Episode 2.2 ,"The Hounds Of Baskerville"

[T.o.b.y]

Neither did I ever consider that possibility, but it would also explain why Frankland runs off in panic when he hears another howl.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

It kind of made sense to me, because Frankland put down pressure plates all around the Hollow that would release the gas there and since there were caves it was a perfect place for a dog to hole up and it is the Hollow where the "hound" is usually sighted. Especially since the only people who frequented the Hollow seemed to be the Knight's, father and son.

 

  From my point of view, I think Frankland was very capable of murder. He was doing it to Henry is very slow doses. I also think Frankland was behind the freakish events of Henry's yard lights. It was all a campaign to drive Henry mad and to suicide. He knew what the gas was doing and he did nothing at all to stop it. Animal testing was not enough for him. He wanted to see how it affected people. He may have been using the "cold room" to tweak the gas, trying out different recipes.

 

  If Mr. Knight did catch Frankland in his experiment that night, that means that Henry would be affected by the drug. Easy for a scientist to explain away as would have been "an accidental death by blunt force trauma" of Mr. Knight simply falling and hitting his head.  He may have decided to wait to see what Henry's reaction to that night was before acting. One disappearance is a mystery, a father and son going missing the exact same night..... is police business no holds bared with a child at risk.....not something Frankland would want to invite right away. But when young Henry credits his father's death to a "gigantic hound" then Frankland can breath easy and continue his experiments unhindered because who is going to believe a story like that from a clearly disturbed child.

[Earendil]

If Mr. Knight did catch Frankland in his experiment that night, that means that Henry would be affected by the drug. Easy for a scientist to explain away as would have been "an accidental death by blunt force trauma" of Mr. Knight simply falling and hitting his head.  He may have decided to wait to see what Henry's reaction to that night was before acting.

 

Frankland was very lucky: as Henry was running away in panic with a traumatic and drugged mind from the Hollow, he met a dog barking at him (although in a friendly way) - his mind associates the 2 together: fear and stimulus, this was how the substance worked. (And I'm pretty sure he could also read that word 'H.O.U.N.D.' from Frankland's jumper, although later he could only revoke 'LIBERTY IN' in hypnosis.)

 

Did I tell you guys how much I love this forum? I always learn new insights, new ideas, and it is such a fun!

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

 

Frankland was very lucky: as Henry was running away in panic with a traumatic and drugged mind from the Hollow, he met a dog barking at him (although in a friendly way) - his mind associates the 2 together: fear and stimulus, this was how the substance worked.

Exactly, and Frankland knew that being one of the scientists working on the original project that got shut down.

 

As for the H.O.U.N.D jumper Frankland was wearing that night, it did seem to stick with Henry although he didn't recognize it for what it was. It was Sherlock that had to ask him why did he use such an archaic word as hound, "why say hound?" and it was Sherlock that figured out that "hound" actually was an acronym.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Did I tell you guys how much I love this forum? I always learn new insights, new ideas, and it is such a fun!

 

Thanks!  That's all due to members like you, who know how to use what's between their ears, and enjoy sharing their thoughts.

[Earendil]

Thank you, Carol.

 

One thing bothered me in this episode, but I think I've found an explanation. We know that Henry was rich , but he travelled by train to visit Sherlock and ask for help. Why didn't he drive there? I know about the parking problems in London, but still. He was in a hurry (he caught the first train), so a car would have been faster and more comfy. 

So I think he has been taking antidepressants or even antipsychotics and with those medicines one shouldn't drive a car. 

Does it make sense? 

[Pamela]

Sounds good to me.  And just seeing the state he was in, he wasn't in a good emotional state to be driving.  Good catch.

[Janie]

Or maybe he just didn't have a driving licence...

[Pamela]

Yes, that's another idea.  Rich people often don't.

[Earendil]

Or maybe he just didn't have a driving licence...

Yes, I also thought of that.

 

Yes, that's another idea.  Rich people often don't.

 

I'm not sure. Rich people like cars and speeding. And even if they don't have a driving licence, they have a driver/schauffeur. And I think living in the countryside having a driving licence is a must.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Probably with his nerves so shot, driving could be just to stressful for him to cope with.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Interesting conjectures.

 

I'm thinking that Henry's money may have been inherited, enough to live on and maintain appearances -- but just barely.

 

I knew a fellow like that once.  He and his elderly mother were living on a trust fund set up by his late father.  They lived in a fancy apartment building, but when it went condo, they couldn't afford to buy their unit, so they had to move to another fancy apartment building.  He had never been expected to work, because they were "wealthy," so they were living a high-profile lifestyle while unable to afford the sort of things that we ordinary middle-class folks took for granted.  Oh, and even though the city had an excellent subway system, he always took a cab.  Always.

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

  You make an interesting point, Carol. John deduces by the house that Henry must be rich, which Henry admits to, and yet, the house is in ill repair. Sherlock notices "damp" which means there is a rather serious leak somewhere that Henry is ignoring.....no money for the repair job, perhaps?

[Carol the Dabbler]

Good point about the "damp" (which I take to mean either water stains or mold on the ceiling).  I've always interpreted the remark as merely a (very awkward) way of changing the subject, but you're right, that would be a very odd thing to say (even for Sherlock) if it weren't true.

 

Old houses are like that, of course, hard to keep up with.  But we see no sign of hired help, either, even though a place that size was probably designed for some.  If Henry feels constrained not to work (due to his inherited status), then he'd have enough time on his hands to keep things as tidy as we see them, but perhaps not the expertise to do repairs himself.

 

Poor fellow, living alone in that big isolated house.  No wonder he's an easy target for Frankland.

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

 

Poor fellow, living alone in that big isolated house.  No wonder he's an easy target for Frankland.

 

 

  Yup, with Frankland still acting as the "concerned uncle" figure...it's a very good thing that Henry invested in that fateful train ride to London and the visit to 221b Baker Street when he did.

[mnfe]

Just rewatched this one again with hubby.  I caught on to the leaky pipes and the fog as soon as Sherlock said the drug was aerosolized during my first viewing, but hubby didn't catch that and I had to explain it to him.  It surprised me that it wasn't as obvious to him (he usually catches what I do), so I guess I can see why people were confused.  I was also stunned that John, a medical doctor, would go through a door clearly marked with a sign that says Keep Out in a lab where they make weapons, work with genetic engineering, viruses/bacteria, etc.  Sure, it says "or you will catch a cold" but it made me think of a lot of other nasty diseases they could be working with in there.  Especially since someone came out of that door with a gas mask on when they first toured the place (the sign was only up for a second but it's also the placement of the door in the lab room, etc.)  But then I have studied Microbiology, so I tend to think along those lines.

 

Also, agree that it is a bit silly for a super secret CIA group working on chemical warfare drugs to...make and wear shirts advertising the group.  That was fairly ridiculous, I thought.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

To them, it was just a t-shirt. It was't advertising anything really, it was just their names placed in such a way that they spelt out the word HOUND. People do silly things all the time. They were close and thought they were just being clever.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Yeah, but -- the CIA?  While I admit that CIA scientists might be cut from different cloth than CIA field operatives, surely they would still work under rules of extreme secrecy.  Putting the official name of their classified project on a shirt (and it was the official name, because that's how Sherlock looked it up), along with the small-town location, seems like a clear violation of the rules.  If that had actually happened, I'd think those shirts would have been confiscated and burned -- possibly along with the scientists.

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

There is the story of the man who smuggled a whole car out of the automobile factory one piece at a time parts there not quite up to par and where supposed to be junked and destroyed Just because someone tells you to get rid of something, doesn't mean everyone is going to comply.

[Carol the Dabbler]

True.  And Frankland did end up paying for it, didn't he?  That shirt gave Sherlock all the clues he needed.

 

Which may have something to do with why it was in the episode in the first place. 

 

[Caya]

Yeah, but -- the CIA?  While I admit that CIA scientists might be cut from different cloth than CIA field operatives, surely they would still work under rules of extreme secrecy.  Putting the official name of their classified project on a shirt (and it was the official name, because that's how Sherlock looked it up), along with the small-town location, seems like a clear violation of the rules.  If that had actually happened, I'd think those shirts would have been confiscated and burned -- possibly along with the scientists.

 

Well there's theory and then there's practice. I found an old piece by Plaidder in the WayBack Machine listing a couple of blunders the goons working for Nixon made. Okay, none of them were currently with the CIA afaik, but still, they sure should've known better. Human error, as Sherlock might say.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Hey, Martina, I already conceded the point to Fox.

 

But I think there's a real difference between making a dumb mistake and breaking the rules, and the government seems to be really big on rules. Come to think of it, though, their rules mostly apply to other people.  So I guess I've circled back to conceding.

 

(The idea of a CIA sweatshirt still cracks me up, though.    )

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Like the teams that go around, at least on TV, with S.W.A.T.   CIA....FBI on the back of their jackets? Wonder if that happens in real life?

[Carol the Dabbler]

The police teams, at least, actually do that -- I've seen it.  I assume it's to make it obvious that they're police, sort of an alternative police uniform.

 

But presumably the CIA don't want people to know who they are ....

 

[Sacker]

This one I struggled a bit to follow the last 30 minute or so, Rewatch is cued and ready. Liked it, just need to dig a little deeper next viewing.