u say with the deerstalker , and keeping the ciggies in the skull instead of the tobacco in the slipper... ;-) Canon wise there are a lot of word plays and similarites but i think they are being careful with it so as not to become predictable , which is why i am hesitant to do it . I loved what they did with hound , but who could of forseen the Dukes pretty opera singer turning into the naked riding crop wielding lesbian dominatrix type . Its the same , but then again it is so not! Personally i hope they dont go back in time to younger Sherlock / Moriarty ...........two reasons , Ben could of course get away with looking like a teenager but omg wouldnt we all feel bad ? and the other , Martin couldn't get away it , and he wouldnt be there! wierdly if they set up a case book scenario to leave it open for look back cases at the end of series 3 or 4 we have young ish actors agiing irl , while getting younger / staying young on the screen . idk how long they could keep that going at 2 years a series . Who the hell knows with Mofftis tho , lately i just wanna point at em @shout Trollllll!

Yep@Yep@Carol .....I'ma go and rule out the ship type and the tree type tho i spose thats diff spelling wise ,,,and take it as the end of the performance type . Especially with the His now. So Hmmmmm They are so cruel with these tiny teasers . Feeling a little ominous about this one 3/3 idk why , but with the things Mofftiss said......did we actually get official conformation of a fourth series for sure....... :S

Whoa.,.. Ok the only evidence for a moriarty cabbie family feud from the show is a pair of graffiti wings,,,, ???? the cabbie describes Moriarty as Sherlocks fan. So why a " fan " Hard to write off the whole convo as lies ...even sh's deductions. How is it possible to stick to canon and bring all the things from outside canon in , at the same time ??? - soz can't quote use iphone btw. :-) There are two Moriarty's in canon, but it was a mistake, so they will make one too? They covered from start to Reichenback in only six shows. Putting all the other stuff in now from b4 idk how.Even in casebook scenario can't be moriarty.maybe a bro but why?,idk they covered the hard parts time for fun now - moffy said m was dead @loooking fward @ new villains.The other M , mycrofts man ? Lol@nobility in moriarty no, Sherlocks actions here, he takes on/out the bad guy so that's kinda noble , but both bad / cruel too , talking ppl into suicide, playing at death games & faking suicide for your friends is bad isn't it ? Like jumping was brave , but it is as easy to say sherlock risked his friends by faking it, ( he almost got caught out ) As it is to say he saved his friends by jumping ,,, its both. To be 100% sure he would of had to jump for real? I don't see a changed sherlock Coming .He doesn't in canon, doesn't he walk away from a murderer one time saying " I see no crime here . Only justice." He decides the morals and yes he is a strong character , he won't conform to even the law. In this one,,,,he repeatedly says "I'l just be myself " refusing to change at all. Sure John loves and forgives him, but it is reciprocated ? Doyle said somthink like Sh was as likely to love as a babbage machine. Sherlock obv cares about John, but kinda the exception prooving the rule. Rem Sh & Mycroft talking about sentiment , and what is wrong with us. Obviously Moffat is a genius and knows everything. I <3 him. You say religion isn't about splitting people into good/bad? Uh , that's what it does thô within the context of the good v evil fight for soul theme mofftis use here. Other ideas / thoughts on it not really relevant. Maybe the word mock is strong , idk . For me Sherlock tricks,beats,outplays,outfoxes and makes idiots, thus mocking ? Of both sides. Beating angel@devil figures at their own game is very funny . Mocking religion idk but There's cartoons.... :-) The hypocrisy of people who thnk they can say this is always right and this is always wrong is the whole thing/meaning. You can't. That's the point , and also a funny poke @ modern beliefs and societies.very lol @ Spot on I think. The war for peace paradox. Is murder right ? Is killing yourself in front of your best friend right ? Is stealing right?Is lieing right?........according to SH the answer is ....sometimes. That's what I mean by , there is no right or wrong. Sherlock takes the things we think should be Wrong! And makes us think Ah good job! I don't get that being anti anything , but very in canon/character. The good/bad right/wrong debate is mankinds biggest unsolvable.Always has been , but in TRF ,SH solves the casè he does them both /all / sametime. He is doing good by being bad & vice versa. That's the biggest lol/mock/brilliant bit of it for me. :-)

Wellllll lol i just... idk there is a yale lock ,,,we see it when the american alphabet guys have broken in as u say so doh@me hmmmm and idk bout the knob for sure , but those door types usually have one about just above the knee height and yes i rem them turning it going out on screen so i kinda assumed at the front too but idk. I guess we just get to blame Sherlock for never bothering to lock it and going out all hours and leaving it open etc or Mrs Hudson being in Speedy's doing scratch cards.... but deffo a lol to watch out for next time. I saw some of Carols pics ~ looked mad but fun. and lol @ the hobbit entrance. The 221b door changes all the time over the past decades....its been high glossed , polished , plasticised , painted , had lamps above it ,,,, gas lights beside it @ at one point tree thingies , olympic thingies and a chinese dragon etc etc etc. So idk its confusing me as to whats on screen. Tho they actually film this vers. in Gower St. I do like the battered / shabby look the bbc have given the door this time tho, it suits the show.

you made me remember Sh talking about bribes and the camera pans to Anderson , and we get a shifty look . On the crime scene later Sh asks for Anderson to work it ? odd and OOC ? Can i say Anderson is rat faced also....or too cruel ? On Bow porcelain idk , i say it as bow rhyming with no. :S

Hi ya@ Julia..interesting link ty yes@Bachs , just a clever pun / joke in many ways , @working with Mycroft could be obvious it was in canon over 100 years ago. >.> I do like the family feud idea..but it conflicts with the Sherlock / Cabbie convo , the cabbie is doing it for money and is estranged from his family. "Fan" seems like an odd choice of word for someone your in a feud with , and if he was related to M , I don't think he'd of named him at the end . ( wasn't a lot of torture?) . That kinda plot arc would be hard to continue with M dead, they could do a memoirs,,casebook thing and look back at it i spose but they would have to keep it as no contact / knowledge of M on Sherlocks end so kinda pointless. I don't see these writers moving that far away from canon , tho seeing a younger Sherlock deduce something naughty about his father would be amusing and unsurprising. Sherlock did look back at the Carl powers case for the name Moriarty and told John he couldn't find anyone alive , but I spose we do know that that is probably about the time Sherlock caught M's attention , it has for sure been a very long time. Wings are a common theme on family crests , they are everywhere , but there is a eerie similarity to the ones in the show agreed. However i don't think poking at the Irish / English history files would be a good idea..............could be dangerous indeed! and deffo not on the bbc! Remember it mostly has to just be good entertainment / fun. The constrictions of the show mean they kind of have to keep it simple on the surface. Moriarty specifically says he owes Sherlock a fall . He talked about why in TGG pool scene , and he likes to watch Sherlock dance. ( Who wouldn't?) The pool scene threat ~ to burn Sherlock , to burn the heart out of him ~ seemed a little odd to me , and strangely overacted . When you look back with the religious themes in mind , and see the faux possesion of John and Moriarty's crazyness at that moment , ask yourself what the warning / threat is really about . Makes it so much more amusing. With the heart usually comes the soul no ? and that is what is played out thematically in TRF.The fight for Sherlocks soul / heart . So if there is a greater game , thats likely it. The wheel turns and there is nothing new................ (Its kinda easy to say M meant John , but don't forget in that scene Sherlock was prepared to blow them all , including John up.) Sherlock does seem to lay down his life for his friends , just as Moriarty seems to kill himself , but thats not quite true is it? . Both were magic tricks , manipulations of Sherlocks. Both noble ( ish ) and extremely cruel at the same time . Its both. Sherlock does loose his current life style for a while , but it is also in his own best interests ~ saving his own life , winning the game and getting to go off on a veritable spider web of cases and adventures . If he wanted to be noble or good surely he would of let them know and eased their grief a.s.a.p , he isn't playing Moriarty anymore ! They could of faked it / or safe house or something. But he doesn't care / understand about that or his reputation. Religion is ~ not my area ~ so no offence ~ but I do lol @ the Brilliant way Mofftis mock it via Sherlock here, humanity cannot be split simply into good and evil . Today the papers say " Suicide of fake genius." tomorrow they will say " Fake suicide of genius." . Its the war for peace paradox. There is no right or wrong things are more complex. Irene Addler got it right when she said to Sherlock I think you " .....believe in a higher power. In this case yourself." and I am with Sherlock. Themes , even the blindingly obvious ones ( need i say ust @ Innuendo here lol ? ) are all just fun speculation and thinking party's ( isn't thinking the new sexy ? ) until or if ever the writers and actors expand on what they have already said. Think On @ XxX

The letters were H I S , his. Revealed in red caps in top right corner 1 by 1 during the show. His last bow idk they usually change something.

LoL @ this thread and the locks thing......good point! At other times people ring the bell , coming with cases , so hmmm Sometimes / Usually on those big old wooden doors with a knob you have to actually turn the key ( imagine the traditional iron type of key) in the lock for the door to actually lock . Most people have added a Yale type lock to these old doors by now but I haven't noticed one in the show and googley images aren't conclusive the one IRL is diff ...so maybe people just have to turn the knob and push ....sometimes its locked , others times ~ whoops they forgot .

/Kinda my final thoughts on TRF after reading this thread . On Moriarty's continued appearances in the show....if Mycroft was in on the plan , which I think he was , then whats to stop MI6 / Gov intelligence hiding the body and stealing Moriarty's phone and replacing him with a lookalike / inside man in the criminal underworld. Remember M was always in the shadows and no one really knew him. Kinda far fetched i know but the Holme's bro's could of been planning this since Baskerville. ( Did SH negotiate acess for his secrets) On IOU @ Bach code , to use IOU in Bach's code it must first become I v U ? no O in old alphabet Bach used V and v instead , IvU then becomes the musical notes b a g , bag . A bag puzzle is a traditional challange/game of logic . So it kinda translates into "me verses you in a logical challange / thinking match ? " and its to the death....the Tower Hills text rem . When Sherlock says/sings " I got you " it is the winning move / phrase . This is a battle of wits ~ death doesn't matter here ( too dull boring ordinary). Why is it the winning move ? Because Moriarty boasted (this is the tale of Sir Boastalot lol btw ) of the existance of the recall code . It doesn't matter whether it is used or not this is about winning the game , this is brain warfare as Moriarty says ,,, " If I am alive you can save your friends " . So Sherlock has won at this point , Moriarty can't use the blackmail/shoot friends threat anymore , SH said no , " I got you" ..an out . So the only move Moriarty has left to win the game is to take "you" ( himself ) out of the game leaving Sherlock on the ledge with nothing again . Thus Moriarty shoots himself @ dies happy thinking Sherlock must now jump and he has won the game . Everything else , the fake code , the fairy tales etc is explained in the show. There are a lot of morality/semi religious symbols/words themes etc in this episode , kinda the hidden message for those that want to look and see , observe something deeper. Briefly .Five orange pips = secret messages between religious groups , add in , King James Bible 1885 , the FALL of man , the APPLE ,rem. Eve , graffiti with one pair of WHITE WINGS , angels , one pair of BLACK WINGS , demons, " on the side of the angels " , "shake your hand in hell" , burning , and quite a few more . This is kinda a deeper metaphorical representation of the good old good v evil morality thing John @ Lestrade@ co being the angels side , and Moriarty @ criminals @ co being the demons side . Moriarty thinks he is going to hell and he wants to take Sherlock with him , thats why he can't just kill Sherlock . Sherlock must die a sinner via suicide or by becoming a killler in order to meet Moriarty in hell . It seems the last few words they share reflect an agreement on that , Sherlock will be there to shake hands in hell, @ so M says " Bless You " . @ they shake on it . M then goes on to shoot himself , winning and forcing the suicide pact . (sinners deaths or so he thinks) And all this is followed by a miracle style ressurection... Coincidences to be written off or are we supposed to be getting a fairy tale style / morality lesson here on the balancing act of what is good / not good in the modern age? Sherlock is stuck in the middle of this , teaching Sherlock whats good and whats a bit not good has been a theme from the first , rem what Lestrade said about Sh becoming a good man in the first episode. The great joke is Sherlock avoids the whole thing tricking both sides , beating both god and the Devil if you will . He chooses Neither , Both ,and Cheats all @the same time. "I'l just be myself." In interview Moffat said ,,,, " Dr Who is a god trying to become human and Sherlock Holmes is a man aiming to become a god. " and this episode kinda makes it so . SH Quote from canon . " I see no crime here only justice." @ a murder case. Kinda reflective of that , SH can from now on decide for himself what is good and what is not good. After all " The truth is rarely pure and never simple." /only a true fan could come up with a SH is godlike theory huh..................... . EDITORIAL ADDITION. In ASIB Moff/Mycroft asks us all a Q ' my brother has the brain of a scientist and a philosopher . What does this tell us about him." The show obviously looks at the science of deduction and everyone discuss's the deductions and science etc this post was an attemp to see the philosopher's side , and discuss those philosophical themes Moffat refers to .

Been thinking about the word rat in this thread , and two rat phrases come to mind. Love Rat , and Rat Out (to snitch). Both quite popular in the uk media. Both of these would fit the Milverton scenario already mentioned ( Kudos) . Sherlock becomes involved/engaged with a woman for a case thus a love rat , and at the end , the surprise murderer/murderess is someone they don't want to rat out. I think this would be fun to see , and would also give a canonistic way for them to get rid of a certain person without another death . I think it's too soon for that , ending with another graveyard scene is too repetative , and it would be a neat way to get rid of you know who ( lol ) for the next series. This Would also provide the frustration and emotional finale for series three Mofftiss has promised. Maybe she is the one to bow out , rather than goto prison ,idk . Bow is still a mystery . The only idea i have on that is the Bow porcelain factory , which makes me think of the six Napoleons . AAArrGGhhhh .

It's kinda neat , the very definition of the game , Public execution , puts Sherlock in an intolerable position . Either he becomes like Moriarty and executes Moriarty , or allows Moriarty to do it to him . A game to the death , how could Sherlock resist !.

Interesting point Carol ,Your right , Moriarty did initiate the handshake , and i think your reason is right ~ to remain in control . And yes again Moriarty looks at Sherlock and realises' that Sherlock is just as ruthless as him , ruthless enough to kill even. So if he waits and allows Sherlock to take control and,,do whatever , Moriarty looses the game. Thus the shaking hands and killing himself to force a draw via double suicide. Moriarty and Sherlock both know from the very beginning of the game that it will end in a public death for one of them. I don't know if it has been mentioned but Moriarty's very first text , and the beginning of the game is " Come and play. Tower hills." Why Tower Hills ? Tower Hills is well known for one thing in London , it is the place the public execution of famous traitors and criminals took place . For hundreds of years famous people were beheaded or hanged there , either by angry mobs or on order of the Crown . So from the very beginning Moriarty defines the game , public execution , Sherlock must know this.

/thinking out loud about this The snipers that move into Baker Street were sent by Moriarty's clients , to protect the code/Sherlock, not by Moriarty himself . Moriarty says this on the roof . They do not know that the code is a con and the game is to make Sherlock die. They risk their lives and some even die to save him . The " my people " Moriarty refers to , he claims three snipers , obviously know Sherlock is to jump or they shoot. In reality the idea of a sniper following John that day , ready to shoot at any moment is laughable , imagine he is set up opposite Barts and John runs out gets a taxi back to 221b... How does the sniper know where John went ? How would he beat John to 221b and hide out somewhere and set up his snipey gear again , only to have John rush back out into a taxi and go back to Barts , same probs,,,,oh no poor sniper all that runnning and hiding and snipey setting up! Not to mention being obvious and getting caught . Plus if the snipers sent by Moriarty's clients are doing their job , um shouldn't they ALL be pointing their rifles at the roof of St Barts to protect Sherlock ? If so then maybe Moriarty shoots himself because Sherlock shook his hand, and Sherlock knew that was the signal the clients snipers needed to fire . After all ... "last one to touch Sherlock is a sissy..." And thats why Sherlock says .. " If i'v got you" and " I will shake you hand " etc Sherlock has turned Moriarty's own plan against him and so to avoid being shot by snipers , and loosing Moriarty shoots himself knowing Sherlock must jump thus forcing a draw. ( Double Suicide.) Moriarty shoots himself before Sherlock moves away and the snipers can see to fire....they likely think Moriarty is Richard Brook . Moriarty never got his hands dirty , never meets people face to face , for all they know the man on the roof with Sherlock is their competition! Perhaps Moriarty only has / and needs 1 actual sniper in on the real game, likely Moran . The threat of the three deaths does not have to be imminent to be real, it does not make much difference if John ,Lestrade , @ Mrs H are shot 1 min after Sherlock doesn't jump or 10 , or even an hour later . What matters is that Sherlock knows , that coming from Moriarty , the threat will be carried out and those three people will die very soon if he does not jump . Still , to evade the code hunting snipers , and Moriarty's one /or ones on J/L/MrsH Sherlock still has to jump . Awwwww. And the last one to touch SH ? Moriarty was the sissy......................

Hi Carol . Yes that makes sense , I read that they recommended you have paper and pencil @ ready , so aaahaa your probably right on the letters appearing one at a time . I hadn't thought of that . so Thanks

I don't think Sherlock needs any evidence against Moriarty , he is dead so there can be no retrial , so it seems pointless. The judge did order the jury to find Moriarty guilty , and with him being dead no doubt the jury members will tell tales too. I was hoping for a press conference from NSY on the result of their investigation into what happened , and for Sherlock to text them all " Wrong~SH" right in the middle of it . I do think Mycroft knows and is assisting Sherlock with the fall , and that Mycroft / the government let Moriarty go because they believed in the code and thought Sherlock could get the code . So they let it play out. As S1 earlier said the show is only 90mins so they probably won't spend much time on it.

Hi there , Yes @ this i was disappointed when Wimbledon ran over as i was watching and waiting for the clue The clue the bbc gave is " The title is in the titles." and will appear in the first 15 mins of the show , and can only been seen in the live repeats of series two , one word per episode. Kinda cryptic but fun none the less .I have deduced that they maybe / probably have put the word into the Subtitles we can turn on/off or maybe into the credits. I will deffo be watching and trying to spot it . p.s TY btw way for the Hello @ Welcome that was nice , I had a fun and interesting evening reading some of the posts here , and decided to make a regular visit . i do <3 Sherlock and it's nice to discuss / share idea's about him . XxX

I think everyone that mattered already knew Moriarty was guilty of the crimes , the Judge at the trial even ordered the jury to find him guilty . There was obv. film footage of him breaking into the crown jewels at the tower too. So really no more evidence of his crimes is necessary , not that there will be any kind of trial . Once Moriarty is dead the jurors would prob confess anyway . So the only Q is Sherlock's reputation in the media , which was being manipulated by Moriarty via Kitty Riley . Surely during Sherlock's hiatus a lot of people came forward with story's of his amazing deductions ? Either way i am sure Mycroft will have the press under control. I do think they they will need to restore Sherlock's reputation somehow in order for him to get interesting cases and clients in future episodes. Perhaps Kitty's penance will be to write the retraction , and an apology , and generally make a big media fuss and fool of herself with the headline going something like ~ How Moriarty Fooled Me. As for NSY ~ Likely some sort of official enquiry would of been necessary ? Funny if at the public report, they all got a text ,,,,,, Wrong! - SH .

Point @ The Bohemian stationary writing being done by a woman , that seems to be the basis of your thesis. The Client / collaborator / tool of Moriarty in this episode is Miss Wenceslas , the one with the Bohemian themed name , and accent . I assumed that as Moriarty's accomplice in this venture , she was the woman that addressed the envelope . The pen comment being just a nod to cannon , and ACD's advertisement for it. ( the pen )