Episode 2.3, "The Reichenbach Fall"

[sfmpco]

Well the most obvious person to have planted it was the assassin doing all the handyman stuff for Mrs. Hudson.  I'm not married to that idea, but at least we know he was in the building fixing stuff for Hudders.

[Carol the Dabbler]

He would've had easy access to the flat, yes.

 

But my impression (based on the editing of this episode) is that he was one of Moriarty's employees, whereas the camera was presumably planted by one of the free lancers looking for the "key code."

 

[sfmpco]

He would've had easy access to the flat, yes.

 

But my impression (based on the editing of this episode) is that he was one of Moriarty's employees, whereas the camera was presumably planted by one of the free lancers looking for the "key code."

 

Probably.  Interesting that Moriarty has either had some musical training or is a great lover of music.  Because he knew specifically what Sherlock was playing.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

Moriarty comes across as a cultured psychopath.

[Bendydoodle Cantaloupe]

Somebody wrote a fanfic where Sherlock and Moriarty survive their suicides because in one reality they do die, but when they broke hell the Universe had to bring them back or else they'd break heaven, too, thus creating the reality we see -- Sherlock and Moriarty still alive.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

That is very creative.

[sfmpco]

Moriarty comes across as a cultured psychopath

 

He does like his fashion and he does know his music.

[Bendydoodle Cantaloupe]

And he knows about the solar system, unlike somebody...

[T.o.b.y]

Well, education and culture don't actually make you a good person, unfortunately. I remember reading a long essay in school to that effect by a famous Swiss author of the 20th century, who was appalled to find that a lot of Nazi big shots were intellectuals, musicians and connoisseurs. I do wish art and beauty had the power to change people for the better, but... as Sherlock would say, what a tender world that would be.

[Carol the Dabbler]

That's consistent with what I've seen -- intellectuals all too often seem to think that their scholarly knowledge entitles them to run other people's lives ("for their own good," of course).

 

[SherlockedCAMPer]

I've seen that too. Just because you have book smarts does not mean you have common sense. I know plenty of smart people who have little common sense or what they think is common sense falls under logical fallacies instead of logical.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Besides which, they don't tend to take into account that what works very well for some people (e.g., them) may not work at all for others.

 

[Arcadia]

I've seen some really non-intellectual people who think the same thing!

[Carol the Dabbler]

That just goes to show you that even intellectuals are human!

 

[sfmpco]

Am I the only one who wishes they could have read Kitty Riley's newspaper expose on Sherlock?

[Carol the Dabbler]

In her transcript of the episode, Ariane DeVere apparently includes everything that we see on the television screen when Mycroft shows John the newspaper announcing the upcoming expose:

 

The headline reads: “SHERLOCK: THE SHOCKING TRUTH” with the strapline “Close Friend Richard Brook Tells All”. The article reveals that it is an Exclusive from Kitty Riley and the text reads: “Super-sleuth Sherlock Holmes has today been exposed as a fraud in a revelation that will shock his new found base of adoring fans. // Out-of-work actor Richard Brook revealed exclusively to THE SUN that he was hired by Holmes in an elaborate deception to fool the British public into believing Holmes had above-average ‘detective skills’. // Brook, who has known Holmes for decades and until recently considered him to be a close friend, said he was at first desperate for the money, but later found he had no” [at which point the text just stops].

 

And no, you're not the only one who would love to see the article itself -- though I assume that what Mycroft fed Moriarty, and therefore what Kitty printed, was just a pack of plausible lies.

 

[SherlockedCAMPer]

Am I the only one who wishes they could have read Kitty Riley's newspaper expose on Sherlock?

No. Between the Sherlockians & the Cumbercollective, I'm sure there are several of us who would like to read it including me.

[sfmpco]

Oh boy would I have like to have read the whole article.  John was certainly disturbed by how much personal information was revealed, and he certainly was concerned about it, but it isn't until The Empty Hearse that we realize all of that was planned out between Mycroft and Sherlock, so Sherlock was playing a very elaborate game.  Even so, Sherlock was unnerved enough about the direction things were going that he really believed he was going to die and went to Molly for help.  He wasn't totally in control of the situation.  Then he got on the rooftop and according to his explanations in TEH he had several different options for jumping, but how would Sherlock have managed a convincing suicide if Moriarty hadn't shot himself?  He was then again put a bit out of control when Moriarty did shoot himself, and then he was actually probably faced with the easiest jump - into the airbag, but then there's the whole situation with John.  You really can't examine the whole jumping off the roof thing too carefully because there are too many "what ifs" to make the set-up plausible.We just have to go along with the fact that he survived through trickery and get on with it.   

 

But I would like to know how much of his supposed life was revealed in the article.

[Arcadia]

Mmm, I don't think he thought he was really going to die when he went to Molly, I think that was just his way of saying he thought he was going to have to fake his death. And, no, you're NOT the only one, I want to read that article too!

[T.o.b.y]

Mmm, I don't think he thought he was really going to die when he went to Molly, I think that was just his way of saying he thought he was going to have to fake his death.

 

That is my take on the scene as well. But who knows. The writers, hopefully.

[sfmpco]

Hmmm.. very interesting thought that he never really believed he was going to die, just that he was going to have to fake it...so his words could have had a double meaning, both of which would have still made him extremely emotional in that scene.

[Arcadia]

I don't know what to make of Sherlock's emotional state in TRF any more. I want to believe his emotions are genuine; but after learning how every move was supposedly planned in advance in TEH, I find myself suspecting him of faking every emotion. Which is unfortunate, because it really undercuts the drama if true. That's the problem with a protagonist who habitually lies; eventually you lose faith with him/her, and then you just don't care any more. I hope the Moftisses know that.

[T.o.b.y]

I don't know what to make of Sherlock's emotional state in TRF any more. I want to believe his emotions are genuine; but after learning how every move was supposedly planned in advance in TEH, I find myself suspecting him of faking every emotion. Which is unfortunate, because it really undercuts the drama if true. That's the problem with a protagonist who habitually lies; eventually you lose faith with him/her, and then you just don't care any more. I hope the Moftisses know that.

 

Well, they are men. And while they have a largely female audience, I don't think they write for a female audience, at least not specifically. And men, at least as far as I can see, don't seem to pay as much attention to emotions and relationships and such things as women do.

 

On the other hand, this same team gave us a third series that was more about emotion and relationships than anything else, and even included a thorough tour through the main protagonist's mind and subconscious. So that can't be the whole explanation.

 

I feel a bit like you. So much, in fact, that I have not seen The Reichenbach Fall much since series 3 aired, it's been a bit ruined for me. I don't think it's quite fair though to write the whole thing off as a big cheat.

 

First of all, there are good reasons for plotting the story the way they did. It's just the thing about Sherlock Holmes - you never know. This "is he or isn't he? Bluff or real? Machine or human? Sociopath or sensitive loner?" is an essential part of the character. He is the biggest mystery of them all, and one that is never solved. Basically, I like that!

 

Then, on some level, it is kind of brilliant how, even though we basically knew by the end of The Reichenbach Fall what had been going on, they still got the audience to share John's sense of betrayal when it all comes out.

 

There is no reason to assume every emotion Sherlock showed during this episode was fake. They took some pains during the second season to show the audience that yes, he is capable of love and fear. (I doubt The Reichenbach Fall would have worked at the end of series 1...). Then, why would he play a part in front of Molly? He told her the truth - had to, because she was supposed to become part of his deception; fake the records, take care of the body double, etc. And he knew she is hopelessly in love with him, so no need to play for sympathy with her, she'd be willing to help anyway. Also, Molly notices him looking sad when "nobody can see you". I don't think he did that deliberately to get her attention, nor do I think she was wrong. According to good old Molly, Sherlock was at the very least worried a lot during The Reichenbach Fall, and he had good reason to be. Because even if he had everything worked out with Mycroft, they couldn't (and didn't...) calculate Moriarty's every move. It was still a pretty dangerous game.

 

The only parts I think are fake are the rooftop phone call (and even there, some genuine sorrow or at least marginal feeling of guilt would be only natural, because I think on some level Sherlock knew damn well what he was doing to his friend, even though he seems to have convinced himself pretty successfully that it was totally okay and just a big joke), and Mycroft telling John about the snipers. (And when was an emotion of Mycroft's ever genuine? Does he even know what that is?)

[Bendydoodle Cantaloupe]

I don't know what to make of Sherlock's emotional state in TRF any more. I want to believe his emotions are genuine; but after learning how every move was supposedly planned in advance in TEH, I find myself suspecting him of faking every emotion. Which is unfortunate, because it really undercuts the drama if true. That's the problem with a protagonist who habitually lies; eventually you lose faith with him/her, and then you just don't care any more. I hope the Moftisses know that.

 

But there were some completely genuine emotional parts. Remember when Sherlock was all calm and collected until John starts to question him?

 

Taken from Ariane DeVere:

 

     SHERLOCK: You’re worried they’re right about me.

     JOHN: No.

     SHERLOCK: That’s why you’re so upset. You can’t even entertain the possibility that they might be right. You’re afraid that you’ve been taken in as well.

     JOHN: No I’m not.

     SHERLOCK: Moriarty is playing with your mind too. Can’t you see what’s going on?

[sfmpco]

Well, when he said "Molly, I think I'm going to die" - I think his emotions are genuine.  Now, his emotions were based on one of two things:

 

1.  He really thinks death is calling his name, and that's upsetting by itself

 

2.  He knows he has to fake his death which will cause emotional trauma to the people closest to him, especially John, so that's very upsetting.

 

In either case, it doesn't make him a liar.  We are not privy to the conversation and plans he had with Molly after he came to her, but rest assured, she knew EXACTLY what was going on with the death thing... and she kept his secret and STILL keeps it.

 

I don't think Sherlock and Mycroft were in complete control of the situation.  I think Sherlock was expecting Moriarty to be convicted of all those crimes and set to jail.  His not being convicted threw the whole thing out of whack.  Why?  Because they couldn't predict which way Moriarty would go with all of it.  I don't think Mycroft and Sherlock knew that Moriarty would take all that info Mycroft fed him and turn it in such a way.  Moriarty was always a wild card no matter how much they tried to be prepared.  Even at the end, they couldn't have predicted that Moriarty would shoot himself.

 

Sherlock certainly didn't understand that there was no keycode, and Mycroft didn't understand that either.  Then there was the I.O.U. thing and the whole fairy tale thing which he didn't understand until after being at Kitty Riley's place.  Then he realized that he, as the supposed villain and liar, would have to die in Moriarty's fairy tale.  That's where he and Mycroft took some control by moving the "final scene" to the rooftop of Barts but by having Sherlock pretend he didn't know the ending that Moriarty was planning (suicide).  But then... did Moriarty figure that out because he put his gunmen in place?

 

And who orchestrated pulling John away from Sherlock with the fake Mrs. Hudson's been shot and is dying phone call?  Mycroft?  At that point Sherlock definitely lies when he acts like he doesn't care because she's just the landlady, but you can see how much it hurts him to lie to John about that and just to lie to John in general... but it's also the beginning of a huge 2-year lie.

 

But the what ifs will kill you if you question it too much.