Episode 1.2, "The Blind Banker"

[Boton]

Or sheets... anyone care to discuss thread count?

 

 

Move this to the SiB discussion, and we can really get into what thread count is appropriate for visiting Buckingham Palace.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Do feel free to start that discussion over there!  ;)

[sittything]

Do feel free to start that discussion over there!  ;)

 

Done.  ;)

[Arcadia]

Do feel free to start that discussion over there!  ;)

Good heavens, don't encourage them... sigh.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Do feel free to start that discussion over there!  ;)

Good heavens, don't encourage them... sigh.

Got to keep the kids occupied somehow till Series 4.  (Just imagine the mischief they're likely to get into otherwise!)

[Carol the Dabbler]

Well, if we're about to rewatch this episode, that should bring us back on topic!

 

I'd be interested in comments from any of you who've read "The Sign of (the) Four" as to whether you think the episode resembles that story.  (It's been discussed here before, but that's been a while.)

 

[sittything]

We'll see if there's any hope of me making it through TSOF before watching TBB... *fingers crossed*

[Carol the Dabbler]

You're somewhat in luck.  TSot4 is written as two large chunks -- the London-based story, followed by the India-based backstory.  I thought the first chunk was semi-self-contained, with the second chunk filling in motivation and details.  So as long as you make it through the former in time, you'll be in fairly good shape.

 

[Inge l-w]

Dear Carol, the Sign of the Four deals with the Indian Mutiny ( Flashman and the Mutiny gives Count Ignatieff, who suffers from the same eye iris affliction as dear BC, and whose actual descendants live in London, as it gets curiouser and curiouser. But what has the Indian Mutiny (Agra Treasure included) have to do with the Dancing Men? Do you have one deeper thoughts on the matter? Please, elucidate at your leisure.

[T.o.b.y]

I think The Blind Banker gives the impression of being very much inspired by The Sign of the Four. First of all, Dr Watson finds love. Then, we have a treasure at the core of the case and the acrobatic foreign killer.

 

In some ways, I think The Blind Banker is more like the novel than The Sign of Three. It's the most Doyle-ish episode for my feeling anyway. I quite like it, am looking forward to the rewatch.

[Arcadia]

 I was just thinking today that TBB seems more inspired by those old serials they used to run in theaters before the main feature. Sort of quaint, with cartoony villains and a damsel in distress.

[sfmpco]

And it's always fun to see BC's longtime girlfriend at that time in a small role in the episode.

[Inge l-w]

Dear TOBY, Dr (three continents) Watson does not find love, he just finds an acceptable girlfriend who can marginally tolerate his eccentric flatmate. When Sherlock introduces him as "my friend" at the bank, he hastens to amend it to "colleague", obviously anxious to avoid any double entendres.

Dear sfmpco, it was one of the funnier moments when he gets to tell Amanda the secretary, how much her hairpin is really worth! And there goes sterotyping as well, she is very much a lovely natural blonde, Mrs Cumberbatch is most definitely a brunette. Even in this masculine trait he goes counter-type!

[jadpdr]

Shall definitely re-watch, as I quite like the beginning, with Dr Watson unable to handle the shopping while Sherlock battles an African killer, and then pretends nothing has been amiss by leafing through his book and surreptitiously hiding the spoon, the only mark left of the incident, and also shows his cat-like reflexes when he catches the pen Dr Watson throws him without even focusing, and later on fights a multiple killer to a draw in Soo Lin's flat, which makes me think that in TEH he very much lets Dr Watson get away with assaulting him both at the restaurant and later. The Chinese element is a bit exaggerated, but this is the same scriptwriter who forced Sherlock to jump in front of Dr Watson in TRF, so exaggeration is his stock in trade, apparently.

[sfmpco]

I have always felt that Sherlock could defend himself from John if he chose to, but that he shows restraint.  Even in ASIB and John has him in a psuedo choke-hold, Sherlock isn't really fighting him.  He's letting John get his aggression out.  I'm sure if he wanted to fight back it could get really ugly.  I suspect he is quite strong.  He totally takes a bashing from John in TEH.  Never attempts to defend himself.

[Boton]

And it's always fun to see BC's longtime girlfriend at that time in a small role in the episode.

 

Well, I watched TBB this weekend for our rewatch.  I had this on my list as something I wanted to mention that I really like about the episode; I think BC and Olivia Poulet had a really nice physical chemistry in their small bit of interaction.  It's something I noticed the first or second watch-through, before I even knew about the tremendous number of family members of actors appearing in Sherlock: BC and OP have a certain amount of comfort in one another's space that makes the interaction between Sherlock and Amanda interesting, almost like there's the vaguest hint that Sherlock hit it off with her.  It makes it easier for me to believe that he'd just leave a 9 million pound hair pin with her.   :D

 

Anyway, I think I officially like this episode now!  I went through a period of skipping it whenever I rewatched, but now I think it really shows the Sherlock and John relationship developing and how much neither of them really know about the other.

 

First, John.  Yes, John corrected Sherlock to say "colleague" instead of "friend" in front of Seb.  And, by season three, I'm pretty sure John would have been able to read Sherlock well enough to know how much Sherlock wanted to get back at Seb, and John probably would have sat down in Sherlock's lap and wrapped his arms around him, just to help him blow Seb's mind.   :P  But they don't know each other here, and John is trying hard to figure out who his flatmate is and what he even does for a living and why he's being called to consult with these prestigious bankers and he just doesn't have a clue.  

 

Second, Sherlock is not innocent in this.  You can see how accustomed he is to working alone, and how he keeps forgetting he has a partner to rely on.  By the end of TRF, Sherlock will be able to hold a gun to John's head without conferring with them, and they'll both be on the same page, but now, Sherlock is heading into Lukis's flat without letting John know where he's going and generally failing to give John the info he needs.

 

Minor things:

• I do like Sherlock wearing jeans and wish he'd do it more often.
• You can tell how anxious Sherlock is about meeting with Seb by how buttoned up he is in that coat and how tightly that scarf is wrapped.
• Sherlock does acknowledge that he consults other experts, in the form of Raz.  I like that too.
• I think there's too much exposition in the dialog, especially in regards to explaining cryptography (inadvertently ironic, considering BC's later Turing role) and how the sandbag contraption worked.  

 

But, you know, I think it ages better than I thought it would.

[Carol the Dabbler]

My comments first, before I forget what my notes mean!
 
The episode apparently takes place in April.  Sherlock says that Seb's Breitling watch only came out two months ago, in February.
 
Do people really get tattoos on their heels like that?  Seems like it would be difficult (and extra painful) to inject the dye through callus, plus it might not show up very well under there.
 
The "pizza delivery man" and General Shan both refer to the jade hairpin as "the treasure" -- an apparent nod to the Treasure of Agra that I don't recall noticing before.
 
They built up an entire subplot of reasons why Shan would think John was Sherlock.  But what's the point?  Why does it matter?  It's not like John is just "an innocent bystander."
 

Dear Carol, the Sign of the Four deals with the Indian Mutiny ... [but] what has the Indian Mutiny (Agra Treasure included) have to do with the Dancing Men?

 
Hey, it was Moftiss who said "Blind Banker" was loosely based on "Dancing Men" -- not me!  :D  As far as I can see, the episode does borrow a few things from that story: a young woman from a foreign country receives threatening notes in a peculiar cypher, sent by someone from back home.
 
But I see far more of "Sign of the Four" in the episode, and a good bit of it seems quite intentional.  A treasure from Asia is smuggled into England by a thief who is later killed by a small man who has entered his house through a skylight.  And John Watson gets a nice girfriend with a talent for recognizing clues.
 

In some ways, I think The Blind Banker is more like the novel than The Sign of Three.

 
Of course it is -- by the time they got around to doing "Sign of Three," about all they hadn't used yet was the title and a few character names.
 

I was just thinking today that TBB seems more inspired by those old serials they used to run in theaters before the main feature. Sort of quaint, with cartoony villains and a damsel in distress.

 
True.  Please pass the popcorn.  :popcorn:
 

I have always felt that Sherlock could defend himself from John if he chose to, but that he shows restraint.  Even in ASIB and John has him in a psuedo choke-hold, Sherlock isn't really fighting him.  He's letting John get his aggression out.  I'm sure if he wanted to fight back it could get really ugly.  I suspect he is quite strong.  He totally takes a bashing from John in TEH.  Never attempts to defend himself.

 
You're presumably right, Sherlock wasn't really trying to fight back and/or got taken by surprise in the "fights" we've seen so far.  But I don't think John was actually trying to kill Sherlock then, either.  They're both trained fighters in good physical condition, and I would hate to see them have a real no-holds-barred angry fight, regardless of who "won."
 

Sherlock does acknowledge that he consults other experts, in the form of Raz.

 
That scene begins with a British in-joke: Sherlock and John are walking across Trafalgar Square, approaching The National Gallery, a major art museum. So when Sherlock says he's there to consult an art expert....
 

I think there's too much exposition in the dialog, especially in regards to ... how the sandbag contraption worked.

 

Exactly what I was thinking tonight! Sherlock reminds me of a guy I dated precisely once, who kept explaining things till I was about ready to choke him.

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

Sneaking in to comment first before posting my own thoughts.

 

First, John.  Yes, John corrected Sherlock to say "colleague" instead of "friend" in front of Seb.  And, by season three, I'm pretty sure John would have been able to read Sherlock well enough to know how much Sherlock wanted to get back at Seb, and John probably would have sat down in Sherlock's lap and wrapped his arms around him, just to help him blow Seb's mind.   :P

:lol: :lol: :lol: I hope John would be willing to do it if needed.

But Sherlock wouldn't react well to physical touch, his first instinct would be to throw John out of the window, and..

it won't be good consider the location of Sebastian's office.

 

Second, Sherlock is not innocent in this.  You can see how accustomed he is to working alone, and how he keeps forgetting he has a partner to rely on.  By the end of TRF, Sherlock will be able to hold a gun to John's head without conferring with them, and they'll both be on the same page, but now, Sherlock is heading into Lukis's flat without letting John know where he's going and generally failing to give John the info he needs.

Nice explanation. He might be accustomed to have John as his listener or audience, as he kept explaining things to him,

he just forgot tinyyyy little things, that he had to let John near him.

 

But, you know, I think it ages better than I thought it would.

Agree. It's better on rewatch, although general Shan still makes me cringe everytime. 

 

 

Do people really get tattoos on their heels like that?  Seems like it would be difficult (and extra painful) to inject the dye through callus, plus it might not show up very well under there.

It gets my attention as well. Beside not an ideal location, the color is kind of incorrect (even for tattoo in other part of the body). I don't have any but I see many. This looks much more like a paint-on.

 

They built up an entire subplot of reasons why Shan would think John was Sherlock.  But what's the point?  Why does it matter?  It's not like John is just "an innocent bystander."

Also from the way they explained, it's quite obvious that in TBB they had not regarded the audience intelligence as high as later episodes.

 

That scene begins with a British in-joke: Sherlock and John are walking across Trafalgar Square, approaching The National Gallery, a major art museum. So when Sherlock says he's there to consult an art expert....

Notice that too, nice joke

We can only see this kind of settings in Series One I suppose. There is no way they could film in places like Trafalgar square now with Setlock and all the popularity.

[Van Buren Supernova]

Argh.. skip a meal to type this,... unhealthy..obsession...

 

My takes and questions:

 

- Why Sherlock took Sebastian case? They didn't like each other, and there was nothing intriguing about Sebastian's case. Yes, he liked locked room mystery, but he didn't know yet, there was no indication in the email that Sebastian sent. 

 

- Had said too many things in other posts;still no love lost for General Shan and Sarah. Tunnel scene. No. No. No. No. Sunglass, carrying the machine all the way there. So much whining while previous scene Sarah was hacking the enemy with sword? Solution: fall with your chair!

 

- Love how Sherlock demonstrate the way Van Coon shot himself.

Anyway, why would Van Coon had any mood to eat when he was waiting for his killer? He also didn't seem like sort of person who didn't clean up after previous meal.

And why would Lukis had time to check out his book from library?

How did the assassin know that particular bookshelf?

 

- Some flawed facts, happen to have a little bit of knowledge about the culture and language, but very limited so there are good probability that this is useless blabbers..

- Lucky Cat is originated from Japanese culture, not Chinese although it's popular also in Asia, especially countries with Chinese populations.

It's mainly used in business (as symbol of good luck or believed to attract customers).

It's quite funny that the shop lady asked John to buy it for gift to his girlfriend, it's hardly a good choice. Smaller lucky cat charm will be more suitable or many other things.

 

- The numeral system that they use is Suzhou numeral system, normally used in trading. It was mentioned by Sherlock that it's Hangzhou numeral, but Hangzhou is actually a city in China.

 

- Why didn't they kill Sherlock if they thought John was Sherlock? 'This guy' had been snooping so much more than John. 

 

- John didn't join Sherlock into So Lin apartment because...he was not tall enough to grab the emergency ladder? :lol: sorry..MF

 

- When they met So Lin in the museum, Sherlock noticed that there was an additional shinny teapot compared to the last time they visited.

So Lin also mentioned that she needed to finish this work, which I assume is to maintain the clay quality of the teapot. 

But.. haloooo? That is a lot of slacking there, one pot a day. Come on, it didn't take long.

 

Still in the museum, when did So Lin had time to start decipher the clue?

Not at the last minutes of her life when her to-be killer was running around.

 

- Is it one and only time that Sherlock failed to get a taxi immediately?

 

- Nothing significant. The way Sherlock said Sebastian name in "I don't need an incentive, Sebastian." reminds me so much of the way he said Billy name in HLV.

 

- Why they hated Sherlock in college? I would be fascinated if I knew someone like that, someone with intelligence to back up their mouths. 

Brainy is not a new sexy, it's always sexy.

 

- Like the interaction between Sherlock and John, there are many of them in this episode.

 

Sherlock's amused reaction in the last scene whe he mentioned the value of the jade pin.

 

Many2 great shots on Sherlock's face.

 

Andy. Poor Andy.

 

John screaming to things; checkout machine, intercom, mail slots.

 

Sherlock spinning John.

 

[Boton]

Argh.. skip a meal to type this,... unhealthy..obsession...

 

My takes and questions:

 

- Why Sherlock took Sebastian case? They didn't like each other, and there was nothing intriguing about Sebastian's case. Yes, he liked locked room mystery, but he didn't know yet, there was no indication in the email that Sebastian sent. 

 

 

- Why they hated Sherlock in college? I would be fascinated if I knew someone like that, someone with intelligence to back up their mouths. 

Brainy is not a new sexy, it's always sexy.

 

 

 

Sherlock is always worth skipping a meal.  Food is boring.   ;)

 

Anyway, my thoughts on the above two questions:

 

1.  Just like with the pill and the cabbie, Sherlock can't resist seeing what's so baffling that Seb would call him.  He knows perfectly well that Seb hates him, but apparently Sherlock is the only one Seb can think of who can solve a problem.  I can think of one or two jerks from high school that I'd go see for free, just to see what sort of mess they'd gotten themselves into.

 

2.  Because Seb is one of the popular guys.  I always picture him as what we in the U.S. might think of as a stereotypical "frat boy" - drinks a lot, chases the girls, and doesn't give a lot of thought to his studies.  And here's Sherlock, probably being the exact opposite, and he was an easy target for teasing.  

 

Anyway, I'm glad to see so many of us enjoying this episode on rewatch!

[Inge l-w]

Completed the re-watch and found things I liked that I had previously disregarded!

The whole beginning sequence of the two unequal battles, one in the supermarket and the other in the flat are very funny in counterpoint, especially since Sherlock distracts the killer's attention with an upward gesture before knocking him out, taken directly from The Pink Panther where Cluzot uses the same trick on his Japanese houseboy, Kato.

Sherlock's nonchalance when he hastily hides the spoon and replies" I sent them a message."

When he receives the e-mail from his erstwhile fellow student on Dr Watson's laptop because his was in the bedroom!

Despite his very buttoned-up appearance concerning Sebastian, he responds to the plea for help almost immediately.

Although their bills seem to be mounting up, both have new mobiles, Sherlock's is evident when he takes pictures of the signs, Dr Watson's in the very funny scene of Sherlock spinning him around to make him remember the signs in the goods train yard.

Dr Watson left holding the incriminating evidence and getting an ASBO as a result of Sherlock's need to consult an expert on painting right behind the National Gallery! Sherlock could have done him the kindness of warning him to run, just before taking off with Raz!

Mrs Hudson trying to salvage Dr Watson's date with some nibbles to go with the wine.

Sherlock and Dr Watson ending up on the same street, one through looking at Van Coon's receipts, which, incidentally show how expensive cabs are in London, and the doctor from Lukis's notebook.

Shun zu numerals the closest they could get to the Dancing Men? That the episode was mostly based on that story is also mentioned in Sherlock Chronicles.

DI Dimmock nowhere near as good as DS Donovan in getting a rise out of Sherlock, in the end he does precisely as he's told.

The whole futile search through the books is not very Sherlock, by the way, not until he catches on to the A-Z of London, much as he used Whittaker's Almanac in The Valley of Fear!

The deduction of who is in possession of the pin through the expensive hand wash and hand-lotion pair, and the way he uses his charm to get the priceless antique in his possession before he tells the clueless secretary how much it is worth!

The Black Lotus origami Sherlock retrieves from Van Coon's throat, and the eerie way General Chan starts to fold a new one, as well as her final communication with the mysterious evil mastermind M.

Seriously funny if one simply sails along the ordinary bits.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Do people really get tattoos on their heels like that?  Seems like it would be difficult (and extra painful) to inject the dye through callus, plus it might not show up very well under there.

It gets my attention as well. Beside not an ideal location, the color is kind of incorrect (even for tattoo in other part of the body). I don't have any but I see many. This looks much more like a paint-on.

 

But why would the Tong use paint-on tattoos?  ;)

 

I suspect you're right about what it is, but why do you say the color is incorrect?  Please correct me, but I thought you could get tattoos in just about any color you want.  (And of course the Black Lotus would want to use black ink.)

 

They built up an entire subplot of reasons why Shan would think John was Sherlock.  But what's the point?  Why does it matter?  It's not like John is just "an innocent bystander."

Also from the way they explained, it's quite obvious that in TBB they had not regarded the audience intelligence as high as later episodes.

I was thinking the very same thing while watching this time -- so many aspects of the episode seem to indicate a low regard for the audience's intelligence. Even ignoring the plot holes (which Moftiss must have realized were there even before they turned the actual writing over to Steve Thompson), there is, as you say, all the explaining.

 

It may simply be that the new show hadn't gotten its sealegs yet. Moffat and Gatiss apparently knew the tone they wanted to set, but failed to convey it to Thompson. Once he saw their episodes, however, he quickly grasped what they were aiming at, and was able to turn out the wonderful "Reichenbach."

 

- Love how Sherlock demonstrate the way Van Coon shot himself.

Anyway, why would Van Coon had any mood to eat when he was waiting for his killer? He also didn't seem like sort of person who didn't clean up after previous meal.

 

You may be right with that last point. Maybe he just kept using the same butter knife without ever washing it. Either that, or he wasn't actually waiting for the killer -- he was in the kitchen, heard a suspicious noise in the bedroom, grabbed his gun and ran in to check.

 

It's ironic that Sherlock makes the point about the impossibility of a left-handed man shooting himself in the right temple -- when his own friend colleague is left-handed but shoots right-handed. Of course, Sherlock had probably not seen John fire his gun yet at that point. But still, it's apparently typical to train everyone to hold a pistol in their right hand, a useful fact that Sherlock should be aware of if he's going to make deductions like that.

 

And why would Lukis had time to check out his book from library?

How did the assassin know that particular bookshelf?

 

That way lies madness -- don't ask!

 

I liked this episode just fine till I read a parody and realized how accurate it was. If you like sausages, don't visit a sausage factory.

 

- When they met So Lin in the museum, Sherlock noticed that there was an additional shinny teapot compared to the last time they visited.

So Lin also mentioned that she needed to finish this work, which I assume is to maintain the clay quality of the teapot. 

But.. haloooo? That is a lot of slacking there, one pot a day. Come on, it didn't take long.

 

Actually, it seemed unrealistically fast to me. Soo Lin said it took many brewings to create the patina. And she'd apparently been working on all those pots for a while already. So how could that one pot, just overnight, suddenly be so much shinier than the others?

 

The whole beginning sequence of the two unequal battles, one in the supermarket and the other in the flat are very funny in counterpoint, especially since Sherlock distracts the killer's attention with an upward gesture before knocking him out, taken directly from The Pink Panther where Cluzot uses the same trick on his Japanese houseboy, Kato.

 

Actually, the "look over there" sucker punch is far older than the Clouseau movies.  I remember it from 50's westerns, and it's probably been used in movies ever since there have been movies -- and on stage before that.

 

[Inge l-w]

Plotholes, what plotholes? They are potholes on the road to madness! If we started nitpicking, I would flare up, I suspect Dear Toby would go on one of her discursive essays, dear Boton produce equally long analyses and so on and so forth! It would turn into a conflagration from a tiny spark! Consider them as the famous potholes on the web highway each time your computer crashes or freezes up or simply refuses to obey commands.

[HeroinOrHeroine]

When I rewatched this episode yesterday, I made myself a couple notes for discussion. The first one was that I really enjoyed how happy Sherlock was to give the secretary the news that her hairpin was worth millions. I thought his smile looked really genuine and he looked pleased. Now, reading through the comments, I've learned that the actress was BC's girlfriend at the time, which was news to me. Maybe that explains some of the happiness. 

 

The other note I had was that I thought the ending was interesting: John sees the graffiti artist spray-painting outside the window but doesn't draw Sherlock's attention to it. The graffiti is of an eye, presumably Moriarty saying, "I'm watching you"?. Is it ever mentioned again? It seems like foreshadowing but I don't recall it being significant in any way in subsequent episodes. 

[jadpdr]

Completed my re -watch and found it amusing but inconsequential! In this respect, both HoB and SoT are of much better quality as middle episodes!

Plot holes notwithstanding, it is a good thing that they opened with SiP, because with this episode, many of the original viewers might have changed channels, and we wouldn't be here debating this phenomenon or anxiously waiting for more (does that make us what the British call 'gluttons for punishment'?

The opening double fight is one of the highlights, as is the knowledge that they returned to the same building four years later to visit Magnussen's office.