Speculation: How Did Sherlock Do It?

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Maybe Mycroft's doing until Sherlock can prove that he is the real deal and Richard Brooks was the fraud?

[T.o.b.y]

Yes... but why would Sherlock need the news of Moriarty's death to be suppressed?

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Maybe it wasn't Sherlock wanted or needed it suppressed, if Mycroft is involved, who knows what he might have arranged and why?

[T.o.b.y]

Of course, if Moriarty just disappears and nobody knows what became of him, that should create more chaos / instability among the remains of his network than if they knew for sure that he was dead.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Yup, that would work for sure, I would think.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Alternatively, someone suggested a while back that maybe the Holmes boys were planning to keep Moriarty "alive" for the time being, perhaps by texting from his phone, in order to lead his gang into a trap.

 

[T.o.b.y]

You guys are so smart. Of course, Moriarty is more of a position than a person! His people hardly ever had direct contact with him, probably only very few know what he even looks like. It would be the easiest thing for Mycroft to impersonate him. Oh no, so Mycroft could combine "being" the government with "being" the criminal underworld as well... Talk about absolute power!

[Carol the Dabbler]

Credit where credit is due -- I believe that this post by Julia Mae is the origin of the "impersonating Moriarty by using his phone" idea (when we were wondering whether his henchmen might have followed John to the cemetery):

 

So, here's an idea.  What if they haven't told anyone Moriarty is dead?  Molly helps hide that fact and Sherlock cracks his passcode and is using James' mobile to send text orders to his henchmen and has sent them all off to Belarus or someplace, so he knows they are not in the cemetery.

 

Howzzat?

 

[T.o.b.y]

By this time, I am fairly certain that Sherlock just jumped off the roof and didn't die because he landed on something other than the pavement. But what? Trash? Laundry? Mattress? What can you jump onto from that height that is easily available and removable and will save you from coming to serious harm? Somebody somewhere suggested a fireman's net held by helpers. My problem with that is how would Sherlock have prevented Moriarty from seeing it? I still believe that he had to take Moriarty looking down from the roof when it happened into account.

 

All theories I know of (and find even remotely possible) rely on a lot of manpower. At least 4 members of the homeless network (or hospital staff he bribed), plus Molly, plus maybe the driver of the truck, plus maybe Mycroft. Quite a lot who would know the whole thing was fake - and among them people who are "relaxed about bribes", and those probably not just Sherlock's. What would be the point to fool John into telling a credible story about the event, when any of the helpers could go sell another version to the press any time they wanted?

[Carol the Dabbler]

What would be the point to fool John into telling a credible story about the event, when any of the helpers could go sell another version to the press any time they wanted?

 

That is precisely what I've been wondering about!  And where the theories all seem to break down.

 

I'm not bothering to wrack my brain over that part, though, because I figure either they'll explain it neatly -- or they'll just ignore it.  (Likewise the "what if Moriarty had lived" and/or "what if the snipers can see where Sherlock lands" questions.)

 

[T.o.b.y]

I think they'll ignore it. But it could give John a few good lines - I mean, it would be totally understandable if he wanted to know why he, of all people, had to be left in the dark when half of London probably knew what had really happened.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I'm sure we'll hear him say something along those lines!  Even in canon, both Mycroft and Mrs. Hudson knew before Watson did.

 

[T.o.b.y]

Yes, and good old Dr Watson saw absolutely no problem with that. He was just happy to have his friend back and be fed a little brandy before hearing a good story and going on to hunt down a killer. Holmes was snapping at him within a few hours of his return, and he just shrugged it off. You've got to love that man, don't you? Even though I have a feeling I'll love John even more when he shows the kind of totally different reaction we all expect.

[Carol the Dabbler]

You go, John! 

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

In the  question of people "selling out" Sherlock after the event, he probably knows enough about the people in his network to know who would rat him out and who would not. He can trust them to find two children dying of mercury poisoning in a abandoned candy factory. He probably pays his network well, but there would have to be more then money to keep them so loyal. Maybe they too are adrenaline junkies, or they just enjoy being able to outwit and out think the police. Sherlock gives them purpose, keeps the wolf of abject poverty from the door.

[T.o.b.y]

 there would have to be more then money to keep them so loyal.

 

Oh, interesting point, I had never really thought about that. I wonder how he came to work with them in the first place?

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

People on the street are invisible to the public, but they see and hear everything. They know first hand what kind of battle it is to just to stay alive day after day. Probably when Sherlock was a junky, he knew this world as well. Still does, "When you walk with Sherlock Holmes you see the battle field. You have seen it already, haven't you?"

[Loekie]

I think the person who fell, was the dead body of Moriarty, kept upstanding from behind. Upon the roof, Sherlock held his face above the body of Moriarty. When falling, the face was a replacement of Sherlock, made by Molly.

[Janie]

I don't think so. Sherlock wouldn't have enough time to do that and we could see that it was definitely him who jumped off the roof.

[Loekie]

In the real story of Sherlock Holmes, it was also Moriarty who fell, not Sherlock!

[Selena]

In the real story of Sherlock Holmes, it was also Moriarty who fell, not Sherlock!

 

They both fell, did they not? The story was, after all, about a heroic sacrifice by Holmes because Doyle thought that would satisfy the fans.

Well, they were both meant to fall and Holmes did fall a short way ere he managed to rescue himself. Which, I suppose, is one way of interpreting the events in The Reichenbach Fall.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

  In BBC Sherlock, it seems that "Reichenbach Fall" is meant more for Moriarty then for Holmes. Moriarty adopts the name Richard Brook which translate into "Reichenbach" and he falls further in the end then Sherlock does.  Richard Brook dies, Sherlock Holmes does not.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I think the person who fell, was the dead body of Moriarty, kept upstanding from behind. Upon the roof, Sherlock held his face above the body of Moriarty. When falling, the face was a replacement of Sherlock, made by Molly.

 

A whole lot of people agree with you, Loekie.  I'm not one of them, but then again, I can't really prove that you're wrong.

 

In the real story of Sherlock Holmes, it was also Moriarty who fell, not Sherlock!

 

That's an excellent point.  I'd never made that connection.

 

They both fell, did they not? The story was, after all, about a heroic sacrifice by Holmes because Doyle thought that would satisfy the fans.

Well, they were both meant to fall and Holmes did fall a short way ere he managed to rescue himself. Which, I suppose, is one way of interpreting the events in The Reichenbach Fall.

 

When Conan Doyle wrote "The Final Problem," yes, they both fell.  But then in his revisionist version, "The Empty House," Holmes says, "We tottered together upon the brink of the fall.  I have some knowledge, however, of baritsu, or the Japanese system of wrestling, which has more than once been very useful to me.  I slipped through his grip, and he with a horrible scream kicked madly for a few seconds, and clawed the air with both his hands.  But for all his efforts he could not get his balance, and over he went."

 

So, no, in Conan Doyle's second version, Holmes doesn't fall at all, only Moriarty.

 

I still disagree with Loekie for other reasons, but cannot dispute that particular point.

 

[Selena]

 

When Conan Doyle wrote "The Final Problem," yes, they both fell.  But then in his revisionist version, "The Empty House," Holmes says, "We tottered together upon the brink of the fall.  I have some knowledge, however, of baritsu, or the Japanese system of wrestling, which has more than once been very useful to me.  I slipped through his grip, and he with a horrible scream kicked madly for a few seconds, and clawed the air with both his hands.  But for all his efforts he could not get his balance, and over he went."

 

So, no, in Conan Doyle's second version, Holmes doesn't fall at all, only Moriarty.

 

I still disagree with Loekie for other reasons, but cannot dispute that particular point.

 

 

Ah, yes, you are quite right. Ahem.

My apologies.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

When Conan Doyle wrote "The Final Problem," yes, they both fell.  But then in his revisionist version, "The Empty House,"... Holmes doesn't fall at all, only Moriarty.

 

Ah, yes, you are quite right. Ahem.

My apologies.

 

What with all of the versions there are, it's easy enough to be confused!  For example, as I recall, Downey's Holmes does go over the edge (but apparently catches hold of something just under it).  And it sure looks like Cumberbatch's Holmes falls all the way down (give or take).  Also, in all versions, we're privy to Watson's vivid imaginings of The Worst.