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Sherlock episode 3: The Final Problem, review: 'an exhilarating thrill-ride'
By Michael Hogan
17 January 2017
Shadowy agents, serial killers, secret histories and a grief counsellor who was actually Sherlock Holmes’s long-lost sister. For three weeks, fans of the high-functioning franchise had their brains scrambled by a succession of revelations, riddles and red herrings. But, as the final episode of the fourth series drew to a close last night, one fact remained indubitable: Sherlock is now Britain’s biggest drama. Elementary, my dear viewers.
The slick, contemporary adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories – which the BBC has sold to an astonishing 240 territories around the world – was the most popular programme over the festive period, save for the New Year’s Eve fireworks, attracting in excess of 11 million viewers during its three-week run.
However, it’s not all been plain sailing. For every glowing review, social media rave and fan tribute to the flowing-coated charms of Sherlock himself, Benedict Cumberbatch, there has been a sceptical one about the self-referential script or labyrinthine plotting.
Last night’s episode showcased all the elements that have made this modern-day reinvention such a hit – as well as those that have proved divisive.
Titled The Final Problem, this rollercoaster thrill-ride of an episode began with a bang – a bomb blew 221B Baker Street to smithereens, propelling our heroes out of the windows with a huge fireball. Criminal mastermind Moriarty was back, despite having shot himself five years ago: alive and well and up to his old devilish tricks. However, this shock twist – just one of many – wasn’t a resurrection but a rug-pulling flashback and Moriarty was merely a henchman to the main villain of the piece. A villain who was Holmes’s darkest, deadliest adversary yet: his own sister.
Eurus (a star-making turn from Sian Brooke) had spent decades in a fortress-like facility for the criminally insane, located on a remote island to “contain the uncontainables”. As Mycroft (Mark Gatiss) told “brother mine” Sherlock: “This isn’t one of your idiot cases. This is family.”
Except rather than being imprisoned, Eurus turned her guards (led by guest star Art Malik) into captives themselves. The lunatics had literally taken over the asylum. Now she set her estranged siblings a string of life-or-death dilemmas, aided by recordings of Moriarty from beyond the grave. “Miss me?” he kept asking. Yes, we did actually. Actor Andrew Scott swaggered, chewed scenery and palpably relished his return. Louise Brealey also shone in her sole, heart-wrenching scene as pathologist Molly Hooper.
Twists kept on coming in this Chinese puzzle of a story, co-written by series creators Gatiss and Steven Moffat. Sherrinford, hinted to be a third Holmes brother, wasn’t a person but a place. The much-mourned Redbeard wasn’t the family dog but a little boy: Sherlock’s childhood chum with whom he played pirates, until jealous Eurus threw him down a well. Tense scenes of a young girl on a plummeting aeroplane turned out to be a metaphor for Eurus’s fear and isolation. Highly implausible at times, but also powerfully effective.
The dazzling script delivered laughs, excitement and emotion. Movie pastiches flew past, from horror tropes to Avengers’ gentleman spy weaponry, and some smart Silence Of The Lambs business with a glass cell. After the adrenalin stopped pumping, there was even a happy ending.
We were left with a wiser Holmes and Watson (Martin Freeman) – “the junkie who solves crimes to get highand the Doctor who never came home from the war” – back in a rebuilt 221B, ready to crack more crimes. It was like our beloved characters had been restored to factory settings. If this was the last-ever episode, which it surely won’t be, it worked well as a sign-off.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
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