I think I've stumbled upon a new IOU theory!

[SH/LotR/Zelda Fan]

Er...ok I think this is the right forum.

 

Well, since a lot of this is computer related, I was wondering, what if IOU was referring to the position of the letters on a keyboard? Very VERY unlikely, but I mean how likely are all the theories? So I mean maybe 231, the fingers used for IOU if you're touch-typing? And then 231 could refer to something else...I'll definitely think more about it later, but I'm very tired now, so it will have to wait!

[Carol the Dabbler]

Er...ok I think this is the right forum.

 

Well, since a lot of this is computer related, I was wondering, what if IOU was referring to the position of the letters on a keyboard? Very VERY unlikely, but I mean how likely are all the theories? So I mean maybe 231, the fingers used for IOU if you're touch-typing? And then 231 could refer to something else...I'll definitely think more about it later, but I'm very tired now, so it will have to wait!

 

Yup, you're in the right place.

 

And yes, you're absolutely right about the other IOU theories (the atomic numbers, the Grimm's Fairy Tales story numbers, etc.), being just as far-fetched as yours.  (I don't count what Julia Mae said as a "theory," since it's just a literal interpretation.)

 

It does strike me as interesting that 231 is very close to 221, but that's probably just a coincidence.  Also, you could start counting with the fingers of the left hand, in which case U could be 5 (if you don't count the thumbs at all), 6 (if you count only the space-bar thumb), or 7 (if you count both thumbs).

 

Please come back and elaborate on this, once you've had an opportunity to do some more thinking about it.

 

Added:  For another point of view, see this newly split-off thread.

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

It all certainly sounds plausible.

[SH/LotR/Zelda Fan]

Wow, the computer version is of this website so much better than the mobile version! Nice emoticons too! And there's bold/italics/underline/corossing out!!! AND DIFFERENT COLOURED WRITING!!! Ok this is just a little bit and I'm having a bit too much fun. So...

 

Hmmm, yes Carol, very good point. I think I might not count the thumbs, but I will count the left hand fingers. So that makes it 675. 675, IOU. Come ON!! Why can't I just THINK??? 675...6th, 7th, 5th notes of a musical scale? That doesn't seem to lead anywhere though...or does it? Say C Major, ABG? But it isn't necessarily C Major...hmm...oh no I've got homework to do I'll come back later!

[Julia Mae]

Er...ok I think this is the right forum.

 

Well, since a lot of this is computer related, I was wondering, what if IOU was referring to the position of the letters on a keyboard? Very VERY unlikely, but I mean how likely are all the theories? So I mean maybe 231, the fingers used for IOU if you're touch-typing? And then 231 could refer to something else...I'll definitely think more about it later, but I'm very tired now, so it will have to wait!

 

I agree that your theory  can certainly be as plausible as anyone else's.  My question is: why would you think IOU meant anything besides what it stands for: "I Owe You."

 

I never have.  There's a thread here that explores the idea of why Moriarty thinks he "owes" Sherlock.  I'd be interested in your take.  But mostly, I keep thinking I've missed whatever makes people assume IOU means anything else. 

 

BTW, as to your theory.  Letters on a keyboard are offset.  So three letters are underneath four numbers.  If you look above the letters "uio" the numbers, starting at left, are "7890."  The number of digits you need to unlock a phone.

 

[SH/LotR/Zelda Fan]

 

I agree that your theory  can certainly be as plausible as anyone else's.  My question is: why would you think IOU meant anything besides what it stands for: "I Owe You."

 

I never have.  There's a thread here that explores the idea of why Moriarty thinks he "owes" Sherlock.  I'd be interested in your take.  But mostly, I keep thinking I've missed whatever makes people assume IOU means anything else. 

 

BTW, as to your theory.  Letters on a keyboard are offset.  So three letters are underneath four numbers.  If you look above the letters "uio" the numbers, starting at left, are "7890."  The number of digits you need to unlock a phone.

 

 

 

 

Well...I'm just creating an IOU theory because other people have. I would blame the Iodine, Oxygen, Uranium theory. I agree that it probably just means I Owe You, but I'm bored (as my status very clearly states) and it's fun ^_^

 

hmmm...number of digits needed to unlock a phone...of course the first thought there is Irene's phone. Can't see how that would be related though...(sorry I really overdo my ellipses!) ok, what about Sherlock's phone? Even less likely...ok, 7890. Or maybe 7980. Or 7089, 7809, 7908, 7098, 8079, 8097, 8790, 8709, 8970, 8907, argh I'm trying to do this systematically...9078, 9087, 9708, 9780, 9870, 9807, 0789, 0798, 0879, 0897, 0978, 0987. That's...quite a wide field. 24 possible numbers. Let's (try to) narrow it down a bit...since this is IOU and I is the middle key, below 8/9, lets concentate with the ones which begin with 8/9.

 

8079, 8097, 8790, 8709, 8970, 8907, 9078, 9087, 9708, 9780, 9870, 9807.

 

O is under 9/0...

 

8079, 8097, 8970, 8907, 9078, 9087.

 

Finally, U is under 7/8:

 

8079, 8970, 9078, 9087.

 

There, we've narrowed down from 24 to 4 numbers. Oh but we've forgotten the fourth number...

 

ok, if you put your fingers on the keys IOU, slide them up so that they're in the numbers row, push them down you can't make, say, 8079, right? This eliminates a few more...

 

8079 , 8970, 9078, 9087.

 

So now we have 2. (random note: I'm quite liking this...)

 

So...now we have 3 numbers: 9078, 9087, 675. We got somewhere. Not very far, but somewhere nonetheless.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Wow, the computer version is of this website so much better than the mobile version! Nice emoticons too! And there's bold/italics/underline/corossing out!!! AND DIFFERENT COLOURED WRITING!!! Ok this is just a little bit and I'm having a bit too much fun. So...

 

Glad you're enjoying yourself here!  And remember --

 

 

 

No such thing as too much.

[SH/LotR/Zelda Fan]

/>Glad you're enjoying yourself here! And remember --

 

No such thing as too much.

Thank you - I think that's my new motto!

 

P.S. Aaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhh i forgot how annoying my phone is! The iPad is ok, but my phone...grrrr...

[Alice Holmes]

All of these theories are interesting, but doesn't "IOU" just mean "I owe you" like it usually does. Of course, not regarding the fact that Sherlock never caused Moriarty a "fall" in the first place. Not of that scale. 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Yes, it's probably meant literally.  And like most bullies, Moriarty can dish it out, but he can't take it -- so whatever Sherlock did (real or imagined) didn't have to be much for him to take mortal offense at it.

 

But we might as well be doing something while we wait for Series 3!

 

[Julia Mae]

All of these theories are interesting, but doesn't "IOU" just mean "I owe you" like it usually does. Of course, not regarding the fact that Sherlock never caused Moriarty a "fall" in the first place. Not of that scale. 

 

That would be another theory, and there's a thread about that here.   You might wnat to check it out with the idea that just because neither we nor Sherlock know what kind of fall he caused, he certainly could have caused one.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

If you're looking for the discussion on Morse Code considered as binary, it's been moved to this new thread.

 

For all other sub-topics on this thread, carry on!

 

[bborchar]

I don't know what IOU means, but personally, I think it was a riddle that Sherlock had to solve regarding the fall (recall code or whatnot).

[Liselle]

Hello! I'm new here *looks around shyly*

 

If I may offer my opinion, I think IOU means more than just "I owe you" because of the number of times it's mentioned throughout the episode. I mean, Moriarty says it and carves it onto the apple, Sherlock sees it in the windows, he spends a fair bit of time trying to work it out, and John says it when he's speaking in the graveyard ("I was so alone, and I owe you so much"). I just think it's too prevalent to not be relevant.

But as for what it means... I have no idea. I've been trying to work it out ever since the last series finished, and I just can't

[Carol the Dabbler]

Hello, Liselle -- welcome to Sherlock Forum!  

 

Thanks for jumping right in and posting!     That's what keeps the forum interesting.

 

I agree that "IOU" appears to be significant -- there was also the graffiti on Baker Street -- but as to whether it's related to the actual plot or is merely a dramatic theme, I cannot say.  Or it could be a very elaborate red herring!

 

One thing I assume we can say for sure, though -- if "IOU" is a key to some sinister conspiracy, John is not in on it!

 

[Liselle]

Thanks for the welcome!

 

Oh, I wasn't trying to suggest ohn was in on it, merely that the fact that he's inadvertantly mentioning it is a clue from Moffat and Gatiss to say 'hey, don't forget about this!!"

[Carol the Dabbler]

So do you think it might be more of a theme than a clue or a code?

 

[Liselle]

Not really; I do think it's a code of some sort. What do you mean by theme?

[Julia Mae]

Hello! I'm new here *looks around shyly*

 

If I may offer my opinion, I think IOU means more than just "I owe you" because of the number of times it's mentioned throughout the episode. I mean, Moriarty says it and carves it onto the apple, Sherlock sees it in the windows, he spends a fair bit of time trying to work it out, and John says it when he's speaking in the graveyard ("I was so alone, and I owe you so much"). I just think it's too prevalent to not be relevant.

 

But as for what it means... I have no idea. I've been trying to work it out ever since the last series finished, and I just can't

 

I don't think I agree that Sherlock spends time trying to figure it out.  We see him once murmuring it to himself in the lab with Molly.  But that is also easily him just saying it back to Moriarty in his mind, meaning he's going to get Moriarty. 

 

Carol can correct me if I am wrong, but I think by "theme" it means a thread that runs through the story.  Sometimes a theme is friendship, like in Hounds.   Or love and sexuality, as in Scandal.  In Reichenbach, the theme can very easily be seen as revenge, payback.  I.O.U.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

 

 

Carol can correct me if I am wrong, but I think by "theme" it means a thread that runs through the story.  ....  In Reichenbach, the theme can very easily be seen as revenge, payback.  I.O.U.

 

Right, I meant basically anything that's used repetitively in a story with some sort of significance, but not actually a plot element.  So in this case, "IOU" could be a theme, perhaps implying revenge as Julia Mae said, or perhaps (more literally) obligation, as John used it.

 

[Liselle]

Not so sure I think it's a theme either; I don't really know. But it'll be fun to find out

[T.o.b.y]

I cannot for the life of me figure out IOU and if they don't explain that one in series 3 I will go mad. Seriously, I've lain awake over it!

 

I tend to go with the theme idea and here's what I make of the theme (I actually posted this somewhere else a while ago - just in case anybody recognizes it; I'm only stealing from myself. And it's not really worth stealing).

 

IOU just stands for "I owe you". It is the theme of Moriarty's plan, the name of his game to bring Sherlock down. Moriarty is not the only person out there who holds a grudge against Sherlock, who "owes him a fall": There are Kitty Riley, for example, Sally Donovan, Anderson and "every single police officer you have ever made to feel like a tit". By giving those people an opening for revenge, Moriarty, in his usual role of facilitator, sets the stage for Sherlock bringing about his own demise by his arrogance, insolence and disregard for anybody's feelings. But Moriarty has a blind spot: Molly. She, too, has been hurt, insulted, exploited and ridiculed by Sherlock time and again. When they were going out, Moriarty probably heard a lot about her woes in that department. Moriarty, who we may assume approached Molly initially because he thought she was a potential love interest of Sherlock's, was easily convinced that she "didn't count", dropped her and found another woman who could make herself count, namely Irene. Molly seems so insignificant that Moriarty probably forgot about her after a while. When he was summing up the few people who had to be kept from helping the detective, her name certainly didn't come to mind. If at all, he had her down as another potential enemy of Sherlock's. But Molly, like a good old-fashioned Victorian heroine, works in ways that a good old-fashioned villain like Moriarty cannot understand: she is unconditionally loving, forgiving and expects no return for her affection and forbearance. Molly overrides the rules of the IOU game by not saying: "why on earth should I do you a favor?" but: "what do you need?" She even tops this with the assurance that it doesn't matter to her whether Sherlock is a powerful genius ("who you think I am, who I think I am"), and so a valuable ally who can repay her with using his talents on her behalf some day, or just an ordinary guy after all. Saved by the love of a good woman. Such a classic tale, if this were true!

 

(Irene, by the way, can be said to represent another female archetype of Victorian literature: The dangerous, sexually assured dark beauty who holds a fragile power over men through their desires, secretely tortured and attracted to younger women à la Edith Dombey, Lady Deadlock or Miss Wade.)

 

 

 

[T.o.b.y]

I know, I read too much Dickens. And it is very unlikely that this is what the writers really had in mind.

I can't help thinking that the letters must be some kind of code. And then there's Moriarty yelling "There is no code, doofus!", and I wonder whether he was just supposed to be doing to the audience what he did to Sherlock.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Hmm, OK, how about both?

 

Moriarty clearly means it literally.  But that is not to say that he can't have also some fun with it.  (After all, he gets bored.)  I'm particularly intrigued by the Grimm fairy tales theory that was expounded by Joalro in the other IOU thread.

 

[T.o.b.y]

Thanks for the link, Carol. Yes, they do show the storybook's table of contents on screen, but very briefly. If we were really supposed to be able to read the numbers and the stories that belong to them, I think they'd have shown it for a bit longer and there would have been a hint on what the code was.

 

That there are a lot of Brothers Grimm references in the episode is undeniable. And they all come from Moriarty, so "grim(m) fairy tales" is definitely his theme.

 

I also agree with the people who have pointed out that the "good old fashioned villain" Moriarty speaks about might just as well mean Sherlock as himself. It is certainly the role he is trying to cast him in for the press.

 

The craziest idea I ever had about "The Reichenbach Fall", right after I saw it for the first time and was really perplexed and tearful, was that maybe Moriarty had actually fallen in love with Molly and Sherlock was somehow able to use her as a counter-hostage. Ridiculous! Imagine Moriarty in love...

 

Another thing I simply can not figure out, that might or might not be related to IOU, is how on earth Sherlock was going to make Moriarty call off the killers. Originally, I suppose he planned to threaten that he would use the key code and destroy Moriarty's fake identity, but Sherlock's winning moment comes after he has had to realize that this code never existed (and yes, I do think he believed in it and so did Mycroft).

 

As far as I can make out, Sherlock convinces Moriarty that he is just as little inhibited by the scruples of "ordinary people" as Moriarty himself. But that is rather a vague threat. Why was it enough to make Moriarty shoot himself? Even if Moriarty was suicidal all along, why would he choose that particular moment?