Episode 3.1, "The Empty Hearse"

[Arcadia]

I'm sort of glad I missed all that furor of speculation and came into this discovery of Sherlock 4 years after it all started because I get to discover it for myself.  And I see what all the craziness is about... I've had a bad case of Sherlock-itis for the last month!

 

Me too! I found it a little earlier than you did, but didn't follow any of the speculation, and I'm glad I didn't. I may have to go back into seclusion once the actual air dates are announced, just to cleanse the system! I really don't want to go into S4 with any expectations; I'm always disappointed if I do. But it sure is fun tossing around theories in the meantime!

[sfmpco]

 

Is there a place somewhere where all the episodes have been broken down in bullet points for important themes, points, snarky dialogue?  Or should I just make my own?

If you find one, or make one, let me know, I need as much help as I can get!

 

Well, I think there's enough regular posters here to divide up the 9 episodes and each do one.  Or I could do more than one.  Would take me a while to do all 9.

[Caya]

Is there a place somewhere where all the episodes have been broken down in bullet points for important themes, points, snarky dialogue?  Or should I just make my own?

 

As for important themes and such, there's the tv tropes recap pages for each episode.

[sherlockandjohn]

I promised myself that when "The Empty Hearse" was finally televised that I would watch "TRF" and "TEH" back to back. I finally did that tonight. I heard something interesting voiced by Moriarty when he was talking to Sherlock about the "Final Problem".....he called John Watson.....Sherlock's pressure point.  My, my.....who has Moriarty been talking to?

 

You are brave... I've done it once, and it's hard. Watching each of them separately is difficult enough, but back to back... I'm not sure what it is, but my anger at Sherlock is a bit overwhelming. I love it, though; that whole Reichenbach drama. Sort of love/hate it But mostly love. I even love Sherlock in it. How boring it would have been if TEH had gone the way I imagined, with Sherlock offering up his explanations and sincere apologies in an attempt, from the writers, to reconcile us (the audience) with Sherlock. I'm glad that I get to be angry with him, because the situation calls for it.

[sherlockandjohn]

 

 

Is there a place somewhere where all the episodes have been broken down in bullet points for important themes, points, snarky dialogue?  Or should I just make my own?

If you find one, or make one, let me know, I need as much help as I can get!

 

Well, I think there's enough regular posters here to divide up the 9 episodes and each do one.  Or I could do more than one.  Would take me a while to do all 9.

 

 

Oh, sounds like a cool idea! Wonder if I'll have time for that in the nearby future... Not sure. But I'd love to do it!

[Arcadia]

I was thinking of offering too until I checked out the TV Tropes page Caya mentioned. I think the job's been done!

 

Found this fun fact there, e.g.  From ASiP: "When Sherlock and Watson go to a café to stake out the killer, they walk down Rathbone Street, London W1. Basil Rathbone played Sherlock Holmes in several late 1930s/early 1940s films." I never ever notice stuff like that....

[Carol the Dabbler]

... I heard something interesting voiced by Moriarty when he was talking to Sherlock about the "Final Problem".....he called John Watson.....Sherlock's pressure point.  My, my.....who has Moriarty been talking to?

 

Never noticed that, so of course I had to go and look it up.  During Sherlock & Jim's tea party at Baker Street, Jim says (explaining how he influenced the jury) --

 

Every hotel bedroom has a personalised TV screen ... and every person has their pressure point; someone that they want to protect from harm.

 

I don't offhand see anywhere that he specifically refers to John as Sherlock's pressure point, but Jim does seem to use the term exactly as Magnussen does.  And he's clearly been aware of the close relationship between Sherlock and John since the pool scene.

 

Please correct me if I'm mistaken, but I don't believe that "pressure point" is from canon (either Milverton or elsewhere), so it's apparently a Moftiss term.  The question then is, did they consciously, intentionally have both Moriarty and Magnussen use the same term (and if so, did they intend to imply there had been some conversations between them) -- or is that simply the way Moftisses talk?

 

Is there a place somewhere where all the episodes have been broken down in bullet points for important themes, points, snarky dialogue?  Or should I just make my own?

 

As Martina says later, there are indeed some such sites.  Probably lots and lots of them, in fact.  But everyone will have their own take on what's important and what's significant -- so by all means draw up your own lists!  And we'd love to see them, if you don't mind sharing.

 

I was thinking of offering too until I checked out the TV Tropes page Caya mentioned. I think the job's been done!

 

Found this fun fact there, e.g.  From ASiP: "When Sherlock and Watson go to a café to stake out the killer, they walk down Rathbone Street, London W1. Basil Rathbone played Sherlock Holmes in several late 1930s/early 1940s films." I never ever notice stuff like that....

 

I never noticed that either!  The cafe they used is in Soho, but they did a bit of walking before they arrived, and I'd noticed before that they covered a good bit more territory than the "five minute walk" that Sherlock promised.  In fact, I posted this last year:

 

We rewatched "Study" recently.  I was once more curious about the prominent "andrew jose jlife" sign behind Sherlock and John as they walk to Antonio's restaurant -- and this time I looked it up.  It's a hair salon at 1 Charlotte Street in London. Although it's not terribly far (half a mile?) from the restaurant, it's by no means "just around the corner" from it, nor from either Baker Street or North Gower.

 

... but somehow I failed to notice that even though Sherlock and John are walking away from Charlotte Street, they're actually walking on Rathbone Street -- that has GOT to be intentional!  Thanks for passing that along, Arcadia!

[Arcadia]

Another neat one from the aforementioned sight: (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/Sherlock)

 

From ASiB: John's blog counter is broken, and always says 1,895 hits. The last line of the poem "221B" by Sherlockian Vincent Garrett is "And it is always eighteen niney-five".

 

 

Here's the poem: (http://allpoetry.com/poem/8599039-221b-by-Vincent-Starrett)

 

221B

 

Here dwell together still two men of note

Who never lived and so can never die:

How very near they seem, yet how remote

That age before the world went all awry.

But still the game's afoot for those with ears

Attuned to catch the distant view-halloo:

England is England yet, for all our fears—

Only those things the heart believes are true.

 

A yellow fog swirls past the window-pane

As night descends upon this fabled street:

A lonely hansom splashes through the rain,

The ghostly gas lamps fail at twenty feet.

Here, though the world explode, these two survive,

And it is always eighteen ninety-five.

[sfmpco]

 

Is there a place somewhere where all the episodes have been broken down in bullet points for important themes, points, snarky dialogue?  Or should I just make my own?

 

As for important themes and such, there's the tv tropes recap pages for each episode.

 

 

Okay, I've read through some of those and they were a bit too snarky for me.  I'll just make my own notes.  Generally they didn't have the things I was interested in anyhow.

[Arcadia]

Maybe show us an example when you have one? I might have a go at it too -- if I know what I'm getting into first!

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

In regards to Carol's post on whether or not the phrase "Pressure point"  is just a figure of Mofftiss speak, I watched a Q&A session on Youtube. They were talking to some of the people who work in the background on "Sherlock"  not sure if it was Sue....but they were saying that you do have to pay attention to what is being said.....to the words....that there is meaning behind everything being said and a reason.

 

 I do know that Moriarty says something about John being Sherlock's pressure point specifically.....maybe on the rooftop of Bart's?  I know I heard it....quite sure any way....

[Arcadia]

I kind of thought the same thing, but this is the only instance I could find.... from the "tea scene" in TRF:

 

JIM: Every hotel bedroom has a personalised TV screen ... and every person has their pressure point; someone that they want to protect from harm.

 

http://arianedevere.livejournal.com/30955.html#cutid1

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

I do remember that part......but I can remember some reference to John....because it may me sit up and take notice....on so many levels.....I hate it when I can't remember things.

[Arcadia]

Well, then, just have to watch them all again til you find it ....

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Oh horrors!  Watching them back to back.....again?  What torture....what torment.....

[jesskayding]

I do remember that part......but I can remember some reference to John....because it may me sit up and take notice....on so many levels.....I hate it when I can't remember things.

I think its in SIP:

 

When he's with Mycroft in that warehouse or

Moriarty says it to him maybe @ the "darkened" swimming pool.

 

No! TBB:

 

I think general shan says it to him. When the gang has him & his woman in that tunnel. She thought he was Misser Homes.

[T.o.b.y]

Goodness -- but you do have a point.  Hopefully the rest of us aren't quite as obsessive as Moriarty!  I felt a bit insulted by the way they portrayed Sherlock's fans in TEH (I do not even own a deerstalker)

 

Me too - but not in a way that made me angry, only laugh. I saw that first teaser trailer and I immediately thought, oh that's what you think we all are like! And I laughed all the harder for knowing that in my own mind, a "fan" of any kind looked just like the people in The Empty Hearse, until Sherlock came along and turned myself into one, at which point I neither moved back into my parents' house, began living in a basement or gave up my life. Neither did I buy a deerstalker (what would I do with it? Use it as a death frisbee? I can't even throw a ball...) or a new scarf (It's not my fault I've always worn scarves and loved coats...).

 

I like Anderson's "fan club", actually. Anderson himself is annoying as hell, but I wouldn't mind having a cup of tea with the goth girl, for example, and listen to a few more of her creative theories. Her voice and accent alone would be enough to keep me interested for a while.

 

In all, I think the portrayal of fannish people in Sherlock is fairly affectionate. Look at the "the train guy". Sherlock totally underestimates him. He proves very useful. He seems quite happy and contented. He even has a girl friend. So what if he obsesses about trains? Sherlock obsesses about tobacco ash and perfumes, among other things, and he's a bloody hero.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Oh, I like Anderson, especially now.  Though I do hope he gets his life back together fairly soon.  (Wonder whether his wife has left him?)

 

And I agree that the portrayal of fans was humorous.  But other than the train guy, none of them seemed to have much to offer in the way of logical ideas.  I do think this forum is considerably more rational than that -- though I don't suppose we're nearly as funny looking without our hats!

 

[Caya]

Wasn't that Anderson's wife with him at the beginning of Vow, checking 221B for Mycroft?

[Arcadia]

That was certainly my impression but did they ever actually say so? I also got confused because she seemed so much like the nurse character from TSo3!

[T.o.b.y]

Wasn't that Anderson's wife with him at the beginning of Vow, checking 221B for Mycroft?

 

Hmmm, good question. It might have been a new girlfriend. I somehow find it hard to believe that his wife stayed with him after his affair with Sally Donovan and his complete transformation after The Fall. Or maybe she stayed because he changed a lot... who knows.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

I was thinking girlfriend....maybe someone he met at a meeting of the Empty Hearse?  It would mean that they had a lot in common and shared the "Sherlock obsession".  Any wife that would stay with Anderson after finding out about his affair with Donovan....wives seem to be the last to know these things....or so I've heard.....gets fired from his job because he was instrumental in causing a suicide and then obsessing over the dead guy....that would take one special woman indeed. And he did seem to be living alone when Sherlock fills him in on what happened on Bart's roof.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Mycroft introduced the two of them as "members of your little fan club," so I assume she's supposed to be someone from The Empty Hearse (possibly a very special someone, though).  The credits call her "Benji," if that's any help.

 

In any case, I don't get the feeling that she's the wife referred to in "Study in Pink" -- unless Anderson has turned over a new leaf in his personal life as well.

 

[sfmpco]

Are we supposed to assume that Lord Moran from TEH is in fact Sebatian Moran?  And according to some of the extraneous canon, he tries to rebuild Moriarty's network after Moriarty's death - and I'm wondering if this is what's going on at the end of HLV...  except that Moran is in prison, though probably not Pentonville because that prison is for less serious criminals.

 

Also can't find the actor who played Moran in the credits of the episode or listed on the IMDB... did I miss something?  Or is this a deliberate move by Gatiss/Moffit?

 

Lord Moran:

 

Peer of the Realm

Minister of Overseas Development

Pillar of the Establishment

Working with North Korea since 1996

[jesskayding]

My all time favorite scene of all the episodes:

 

When John looks @ Sherlock with so much emotion, upon revealing himself in that restaurant. All the groans between each line as he was expressed the pain & betrayal he was feeling @ the time. That was class A acting.

 

 

The funniest scenes so far is in this episode to me... I loved that he just kept beating him up. He was still steaming in bed w/ Mary.

 

I loved this episode. LOved it!