So, what does "Bow" mean? (Spoilers)

[bborchar]

I'm not sure exactly what "rat" means, but I'm guessing it means someone on the inside was helping Moriarty.  "Wedding" is pretty obvious now that it was

John and Mary's wedding

Now, we just have "Bow" left...and from what Moffat has said, it will be another cliffhanger (yay).  So, what is "Bow"?  The bow of a ship?  His last bow?  What do you think?

Edited June 23, 2013 by Carol the Dabbler
Just in case anyone's still avoiding spoilers

[Carol the Dabbler]

I suspect that the rat's name may be Moftiss!

One bit of info I ran across lately is this -- even though the story "His Last Bow" was apparently the last Holmes story by internal chronology, being set in 1917, it was far from being the last story published.  There were a dozen additional stories published between 1921 and 1927 (though set before 1917), which were later collected as The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes.  This probably has nothing to do with the clue word, but I thought it was interesting.

 

"Bow" could be as in "bow-wow" -- referring to the dog that didn't bark?

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

And since it seems there may be a real chance for more "Seasons" it certainly isn't his "Last Bow" by any means.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Though as I've seen suggested, they could still use the case work from that story -- and then keep on going!

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Though as I've seen suggested, they could still use the case work from that story

Oh, absolutely that yes.

[IQ192]

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 .

[Carol the Dabbler]

Hmm.  Does the name of that porcelain factory rhyme with "no" or with "now"?

[IQ192]

I'm not sure exactly what "rat" means, but I'm guessing it means someone on the inside was helping Moriarty.  "Wedding" is pretty obvious now that it was

John and Mary's wedding

Now, we just have "Bow" left...and from what Moffat has said, it will be another cliffhanger (yay).  So, what is "Bow"?  The bow of a ship?  His last bow?  What do you think?

 

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

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

If it rhymes with "no," then it's not the right kind of "bow" -- the three words were announced out loud, and all reports say that "bow" was pronounced to rhyme with "now."

 

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 ?

 

I don't recall Sherlock asking for Anderson, other than calling him in with the UV lamp at the school.  If that's what you mean, it wasn't really Anderson he wanted, it was the lamp, but Anderson was the one who had it.

 

Can i say Anderson is rat faced also....or too cruel ?

 

I sympathize, but let's not get too ad hominem!

 

[IQ192]

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

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Not in so many words, but everyone from Moffat to Gatiss, to BC and MF that they would be willing to make this series as long as everybody was interested in doing them. BC said he was in it for the long haul.

[IQ192]

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?

[Carol the Dabbler]

I've read only part of the canon so far, and am not familiar with the case you mention.  And we didn't get that rerun over here, so I'm just pondering on what you reported.

 

Seems like it would be difficult to make one single letter show up well enough that people who are watching a show with an interesting plot will actually notice the letter.  That might account for the use of red.  And a solid background would keep the letter from getting lost in the random colors of the scene.  So the use of red and black could be purely a practical matter.

 

For what it's worth, I believe I already mentioned PBS's use of red letters for their "word of the week" in the Sherlock closing credits.

 

[Julia Mae]

If it rhymes with "no," then it's not the right kind of "bow" -- the three words were announced out loud, and all reports say that "bow" was pronounced to rhyme with "now."

 

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 ?

 

I don't recall Sherlock asking for Anderson, other than calling him in with the UV lamp at the school.  If that's what you mean, it wasn't really Anderson he wanted, it was the lamp, but Anderson was the one who had it.

 

 

The "bribes" comment and the Anderson reaction shot are from the police station when Sherlock shows up with the results of his analysis of the footprints at the school and says he has his homeless network out looking - "far more lax about taking bribes."

 

As to the pronunciation of "bow."  It's true they have never used the exact wording of the title.  But if they did, a "bow" that rhymes with now is also part of a ship. 

 

OTOH, if they were referring to the Doyle story title when they pronounced it, it could still be different in the show title.

 

So, I suppose it depends on if the clue was supposed to be to the actual title they have picked out, or to the story it was taken from.   If the former, then could be "Her Last Bow" I suppose.  I can definitely see Adler coming back.  I can imagine Una Stubbs deciding not to return beyond S3  -  she'll be 80 by the next Series. 

 

If we are going with "His" being literally the first word in the show title, we can posit far too many things to make any sense of it.   "His Last Bout"  or "His Last Bows." Just make it plural.

 

In the original Canon, Sherlock never takes any credit for any solutions to police investigations, it's why they work with him, he makes them look good.  Sherlock made a spectacle of himself in TRF as a way of luring Moriarty, IMO, and this is the perfect opportunity in the character arc for our Sherlock to assume this mantle of anonymity.  I think that scenario also works for "His Fast Bow" as he leaves the public stage.

 

Interestingly, to me, it also makes the opportunity for John to blog old cases instead of new ones, also in line with the Canon.

 

 

 

 

(BTW, there is a SH Story Chronology here if it's a useful resource at any point.)

 

[Julia Mae]

I've read only part of the canon so far, and am not familiar with the case you mention. 

 

BTW, Carol, you can read synopses of pretty much every Doyle/Holmes story on Wikipedia.  Here's the Red Circle case.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

As to the pronunciation of "bow."  It's true they have never used the exact wording of the title.  But if they did, a "bow" that rhymes with now is also part of a ship. 

 

OTOH, if they were referring to the Doyle story title when they pronounced it, it could still be different in the show title.

 

Ooh, good point!  With the clue being bow-that-rhymes-with-now, the pun in the title could be the use of bow-that-rhymes-with-no.  So Sherlock gives up the violin?  Stops wearing hair ribbons?

 

Alternatively, instead of bow-spelt-B-O-W, the pun could be bow-spelt-B-O-U-G-H -- Sherlock stops pruning trees, because he accidentally killed the ones that used to be in front of St. Bart's?  Or B-A-O -- Sherlock gives up dim sum?

 

Or why not both?  It could be B-E-A-U -- no more boyfriends for Sherlock!

 

 

(We do -- apparently -- now know that the first word really is "His," thanks to the "Scandal" rerun on the BBC.  See this thread if you haven't heard about that.)

 

 

[Julia Mae]

 

As to the pronunciation of "bow."  It's true they have never used the exact wording of the title.  But if they did, a "bow" that rhymes with now is also part of a ship. 

 

OTOH, if they were referring to the Doyle story title when they pronounced it, it could still be different in the show title.

 

Ooh, good point!  With the clue being bow-that-rhymes-with-now, the pun in the title could be the use of bow-that-rhymes-with-no.  So Sherlock gives up the violin?  Stops wearing hair ribbons?

 

Alternatively, instead of bow-spelt-B-O-W, the pun could be bow-spelt-B-O-U-G-H -- Sherlock stops pruning trees, because he accidentally killed the ones that used to be in front of St. Bart's?  Or B-A-O -- Sherlock gives up dim sum?

 

Or why not both?  It could be B-E-A-U -- no more boyfriends for Sherlock!

 

 

(We do -- apparently -- now know that the first word really is "His," thanks to the "Scandal" rerun on the BBC.  See this thread if you haven't heard about that.)

 

 

 

Really great post.  I was also thinking "and arrow." 

[IQ192]

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.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Yes, apparently.  Please let us know what it is!

 

[bborchar]

 

I'm not sure exactly what "rat" means, but I'm guessing it means someone on the inside was helping Moriarty.  "Wedding" is pretty obvious now that it was

John and Mary's wedding

Now, we just have "Bow" left...and from what Moffat has said, it will be another cliffhanger (yay).  So, what is "Bow"?  The bow of a ship?  His last bow?  What do you think?

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".

[IQ192]

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I'm not sure exactly what "rat" means, but I'm guessing it means someone on the inside was helping Moriarty. "Wedding" is pretty obvious now that it was

John and Mary's wedding

Now, we just have "Bow" left...and from what Moffat has said, it will be another cliffhanger (yay). So, what is "Bow"? The bow of a ship? His last bow? What do you think?

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.

[bborchar]

 

 

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.

 

 

I don't think they would have cut that out in the US version (I don't know, I haven't seen the US version, actually).  But the producers themselves decide on what they will cut out of the show, so they wouldn't cut anything important out.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I've watched the PBS version after becoming familiar with the full episodes on DVD, and you're both right, they don't seem to cut anything plot-related.  I have seen them cut scenes that I consider important to character development (e.g., the entire "danger night / walk your dog" scene in "Scandal"), but plot as such, no.

 

That said, I do not offhand recall whether PBS showed Anderson's shifty look or not.  This page has a lengthy list of scenes omitted from this episode, based on a comparison of the PBS broadcast to Ariene DeVere's transcript, and it does not mention the shifty look -- but since that bit has no dialog, its omission wouldn't necessarily have been noticed.

 

 

Added:  I should have said "no dialog of its own."  Anderson is shown either while Sherlock is saying "far more lax about taking bribes" or immediately after that phrase.  Judging by the list that I linked to above, that phrase was not omitted -- so if Sherlock was actually talking during "the shifty look," then yes, it was shown on PBS.  He may have paused briefly during it, though.  (Anyone care to have a look?)

 

However -- even if Anderson's look was plot-related, the same plot point may have been covered by something else, making his look expendable.  So let the speculation continue!

 

[i think it was just another jab at Anderson, but ya never know.]

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

The last clue was a word that rhymed with "Bow" and in bough , now, and cow. It's "Vow".  So episode 3, Season Three is:His Last Vow.   Confirmation can be found on Sherlockology.

[Carol the Dabbler]

... or on the "Title Revealed" thread.