Who are Your Favorite Villains (Series 3)?

[Carol the Dabbler]

This thread will become a poll as soon as I have some idea what names to include.  For now, it's just open for preliminary discussion.

 

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Brought over from the Series 1&2 thread:
 

This poll will soon need new options! Isn't that kind of exciting? Having already cluttered the news thread with my anticipation of Milverton's reincarnation as a Danish master manipulator, I thought I'd take that discussion here.
 
A lot of people must have been bewildered by Moriarty's death. How were they going to find an antagonist even stronger than him?
 
I think Milverton is the only option for that from the Doyle stories. I know I have said this a gazillion times now, but I am so glad they chose him instead of just inventing somebody.
 
In a recent interview, Benedict Cumberbatch hinted that he will be a much more realistic, believable villain than Moriarty.
 
Moriarty, as much as I admired Andrew Scott's performance and the way his role was written, really was quite a fantastical character. He was slightly otherworldly, like Sherlock, only more so. (Btw., have there been any fan fiction writers who went SciFi with the series and declared them aliens from the same planet? Or are all the creative people out there too busy dreaming up sex scenes? ). I think that's why they could introduce the idea that "Sherlock made him up" at all without being totally ridiculous. The original Moriarty, I think, never even had an on-stage appearance, his dialogue with Holmes at Baker St is only recounted by Holmes to Watson later.
 
The original Milverton, on the other hand, is much more "grounded in reality" and connected to the world at large. Watson meets him in person (and nearly attacks him with a piece of furniture), he has a defined address, we see the inside of his house (we even find out what it smells like). He's clearly sane and, also different from Moriarty, he has a definite agenda.
 
While Holmes overcame Moriarty, he never won against Milverton. On the contrary, he would probably have ended up in jail for breaking into his house if it hadn't been for the lucky coincidence that brought another enemy round on the very same night.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

There have been all kinds of theories about who Moriarty was, or at least, was supposed to be. Yes, some writers think he was just a figment of Sherlock's imagination....hence we get the book and movie, "Seven Per-cent Solution".

 

  Then there is the school of thought that "Moriarty", while being a criminal master mind, was in fact a Holmes sibling and to prevent a family scandal, Mycroft and Sherlock worked up this elaborate scheme to get the sibling away from England so that he could be dealt with without tarnishing the family name.

 

 Then there are those who believe that Sherlock was meeting a woman, not a man at all. Speculation named Irene Adler and that at the end of the tryst, something caused her to fall or jump into the falls. Heart broken, Sherlock fled.

 

  Then there are those who believe that there never was a Sherlock Holmes, that he was the invention of a Dr. John H. Watson who was the real detective.

 

  So we can take our pick or heck, even write our own synopsis.....who can argue the point either way and truly win?

[besleybean]

I go with Canon.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

 

I go with Canon.

 

  Oh, without a doubt, so don't I. It's a wonderful thing to be a Sherlockian/Holmesian without muddying the waters until there's nothing left but....well....muddy water.

[T.o.b.y]

I like the idea that he was a figment of Holmes' imagination, but I don't like to believe that was actually what Doyle intended.

 

I suspect Moriarty was just invented to kill Holmes off because his creator was sick of him. Period.

 

What I like to interpret is this: In terms of "story truth", Moriarty is just who Holmes says he is, a professor and criminal mastermind who crosses the detective's path. In terms of "poetic truth", Moriarty stands for the darker side of Holmes' character. Holmes realized at some point that he had a streak of evil in him. Cut loose and estranged from his only human tie, his best friend (Dr Watson was already married in "The Final Problem" and states that he hadn't seen Holmes around for a while), Holmes came to fear that he wouldn't be able to control that and he would become a dangerous man. He decided that part of him needed to be conquered, and if it cost his life, so be it. After his return from the dead, Holmes really is somewhat more mellow.

[besleybean]

He's a couple of years older and escaped death!

[Artemis]

I love T.o.b.y's post that Carol quoted up there.  Well said!

CAM was my favorite of series 3, although I suppose there wasn't a ton of competition.

Who else was a series 3 villain?  Lord Moran, Jonathan Small/Mayfly Man/Wedding Photographer... anyone else?  Some would probably put Mary on this list, though I definitely wouldn't.