How would you fix "His Last Vow"?

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Maybe not to kill....one of those surgical strikes....but yeah....enough to get the message through.

[sherlockandjohn]

If Moffat continues to write this episodes darker, then yes

[Arcadia]

Oh, I don't know, darker can be good, as long as there's light at the end. Provides contrast, y'know.

[Carol the Dabbler]

There was light at the end of "Reichenbach."  Am I missing something in "Last Vow"?

 

[Arcadia]

The plane turned around!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

But I was referring to series 4. I don't mind if it goes darker as long as etc etc.

[Carol the Dabbler]

The plane turned around!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Oh, right, that!     But Sherlock's return lights up only one dark aspect (albeit a major one).  I'm still feeling pretty depressed about the rest of it.

[Arcadia]

Wow, you are hard to please. Um.... CAM's dead? John's gonna be a daddy? Molly got all up in Sherlock's face? Anderson's one of the good guys now? (Okay, that last one may be a mixed blessing...)

[Carol the Dabbler]

Oh, OK, not ALL the rest of it.  (And I must admit that I've always liked Anderson, sort of.)  But I'm looking forward to Series 4 with a good deal of trepidation!

 

[Arcadia]

As you are intended to, I'm sure!!! Now you know how I feel about Battle of the Five Armies ..... (will they get it right, or will we just be subjected to more orcs vs. elves? Urk.)

[Carol the Dabbler]

Well, in all fairness, Tolkien's original battle had lots of orcs and elves.  But yeah, I could certainly manage without any more gymnastics from Legolas (fat chance!).

 

[Arcadia]

Yeah, but no individual orc characters (am I the only one who finds the orcs horribly boring?).  I wouldn't mind watching Legolas leap around  if it would just serve some point in the story other than to watch him leap around.

 

Meanwhile, back in Sherlock World ... you liked Anderson????????????????????? The mind boggles....

[Carol the Dabbler]

(am I the only one who finds the orcs horribly boring?).  I wouldn't mind watching Legolas leap around  if it would just serve some point in the story other than to watch him leap around.

Nope, you're not the only one. The first time we saw Desolation, I spent the orc scenes just sitting there mumbling, "Whatever!"

 

We can't really blame Legolas, can we -- he's not even in this story!  So he's kinda pasted in, unfortunately.  (Could have made a really nice cameo....)

 

Meanwhile, back in Sherlock World ... you liked Anderson????????????????????? The mind boggles....

Well, yeah!  Kinda.  I keep thinking, how would I react if I were just trying to do my job, and my boss brought Sherlock in and gave him the run of the place?

 

[Arcadia]

That's the way I feel about Donovan, but Anderson just annoys me, even in S3. Poor guy.

[sherlockandjohn]

 

The plane turned around!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Oh, right, that!     But Sherlock's return lights up only one dark aspect (albeit a major one).  I'm still feeling pretty depressed about the rest of it.

 

 

So do I. That's actually my main issue with the episode; it makes me kind of depressed. There's so much sadness, and on top of that, every bad thing is more or less swept under under the rug. Sherlock defends Mary after she shot him. He goes out of his way to make sure her past remains unveiled. John doesn't want to know about her past. And Sherlock gets off the hook for shooting Magnussen in a much too easy way.

 

The episode doesn't work very well from that perspective. The events could, I suppose, be considered 1) a great testiment to forgiveness, and 2) clever plot twists. But the forgiveness doesn't change the fact that Mary was/is an assasin and doesn't regret it. She doesn't seem to learn anything from what happens in HLV. Her cheerfulness at the air field, does it show she's glad that Sherlock took the crap for her? I don't know, but if she feels any remorse that Sherlock is being sent away, because she failed to come clean in the first place, it doesn't show. Her cheerfulness feels very misplaced to me. That's my biggest regret. I hope we see a real character arc for her in series 4.

 

I do feel that there are many ways of approaching the episode, though, and the above perspective is only one of them. It just so happens to be predominant in my mind. However, I can see it from Mary's POV as well; how scared she must be, and how fear and instinct probably lead her to make bad decisions. She's clearly sad to have shot Sherlock. I don't even think she expects to be forgiven for it at all.

 

And, like I said, there's the perspective of forgiveness and sacrifice. Sherlock offers both to Mary, and his character arc is pretty amazing.

[Arcadia]

And, like I said, there's the perspective of forgiveness and sacrifice. Sherlock offers both to Mary, and his character arc is pretty amazing.

And the more I think about it, the more I think that's what S3 was about; growing up. Which is kind of sad, because it would be much more fun to be Peter Pan all your life. But Peter was missing out on something too.

 

Personally, I'm proud as punch to see our boy developing some empathy and responsibility towards the well-being of others. But growth does entail pain, I'm afraid. (Actually, I have a theory that pain causes growth, but that's another thought for another day.)

 

As is "famously" known by now I'm not fond of the method they chose to have Sherlock illustrate how he cares for his friends; but I like the character development very much. But I think that's part of the message too; you want Sherlock to be more human? Fine, here you go. But be careful what you wish for.

[Arcadia]

PS -- I still think we should wait and see about Mary. Another thing that has come clear to me is that HLV was not long enough to properly contain the story it was telling (I suspect because they had to make room for the incredible mind palace scene). I'm still hoping some of that story will find it's way into S4. Which is what I use to counteract depression; hope.

 

So, I guess I finally have my answer to how I would fix HLV; I'd make it a half hour longer! And put in the missing stuff that right now we just have to make up for ourselves. But I guess that would spoil Moftiss' fun.....

[sherlockandjohn]

PS -- I still think we should wait and see about Mary. Another thing that has come clear to me is that HLV was not long enough to properly contain the story it was telling (I suspect because they had to make room for the incredible mind palace scene). I'm still hoping some of that story will find it's way into S4. Which is what I use to counteract depression; hope.

 

So, I guess I finally have my answer to how I would fix HLV; I'd make it a half hour longer! And put in the missing stuff that right now we just have to make up for ourselves. But I guess that would spoil Moftiss' fun.....

 

Yes, I'd make it longer, too :-) And while we're at it, do the same with The Empty Hearse.

 

[Arcadia]

Altho ... Moffat did say that 2-hour episodes would require a three-year wait ... maybe let's just speculate instead!

[sherlockandjohn]

Technically, I suppose two-hour episodes aren't necessary, but it is a question of priority - what to include and what to leave out. Of course, the consequences for Mary and/or Sherlock could be coming in series 4.

 

Added: I'm not holding my hopes up too high, though

[Arcadia]

Oh well, it won't break me if they never mention it again. Annoy me, maybe, but I'll survive.

[sherlockandjohn]

Oh, it won't break me either. I'll just continue to find it a bit depressing, but I think with all the new stuff that will happen, my mind will be guided in another direction.

[Arcadia]

All those new depressing things, you mean?

[Carol the Dabbler]

I believe Amanda Abbington recently said something about an "amazing" story arc coming up for Mary -- whatever she may have meant by that!

 

[sherlockandjohn]

All those new depressing things, you mean?

 

Yes, precisely Nah, it was only HLV that I found a bit depressing, so I must count on not all four new episodes bringing about that same result.

 

I believe Amanda Abbington recently said something about an "amazing" story arc coming up for Mary -- whatever she may have meant by that!

 

Yes, I've heard that too, and of course it's impossible to guess what she meant I'm all for her character arc, but I also hope she won't outshine the men.

[sherlockandjohn]

I've decided. The biggest problem with His Last Vow is that there's not enough Lestrade.