Sherlock Season 4 Episode 1 "The Six Thatchers."

The episode starts off with Mycroft and Sherlock in a top secret meeting with government officials. Mycroft is saying, that they have edited the video of Sherlock shooting Magnussen, so that it looks like a soldier shot Magnussen. So Sherlock is now a free man and he can figure out the whole Moriarty video.

Lady Smallwood asks Sherlock how he is going to handle Moriarty. Sherlock reply's that he is going to wait, since he figures he is Moriarty's target.

Now onto the little things that I did not like and did like about this episode. So during this whole top secret meeting Sherlock is acting like an idiot, because he is still high from "The Abominable Bride", this episode apparently happens right after that episode.

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/78/63/d2/7863d2dd16a608a42ad51dd89fc21a99.jpg)

I know they were trying to be funny here being like, "Look how funny Sherlock is when he is high! HAHA!" But this is inconsistent. We have seen Sherlock high on two other occasions. He was high in "His Last Vow" and he was not acting like this. He was also high in "The Abominable Bride" which this high is a continuation of, and he most certainly was not acting like this.

Ok also this is a small thing I don't like, it just seemed out of character. Why is Sherlock tweeting? He seems like the last person in the world who would have a Twitter account.

(https://mobile.twitter.com/Anythingbatch/status/815704797215158272?s=09)

Also in this episode they throw in this random fact that Sherlock is afraid of death, even though Sherlock has almost died on multiple occasions and it never seemed to bother him to much before.

This episode also has very weird editing, it distracted me from the episode. 

(https://www.instagram.com/p/BOv5kUWh36r/)

(http://screenrant.com/sherlock-six-thatchers-easter-eggs-references/)

This episode does have some funny moments. Like Mary going into labor. This is just hilarious.

(https://www.instagram.com/p/BOxUv0dg-7r/)

Or that time Sherlock was trying to rationalize with baby Watson.

(http://scatteredquotes.com/30-best-sherlock-quotes-4x01/)

Or that other time Sherlock didn't realize that John had been a balloon for hours.

(http://scatteredquotes.com/30-best-sherlock-quotes-4x01/)

Anyways back to the story of the episode. Really the episode doesn't start till eleven minutes in. Lestrade comes to Baker Street with a case. Michael Gregson (yes, it is the same actor who played Lady Edith's lover) he is having a birthday party, and his son Charlie is video calling him from Tibet. He tells Michael Gregson to take a picture of a Power Ranger he has on his car. He does it and loses connection with his son. A week later a man trying to get away from the police runs his car into Charlie's parked car. The cars explode and they find Charlie's skeleton in the front seat. Charlie had apparently been dead for a week.

John, Sherlock, and Lestrade head off to talk to Michael Gregson and not Lady Edith. Sherlock solve's the case in a matter of minutes.

However while there Sherlock becomes fixated on a smashed Margaret Thatcher bust. They tell him that someone broke into their house and smashed the bust. Sherlock thinks however that Moriarty is somehow connected to it.

Sherlock discovers that there are more Thatcher busts. The other four get smashed like the first one. Sherlock finds the address of the last one and goes there to wait for the person who has been smashing the busts.

Then Ajay, the one who has been smashing the busts, comes. Sherlock and Ajay then have a fight scene. I have heard that some people didn't like this scene. I however liked it, because I felt like we got a glimpse of what Sherlock had been doing the two years he was dead. I feel like we are watching him use the skills he acquired while trying to dismantle Moriarty's web.

Sherlock finally gets the upper hand and smashed the Thatcher bust himself, expecting to find the Black Pearl, which Moriarty wanted. However he finds a memory stick that is identical to the one Mary had.

(http://www.aminoapps.com/page/sherlock/3905005/the-six-thatchers-a-discussion-iamsherlocked)

Turns out that Ajay used to work with Mary. Ajay says that Mary betrayed their team and he wants revenge. 

We then get a flashback of Mary and her spy squad trying to save hostages. It ends up going wrong and Mary was the only one who made it out.

Back in present time, Sherlock texted Mary to meet him in his creepy little hideout. He shows Mary the memory stick, and she tells Sherlock a bit about her past. Sherlock tells her that Ajay wants to kill her. Mary then drugs Sherlock and takes the memory stick and goes all Jason Bourne on us.

(http://oncenerd.com/sherlock-33-nerdy-spots-in-the-six-thatchers/)

(https://www.instagram.com/p/BOxBy6KjRBh/)

We find out later that Sherlock put a tracker into the memory stick, however it is implied when she comes back that she has been gone for a while. What were Sherlock and John doing this whole time? Playing Mario Kart? I don't understand why they waited so long to actually go and get her.

Sherlock and John find Mary in Morocco, and they have a confrontation with Ajay who was following Sherlock and John. Ajay ends up dying and Sherlock, John, and Mary go back to London.

On the plane ride back to London, we get a flashback of John having an emotional affair, with a woman he met on the bus. He had this affair before Mary left to protect him and their daughter. Now John having an affair seems very out of character to me. Since up until this point they have portrayed John to be the most loyal person to have ever lived.

Is he doing this because he is still mad at Mary for shooting Sherlock? Or because she lied to him about her past? I don't know, and we are never given a reason for his actions.

This would have made more sense to me, if John had had his emotional affair after Mary left. Because he would have felt sad, hurt, betrayed, and it would have made more sense to me at least if this is when it had happened. Instead of John doing it when they were happy and everything was great.

Basically this picture is how I felt about this whole thing.

(https://www.instagram.com/p/BOxhnngFSoR/)

Back in London we see that Sherlock suspects it was Lady Smallwood who betrayed Mary and her team. However Lady Smallwood is proved to be innocent.

Then from a throw away line Mary said early on in the episode, Sherlock figures out that it was Lady Smallwood's secretary, Vivian Norbury. Norbury had only been in two scenes in the whole episode and she only talked once.

Sherlock and Mary confront Norbury. Norbury tells them how she was selling secrets and how one of the hostages Mary's team was sent to save knew about it. Norbury was also in contact with the terrorist who were holding the hostages. She ordered the terrorist to kill everyone. 

Sherlock who doesn't know when to shut up, keeps on antagonizing Norbury. Norbury wanting to prove Sherlock wrong tries to shoot him. Mary jumps in front of Sherlock, and takes a bullet to the chest.

John then arrives, and Mary is able to say goodbye before she dies.

( https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/d5/ff/1d/d5ff1de51de75e019146da4f8203bcc1.jpg)

John then blames Sherlock for Mary's death. To that I reply with this.

(https://www.instagram.com/p/BOwlbOqDlOS/)

My only complaint about this scene is John's sobbing or screaming, just the weird noises Martin Freeman made during this scene. This was a really well acted scene and it was a very tense scene and then you hear that noise and it takes you out of the moment. It makes a sad scene silly.

https://youtu.be/GcLtjIhOUnw

Sherlock goes to John's house and Molly opens the door, and gives him a message from John.

(https://www.instagram.com/p/BOvxAcZhh9Y/)

 Sherlock back at Baker Street asks Mrs. Hudson if whenever she see's him getting cocky if she will say Norbury to him.

Now I really like this scene, it shows that Sherlock really did care about Mary, and that sadly like John he is blaming himself for his friends death.

Sherlock then finds a DVD.

(https://thestoryfever.wordpress.com/tag/sherlock/)

Sherlock thinking that it is from Moriarty puts it on to watch it. Turns out to be from Mary. When did she make this? When did she send it? We are never given an answer to this.

On the video, Mary gives Sherlock a case.

(http://scatteredquotes.com/30-best-sherlock-quotes-4x01/)

So that was "The Six Thatchers" overall I think it was an ok episode. It had a some laughs, a lot of drama, John Watson being out of character, and a lot of flashbacks.

All in all I give "The Six Thatchers" 6/10

Sherlock Special "The Abominable Bride"

Ok, before I start my review, a little backstory. Before this episode premiered Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat; the creators and writers of the show; said that this episode was going to be a one-off episode, of Sherlock and John in Victorian times. They said this episode was in no way connected to the rest of the series.

They lied. These writers are known to lie about things in their shows. I believe the episode should have been a stand alone episode. I believe it would have been better if it was. It would have made it less complicated and easier to follow.

Also this would have been a great episode for new people to watch who had never seen Sherlock before. Because if it would have been a stand alone, then they could have gotten what the taste of the show is, and not know anything about the previous episodes. Turns out to understand what is happening in "The Abominable Bride" you have to know the history of the show.

Now onto my review. I'll start with the good first. As a huge fan of the Sherlock Holmes book series, I love seeing Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, and the rest of the cast in proper Victorian gear. 

(https://www.cnet.com/uk/pictures/new-photos-reveal-more-clues-from-sherlock-victorian-special-pictures/10/)

(http://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/character-posters-sherlock-abominable-bride/)

(http://uproxx.com/hitfix/new-sherlock-photos-place-you-right-into-victorian-england/)

(http://www.arwelwjones.com/sherlock-special.html)

(http://nixxie-fic.tumblr.com/post/133835605901/phooshoot-pictures-for-sherlock-the-abominable)

I love how (before we find out that the Victorian world is all in Sherlock's mind palace) the story feels like a proper Victorian ghost story.

The Victorian story really has everything working in its favor. It has great costumes, great settings, a great mystery, and a great murders.

Now onto the bad. After about an hour into the show it is revealed to us that Sherlock is still on the plane that is landing from the last episode, "His Last Vow". We also find out that Sherlock literally made up everything we have seen so far in his mind palace. I mean I know Sherlock is smart, but I find it hard to believe that Sherlock thought of everything that happened in the last hour in five minutes; which is suppose to be how much time has passed.

We also find out that Sherlock is as high as a kite. He says he takes drugs to help his mind work better.

Anyway the reason Sherlock made-up the Victorian world in his mind, is because like Moriarty there was a woman who shot herself in the face and then came back to life. So Sherlock is trying to solve the current case by solving an old one. Which seems like a very round about way of trying to solve a case, but whatever works I guess.

This is when the episode goes down hill. The episode goes back and forth between our time and Victorian time. Trying to trick you into thinking that Sherlock is awake only to be like, "No he is still in his mind palace."

Also all of the tension in the Victorian world goes away because, we know that this is all in Sherlock's mind, so he is controlling everything.

Some of the editing in this episode is great.

(https://borg.com/2015/10/27/bbcpbs-masterpiece-releases-new-trailer-for-retro-sherlock-episode/)

(https://medium.com/@michelle_zhou/notes-on-the-sherlock-christmas-special-abominable-bride-2760c48a8625)

(http://www.framerated.co.uk/sherlock-abominable-bride/)

While some of the editing just looks bad.

(https://twitter.com/hashtag/Sherlock?src=tren)

(http://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/sherlock/251713/sherlock-34-things-you-might-have-missed-in-the-abominable-bride)

(https://www.reddit.com/r/Sherlock/comments/40bfv3/spoilers_anyone_else_catch_this_shot_in_the/)

Then for some reason the writer's felt like they had to make Sherlock a feminist. While in his Victorian mind palace, Sherlock realizes how awful he has treated the women in his life. Now I would say this part is good, because Sherlock does need to respect women, but Sherlock also needs to respect men.

I feel like they are just saying that Sherlock disrespects women, um no, Sherlock disrespects everyone and uses everyone. Actually the two people he uses the most in the show is John and Molly. So a man and a woman.

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/0e/c2/f9/0ec2f94ed84f7c5e51586640391ef31a.jpg)

Or how about that time Sherlock "drugged" John and used him as an experiment to see if the drugs worked.

(http://adr1s.tumblr.com/post/28711191678/herl)

Or that time Sherlock flirted with Molly to look at some bodies.

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/a5/63/14/a5631486d68dd1b7a79f61826df0d7d2.jpg)

(http://indulgy.com/post/Uynaitxy92/i-love-how-molly-is-busy-with-her-stuff-but-the)

So this scene of Sherlock being like, "Wow I have treated women so badly, I should treat them better!" Falls flat because he treats everyone like that.

Then Sherlock and Moriarty have a fight at the Reichenbach Falls.

(http://mishasteaparty.tumblr.com/post/136481893719/dead-is-the-new-sexy)

I really like this scene. Because remember this is still in Sherlock's mind palace. So all of the horrible things Moriarty is saying to Sherlock is really what Sherlock is saying to himself, he is just using Moriarty's face to do it. I think it is implied in this scene that Moriarty is Sherlock's low self esteem.

At the end of the episode Sherlock wakes up from his mind palace, and tells, John and Mary, that Moriarty is dead and says he knows what Moriarty's plan is.

Does this episode have its problems, yes, it can be extremely hard to follow the first time you watch it. Like I said early this episode should have been a stand alone episode. However, I really enjoy this episode even though I don't like everything about it. It is definitely a fun episode. I give "The Abominable Bride" 6.5/10

Sherlock Season 3 Episode 3 "His Last Vow"

This review is going to be random so just bare with me. This episode is the best one of season 3, and for some reason I am having a really hard time trying to write a review for it. So instead of basically telling you everything that happened in the episode, I'm just going to touch on the parts that I liked and what I enjoyed about this episode. 

First off Martin Freeman is the king of this episode. He is on fire, he has the best one liners, and he is such a joy to watch. 

(http://lalaithem.tumblr.com/post/73433625974)

He is one of the funniest character's in this episode, but he also has some of the most saddest scenes in this episode, and Martin does a fantastic job in these scenes.

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/cc/2a/57/cc2a57c2c0ebf5a105a96b2cc2401c79.jpg)

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/f5/a1/c9/f5a1c96e64d6e070494623545dce32f2.jpg)

Martin also has some of the most heartwarming scenes.

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/fc/95/66/fc9566908658671e95ac8dfaf3990863.jpg)

Basically Martin Freeman is awesome in this episode.

Now on to Benedict Cumberbatch who has found his way back into my good graces in this episode. He, like Martin, has a lot of funny moments in this episode.

(http://lalaithem.tumblr.com/post/73437488049)

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/28/5f/86/285f86ea9ef7882472aceb44b57205a7.jpg)

This one is my favorite.

(https://gaytectives.tumblr.com/post/73152701940/mycroft-dont-say-another-word-just-go-he-could)

He also has some rather sad scenes.

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/97/d2/6d/97d26d88b7ea591e8723d61a1860d6a6.jpg)

Benedict also does an amazing job in the mind palace scene, please give him all the awards for this scene.

(http://weheartit.com/entry/95855765)

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/70/59/3e/70593e1a5b8b5e8b7b6e38b1090557cd.jpg)

I also love it that I hate the villain in this episode. We finally get a good strong villain in the last episode. Magnussen, a creepy newspaper owner, and blackmailer. He makes my skin crawl, he is so gross and disgusting, because he licks peoples faces and uses  fireplaces as a toilet. 

I also like it that the writers make you think that Magnussen's glasses are a screen and he is able to get information about people from the glasses.

(https://www.quora.com/Sherlock-TV-series-How-does-Charles-Augustus-Magnussen-know-the-details-of-each-and-everyone-by-just-looking-at-them)

However it is revealed later on that like Sherlock, Magnussen has a mind palace, and he stores all of the information he has on people in his mind.

It is also teased, at the end of the episode that the fabulous Moriarty is still alive.

(https://www.movienewsguide.com/sherlock-season-4-updates-moriarty-return-new-seasons-premiere-episode/196135)

Yes, yes I did miss you Moriarty.

This is the best episode of the season and I definitely recommend watching it. I give "His Last Vow" 8/10.  

Sherlock Season 3 Episode 2 "The Sign of Three"

I remember watching this episode when it first aired all the way back in 2014, and I recall being bored while watching it........which is never a good thing.

This episode is very underwhelming; like the last episode, it focuses too much on the character's and not enough on the mystery.

This episode takes place during John and Mary's wedding. Mainly the whole episode is Sherlock's best man speech, with some flashback scenes.

During his best man speech, Sherlock recalls a case were a guardsmen was stabbed, and no one knew how it happened. Sherlock says that he was unable to solve the case.

Sherlock then recalls another case, where women think they are dating a ghost.

It turns out both cases are connected. The man who was stabbed, the guardsmen and the ghost man are one in the same, and he is also John and Mary's photographer.

He wants to kill Major Sholto an old friend of John's from the army. A mission Major Sholto lead went wrong, and he was the only one who survived. The photographer is the brother of one of the men that died.

He stabbed the guardsmen as a test run, in both uniforms they wear a tight belt around waist, he stabbed both the guard and the Major with a very fine blade.

When Sherlock sneaks into the base, were the guardsmen is, he sneaks on it by just wearing a guardsmen hat, and his regular clothes. Why would no one notice? None of the guards he was marching behind would arrest him, or kick him out? Where did he get the hat? Did he have it in his coat?

(https://theinsightfulpanda.com/2014/01/24/sherlock-explained-the-sign-of-three/)

The photographer was dating women who worked for Major Sholto, to find out things about him.

He does stab the Major, but Sherlock, John, and Mary are able to save him.

One thing this episode has over the last one, is that we know what the bad guy's motive is, and he actually has a few lines. However, he is also completely forgettable.

Like the last episode, I feel like the writers just throw a mystery into this episode because they remembered they were writing a Sherlock Holmes story.

This episode has to force it down our throats; basically shouting it in our faces that John and Sherlock are best friends. We get it, we know, you don't have to keep telling us.

(https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomphillips/the-sign-of-three-featuring-a-drunk-sherlock-took-a-lot-of-p)

John and Sherlock have some nice friendship moments, that show you they are friends.

(http://metro.co.uk/2014/01/06/sherlock-series-3-episode-2-the-sign-of-three-10-references-you-may-have-missed-4248142/)

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/dd/10/a6/dd10a6c8a860d0ce3526977264de99e8.jpg)

(http://benedicked.tumblr.com/post/72575356117/benedics-did-i-do-it-wrong-no-you)

Of course in some of those moments one of them says they are friends. I really don't know why the writer's feel like they have to validate Sherlock and John's friendship. I feel like they tell us they are friends every chance they get.

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/77/48/6d/77486d81133dd22ef504a15ad310fccb.jpg)

Martin Freeman's facial expressions alone make me laugh, and Benedict Cumberbatch gets some laughs out of me too.

I actually feel very sorry for Cumberbatch in this episode, because Sherlock's best man's speech is basically the episode. He really had to learn a long monologue with the occasional interruption. It must have been hard to learn.

I really didn't need to see John's Stag night aka his Bachelor party. I also didn't need to see a drunk John and Sherlock. I never needed to see this.

(https://www.dengeek.com/collections/all/sherlock-holmes)

I never needed to see a drunk Sherlock Holmes trying to solve a case. That scene of John and Sherlock trying to solve a case while drunk makes them look like fools. I know the writer's were trying to be funny, but it just seemed like they were trying too hard.

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/09/10/39/091039c24c18eab05b224bbb36d4c345.jpg)

Sherlock composing the song that John and Mary dance to is very sweet. It shows us how much he cares for John and Mary.

After Sherlock is done playing John and Mary's song he makes one last speech. He promises that he will always be there for them, and he will protect them, in his words, "all three of you." Sherlock then tells Mary and John that he deduced Mary was pregnant, and of course he is right.

At the end of the episode, everyone starts dancing, and Sherlock is just standing there since he has no one to dance with. He could have joined in, he could've danced in a group, but he doesn't. He leaves.

(http://sherlock.boardhost.com/viewtopic.php?id=4117&p=5)

I like this scene, because I think everyone can relate to being in a room full of people but feeling alone.

Overall this episode is underwhelming and extremely boring. I actually had to stop watching the episode while reviewing it, because I was so bored. They focus too much on the character's and not enough on the mystery. However, this episode got some laughs out of me, which the last episode did not do. 

I give "The Sign of Three" 3/10.