Episode 2.3, "The Reichenbach Fall"

[Carol the Dabbler]

I just assumed 'someone' was pulling strings...

 

Intriguing thought. Do you have a "who" in mind, or a "why"? Would be interested to hear your ideas.

 

I'm playing with it --

 

Lestrade clearly doesn't have his heart in the chase, but he's been given direct orders by that pompous Chief Inspector.

 

Mycroft? He'd know about the situation soon enough, but it doesn't seem to pose any threat to national security, so I'm not at all sure that he'd interfere. (Besides, the longer Sherlock & John stay on the loose, the worse the charges against them are likely to become, so Mycroft might prefer that they be re-apprehended as soon as possible, for their own good.)

 

Once we've seen Season 3, I guess we'll know for sure whether there really was some sort of intrigue involved -- or if they simply didn't bother to tie up that particular loose end.

[aely]

I didn't really have a specific 'who' and the 'why' was for their own end, it's just the way I felt about the whole situation.

 

My silly fannish heart wants to think the 'who' is Judi Dench's M... who just happens to be 'mummy'

[Undead Medic]

Judi Dench as "Mummy" would be awesome!

[Dexter]

I just assumed 'someone' was pulling strings...

 

That's possible but they'd have needed to give some clues to back that up.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Mycroft? He'd know about the situation soon enough, but it doesn't seem to pose any threat to national security, so I'm not at all sure that he'd interfere.

 

I hereby retract that statement. I was forgetting that Mycroft considers Moriarty a threat to national security. As long as Sherlock and John are loose, they act as bait for Moriarty's hired guns, so if Mycroft considers that helpful toward his ends (whatever they may be), he would indeed pull some strings to keep them out there.

 

Unfortunately, I fear that Mummy is no longer with us -- I believe that Sherlock and Mycroft always refer to her in the past tense. (Lovely thought, though, her pulling strings now and then to protect her boys.)

 

As for playing fair with the audience, in this episode there are apparently lots of clues -- so it may be difficult at this point to tell them apart from random details.

[Alice Holmes]

Yeah, after it was released in the UK Moffat said that the audiences were missing a major clue...don't know what it is yet...

[Carol the Dabbler]

I keep meaning to check out the "How Did Sherlock Do It" thread over in the Spoilers forum.

[aely]

Moffat said that the audiences were missing a major clue...

The Moff also said there was 'something' Sherlock did that was out of character which was a clue; thing is, if you pull apart the ep with a view to even slight OoC-ness, there's a fair bit. Which particular bit he means, I've got no idea!

[Undead Medic]

Probably the last bit any of us will notice!

[Banshee]

There is also the possibility that Mr Moffat might be misleading us all. He seems to enjoy misleading the fans...

[Undead Medic]

There is also the possibility that Mr Moffat might be misleading us all. He seems to enjoy misleading the fans...

 

No... REALLY?

 

Can't say as I'd noticed!

[Alice Holmes]

Yes, exactly...bloody git.

[aely]

Trolls. The pair of them. You can bet they're giggling about it too.

 

Lovely Trolls though. Is it 2013 yet?

[Banshee]

Trolls. The pair of them. You can bet they're giggling about it too.

 

Lovely Trolls though. Is it 2013 yet?

 

I have visions of Moffat and Gatiss sitting in big armchairs, laughing manically while they read things on the internet...

[Fledermaus]

How did Moriarty get the kidnapped girl to scream when she sees Sherlock?

[Undead Medic]

How did Moriarty get the kidnapped girl to scream when she sees Sherlock?

 

This is an interesting question, and one that has been bugging me since I first watched the episode. Was it hypnotic suggestion? or brainwashing. or some other influence of which we're unaware?

[Carol the Dabbler]

How about this:

 

Moriarty "rescued" Claudette and her brother from their kidnappers (who were his own henchmen, of course). He treated the children very kindly and gently (and gave them chocolate!), so that they trusted him. He explained that he was taking them to a safe hiding place (the old factory) because the evil man who had hired the kidnappers would try to find them again and hurt them -- then he showed them Sherlock's picture.

 

Easy-peasy.

[Fledermaus]

I'm really curious how they will manage Holmes resurrection.

With the classic series that's easy because he jumps into a waterfall, but it is a lot more complicated to make it plausible that Holmes jumps from the roof of a building while Watson observes him without noticing that it's a trick.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I'm really curious how they will manage Holmes resurrection.

 

Apparently we're not supposed to discuss "what's going to happen" on the Episode forum, since some people may prefer to wait and be surprised when the third series is broadcast. But obviously a whole lot of people are wondering the same thing, so there's a nifty "Spoilers, Rumors & Speculation" forum where you'll find all sorts of guesses (and can add your own).

[Undead Medic]

How about this:

 

Moriarty "rescued" Claudette and her brother from their kidnappers (who were his own henchmen, of course). He treated the children very kindly and gently (and gave them chocolate!), so that they trusted him. He explained that he was taking them to a safe hiding place (the old factory) because the evil man who had hired the kidnappers would try to find them again and hurt them -- then he showed them Sherlock's picture.

 

Easy-peasy.

 

It certainly could have been that simple, but (and maybe I'm over thinking here) I was kind of expecting something less straightforward knowing our show runners' predilections for chicanery.

[Carol the Dabbler]

It certainly could have been that simple, but (and maybe I'm over thinking here) I was kind of expecting something less straightforward knowing our show runners' predilections for chicanery.

 

You're in agreement with the internet consensus (e.g., the kidnapper used the "Hounds" hallucinogenic gas -- the kidnapper wore a Sherlock mask -- etc.), and as you say, The Powers That Be may choose to mess with our heads, but if they're keeping Moriarty self-consistent, I think the explanation is likely to be pretty straightforward.

 

"I knew you'd fall for it. That's your weakness -- you always want everything to be clever."

-- J. Moriarty

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

By the way, I re-watched "Fall" again last night, and saw something I hadn't noticed before. When Sherlock's "body" is rolled over so that his face is visible, his eyes are open, but his pupils are not dilated. Based on John's front-line experience with deaths in Afghanistan, I would expect this to have seemed odd to him (though considering how shocked and stunned he was at the time, he might not have "noticed" it till some time later).

 

If anyone has more experience with this sort of this than I do, could you please comment?

 

Sherlock could have induced dilation medicinally (as eye doctors do), but that would have interfered somewhat with his vision, and he knew that some of his alternative plans would require him to be in top form in order to survive -- so I'm not particularly surprised that he chose not to do so.

[Brainy]

Since I'm very much interested in languages (I study German and English language) I really love the play on words in this episode.. "I love newspapers...fairy tales..and pretty grim/Grimm ones, too." - I love that sentence! It shows that the producers really are interested in detailedness.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Oh, good, another language buff on the forum! Welcome, Brainy!

 

I agree -- every time I rewatch an episode, I notice new details -- there seems to be no end to them.

[Brainy]

So true! Every time I watch an episode there seems to be something new. For example, I never noticed the I O U graffiti in Reichenbach Fall until recently. I love films that give you something to think about and that make you want to watch them over and over again.

[Carol the Dabbler]

... I never noticed the I O U graffiti in Reichenbach Fall until recently ....

 

Someone on another thread pointed out that at the end, John says, "I was so alone, and I owe you so much" -- which kind of extends the theme, but in the opposite direction.

 

 

Maybeee we'll all have to change our opinion on that topic after we've seen the solution to Reichenbach Fall. Even though I think I'd always pick Sherlock as my favourite character, I think Molly might be a good choice as well.

 

You posted this on the "Who Is Your Favourite Main Character?" thread, but since it concerns this episode, I'll respond here. You've brought up something that's been kicking around in the back of my head for a few weeks now -- "The Reichenbach Fall" is really only half an episode. There is no denying that it has some wonderful scenes with stupendously good acting. But as for how good the overall plot is -- we won't know that for a while.