His Last Vow (BBC Sherlock) - Review

Okay, so this episode was both brilliant and probably the worst of the season for me, and I'm trying very hard right now to figure out why, but I suppose it's because there's a couple of things that are really ticking me off with this episode.

So I suppose I should go through what I thought of this episode and blah de blah de blah...

OKAY. So this episode was brilliant and clever for the first half really (up until Christmas day for me). I really enjoyed Mary's story line and how she was a trained assassin, and Amanda played it brilliantly (along with both Benedict and Martin with the reactions). I really have to praise her for that one because it couldn't have been easy to carry off, but she did, and she made it look so effortless.

Also, I was heartbroken (no, really guys, I started sobbing) when we discovered Redbeard was Sherlock's childhood pet, because we can all relate to this as most of us have lost a pet we loved throughout our life, which I'm sure left most of us sobbing for two hours. It also showed us that he is capable of strong compassion and love, enough love in fact to still be effected by the death years later, decades later... Completely erasing any doubts on Sherlock's ability to love, and it proves to us maybe we don't know the consulting detective as well as we think we do; that maybe he is capable of showing and giving more love than any of us will ever be.

As well as all this, we got to see Sherlock's mind palace again, which was probably my favourite thing about the whole episode, it was like we got to explore it. But to top this all of, we saw that Sherlock had excepted that a part of  him was like Moriarty, but, he had locked that part himself away. That's character development  guys. In season 1 and 2 we got to see how similar they are, but this season we got to the see the differences, and how Sherlock is changing BECAUSE OF JOHN.

Now, let's get onto the Johnlock in this episode. Surprisingly, it was very disappointing. I picked up on so many moments where Sherlock displayed affection to John , e.g coming back to life for John (which caused me to cry even more), crying on the plane, and even after he said "Sherlock is a girls name" (or something along those lines) because the look on his face was ugh.... it was no. But John, John I was so disappointed with. I mean, he got bak with his wife who SHOT HIS BEST FRIEND AND LIED TO HIM ABOUT EVERYTHING. There whole relationship was a lie. How can John trust her? How can even put up with her? If my partner shot my best friend, hell, I would have filed for a divorce before Sherlock could finish his deductions on my reactions.

The THING THAT REALLY TICKED ME OFF THOUGH, was that Sherlock shot a man. Sherlock shot a man. No. It's so out of character. I know it was to protect John and Mary, but even so, I mean, come on Sherlock; where's your brilliance now? The whole plot made him seem so naive after Christmas Day and I hated it, because Sherlock's not naive, he's: brilliant, cunning, funny, witty and always a surprise; I never thought he would take the obvious way out. As well as the shooting, Sherlock should have considered that all the files were in his head after the glasses incident, even I guessed after that that Augustus had a mind palace too. To be honest, that just kinda dragged the whole episode down for me, which has landed it in my least favoruite of the series (even though everything up to Christmas day was brilliant and I loved it, and it had the potential to be my favourite.)

NOW we have to talk about Jim Moriarty. I forgot to breathe for a good ten second after the fist "did you miss me?", I then proceede to have a mini heart attack... I think... All in front of my family as well, so thanks BBC, they know think I'm mental, so really, thank you for that. But, what a brilliant plot twist, it was the perfect way to end the series, and will give us fangirls another whole bout of Reichenbach theories to work on (but just hurry up with season 4, please?)

So overall, a great episode up until... yep, you guessed it.... CHRISTMAS DAY (even the dinner was pretty funny though with Mr and Mrs Holmes), and the cliffhanger at the end really did save it in so many ways. I'm just left scared for John now, I have a feeling we can't trust Mary.... (maybe a part of the Moriarty's network that Sherlock missed? Nah, too obvious.)

(not mine by the way, but I reckon it was

 feelsy enough for this post Stolen from:

 http://johanirae.tumblr.com/post/73193445811/louisemortimer-221beemine-hiddlestalker.)

So, season three was brilliant, and probably may favourite by far because of the character development from pretty much EVERYONE. But, mainly because we learned more about Sherlock as a person, and we can now relate to him so easily (which was really hard before); also, I know feel like if I was in the same room as Sherlock that I wouldn't punch him after five minuted, but I would hug him or comfort him or befriend him,a nd try to reassure him that John won't leave him fully, ever.

See you with another one of these reviews in 84 years Sherlockians!

The Sign of Three (BBC Sherlock) - Review

Hi! Well yes, here we are again.... All obsessing over how brilliant Sherlock was and reading me unleash my superior form: MY FANGIRL. This one will be shorter than the rest because we've met all the charcters now and blah de blah de blah...

OKAY. So really this episode was one of my all time favourites, it made me laugh, it mad me cry and more importantly, it made me went to hit the writers over the head with a brick and then apologize because I loved it. Also, this episode was beautifully put together, and the way the story was told was done magnificently, plus we got to go inside the mind palace, we got to see the mind palace guys, why is no one else freaking out about this? PLUS JOHNLOCK GUYS.

This episode was full of flashbacks and scenarios where we saw the two boys having a good time 'cluing for looks' (I know, I know, being very stupid right now). The whole speech was a masterpiece and a times I was happy because there was so much subtext Johnlock (especially with drunk!lock), but at others I wanted to burst into tears as we saw how the two men were started to drift apart a little bit, and that John was blissfully unaware of this; but Sherlock, was not as fortunate (this is shown when we see him staring at John's chair at the start of the episode, sentiment, it's not nice is it Sherlock?).

By far, this was the best episode for comedy that I have ever seen, with Sherlock's sarcasm, drunk!lock (which we have all seen fanfiction and fanart and fanscinated about, do not try to lie to me), and Sherlock's friendly relationship with Mary's bridesmaid (which was gold, and not what i was expecting). Although, I think the part that made me laugh the most was Sherlock's deductions when drunk and staggering about the 'ghost's' house. If you guys want to buy those deductions on a shirt, here is the link: http://www.redbubble.com/people/ohcararara/works/11343765-sittything

There were so many hints at Johnlock in this (which I'm still obsessing over), but I'm only going to mention one main one as not everyone ships it. I think the main theme for me for Johnlock in this episode was Sherlock's 'Mind Palace': in this we saw how Sherlock let him in and was even DISTRACTED BY JOHN when in there, when before we have seen him shut John out; as well as this, when Mycroft was seen in there and started pressurizing Sherlock, we saw how Sherlock almost immediately refused his advice saying: "no, not you," turning away he then point at John demanding him to help with a "you". This shows us how Sherlock has grown dependent upon John, and holds John's value over his own brother's, whose intellect he has always looked up to; but now, it looks like Mycroft is second in the running to his blogger.

But, you know, the writers couldn't have us being happy, could? Even at a  freakin' wedding. So, they decided to make sure we would all cry over the fact that now Sherlock feels isolated and alone, and that he's starting to feel he's slowly lose John. This is all emphasized by the fact that Sherlock is happy to help with the wedding, over eager in fact, and even spent his time learning how to fold napkins for the happy couple. But, the saddest part, was even after the funny speech and the good time he had with bridesmaid, he was left alone on the dance floor; this was so uncomfortable for him, that he left the wedding early. And guys I HATE TO SAY THIS (SORRY I THINK THIS IS KINDA IMPORTANT)... Sherlock left the wedding early, just like Mrs Hudson's best friend did before they drifted apart, the writers are either playing with us or trying to tell us that Sherlock and John will be like Mrs Hudson and her best friend.

So, that was my review, that the episode was amazing and comical and just overall brilliant, but at the same time I want to hit all the writers with a grand piano because I'm really sad. How would you like to punish them

Now, please excuse me whilst I GO SOB MY HEART OUT.

The Empty Hearse (BBC Sherlock) - Review

First Thoughts:

After watching the episode my mind was a buzz, I couldn't function properly, it was as if I was on a sugar rush. Obviously, I loved it, but m mind wasn't able to piece all of it together properly until I had come down from my high.

The plot was absolutely... just... genius. It really helped how it tied in together so it was easier to follow, BUT it was still complex enough to keep you hooked and to stop you guessing just before Sherlock did (quite proud to say I guessed before him).

Also, something that MUST be addressed is the many ships that Mark screwed with in the episode, I mean, we had them all. We had evidence for: Johnlock, whatever you want to call Mary/Sherlock, Sheriarty, Sherlolly (kinda), John/Mary, Mystarde, Mycroft/Uknown, Sherstarde, and probably many more. In the end it got a bit too much for this fangirl and now I am internally confused as to what ships I ship anymore. They did this on purpose to confuse us, *sigh* but I still love them.

The only thing I am frustrated about, is how we never found out how exactly did Sherlock survive the fall, did he lie to Anderson? Did Anderson deduce it correctly? Was the fangirl's daydream/gay fanfiction close to the actual events?

Characters:

Mrs Hudson:

Poor poor Mrs Hudson, first she hasn't been visited by John for two years after the grave scene (I'm presuming), can you imagine that? AND THEN that little prick Sherlock breaks in and nearly gives her the heart attack, poor Mrs Hudson and her boys.

But she is still amazing though, she hasn't changed at all. She is till the captain of H.M.S JOHNLOCK, which really makes me happy, it really does (I'm smiling as I type this). It's always great to see her interact with the two boys and drop couple hints and still refuse to believe John is straight (or maybe bisexual?).

Mrs and Mr Holmes:

Firstly, I would like to say thank you for Benedict's parents for taking on the roles (it just made the scene funnier, and secondly, for almost cosplaying as Sherlock and his trust blogger, John, which really made me grin. So thank you, you two.

Secondly, it was nice to see Mycroft and Sherlock came from an ordinary family. I don't know why, but this gave me a reassurance that those two are actually human, and are not some marvelous machines or aliens (although that still would be pretty cool). So thank you, to whoever thought that up.

Mary:

I was very cautious of the character of Mary upon seeing all The Setlock pictures, but let me tell you, I was wrong to be. I was sold within her appearing on my screen within the first ten seconds. She was smart, a cat lover, brilliantly witty and simply a gorgeous human being; what is there not like? (Unless you're a hardcore Johnlock shipper, but please, give her a chance guys, she's amazing). And if that doesn't convince you, even Sherlock likes her. SHERLOCK LIKES MARY.

Also, she was so nice to Sherlock, when considering, she had all the rights to slap him across the face for what he did to who is now her John. She then went onto trying to help win John back for Sherlock, and even seemed to start shipping them (and some of us were worried she would come between them). AND ON TOP OF ALL OF THIS, she went to Sherlock for help, not the police,  this means she trusted Sherlock more than the police. This is a guy she barely knows, and she trusts him with her faincee's life. Can we just please consider how amazingly badass she is? I could go on all night guys, I just really love Mary.

Molly Hooper: 

Good old Molly, hey? You can always rely on her to give some familiarity to the show, but it was nice to see a bit character development there. She no longer seems to obsess over Sherlock so much (which is kinda a nice breather) and she doesn't seem so... anxious? I don't know, but she's so much more comfortable around him now which is nice.

 It was also nice to see Lestrade and Molly seem to know each other reasonable well now, do you think they used to meet up in cafes and discuss Sherlock? Maybe they talk about how brilliant he was, but how much of a dick he was at the same time.

 I am glad to see her happy with a new guy now (he loos very sweet, I hope he's not an assassin or anything), and you can hardly blame her for going for the tall guy in the long coat, because, I know most of you would. ADMIT IT. Truth be told, I've missed Molly a lot and I'm glad to have someone so relatable back on my screen.

Greg Lestrade:

First off, I don't think I'm ever going to get over my denial for his hair, I have managed to convince myself Sherlock will deduce it's wig and Lestrade will rip it off just to reveal his old hair underneath, oh, please Moffat and Mark, do it. 

Secondly, my ever lasting admiration for this officer has not faltered and I still believe he's great, and he redeemed himself for being so close minded to Anderson with the greeting he gave Sherlock. Even though we didn't see much of him this episode, I still love it how he calls Sherlock up for cases, that is very cute.

Phillip Anderson:

I still cant get over how I now feel about him. I really never thought I could relate to Anderson so much, I mean he's calculated all this elaborate theories and has been driven insane by Sherlock *cough*. It's like he's one of us. Maybe we should be called Andersons instead of Sherlockians (?), nope, that's a bad idea, ignore me whilst I go hide in the corner of shame for eternity...

But the thing I really can't get over is Phillip. I mean Phillip, really? OUT OF ALL THE NAMES YOU CHOSE PHILLIP ANDERSON. Nope. That's not his name. It can't be. I am in denial. Please tell me someone else feels the same way

Mycroft Holmes:

Now, I've always felt indifferent to Mycroft, and maybe that's because we don't see much of him, and the relationship he shares with Sherlock. But, now I don't know how I feel towards him, I mean, it great to see the interaction he had with Sherlock and I really started liking him then. However, then we didn't get any back-up for this again throughout most of the episode, so I was left unsure and in the mid-stage of started to like him.

As well as being confused by this, Mycroft constantly mentioned the agent who died to convince his brother, and then there was teasing towards a broken heart. Did Mycroft meet someone? Did he find his John? I want to learn more about this agent, because they must have been pretty important to Mycroft as he kept mentioning their life, which they gave for such obvious information as Sherlock pointed out. Please let the story not hurt too much when we hear it, please guys.

John Watson:

Ah, John, our little hedgehog, our little rock of sanity in the pool... wait no SEA of insanity in which Sherlock is. John in this episode was everything I needed him to be: funny, ruthless, bored, fed up and in love, but in love with who? I'm not sure. I've always believed Holmes and Watson do love each other, but it is clear as day that John does truly care for Mary.

John as we all predicted, did not take the reunion, let's say... in a gentleman like manner. After being kicked out of three restaurants for beating the crap out of Sherlock, yes it was THREE, flipping off the camera, and getting dragged out of a fire by his consulting detective, did he finally forgive Sherlock... It took Sherlock an awful lot more than both he and I thought it would take for John to forgive him.

But what I really enjoyed about John this episode, is that we got to see a little bit of Martin. We got to see John swear and flip off the camera, and to be honest is was a bit like watching behind the scene features or something.

Sherlock Holmes:

FIRST OFF CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE MASTERPIECE OF CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT THAT GATISS CREATED, I APPLAUD  YOU SIR IT WAS A JOB WELL DONE.

It was the coolest thing to see Sherlock go away for two years and to be dragged back and still be a dick, but a CARING DICK. I mean, he still a dick and loves knowing he's right, but he doesn't do it in the same way anymore, he teases instead. I mean, when he was pretending to be a French waiter you can tell he's having fun and being a dick and all, but he's so scared, for the first time we see the Sherlock's scared John will reject him and I- wow it's beautiful to see him become more human.

But not only is he less of a dick, you can tell he cares when he apologizes to John, he actually really cares, because he's terrified he'll lose him and that he's hurting his John, and you can see he can not bear it. All he wants is for them to go back the way they used to be, and he really tries, first he tries will all the nervous jokes and laughter (trying to break the ice) and then it's the apologies when he gets desperate, even if Irene can't make him beg, John can.

As well as all of this, we saw Sherlock Holmes eat. SHERLOCK WAS EATING. Technically, he was eating when he was on a case to stop a terrorists bomb plot in London, and if you don't think that's a significant change, well, then you are probably very stupid.

Overall feeling:

When watching the episode I had waited two years for, I was neither glad nor happy. I was thrilled. 

Not only was I thrilled to have the show back on our screen again, but I was thrilled to be so entertained. They neither overplayed it or ruined it, it was perfect, it's more than I had ever expect out of Mark Gatiss. I have constantly been expecting less from him than I have actually ever received, and I have to stop doing this, because he will always be amazing at what he does.

He gave the episode the mix of emotions it deserved: the joy, the fear, the amusement, and finally, maybe the most important for Sherlock, the curiosity. He was able to combine these so effortlessly and it was so easy to switch from each one. In short, this episode was a mix of feelings and it included us, it felt s if we were solving the mystery with Sherlock. I felt like I was being treated as if I was smart, how an audience member should be treated.

In my opinion, this is the best episode we have received yet. So, thank you Mark, you've really outdone yourself.