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Sherlock

Je gaat een tekst lezen over de Britse dramaserie Sherlock.

Opdracht 1

Deze opdracht doe je eerst alleen, daarna bespreek je de antwoorden in je groep.

Sherlock episode 3: The Final Problem, review: 'an exhilarating thrill-ride'

For three weeks, fans 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: Sherlock is now Britain’s biggest drama.

The 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, 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 charms of Sherlock himself, Benedict Cumberbatch, there has been a sceptical one about the script. Last night’s episode showcased all the elements that have made this modern-day reinvention such a hit.

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 tricks. However, this shock twist wasn’t a resurrection but a 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. As Mycroft (Mark Gatiss) told 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 siblings a string of life-or-death dilemmas, aided by recordings of Moriarty from beyond the grave.

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 aeroplane turned out to be a metaphor for Eurus’s fear and isolation.

We were left with a wiser Holmes and Watson (Martin Freeman) 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.