The Six Thatchers -- Sherlock Episode
Jan. 2nd, 2017 09:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatFinally some new "Sherlock" episodes. I think there are three to four that they filmed for 2017. Not positive.
Whether you like "Sherlock" has a great deal to do with whether you like this particular portrayal of the Great Detective, the actor, Benedict Cumberbatch, the writers - Moffat and Gatis, and Martin Freeman as Watson. If any of the above irritate or turn you off for any reason, you won't like Sherlock. It is what it is. (shrugs). And let's face it there have been numerous portrayals of Sherlock not to mention versions over the years to choose from. Which one you personally prefer has more to do with you than much else. One of my New Year's resolutions is not to argue over inconsequential things. Or people's personal preferences. It's a waste of time and not very good for my blood pressure.
Anyhow, I liked last night's episode quite a bit. Had some interesting twists and turns. That said Mark Gatis's plotting was a bit off in places, so I kept getting lost and having to rewind. The series has the irritating habit of skipping over stuff, then going back and showing it long after the fact and often when the audience has forgotten about it. Which is a neat narrative trick, but risks losing the audience if done poorly. They did a bit too much of it. (I don't think it was necessary in regards to John Watson. Mary and Sherlock, yes, possibly but not John too. That was overkill. We could have seen his little and somewhat inconsequential flirtation with the bus rider play out in real time not flashbacks. Would have carried more weight and been more effective. Here it was just distracting.)
Also, at times, I felt the performances and direction was tad too manic. Such as the birth of Rosalind in the car and Holmes obsession with texting everything all the time. Humorous but over the top. Lacked subtlety. That said, I get why they did it, and it was to a degree effective satire of our world's obsession with cell phones and texting constantly. I've seen people texting all the frigging time as well. At the dinner table. In theaters. In cabs. At major events. I have no idea what they are saying or texting about that could be so vitally important. And I think that was the writer's point -- except here Sherlock is solving multiple crimes via text. We have John Watson's irritation with texting - and preference for blogging as a counter-point. Effective in places, but also over-done.
Other than that? I liked the episode a great deal and found the unraveling of the mystery interesting and sad. Not among the more uplifting episodes. Didn't realize how much I'd missed the series.
I will miss Mary, who met an untimely end saving Sherlock. She jumps in front of him. Ironic that, since he'd sworn to protect her.
It happens because Sherlock once again pushes the victim too far, in part to show off his own intelligence, and in part to rip the victim to shreds leaving them with no dignity or allusions.
Unfortunately, for Sherlock, the victim had a gun. And Sherlock didn't. So the victim raises it and wham, Mary jumps in front and takes the bullet. She had attempted to stop Sherlock from pushing it with the victim, but he'd ignored her.
This results in a rift between Watson and Sherlock. Watson blames Sherlock for Mary's death. (That annoyed me. The only person that should be blamed for these things is the idiot with the gun. Blaming Sherlock for missing the fact that the victim would have a gun and would shoot him, is a bit silly. I mean, Sherlock isn't perfect. Also, how would he have been able to predict that Mary would leap in front of him? That was Mary's choice. Not Sherlock's. The blame game is counterproductive. And Watson, a military man, should know better.) Anyhow, this was clearly contrived as a means of splitting up the two partners, and alienating John Watson. There's a rift that Sherlock can't quite fix or doesn't know how to. Not really sure how you can convince someone who is grieving his wife and decided to blame you for it, to not do so.
Backing up a bit, the mystery itself is a convoluted mess, in part because it is told through a lot of leaping around in time and point of view. I did enjoy it however. Sherlock and Watson get brought out on a murder case, but Sherlock is less interested in the murder and more interested in the unrelated break-in, that resulted in the smashing of one of Margaret Thatcher's busts. He wanders about town tracking the bust smasher, because there appear to be others. Sherlock quickly solves the murder, which is in actuality an accidental death by natural causes.
The Thatcher Bust case on the other hand alludes him. Until he confronts the smasher and discovers it has nothing to do with Moriarity and everything to do with Mary Watson. That story thread plays out fairly evenly. Sherlock figures out that the traitor was the embassy woman that Mary's team had come to help. The woman had formed her own task force, without telling anyone, and then betrayed them. Framing Mary to take the blame.
Sherlock's failings or the flaws in his character are pointed out - 1)his obsessive compulsive streak, 2) his obsession with Moriarity, 3) his arrogance -- which he realizes towards the end and requrests his housekeeper to call him on. He's almost too bright and too observant for his own good and his ego gets in his way.
You can also see the beginning of the rifts or fractures in the Sherlock/Watson relationship. Sherlock is demanding and arrogant. Often ripping into Watson's ego. Both Lestram and Watson comment on it and at one point compare Sherlock to a disruptive child.
Ego gets in the way in the story. It's also the reason Mary dies. The villain and Sherlock's egos wage a bit of war, and Mary jumps into the middle of it. Although I think you can survive a stomach wound, not positive.
Whether you like "Sherlock" has a great deal to do with whether you like this particular portrayal of the Great Detective, the actor, Benedict Cumberbatch, the writers - Moffat and Gatis, and Martin Freeman as Watson. If any of the above irritate or turn you off for any reason, you won't like Sherlock. It is what it is. (shrugs). And let's face it there have been numerous portrayals of Sherlock not to mention versions over the years to choose from. Which one you personally prefer has more to do with you than much else. One of my New Year's resolutions is not to argue over inconsequential things. Or people's personal preferences. It's a waste of time and not very good for my blood pressure.
Anyhow, I liked last night's episode quite a bit. Had some interesting twists and turns. That said Mark Gatis's plotting was a bit off in places, so I kept getting lost and having to rewind. The series has the irritating habit of skipping over stuff, then going back and showing it long after the fact and often when the audience has forgotten about it. Which is a neat narrative trick, but risks losing the audience if done poorly. They did a bit too much of it. (I don't think it was necessary in regards to John Watson. Mary and Sherlock, yes, possibly but not John too. That was overkill. We could have seen his little and somewhat inconsequential flirtation with the bus rider play out in real time not flashbacks. Would have carried more weight and been more effective. Here it was just distracting.)
Also, at times, I felt the performances and direction was tad too manic. Such as the birth of Rosalind in the car and Holmes obsession with texting everything all the time. Humorous but over the top. Lacked subtlety. That said, I get why they did it, and it was to a degree effective satire of our world's obsession with cell phones and texting constantly. I've seen people texting all the frigging time as well. At the dinner table. In theaters. In cabs. At major events. I have no idea what they are saying or texting about that could be so vitally important. And I think that was the writer's point -- except here Sherlock is solving multiple crimes via text. We have John Watson's irritation with texting - and preference for blogging as a counter-point. Effective in places, but also over-done.
Other than that? I liked the episode a great deal and found the unraveling of the mystery interesting and sad. Not among the more uplifting episodes. Didn't realize how much I'd missed the series.
I will miss Mary, who met an untimely end saving Sherlock. She jumps in front of him. Ironic that, since he'd sworn to protect her.
It happens because Sherlock once again pushes the victim too far, in part to show off his own intelligence, and in part to rip the victim to shreds leaving them with no dignity or allusions.
Unfortunately, for Sherlock, the victim had a gun. And Sherlock didn't. So the victim raises it and wham, Mary jumps in front and takes the bullet. She had attempted to stop Sherlock from pushing it with the victim, but he'd ignored her.
This results in a rift between Watson and Sherlock. Watson blames Sherlock for Mary's death. (That annoyed me. The only person that should be blamed for these things is the idiot with the gun. Blaming Sherlock for missing the fact that the victim would have a gun and would shoot him, is a bit silly. I mean, Sherlock isn't perfect. Also, how would he have been able to predict that Mary would leap in front of him? That was Mary's choice. Not Sherlock's. The blame game is counterproductive. And Watson, a military man, should know better.) Anyhow, this was clearly contrived as a means of splitting up the two partners, and alienating John Watson. There's a rift that Sherlock can't quite fix or doesn't know how to. Not really sure how you can convince someone who is grieving his wife and decided to blame you for it, to not do so.
Backing up a bit, the mystery itself is a convoluted mess, in part because it is told through a lot of leaping around in time and point of view. I did enjoy it however. Sherlock and Watson get brought out on a murder case, but Sherlock is less interested in the murder and more interested in the unrelated break-in, that resulted in the smashing of one of Margaret Thatcher's busts. He wanders about town tracking the bust smasher, because there appear to be others. Sherlock quickly solves the murder, which is in actuality an accidental death by natural causes.
The Thatcher Bust case on the other hand alludes him. Until he confronts the smasher and discovers it has nothing to do with Moriarity and everything to do with Mary Watson. That story thread plays out fairly evenly. Sherlock figures out that the traitor was the embassy woman that Mary's team had come to help. The woman had formed her own task force, without telling anyone, and then betrayed them. Framing Mary to take the blame.
Sherlock's failings or the flaws in his character are pointed out - 1)his obsessive compulsive streak, 2) his obsession with Moriarity, 3) his arrogance -- which he realizes towards the end and requrests his housekeeper to call him on. He's almost too bright and too observant for his own good and his ego gets in his way.
You can also see the beginning of the rifts or fractures in the Sherlock/Watson relationship. Sherlock is demanding and arrogant. Often ripping into Watson's ego. Both Lestram and Watson comment on it and at one point compare Sherlock to a disruptive child.
Ego gets in the way in the story. It's also the reason Mary dies. The villain and Sherlock's egos wage a bit of war, and Mary jumps into the middle of it. Although I think you can survive a stomach wound, not positive.