Since Mary's death John has started to go to therapy. We see that even though Mary is dead, John still talks to her, and see's her in his mind's eye.
Now the writer's doing this could have been bad, but the way they use Mary is great! Since she is in John's mind everything she says and does is what John is really thinking. I feel like she is used just the right amount in this episode, and she doesn't outstay her welcome.
We then met our villain of this episode Culverton Smith. We see that Culverton has this drug called TD 12 that makes people lose their memories. He tells his friends and his daughter that he is going to kill someone.
After this his daughter, Faith, tries to write down what her father told them before the drug fully kicks in. Her father finds her and tries to take the note from her.
It has now been three years since her father told her he wanted to kill someone. Faith is now at Baker Street trying to get Sherlock to help her. She has given him the note that has the information she can remember.
Sherlock is looking worn down after Mary's death. Sherlock is also heavily back on drugs.
(http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/sherlock-observes-doesnt-see-thrilling-overcrowded-248115)
When Faith is leaving, Sherlock realizes that she means to kill herself, and rushes after her to stop her. Sherlock then asks Faith to go get chips with him.
While they are eating their chips Sherlock starts to deduce the note she brought him.
Faith and Sherlock walk around all night. In the morning Sherlock gets the gun from Faith and throws it in the river. Then Sherlock says one of his best lines ever.
(https://www.instagram.com/p/BPDFNLxBsgH/)
Then after he says this the drugs in his body start to mess with him. When he comes to, Faith is no where to be seen.
Sherlock then figures out that Culverton Smith is a serial killer.
Mrs. Hudson kidnapping Sherlock and throwing him in the boot of her sports car is literally the best thing ever.
(https://www.instagram.com/p/BPDNcTNhW9F/)
It is so nice to have a competent villain again. Culverton is a fantastic villain! He is smart, creepy, and devious.
Sherlock tries to convince John that Culverton is a serial killer. John does not believe Sherlock's claims.
John then tells Sherlock that he wants Molly Hooper to examine him. Apparently Sherlock knew this so he let Molly know two weeks in advance.
When they arrive where they are going to meet Culverton, Molly reveals that Sherlock is basically at death's door.
Culverton comes out to greet Sherlock and John and then takes them inside where he is filming a commercial about being a cereal killer. Good job Moffat and Gatiss you actually made a joke without forcing it.
Culverton then takes Sherlock and John to his hospital. He takes them to his favorite room in the whole hospital.........the morgue...........yeah this guy is creepy.
Culverton tells them that his favorite serial killer is H. H. Holmes. If you don't know who that is, he was the man who built the murder hotel. While his hotel was under construction he would fire the builders and hire new ones, so no one would know about his killing rooms, and secret passage ways.
While they are in the morgue Faith, Culverton's daughter, arrives because Sherlock stole Culverton's phone and texted her. Expect when she walks in, it is not the same person Sherlock met.
Now it seems that Sherlock had lost his mind and imaged the whole thing.
Sherlock then really loses it and tries to attack Culverton with a scalpel. John gets the scalpel out of Sherlock's hand, then proceeds to beat Sherlock up.
Culverton is letting Sherlock stay in his hospital. John visits and leaves his old cane for Sherlock.
After John leaves Culverton enter's Sherlock's room through a secret passage way. What H. H. Holmes did with his hotel, Culverton did the same thing when he built his hospital.
Mycroft has John brought to Baker Street. While there John finds the DVD Mary made for Sherlock. Apparently when we saw it in the last episode we did not see the whole thing. Mary tells Sherlock in the video, that the only way he can save John is if he puts himself in danger, so that John has to save him. John after watching this takes Mrs. Hudson's car and rushes to the hospital.
Sherlock wakes up to find Culverton sitting next to his bed. Culverton then tries to kill Sherlock by suffocating him.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQhl38Isbu4)
While Culverton is trying to kill Sherlock, John breaks through the door, and saves Sherlock.
Sherlock then reveals that he had put a recorder in John's cane. So he got Culverton's whole confession on tape.
Back at Baker Street, we see that John is babysitting Sherlock to make sure he stays off drugs. John gets up to leave since Molly will be arriving soon. As he gets up to leave he hears Irene Adler's ringtone go off on Sherlock's phone.
John then goes on a rant about how Sherlock needs to be in a romantic relationship, to make him be a better person.
Of course during this scene, all I can think of is, "Really John? You want your best friend, your family, to be in a romantic relationship with a criminal?" I also think, "You know who else makes Sherlock a better person? You, John Watson, and Molly, Mrs. Hudson, Mycroft, Lestrade, and Mary! Irene Adler does NOT make Sherlock a better person!"
Sherlock does not need a romantic relationship to make him a better man. The family he has made for himself does that already.
John then starts talking to Mary and apologizes for cheating on her.
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/04/06/2b/04062bc66831e357e7b6b860d4680a84.jpg)
Then John starts crying, so Sherlock comforts John by giving him a hug.
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/0c/05/8c/0c058c33aff584bd68796ae16616fa51.jpg)
Sherlock finally shaves and everything goes back to normal. Until Sherlock finds the note "Faith" brought him. On the note in invisible ink is written "Miss Me?"
John is back talking to his therapist, when his therapist reveals that she was the woman on the bus that John had an emotional affair with, and she is also fake Faith. She also tells John that she is Sherlock's secret sister!
( https://www.instagram.com/p/BPX7hTVBoPc/)
Then she shoots John and the credits roll.
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/f5/da/d3/f5dad358d7ed51d060aaf711f4cbc4b7.jpg)
Before I wrap up my review here are just some lines and moments that I really liked from this episode.
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ba/ae/ec/baaeec2bb7d49bcca158461fccc3c635.jpg)
(https://www.instagram.com/p/BPCMqkRFBh1/)
(https://scontent-nrt1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/15107467_2228906524001550_4336302672537101160_n.jpg?oh=9a73459bd9835d789834fee658c6fce5&oe=59450265)
(https://www.instagram.com/p/BPCLREfF05-/)
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/64/1a/1e/641a1e26311442e5ffba955195d14587.jpg)
(https://www.instagram.com/p/BPCuRHpgG_f/)
(https://www.instagram.com/p/BP4yUbwgSc1/)
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/b1/d9/20/b1d920ed902eccdf9a285263e62fdd29.jpg)
This episode............is like watching the old Sherlock again!
Its this episode where I feel like I'm meeting up with my old friends, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman really shine in this episode! Also Toby Jones who played Culverton Smith was amazing! He was fantastic as the villain!
I was actually surprised by how good this episode was, considering that the second episodes of Sherlock are usually much weaker, then the first and the third ones.
This was a great episode, definitely one of my favorite Sherlock episodes. This episode was Sherlock going back to how it use to be, which was a great show!
Now I do have some problems with this episode, but they are so small, that they aren't worth mentioning.
I give "The Lying Detective" 9/10
