Why didn't Holmes hide in the English countryside, wearing his inimitable getup rather than going abroad in the Final problem?

[Abhay Saini]

Holmes's acting ability was a distinct skill of his, that the art of observation didn't pierce through, be it Mycroft or Moriarty.

Why then he didn't deign to disguise himself as he had done innumerable times before done, and hide in a little hamlet in the vast English countryside fora  few days, than run the risk of going to Watson and going out of the country.

Plus, recognizing Moriarty as an astute Villain, he could have simply changed his lodgings, his movements far before than giving Moriarty a chance of confrontation.

It all tells that either

1. The Final Problem was hastily written 

2. Holmes' isn't a genius

[Caya]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

How about 3. Holmes was suicidal anyway ? Didn't he talk, in the Final Problem, about how taking Moriarty down would be worth his life or something? (I have to admit it's been a while since I read it)

[besleybean]

Well Holmes survived !

I took it that Moriarty's network was international.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Good question, Abhay Saini -- welcome to Sherlock Forum! 

Well, Holmes was determined to take out Moriarty (whether he himself survived or not, as Caya said).  Hiding out would not have accomplished that -- though of course he could have hidden out till he saw a good opportunity, then taken Moriarty by surprise.  Perhaps he suspected that things might get messy, and didn't care to risk soiling his reputation right there on his home turf.

What really puzzles me is this:  His rationale in The Empty House, if I'm recalling correctly, was that (as Besley said) he wanted to be able to sneak up on members of Moriarty's network.  But he was well aware that at least one of Moriarty's minions had seen him avoid falling into the waterfall, and I don't recall that he was even able to get a good look at that individual, let alone silence him.  Therefore the network was presumably well aware that he had survived, and it seems likely that his subsequent movements were being tracked as well.  So even though Holmes's own friends and colleagues thought he was dead, the very people he was attempting to sneak up on were presumably well aware of his whereabouts.  I've never really understood why he thought there was any point to that.

 

[Abhay Saini]

Thanks Guys for welcoming me!

@Caya

Holmes was tempted to devote his time to the problems furnished by nature, meaning he wanted to dabble into Chemistry or Botany most likely, if he was freed of and he freed society of Moriarty. I think suicidal tendencies are not very probable, as is the need and want of dragging a confrontation with Moriarty, because suspense/indefinite doubt (In Holmes language of Yellow Face) is worse than a short confrontation.

@besleybean

Yeah, but i feel that two Englishmen in touristy places in the Continent are much more conspicuous than in a place like Dartmoor or North of England. Their stealth would have been most effective.

@Carol the Dabbler

I am not sure that he was aware of the fact that Moriarty would successfully escape his and Scotland Yard's clutches. This is clear from the fact that in Europe, Holmes angrily throws down the wire or paper, saying "He escaped, along with his second hand men".

If we consider the Holmes before Moriarty's confrontation or even after that (When he is assaulted by a rough or a has a brick thrown over him or that carriage that almost knocks him down), he was most concerned with escape or hiding. 

Also, when he hid at Pall Mall, no one molested him (Mycroft's lodgings) proving that Moriarty's gang wasn't infallible. They couldn't even trace him to Pall Mall, what to say of those grey hidden stone lodgings in (hound of the baskerville) for example.

Secondly, i agree that your point is also a loophole. Although, if astute enough, Holmes could very well lose his pursuers in Persia or india and make his re-entry to England, most inconspicuous (which he was unable to do unfortunately).