Episode 4.0: The Abominable Bride (alias The Special)

[Arcadia]

Man, I don't remember (or never noticed) half the stuff some of you are referring to. I so need to see this again!
 
I remember thinking that Sherlock was high pretty much all the way through HLV, partly because it helped explain to me his mistakes and reactions at Appledore. He simply wasn't at the top of his game in that business, imo. So I can easily buy that he was high when he got on the plane ... but not to the point where he was out of control. People on drugs can act pretty normal sometimes, I don't think it would invalidate all the feels we were sensing. I do think he had to have taken more after he was on board, though.
 
I hadn't thought about it when I was watching it, but I love the idea that all the characters are represented as Sherlock sees them, not as they actually are. Still mulling over what that might mean, especially for Molly (she's one of the boys?) My guess is that he thinks of Mycroft as a fat man because 1) Mycroft was actually fat once, 2) he struggles to stay lean, and 3) it's one area where Sherlock excels over his brother, so he rubs it in when he can. But mostly I think Mycroft was fat because it was just brilliantly funny. :D
 
Oh, and I don't think anyone else has mentioned it, but the most sustained laugh for me was when they were trying to communicate in the Diogenese Club. Apparently Sherlock finds that "silence" rule to be even more ridiculous than I do!

[sfmpco]

Well, there are theories out in fandom right now that because of the conversation and bet with fat Mycroft that it's foreshadowing Mycroft will die in S4.  Not sure how I feel about it that theory except that I hope it's not true.

[sfmpco]

My issue with Sherlock being high at all or taking drugs on board is - where did he get them?  I would think he was put in solitary immediately after being arrested at Appledore and then moved straight from Appledor to the airplane.  So unless somehow he arranged secretly for the drugs to be ON he plane waiting for him... even so, where did he get the drugs to be high at the end if he was under constant security?

[Van Buren Supernova]

Oh, and I don't think anyone else has mentioned it, but the most sustained laugh for me was when they were trying to communicate in the Diogenese Club. Apparently Sherlock finds that "silence" rule to be even more ridiculous than I do!

Why?

You don't like John's potato and Blue Fishmonger story? :lol:

 

I used to know sign language because my cousin is deaf, but only recognise some of them because we talked more in slang/informal sign language (yes it exists at least between me and her) and it's been sooooo long since the last time we met.

But I really want to show her that clip and ask her to translate for me.

[Arcadia]

And the whole "what made you like that" scene will give us some sleepless nights, I can tell you!

Yes, they didn't exactly clear that up, did they? Arghgh! :D Even if Sherlock "made himself", why such an extreme personality? Something else to hope they expand on someday....

 

 

 

 

My one big question mark is this, maybe you can help me to wrap my head around it:

Why is Sherlock convinced that the overdose and resulting "investigations" helped him prove Moriarty's death?

Sherlock thinks taking drugs improves his thinking. Which it probably does - short term.

 

Yeah, of course, but how did this particular case help him solve Moriarty's case? I see some parallels, yes (two people seemlingly blowing their head off and then seemingly being alive again), but in other regards the two cases are so different that solving the one case doesn't mean having solved the other one as well. I don't think that he has proved anything but that it is theoretically possible to fake your suicide by headshot and of course that he can solve ancient cases by nothing but the power of his mind. But Moriarty's death he didn't prove at all. Why is he so certain that he did just that, though? Sherlock being so convinced of his own breakthrough makes me wonder whether I didn't understand something - since that's so much more likely than him being wrong.

 

Did I imagine this? But at the Falls (or maybe a little later) didn't Sherlock say he knew Moriarty was dead, because he was alone? That is ... the women help each other, so they survive; Sherlock has John, so he survives; but Moriarty is alone, so he doesn't survive. A bit poetic, but I thought I heard that as the explanation? No?

 

.... Sherlock Holmes is not just about mysteries. It's about solving them. Writer are too busy creating mysteries and just simply answering some of them for the sake of it. As a great fan of Sherlock, I want to be fooled not just be in the dark. The special was more of a ploting device for season 4 which is no compliment. It may even work if the next episode in the next week. But when you take 2-3 years to return this simply doesn't work. It's just a poor way to create excitement rather than showing what Sherlock has been for three season. As a stand alone episode, it falls short. Magic it has is only because of what Season 4 can be. Not for what it is. (except the Victorian Visuals) Again Sherlock is about Charm of solving the mystery. Not The Cliff hangers or so many unanswered mysteries that writers won't answer or "don't dare" to answer (because of over hype) in any near future. This is bad storytelling (Even if you are excited about next season). Especially bad for a Stand alone.

But it's not a standalone episode, is it? Of all the episodes they've done, this one is by far the most dependent on the viewers having seen what happened before. Which shows a lot of faith in the viewers, imo. I can't be the only one who barely pays attention to most shows, even the ones I like; because I don't need to in order to get what they're about. That's probably one of many reasons I love Sherlock so much; it makes you work for understanding.

 

It's a standalone only in the sense that the preceding episode was shown two years earlier, and the next episode won't be for another year or so. But narratively, there's no break in the action. I don't consider that bad storytelling ... rather, it's a creative use of the circumstances. Most series have weeks to establish characters and ideas; Sherlock has a few episodes every few years, yet they still manage to have character development and an ongoing backstory. I think that's very inventive storytelling. New rules for a new format, and all that. Another reason I love the show!

 

....

 

I don't watch Sherlock because I love Doyle's books or the mysteries.

I watch the series for the psychology of this BBC Sherlock, the genius, the addict, the socially incompetent man with so many hidden emotions. And most of all, I watch it for his bond/relationship with John. Looking back, it turned out this episode was all about that and that's what made it great.

 

So, my expectations were not great but I ended up in love with it and can't (but have to) wait to watch it again.

Same here.

 

still a long time

 

I laughed when they showed Mycroft fat did anyone else?

I most certainly did! I'm still laughing about it, in fact. :D

 

 

I've seen it three times now, and I'll be seeing it in the theater on Tuesday. A few thoughts before I jump into the actual discussion:

• I've changed my mind: sex really does bother Sherlock....
• Speaking of, thank heavens they toned the S/J subtext down. I'm not going to say it's gone entirely, but I don't think they are using that to play with the audience any longer.
• MF stole the show for me. His Watson/John was nuanced and lively, and he didn't lose any of his sparkle even when switching back and forth between eras.
• Although there were about a million in-universe explanations and justifications for it, I'm not 100% sold on BC's portrayal of Victorian Holmes. Yes, this is how his drug-addled mind hopes he would act in another era, but to me, it lacked just a bit of the sparkle and sass I like about the modern Sherlock. I even felt that there was a bit of a barrier between him and Watson in places. Like I said, it's growing on me, but I really want my curly-haired smart-aleck back for S4.

Agree to all the above. I found the Victorian Holmes too cold and inaccessible -- canon, I suppose, but I must prefer the more flawed, relatable modern version. Although his smile at John at the end was a beautiful thing.

 

Well, there are theories out in fandom right now that because of the conversation and bet with fat Mycroft that it's foreshadowing Mycroft will die in S4. Not sure how I feel about it that theory except that I hope it's not true.

I have to admit I thought of that too. But it seems unlikely to me, and also hope it's not true. It did sound, though, as if Mycroft thought he wouldn't be around as much anymore, and I started wondering -- could Mycroft have made some sort of deal with the devil? Somehow saving Sherlock in return for not being as available to him in the future, or something like that? It was a fleeting thought, but there were certainly overtones of loss in regards to Mycroft's final scenes, weren't there? And it would be a nice story, Mycroft sacrificing something so Sherlock can have ... well, happiness, I  suppose. Hmmm, that sounds suspiciously like sentiment....

[Inge l-w]

This is turning quite lively, but the plot holes remain, glaringly obvious, even from their attempt to fix TRF yet again, Parv is absolutely right that it was mostly filler material while they polish S4, they have gone down to the levels of Michael Caine and Billy Wilder as showing a Sherlock Holmes completely dependent on things like drugs (solitary confinement under MI5 is not conducible to procuring even an aspirin without someone knowing about it), so where did he get them? But they sank to an all-time low in their overdoing it on the women thing! As they very well know from the 56 stories and four novels, most have to do with domestic problems that lead to crime: Holmes understands women reasonably well for a gentleman of his age, else he could not solve their multiple crimes ( case in point the short discussion about The Cardboard Box) , this puppet they have made of him is more or less clueless (on purpose, or not, it's not my place to judge!

And the American members should immediately realise that the dream within a dream concept was copied from Inception, and the hallucination through drugs problem appeared first in Deep Space Nine, even before House, MD. They can laugh all the way to the bank, but until when? With Dr Who ratings dropping alarmingly thanks to Mr Moffat...I shall leave you to your own conclusions, as Holmes would say!

[sfmpco]

When they went to the grave of Emilia Ricoletti and we had a high angle shot that came in over the back of a stone angel, my first thought was the Doctor Who episode written by Moffat called "The Weeping Angel."  However, angel imagery was specifically worked into an episode with a man who said in TRF "I may be on the side of angels, but don't think for one second that I am one of them."

[sfmpco]

MYCROFT:  Are you aware of recent theories concerning what is known as paranoia?

WATSON:  Ooh, sounds Serbian.

 

Hmmm.... harkening back to being tortured in a Serbian dungeon?  Is that part of his life creeping back into his drug-addled mind palace?

[sfmpco]

Ha!  If it's Molly that  crawls out of that window as the bride at the end... out of THAT window, then Molly killed Sir Eustace.  

[sfmpco]

MORIARTY:  Did you know that dust is largely composed of human skin?

SHERLOCK:  Yes.

MORIARTY:  Doesn't taste the same, though.  You want your skin fresh. Just a little crispy.

 

Moriarty's lines harken back to "I will skin you" and "I will burn you.  I will burn the heart out of you."

 

Moriarty is still burning Sherlock's heart.

[Detective]

When they went to the grave of Emilia Ricoletti and we had a high angle shot that came in over the back of a stone angel, my first thought was the Doctor Who episode written by Moffat called "The Weeping Angel." However, angel imagery was specifically worked into an episode with a man who said in TRF "I may be on the side of angels, but don't think for one second that I am one of them."

The weeping angels also came to my mind.

 

Blink, from Moffat in DW, is the best episode of Doctor Who (at least of New Who. I haven't seen Classic Who).

[Van Buren Supernova]

It's an unfortunate that I keep having technical problem in office today, I have to be here instead of working. XD

 

...- could Mycroft have made some sort of deal with the devil? Somehow saving Sherlock in return for not being as available to him in the future, or something like that? It was a fleeting thought, but there were certainly overtones of loss in regards to Mycroft's final scenes, weren't there? And it would be a nice story, Mycroft sacrificing something so Sherlock can have ... well, happiness, I  suppose. Hmmm, that sounds suspiciously like sentiment....

There are so much paralels here, with what Sherlock did for John in HLV:

- deal with the devil

- saving in return for not being available in the future

- sacrificing so that the other can have happiness

- definitely sentiment

 

This special makes me feel for Mycroft, the way I feel for Sherlock. Now I am constantly worry about both. Geniuses, how interesting and how tortured they really are.

 

And won't you guy say how much alike they are?

 

If above don't explain enough, I have more:

- Mycroft gambles with life. It's amusing. Sherlock does that in SIP. It's amusing for him. John thinks they are both idiots.

He is most likely right. But they are not, they just need different distraction.

Everyone needs it, it's just different with what common people have.

 

- When John comments about Mycroft's heart, Sherlock says,"There is only a large cavity where that organ should reside."

To which Mycroft replies,"That is family trait."

So, both of them believe that they are heartless.

 

Believe? Want to believe? Want to be? Trying to be? Why?

 

This show is crazy, no wonder I am addicted.

[Van Buren Supernova]

MORIARTY:  Did you know that dust is largely composed of human skin?

SHERLOCK:  Yes.

MORIARTY:  Doesn't taste the same, though.  You want your skin fresh. Just a little crispy.

There is an interesting line after that. Something about skin and people are just dust waiting to be distributed.

Which I assume Sherlock thinks Moriarty is evil who has no regards with human life.

That should motivate him somehow to stay on the side of the angel.

 

Tribute to his rage (that either he himself finds amusing or he gets hell from Mrs.Hudson):

For the sake of Mrs's Hudson wallpaper, I must remind you one false move with your finger and you will be dead.

 

 

(For all posts, I hope I quote correctly. Sorry if I don't)

[sfmpco]

Arwel tweeted this:

 

https://twitter.com/arwelwjones/status/683780934106218502

 

Clever, clever, clever.

[sfmpco]

 

When they went to the grave of Emilia Ricoletti and we had a high angle shot that came in over the back of a stone angel, my first thought was the Doctor Who episode written by Moffat called "The Weeping Angel." However, angel imagery was specifically worked into an episode with a man who said in TRF "I may be on the side of angels, but don't think for one second that I am one of them."

The weeping angels also came to my mind.

 

Blink, from Moffat in DW, is the best episode of Doctor Who (at least of New Who. I haven't seen Classic Who).

 

 

Ah yes, it was indeed called BLINK.  Thank you.

[sfmpco]

So the "Did you make a list?" question only seems to come up now.  Certainly didn't come up in HLV when Mycroft was waiting for Sherlock at 221B.  Maybe they didn't think of it then.  Nevertheless, I'm sure we'll hear more about it in S4.

[J.P.]

Arwel tweeted this:

 

https://twitter.com/arwelwjones/status/683780934106218502

 

Clever, clever, clever.

 

Yupp, have seen it, but don't get it. Can you help?

 

Note to self: Read the canon. Learn Chinese.

[Van Buren Supernova]

I am worse. Don't even know who is Arwel. Should I?

[sfmpco]

 

Arwel tweeted this:

 

https://twitter.com/arwelwjones/status/683780934106218502

 

Clever, clever, clever.

 

Yupp, have seen it, but don't get it. Can you help?

 

Note to self: Read the canon. Learn Chinese.

 

 

It's from the original canon.  Ricoletti and the case of the club foot.  So Ricoletti has come out of a club in Chinatown whose name in Chinese is The CLUB Foot.  It's a play on words and a clever way of working it into the plot by Gatiss.

 

In medical terms, a club foot is a foot that is bent or twisted at a wrong angle at birth.  So it's just a play on the word - club foot, night club, gentleman's club...  it's a club called "The Club Foot."

[sfmpco]

I am worse. Don't even know who is Arwel. Should I?

 

Arwel is the production designer for Sherlock.

[sfmpco]

Interestingly enough, Sherlock knows Mary by her perfume in the opening scenes, something John fails to realize and that Sherlock had missed in HLV.  He doesn’t miss it a second time in TAB, however, when a black-veiled Mary (echoing the black she wore in Magnussen’s flat) appears at 221B.  He deduces her correctly, thus correcting that error he had made before.  That’s what a lot of TAB is – correcting/fixing errors he had made.

[J.P.]

 

I am worse. Don't even know who is Arwel. Should I?

 

Arwel is the production designer for Sherlock.

 

The Lord of The Set and a funny fellow with wits and humor. I suspect that he might be the secret mastermind of the whole production. :D

[Boton]

 

 

 

Do I believe he was high when he first stepped on the plane?  I don't know, but Mycroft believed it.  It's weird to think he was high while saying goodbye to John and Mary, but that's the thing with drug users/addicts.  They lay a foundation of lies that you walk onto like a carpet and never think aout it until that carpet is ripped out from under you.  Still, how sad to think he was high getting on the plane.  It is also sad to think that perhaps he had taken the extra drugs on board to perhaps fatally OD rather than face death on the MI6 mission.  I don't think of Sherlock as suicidal despite his flaws, but perhaps he really did feel his life was over and what was the point.  Certainly a week in solitary confinement had probably pushed his brain over the edge and he wasn't thinking clearly anyhow.

 

 

I'm more curious about logistics; how did he get the drugs if he'd spent a week in solitary and then was moved to the plane?  Maybe Mycroft allowed a bit of an indulgence, not knowing how far Sherlock would take it, and that's part of what Mycroft says is his fault?

 

In any event, I find his near-OD and his drug use for how-many-ever-hours to be strangely understandable and compelling.  If you'd just killed someone (and were the same person who was stunned to silence by "witnessing" a murder in TGG, let alone committing one in HLV), then spent a week in various forms of self-recrimination, followed by the near-certainty of your own probably-painful impending death, and had to top it off by holding it together while you said goodbye to your best friend, your good female friend, your brother, and your country, then how many drugs is the appropriate amount to take?  It seems that the answer could justifiably be "enough to get through having to do the public performance, and then perhaps enough again to make sure you don't die in a torture cell."  I find myself more and more on Sherlock's side that this was pretty justifiable drug excess.

[J.P.]

Can a Club Foot have any connection to Mrs Whatwashername arches, Sherlock was kind to deduce?

[Van Buren Supernova]

That’s what a lot of TAB is – correcting/fixing errors he had made.

Agree.

Except that he would shoot Magnussen all over again.

Because he would do anything to protect Mary for John, and John should never ever doubt that (or maybe implies that he should never have to feel guilty for that).

 

 

I'm more curious about logistics; how did he get the drugs if he'd spent a week in solitary and then was moved to the plane?  Maybe Mycroft allowed a bit of an indulgence, not knowing how far Sherlock would take it, and that's part of what Mycroft says is his fault?

I believe Mycroft refers to their past.

Sherlock would have a way to smuggle the drug. MI5 security sucks, Mary cracks it with her smartphone. :P

 

In any event, I find his near-OD and his drug use for how-many-ever-hours to be strangely understandable and compelling.  If you'd just killed someone (and were the same person who was stunned to silence by "witnessing" a murder in TGG, let alone committing one in HLV), then spent a week in various forms of self-recrimination, followed by the near-certainty of your own probably-painful impending death, and had to top it off by holding it together while you said goodbye to your best friend, your good female friend, your brother, and your country, then how many drugs is the appropriate amount to take?  It seems that the answer could justifiably be "enough to get through having to do the public performance, and then perhaps enough again to make sure you don't die in a torture cell."  I find myself more and more on Sherlock's side that this was pretty justifiable drug excess.

I agree with you, wholeheartedly.

I even understand and on his side for shooting Magnussen.