Quite a
lot has happened in the fandom world this past month, and by a lot, I mean one
show has risen from the dead. Yes, my good Sherlockians, we have risen from our
graves and come alive for the fourth season of our blessed show! It may be for
only the rest of the month that we are here, but here we will stay
contemplating three simple episodes that Moftiss and crew have created for us.
And I must say, for a fandom that always sleeps, we sure make a ruckus when we
are awake!
But, in
a corner of the world, and in an even smaller corner of America, I wanted to
give a few humble thoughts on these three concoctions that we have taken. I was
going to do them weekly as they came out in short little posts, but I decided
instead to write about them as a whole, so that I could have the whole picture
in front of me as I picked it apart. I gave as little spoilers as possible on
my previous Doctor Who review, but I cannot guarantee I won't be able to keep
my mouth shut now. If you haven't seen it yet, keep scrolling or read a
different review: this fangirl is about to get WILD!
The
series started off with a bang, and that statement could be taken quite
literally. Sherlock has always been fast
paced, but never in its running time have I seen one move this quickly. It was
hard even for me to keep up with it, and multiple times I was tempted to pause
it to think about what just happened. It was as if the entire show was running
water, and the episode that we were watching was the fastest part of the
current. Scene after scene flashed across the screen, painting the explanation
of who Mary Watson actually was. To me, it was an interesting twist on her
character, and even those who have read the Arthur Conan Doyle books say they
weren't expecting it. What they also weren't expecting, and what we didn't see
coming, was the literal bang from the gun at Mary's demise.
Now to
be honest with you all, I actually did see this coming. Before they aired the series
I did read articles about Martin and Amada's split when it happened. Whenever a
couple that works together on set splits, that usually signals that one or both
of them is leaving the show. Still, as we watched the death of Watson's wife, I
sat on the floor in front of the television clutching my pillow in shock. Some
Sherlockians didn't like her, but I actually did. She was a strong, female lead
that took charge, but wasn't a butt in the process, not to mention she looked
like a normal woman and not some small Hollywood chick running around in heels.
She was normal sized, normal looking, and had a larger than life attitude. But,
nonetheless she will be missed. Even if she does come back somehow in a way
that only Moftiss can come up with, she will be remembered by loyal fans in the
meantime.
The
second show was a bit different. The speed of it slowed tremendously, but the
taste of it was still new. We were introduced to a new villain, of whom I do
think we will see again. After Moriarty, I didn't know how I would react to a
new minor villain, but I actually liked the taste of this one. The idea of
serial killers is a new trend in today's culture, and thought I was never fond of
the way society portrays it I liked the way this episode did. After Suicide
Squad and a ton of mini-series' out there portraying serial killers in a
slightly good light, it was oddly refreshing to see one portrayed in their original
role: the bad guys. Toby Jones did a fantastic job playing Culverton Smith, a
popular business man who has a hobby of killing people on the side. Multiple
times throughout the episode, his acting made me grip my pillow in frustration
as Sherlock suffered underneath his hand. Of course, we all knew that Sherlock
would make it, but the way the script is written still makes us sit on the edge
of our seats, our hairs standing on end.
But of
course, all of this was nothing compared to the scene that struck the heart of
every Sherlockian in existence. Throughout
the show, John seems to be talking to himself through his dead wife, who is
appearing to him as if she was still there. This version of Mary is trying to
get him to follow Sherlock again, of which John is quite obstinate. We all knew
he would in the end, but seeing his character progression was still an
interesting thing. He not only had to grieve the death of his wife, but he had
to grieve over the fact he could never tell her he lied to her about their marriage
(and yes, I was throwing pillows at that scene in the first episode, freaking
out those who I live with in the process).
When he finally does convince himself to come home, our soldier boy lets
his emotions go in the famous embrace scene. Hundreds of fans on social media
hours after the airing posted their fanart of the famous detective and friend
holding each other in their grief. This was probably the most warm-hearted
scene since the show began, one that struck the hearts of every fan, including
mine.
But of course,
Moffat and Gatiss couldn't just leave us there. Both had to throw an extra shock at us, with the reveal of Sherlock's
secret sister. Once again, to be honest with you guys, I saw this coming. I
always had a suspicion that there was a psycho sibling somewhere else in the family
after the ending of the third season, when Mark's character Mycroft Holmes
talks about "getting rid of the other one". That sentence bugged me for years, with fanfiction and theories
of my own running through my head. Before the second episode aired, some had
theorized that instead of a brother, it was a secret sister. Low and behold,
when Euros revealed herself, fans who had believed that theory (including me) jumped
out of their seats with joy. Our deductions were correct! Surprisingly though,
I didn't see much traffic on the matter on social media, but that was probably
due to the fact that the fans were still having heart attacks with the embrace
scene.
Then
aired the episode we had been waiting for: The
Final Problem. I remember the day vividly, as I sat on the floor with
snacks at my side and a blanket over my head (yes, I was that excited don't
judge), I counted the minutes down before I knew my heart was going to be
ripped to pieces. When it started, the outside world suddenly came to a stop,
and my senses were on alert. The month of the Sherlockians was ending, but we
knew we would go out with a bang.
Scene
after scene entered my view, as a picture began to unfold before my eyes.
Reveal after reveal, we all were enraptured until the end. But, afterwards I saw something from the
fandom I had never seen before: disappointment. Traffic on social media
actually showed that people were upset with Moftiss, instead of happy at in my
opinion, was the most beautiful and well thought out ending I had ever seen.
What were people mad about: Johnlock was still not canon.
Now,
let me explain something to all of you. When I say I'm not a Johnlock shipper,
it's not because I hate gay ships, it's simply because that's not how the original
story was written. Even in the Arthur Conan Doyle series, John and Sherlock
were never "in love", and never showed any signs of it. Moftiss knows
this, as this show is basically one big, over-glorified fanfic. I don't think
they would want to go against the original design too much, since they are big
fans of the stories themselves.
And
another thing irks me about the ship. Look, I understand that gay shippers
would like more gays to ship, but there needs to be a line drawn. If there's
anything that the LGTBQ+ community needs to understand, it's that just because two
males are slightly affectionate to one another, they are not gay. If that were the case, then even girls can't be
overly affectionate to one another without being lesbian, of which we all know
how affectionate straight girls can get to one another. If two guys are as close
to one another as two girls can be, it shouldn't be on their shoulders to have
to hide it from the world simply because they don't want to be called something
they're not. Johnlock in my opinion is just two guys who have been through a
lot of crap, and are closer because of it. Besides, there's a group of people
out there who actually want to see more male leads become BROTP's instead of
OTP's. Once again, it's not because we absolutely hate gay ships, but because
we would like to see brotherhood beyond blood come back into fashion.
Ok, now
that I've gotten that rant off my chest, I can continue. There was only one
thing about this episode that I wasn't sure about. I can't tell if I like it,
hate it, or just don't care about it. The scene with Sherlock saying "I
love you" was probably the biggest hype in the trailer, but its execution
confused me. Now, I'm not a hardcore Sherlolly shipper, but I do think it's a
cute idea. Maybe not plausible realizing that they are two people on two
completely different channels that never coincide on any points. So when the "I
love you" scene passed, I was a bit confused at its existence. The way it
was completed seemed unnecessary and out of place, but then again Moftiss have
a way of throwing those kinds of scenes at us, only for them to be explained in
full detail later. So, if you’re a Sherlolly fan, maybe sitting this one out
should be the best option. I don't know, but something tells me this isn't
going to end well.
Nonetheless,
the end to the episode was beautiful. Yes, it could be considered a slight bit
cheesy and predictable, but every now and then great writers are allowed to
take a break from the unordinary, and step into the familiar. A story of a
family reunited is always a story that makes my heart warm, and the way Moftiss
painted the picture for us was a relaxing and refreshing after a strong current
swept us for two episodes. We now lay on the shore, out of breath and our fan
feels brimming, but it was an experience worth waiting for. Moftiss still
showed up and rocked the fandom, giving us three new episodes that we will
enjoy for the next two years until their return.
So
while we go back into hibernation, let's not forget this season, this season of
heartbreak, love, friendship, and family. This season was a good season, and
one that will be remembered for as long as Sherlockians exist.
Until
next time Moftiss, the game will be set aside. But the game of fanfiction, is
on!
