Episode 2.3, "The Reichenbach Fall"

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Yup, "The Empty Hearse" is the official title of the first episode, then "Sign of Three", the last episode is called "His Last Vow".

[Carol the Dabbler]

"The Empty Hearse" is a (relatively dreadful) pun on the equivalent Conan Doyle story, "The Empty House."

 

"The Sign of Three" is apparently based on Conan Doyle's novel The Sign of the Four, and "His Last Vow" is an obvious reference to Conan Doyle's final Holmes story, "His Last Bow" -- though presumably there will eventually be more episodes!

 

[SH/LotR/Zelda Fan]

There'd better be more episodes. Especially since s3 ends with a slow-motion shot.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Season Three is supposed to end with another cliff hanger. Maybe that's why CB, MF, and Moffat talked about commissioning a Season Four. I mean yes, Twin Peaks ended in a cliff hanger never to be resurrected again. But I doubt the people behind Sherlock would want to see that happen.

[Caya]

Twin Peaks was a cliffhanger , Could be the fact that my English was a lot worse back then, but that show confused the [censored] out of me. Plus my hair still stands on end when I happen to hear the main theme .

[Carol the Dabbler]

There'd better be more episodes. Especially since s3 ends with a slow-motion shot.

 

 

That slow-motion shot was the last shot filmed.  But that doesn't mean that it'll be at the end of the episode as aired -- in fact, it could be used anywhere, even at the beginning.

 

It was also filmed without any sound being recorded, by the way -- that's what "MOS" means.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I've always been puzzled by the scene where Lestrade and Donovan are driving from Scotland Yard to the Tower of London.  The two locations are on the same side of the Thames, and yet we see them crossing a bridge.  Why?

I just checked a map, and even though the Tower of London is on the north side of the Thames, the river then take a bend, so that Scotland Yard is actually on the west side of it.  One perfectly sensible route between the two places takes a shortcut across the South Bank, and therefore crosses two bridges.
 
Here's a link to a map showing that route.  And if anyone knows how to turn that into an embeddable image, please let me know!

 

[T.o.b.y]

Thanks! Wow, that is exactly the kind of thing I don't even notice. I guess I'm way too busy watching Sherlock's eyes or whatever... They could have filmed that in an entirely different city and I wouldn't have seen anything wrong.

[T.o.b.y]

While drying my tears after watching this episode once again, it popped into my head that Sherlock seems to think "IOU" has to be some kind of code, too, just like us :-) He is tapping with his fingers on the microscope while he mutters it to himself in front of Molly, so he probably linked it to Moriarty's finger tapping earlier and tried to make sense of it that way. Only later did it occur to him that the code would be binary.

 

I am beginning to believe that the 3 letters are just a threat, like the pips in The Great Game, meaning "I owe you a fall and this is how I am going to bring it about, be afraid". Moriarty just likes to confuse people.

 

Martin Freeman deserves some kind of medal for the speech at the grave site. And how Mrs Hudson totters among the gravestones is also very touching. I wonder what she did do with all Sherlock's stuff. If she gave it away, he's going to have another unpleasant surprise when he comes home. And what happened to the Baker St apartment? If Mycroft knew his brother wasn't dead, he might have rented it and kept it free, if he was feeling nice for a change... He certainly does not look like he was mourning for him when we see him at the club - although I guess you can never be sure with a Holmes.

 

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

 

If Mycroft knew his brother wasn't dead, he might have rented it and kept it free, if he was feeling nice for a change...

 

   That is certainly what happened in the original story, but how Gatiss and company handle it is anyone's guess.

[Carol the Dabbler]

People keep saying that John isn't living there any more, but all he says to Mrs. Hudson is "I can’t go back to the flat again – not at the moment" (verified with Ariane DeVere's transcript).  And that's shortly after we've seen him sitting in the flat, by the fireplace.  So who knows exactly what he means by "at the moment."

 

I see John getting a "real" job, not only for the income, but perhaps even more importantly, so he'll have something meaningful to do with his time.  Between a full-time salary and his army pension, he could presumably afford to rent the flat on his own.

 

Admittedly, that's not how it went in Conan Doyle's stories, but in those he was already married to Mary Morstan before Holmes "died" -- so Sherlock is already different.

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

   And knowing Mrs. Hudson, she might be willing to give him an even better deal on the rent if it would keep him there? Or hold it for him just in case he does decide to come back at some point?

[Carol the Dabbler]

I would think she'd appreciate having John around, as well as being sympathetic enough to at least keep giving him Sherlock's discount.

 

[T.o.b.y]

Don't you think he might be living with Mary? I mean, nowadays people often live together before getting married.

 

I don't think staying in Baker St would make much sense, even if he were on his own, at least not if he wanted to move on. The place was officially Sherlock's and John's, but in effect, it belonged to Sherlock, who had filled it with his furniture and other stuff before they even moved in. Even if all of that was put in boxes, there would still be plenty of traces of him there (like the holes in the wall). It's hard to imagine John would want to live in that atmosphere.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

 

Even if all of that was put in boxes, there would still be plenty of traces of him there (like the holes in the wall). It's hard to imagine John would want to live in that atmosphere.

 

  I feel much the same way, it would be like living with a ghost and one you couldn't just pass off an overly wild imagination. Couldn't see Mary trying to compete with a "dead" Sherlock in his own home either.  But what must Mrs. Hudson have thought when Sherlock's brother paid his rent month after month? 

 

  It will be interesting to see what Moffat and Gatiss has come up with. Oooohhh... Sherlock is the master of hiding in plan sight! Maybe he remains in 221b in some sort of disguise or has Lestrade and Molly do it playing husband and wife. They do seem to have a thing for each other. Lestrade sure oogled her at the Christmas party.

[T.o.b.y]

You think Lestrade would be the right guy to convince Molly to get over Sherlock? Why not, actually... Now, should that go in the "what would you like to see in series 3" thread or the "subtext" thread? ^_^

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Naawww....just tossing wool around.

[T.o.b.y]

I think Sherlock wouldn't be too pleased if Molly paired of with anybody. He wasn't so dismissive about "Jim" for nothing. My impression is that he wants his few friends to stay just the way they are - with him the center of attention.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

  But if he is growing as Moffat and Gatiss hints that he will in this new Season, and if he is supposed to be dead and if Molly and Lestrade aren't really married...I mean...there are two bedrooms after all. The pretense wouldn't be hard to carry off.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Sure, John might very well be living with Mary -- but of course not before he meets her, and I have no idea when that's supposed to occur.

 

Before that, if he feels the need to get his own fresh space, I'd think he'd at least take the time (fairly soon) to sort out Sherlock's things and rescue his own belongings, so as to leave Mrs. Hudson's property tidied up well enough that repairs can be started.  That is, of course, unless Mycroft is paying her to maintain the Sherlock Holmes Museum.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

... Sherlock is the master of hiding in plan sight! Maybe he remains in 221b in some sort of disguise ....

 

I like that idea!  So there's this wizened old bookseller moves into the flat (somehow not minding the mess), and of course John wouldn't intrude on what is now someone else's home.  Hmm....

 

Would that mean Sherlock is still fooling Mrs. Hudson as well, or -- as in canon -- does she learn the truth while John's still in the dark?

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

In that snippet where she is at the kitchen sink when the door opens, maybe she's been in the dark as well. Hard to tell.

[T.o.b.y]

Total change of topic, as usual...

 

I still can not get my mind around what happens in that strange conversation just before Moriarty dies. They kind of left us ordinary mortals far behind. What on earth would Sherlock have done to Moriarty to force him to call off the assassins? What is Moriarty's pressure point? None, as far as I can see. He loves nobody, he's not afraid to die, he can stand torture perfectly well... And why is it of importance that Sherlock is "prepared to burn" (in hell, I suppose he means?). Why would Moriarty care?

 

One far fetched idea is, that maybe Moriarty had come to the conclusion very early on in his life that you can not be truly special, extraordinary, and have friends and be a good man as well. So he chose being special (or had no choice, because of who he is). That would make him envious of Sherlock for "having it all" and desperate to prove that it doesn't work, can't last. So Sherlock assuring him that he isn't "one of the angels" finally proves Moriarty's point - you can't be great and good. If that were true, he shot himself because he thought he won, and having won, there was now nothing left to live for.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Ooh, you've done a splendid introduction for one of my pet theories!

 

You'll remember that Sherlock had just deduced the existence of a recall code that Moriarty could use, if he so chose, to call off the assassins.  Moriarty has asserted that even Mycroft couldn't force him to use that code.  Sherlock assures him that he is NOT Mycroft -- he may be on the side of good, but he's not a "good guy" -- he's willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his ends, just as Moriarty is.  Moriarty realizes that Sherlock would torture him good and proper, using techniques just as disgusting as those he has used on his own victims -- and he knows that under that sort of torture, he'd cave in and sing like a canary.  So he stops himself from talking.

 

[Caya]

Hmm, I somehow have difficulties imagining Mycroft having scruples of any kind. But that does pose a difficult question - what would Sherlock do that Mycroft wouldn't?