Written by Steven Moffat And Mark Gatiss And Stephen Thompson
Directed by Colm McCarthy
Sherlock: "Today you are sitting between the woman you have made your wife and the man you have saved. In short, the two who you love you the most in all the world."
The middle episodes of Sherlock have been something of a mixed bag. I still feel that The Blind Banker is probably the weakest episode the show has ever produced and while I like The Hounds Of Baskerville, it does actually pale in comparison to the episodes it's sandwiched between. Taking that history into account, this could've boded badly for this episode but I actually think the difficult middle episode trend might have been broken here.
First off all, the union between Watson and Mary became tighter as this was the very episode that saw them getting married and it (rightfully) dominated the entire episode with some nice cutaways to past adventures (including the funniest stag do you'll ever see) and it was a wedding that was certainly full of events. Notably, Sherlock having to deliver one of the loveliest and most bizarre of best man speeches as well. See, how much John has humanised him, folks? This episode made that pretty clear, didn't it?
Of course, marriage aside, the episode ended with revealing rather succinctly that Mary was also pregnant and the title of the episode seemed to be hinting at a new status quo. Can I just say that for all the unfair criticism that Moffat gets with female characters that Mary has been a raring success as a character. Her dynamic with the boys has been as delightful as Mrs Hudson's and her whipsmart intelligence as well in the middle of an assassination attempt more than proves to me that she should stay.
As for the 'case of the episode' - the attack on Watson's reclusive former commander, Schalto was handled interestingly enough. I kind of sussed who the killer happened to be the most Sherlock dropped his champagne glass but the build up and eventual reveal was a lot of fun to see play out. I know some fans haven't been happy with the cases feeling a little secondary this series but personally, I actually think it's a good thing really. I'd rather have more of this new gang Sherlock/Watson have adopted with Mary, Molly, Lestrade and Hudson. It's far more entertaining to watch.
- Irene Adler got an Amy Pond style appearance during one of Sherlock's deductive sequences with the photographer's conquests. Funny how he only seems to view Irene as only naked.
- Anyone else feel a tad sorry for Tom? Molly really does seem to be using him for rebound purposes and she's barely concealing it either.
- Janine the maid of honour was a laugh riot. I did like her and Sherlock's flirtatious banter in this episode. At one point though, I did think she might have been the killer.
- CAM sent Mary a wedding message. So, she definitely has a connection to this series villain then? Must do, right?
- Mrs Hudson really wasn't shy in telling Watson about her own marriage and Mycroft got some cheeky revenge on Sherlock this week too.
- How come it took three people to write this episode? Not complaining, just curious is all.
Okay, far as I'm concerned this current series of Sherlock has been super enjoyable, even if it's been a little lighter feeling than previous series. More to the point, The Sign Of Three deftly smashed the weak middle episode trend by actually being better than the opening episode. Now, let's see what the finale delivers.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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