Speculation: How Did Sherlock Do It?

[Undead Medic]

Has anyone figured out how he did it yet? I have read many theories online and my Brother has a few good ones......Do you think we will find out in Series 3?

 

What do you guys think

 

Hi SarahJayne96, I took the liberty of merging your new topic into the pre-existing one, located in our "Spoilers, Rumours & Speculation" area. I hope you don't mind!

 

  to Sherlock Forum! I hope your time here is enjoyable.

[Julia Mae]

Has anyone figured out how he did it yet? I have read many theories online and my Brother has a few good ones......Do you think we will find out in Series 3?

 

What do you guys think

 

I agree it will be in the S2E1, especially considering the title which is a play on the title of the story where Holmes comes back and explains his survival.

 

Tell us some of your, or your brother's, theories.

 

[Liselle]

Okay, I'm new here, and I just read through this entire thread to check whether what I'm about to say has already been mentioned, but I can't find anything, so if I've missed it I apologise.

I can't remember how I found out about this; I think I read it somewhere, and I totally didn't buy it when I first heard it. But it's actually true, and I think it might be something that a lot of people have missed, because I certainly did.

 

When Sherlock asks Moriarty for a moment alone, and Moriarty walks away, you can hear a very faint sound, similar to the click of a telephone call being answered, and then a woman's voice saying what sounds like 'Hello?'.

This would suggest that Sherlock asked for a moment of privacy so he could ring Molly (he could easily have conspicuously reached into his pocket and pressed dial on his mobile) as some sort of signal, as obviously he couldn't answer her when she said 'Hello?', so he wasn't ringing for just a chat, let's put it that way

Thoughts? And if you don't believe me, go and check out that scene again. The clicking noise and female voice really are there. I may be wrong, as I haven't watched the episode in a while, but I'm pretty sure there's also a slight reaction on Sherlock's face when he hears the voice as well; a sort of 'everything's going to plan' expression.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Okay, I'm new here, and I just read through this entire thread to check whether what I'm about to say has already been mentioned, but I can't find anything...

Thanks for checking -- that must have taken a while!

 

When Sherlock asks Moriarty for a moment alone, and Moriarty walks away, you can hear a very faint sound, similar to the click of a telephone call being answered, and then a woman's voice saying what sounds like 'Hello?'.

Really?! Wow, I thought I had that episode memorized!  Now I'm gonna have to go watch it -- er, listen to it -- again.

 

[Liselle]

Thanks for checking -- that must have taken a while!

 

 

 No probs; I don't like repeating stuff that's already been said, so I didn't mind checking

 

 

Really?! Wow, I thought I had that episode memorized!  Now I'm gonna have to go watch it -- er, listen to it -- again.

 

 

Hahaha; I was the same! When I found out about it I instantly had to put the DVD on and skip to that scene just to hear it, and when I heard it I think I actually squealed in delight No idea why, because it still doesn't solve the mystery, but at least it's another part of the puzzle

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

... it still doesn't solve the mystery, but at least it's another part of the puzzle

 

Right -- I don't think we're likely to run out of either mysteries or puzzle pieces any time soon!  Well, at least not till we see The Empty Hearse.  And even then, I'm sure there'll simply be a fresh set of mysteries and puzzle pieces.

 

Whee!

 

[Liselle]

Oh god; this set of mysteries has been enough to give me headaches as it is; what will a whole new set be like?!

 

... Can't wait

[Julia Mae]

 

 

When Sherlock asks Moriarty for a moment alone, and Moriarty walks away, you can hear a very faint sound, similar to the click of a telephone call being answered, and then a woman's voice saying what sounds like 'Hello?'.

 

I just watched it on Netflix which would be the broadcast version, I imagine.  No click, no hello.  Then I watched it on DVD on my computer, no click, no hello.  I used headphones both times.

 

I watched from "I'm certainly not going to do it..." through "What did I miss?"  Nothing.  So, could you please be very specific about where you hear it?  Like, after what line of dialogue, exactly?  Thanks!

 

[Liselle]

*gets out the DVD*

Okay, Sherlock says "Would you give me one moment, please? One moment of privacy? Please?", and then Moriarty says "Of course" and walks away. Then it cuts back to Sherlock's face, and after a couple of seconds you hear the click. If it helps, it happens at about 01:14:34.

It really is extremely quiet and muffled, but you can make it out. I must admit though, it's a lot easier to hear when you're watching it on a television. I just watched it on my laptop and struggled to hear it, so that might be the problem.

[Carol the Dabbler]

This episode seems to have a number of possibly significant lines or sounds presented at a borderline-subliminal volume.  Off the top of my head, there's the "hurry up" at the candy factory, this "hello," and (the only one I've heard so far) the telephone ringing when John falls down.  I can understand that "they" wouldn't want to make certain things too obvious, but considering that we don't all have the very best sound systems and/or 20/20 hearing, these bits do seem to be asking an awful lot from us.

 

After all, as Mark Gatiss said, "you can't possibly build a solution on something that can only be glimpsed when you blow up the image 65 times."

 

[Julia Mae]

*gets out the DVD*

 

Okay, Sherlock says "Would you give me one moment, please? One moment of privacy? Please?", and then Moriarty says "Of course" and walks away. Then it cuts back to Sherlock's face, and after a couple of seconds you hear the click. If it helps, it happens at about 01:14:34.

 

It really is extremely quiet and muffled, but you can make it out. I must admit though, it's a lot easier to hear when you're watching it on a television. I just watched it on my laptop and struggled to hear it, so that might be the problem.

 

I'm not sure what the issue is, if you have a DVD, perhaps a number of DVDs sold were corrupted, somehow.  At max volume with ear buds, there is nothing whatsoever to hear on either Netflix or DVD.  I got mine rather late.  In any case, I don't think we can consider this a clue, especially in light of what Carol pointed out.  Moffat seems beside himself with smug self-satisfaction in interviews because he believes the solution is so patently obvious.  And what Gatiss said that Carol referred to, I think, leaves out most of these sorts of things people believe are clues.  Like this one:

 

 

This is John looking up at the roof just as Sherlock falls.  He takes the phone away and for a split-second you can see he is wired for sound.  

 

A while back I found an interview with Mr. Cumberbatch in which he refers to them doing the scene "live."  They couldn't see each other, but could hear each other and so Martin was wired for sound.  John was not.

 

I am sure you are hearing what you are hearing, but I'm equally sure that it's a "production artefact" - something not meant to be recorded, possibly from on-lookers.  It seems to have been edited-out later.  It might even be in the original broadcast.   

 

Of the things Carol mentioned, I consider the phone ring an actual clue, mostly because my daughter heard it easily the first and only time she watched TRF. 

 

 

 

[bborchar]

I hear nothing of the kind on my blu-ray with my speakers turned up on full.  Or on the Japanese version of the dvd.  Sorry.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I don't think we can consider this a clue, especially in light of what Carol pointed out.  Moffat seems beside himself with smug self-satisfaction in interviews because he believes the solution is so patently obvious.  And what Gatiss said that Carol referred to, I think, leaves out most of these sorts of things people believe are clues....

 

I am sure you are hearing what you are hearing, but I'm equally sure that it's a "production artefact" - something not meant to be recorded, possibly from on-lookers.  It seems to have been edited-out later.  It might even be in the original broadcast.

 

I didn't mean that the "Hello" couldn't (really) be there, just that if it is there and if it is significant, I consider it kinda dirty pool on Moftiss's part, especially considering that Gatiss quote in my previous post.  (I'm not saying that it actually is there, either, because I haven't tried listening for it.)

 

How many of you hear the "Hurry!" in the candy factory?  I thought I might have heard it once, but if it's there, it's equivalent to Gatiss's "blowing up the image 65 times."  Maybe it's one of those things that only people under 50 can hear.  Maybe this "Hello" is another!  (And if you play the episode backwards, it says, "Paul is dead.")

 

I do agree that a lot of what people are considering clues are actually production artifacts (good term!) due to filming The Fall without actually killing Benedict Cumberbatch, etc.

 

[bborchar]

 

I don't think we can consider this a clue, especially in light of what Carol pointed out.  Moffat seems beside himself with smug self-satisfaction in interviews because he believes the solution is so patently obvious.  And what Gatiss said that Carol referred to, I think, leaves out most of these sorts of things people believe are clues....

 

I am sure you are hearing what you are hearing, but I'm equally sure that it's a "production artefact" - something not meant to be recorded, possibly from on-lookers.  It seems to have been edited-out later.  It might even be in the original broadcast.

 

I didn't mean that the "Hello" couldn't (really) be there, just that if it is there and if it is significant, I consider it kinda dirty pool on Moftiss's part, especially considering that Gatiss quote in my previous post.  (I'm not saying that it actually is there, either, because I haven't tried listening for it.)

 

How many of you hear the "Hurry!" in the candy factory?  I thought I might have heard it once, but if it's there, it's equivalent to Gatiss's "blowing up the image 65 times."  Maybe it's one of those things that only people under 50 can hear.  Maybe this "Hello" is another!  (And if you play the episode backwards, it says, "Paul is dead.")

 

I do agree that a lot of what people are considering clues are actually production artifacts (good term!) due to filming The Fall without actually killing Benedict Cumberbatch, etc.

 

 

I've heard the whispering in the candy factory every time, but there's a bigger clue there than the whispering...the candle being blown out and the children being moved almost immediately after they enter the factory that corroborates the whispering.  But that's not one of the mysteries we are supposed to get...they said that we were supposed to be able to figure out how he survived the fall with the clues given...which, hopefully, I've done.  Those clues are obvious (the body lying in the wrong position, the bicyclist hitting John, the lack of a pulse and the rubber ball), that once you start piecing them together, it leaves you with the answer (which I think is that he fell on something).  I don't think Moffat is being smug, he's simply stating "hey, we've given you the clues to figure this out while you wait for the next series".  The rest of the episode, however, is full of clues that we can't make logical sense of because we don't have all of the information.

[Liselle]

Well the sound is obviously not going to be very clear, because if it was then everyone would hear it straight away and then what's the point of including it? But you really should be able to hear it once someone's pointed it out to you; like I say, I never heard it the first time round and didn't believe it when I found out about it, but once I knew where it was and listened properly for it, it's definitely there. Everyone I've shown it to so far has heard it, so I know I'm not going crazy Maybe it's only on the English DVDs? I know there's not really a valid reason for that being the case, but I can't think of anything else. It's strange that you haven't heard it even with the sound fully up and headphones in. Have you tried listening to it on a television like I said? It really does make a difference.
 

I didn't know about the 'hurry up' one; I'll have to check that out. As for the telephone, I think I kind of always heard it, but never really thought about the possibility of it being significant. Who would be ringing it and who would answer it?

 

For the reasons Carol mentioned, I don't think any of these audio snippets are going to be absolutely crucial to the understanding of the mystery; more like little extras that add to the story and make you think 'ah, so this is what was happening when such and such happened', if you know what I mean.

Just read something else of interest; apparently, certain letters in certain people's names in the credits for Reichenbach are coloured red; if you put them all together, they spell out BELIEVE. I haven't checked this though, so I don't know if it's true, or what it might mean.

[Julia Mae]

Well the sound is obviously not going to be very clear, because if it was then everyone would hear it straight away and then what's the point of including it? But you really should be able to hear it once someone's pointed it out to you; like I say, I never heard it the first time round and didn't believe it when I found out about it, but once I knew where it was and listened properly for it, it's definitely there. Everyone I've shown it to so far has heard it, so I know I'm not going crazy Maybe it's only on the English DVDs? I know there's not really a valid reason for that being the case, but I can't think of anything else.

 

Oh, that's quite possible.  I don't know about the ROW, but I do know there are British-made DVDs that will not play on American DVD players.  When remastered or whatever, it's quite possible they cleaned up any extraneous noise.  As I said, I'm sure you hear what you hear and never thought you were crazy.  (Well, not crazier than the rest of us, at any rate!)   It's also possible that different editions of British-made DVDs will have the sound but not others.

 

It's strange that you haven't heard it even with the sound fully up and headphones in. Have you tried listening to it on a television like I said? It really does make a difference.

 

I don't know why that would be for you, television is not a better way of reproducing digital sound.  The computer version would be most accurate with less interference.  I promise you, what you describe is simply not there.

 

As for the telephone, I think I kind of always heard it, but never really thought about the possibility of it being significant. Who would be ringing it and who would answer it?

 

Notice when it rings: as John goes down.  Also, recall who rings public phones at will from Series 1 Episode 1: Mycroft.  So, those on the other side of the building, who cannot see John, are signaled by the phone when he goes down.  That's when Sherlock can run out to the sidewalk, lie down and have the fake blood spread around.  The "doctor" with the stethoscope, as he reaches Sherlock, looks back over his shoulder.  Probably for a signal from a person, that John is getting up.

 

 

Just read something else of interest; apparently, certain letters in certain people's names in the credits for Reichenbach are coloured red; if you put them all together, they spell out BELIEVE. I haven't checked this though, so I don't know if it's true, or what it might mean.

 

 

 

That would be a fun thing for them to do, but it's not on my DVD or in the broadcast version on Netflix.  One thing I notice hanging on Tumblr is how often people say things that just have no basis in fact at all and then you get like, 17k reblogs.  Few people bother to check anything out for themselves and pretty soon everyone is repeating things as if they are facts. 

 

BUT -  what with you having sounds on your DVD that aren't on mine, maybe you'll have red letters also not on mine. 

[Julia Mae]

 

How many of you hear the "Hurry!" in the candy factory?

 

I heard it once when I was listening very hard for it.  It's so fleeting and so quiet - there's more, I think, iirc, I think it's "Hurry, this way."   You know, sometimes they just have actors ad lib stuff when they act in groups, and it could just be that picked up from an actor moving and not miked-up.   I certainly agree if it were meant to be a clue it'd be more obvious.

 

Moffat said something about how the majority of  viewers have only seen the show once or twice.  That means to me that whatever is supposed to be seen cannot need the type of special attention, we, the obsessed fandom, give to the episodes.

 

I wonder what we'd find if we took TBB apart the way we do TRF?

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Just read something else of interest; apparently, certain letters in certain people's names in the credits for Reichenbach are coloured red; if you put them all together, they spell out BELIEVE. I haven't checked this though, so I don't know if it's true, or what it might mean.

 

That refers only to the American broadcasts on PBS.  They do their own end credits (using the same data from the BBC's end credits, but with their own theme music).  Oddly enough, even though we had also watched the previous four episodes on PBS, I never noticed the red letters till we were watching "Hounds" -- those letters are UMQRA.  And yes, the magic word for "Reichenbach" is indeed BELIEVE.

 

Notice when it rings: as John goes down.  ....  So, those on the other side of the building, who cannot see John, are signaled by the phone when he goes down.

 

Actually, John has already come around the end of the building by then -- and we see his PoV, which includes the area of interest (only partially blocked by The Truck), before the bicycle hits.  If he can see them, presumably they can see him coming.

 

I wonder what we'd find if we took TBB apart the way we do TRF?

 

Oh, please, no!      I seriously don't think I could take it.  

 

[Liselle]

Ooops; posted entirely the wrong thing. And now I've lost everything I just spent ten minutes writing

[Liselle]

 

 

As I said, I'm sure you hear what you hear and never thought you were crazy. (Well, not crazier than the rest of us, at any rate!)

 

A little bit of crazy is good.... right?!

 

 

 

 

I don't know why that would be for you, television is not a better way of reproducing digital sound. The computer version would be most accurate with less interference.

 

I've always found the sound quality to be better on a television than on a computer. If I'm watching a film or TV programme on my computer, I always have to use plug-in speakers to amplify the sound, otherwise it's dull and lifeless.

 

Also, recall who rings public phones at will from Series 1 Episode 1: Mycroft. So, those on the other side of the building, who cannot see John, are signaled by the phone when he goes down.

 

Well I figured that, if anyone, it would be Mycroft ringing the phone, but I couldn't work out why. But yes, if he's signalling to someone, that makes sense. Urgh, my brain hurts when I try to work all this out.... but it's fun

 

 

 

 

 

That refers only to the American broadcasts on PBS. They do their own end credits (using the same data from the BBC's end credits, but with their own theme music). Oddly enough, even though we had also watched the previous four episodes on PBS, I never noticed the red letters till we were watching "Hounds" -- those letters are UMQRA. And yes, the magic word for "Reichenbach" is indeed BELIEVE.

 

 

Ah, okay. I thought it was strange, because I didn't remember seeing those letters on my DVDs. Hmmm... this is even more confusing if Americans are being given clues that we English people aren't getting, and vice versa

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

I don't think the red letters are meant to be clues, just a bit of fun.

 

Ooops; posted entirely the wrong thing. And now I've lost everything I just spent ten minutes writing

 

I hate it when that happens!  

[bborchar]

 

It's strange that you haven't heard it even with the sound fully up and headphones in. Have you tried listening to it on a television like I said? It really does make a difference.

 

I don't know why that would be for you, television is not a better way of reproducing digital sound.  The computer version would be most accurate with less interference.  I promise you, what you describe is simply not there.

 

 

Not necessarily true.  It all depends on the type of video file it is and whether the sound was uncompressed, lossless or lossy.  Use the latter, and you will end up with lost information.

 

And of course, it depends on what kind of television set-up you have as to what kind of sound you will hear on a tv show.  If you have a network like FIOS, an HD capable box, and a good surround sound system, the sound you hear will be the same as you would get on a blu-ray, because you're receiving (and processing) the same information as you would from a disc.

[Julia Mae]

 

Notice when it rings: as John goes down.  ....  So, those on the other side of the building, who cannot see John, are signaled by the phone when he goes down.

 

Actually, John has already come around the end of the building by then -- and we see his PoV, which includes the area of interest (only partially blocked by The Truck), before the bicycle hits.  If he can see them, presumably they can see him coming.

 

I was thinking of people either around the building he falls next to, or behind the truck.

 

So here's John's POV.  No blood on the body, no spatter line on the sidewalk.  If someone is going to switch out this for Sherlock, we have just about the time of one ring to do it before the truck moves off and people surround the body. 

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

I'm not sure we (or John) could say for sure whether we're seeing blood from that angle and distance or not.

 

Later on, the pool of blood is mostly under and right next to Sherlock's head, and in the shot above, the head is casting a shadow in roughly the same area that would make it difficult to discern the color.  The only time the blood is fairly obvious is in the close-up shots when John finally arrives.

 

It's not so obvious in the view from the roof as Sherlock is hauled off on the stretcher.  In fact, at least two people (including me) posted the "missing blood" online as a continuity error, not realizing that the blood looked merely dark in the overhead shot, and was mostly confined to one paving stone (apparently set a bit lower than its neighbors), so it just looked like the stone itself was darker.

 

[Liselle]

 

I don't think the red letters are meant to be clues, just a bit of fun.

 

Oh, sorry; in the first message I wrote out, I put quotation marks around the word 'clues', to stress that I didn't really think they were clues either.