Did I just watch the first episode in the new season for BBC’s Sherlock? Or did I just watch a television adaptation of the James Bond film Skyfall? I will unfortunately have to go with the latter because this recent entry in the Sherlock chronicles went full on Bond Mode, to varying degrees of success and failure.
The Good:
- Benedict Cumberbatch is once again back in the role that made him a household name and he is electric. His Sherlock has always been my favourite on the small screen (and the big). His Sherlock is a damaged person, one who revels in fully knowing that fact. In this episode he once again brought his ‘A’ game, with his deep rolling voice and sarcastic attitude towards any and every one who cannot roll with his thought patterns.
- Martin Freeman once again reprises his role as the faithful sidekick and friend Dr. John Watson. He still brings the heart and occasional humour.
The Bad:
- Too much Bond, not enough Sherlock.
Sherlock, the clear murderer from the end of last season is back, but his past has been taken care of on the official records. Thanks to Mycroft (of course). Moriarty even though dead (yeah right) is still playing a huge role in Sherlock’s life, though mostly from his own doing. Sherlock is still talking fast, texting, insulting people, solving crimes and anything else he can do to past the time until his arch nemesis returns. Watson and Mary now have a kid to deal with – though for the entirety of the episode the baby was more a boring plot point rather than adding flavour to these two characters.
We knew from the moment Mary was outed as being a former assassin for hire that she would eventually get killed on the show because of this past. So said, so done. I think what bothered me the most is how predictable this episode was. Apart from the typical weekly mystery the team normally solves at the beginning of each episode, everything else that happened was of no surprise to me; Mary’s former teammate coming to kill her because of a misunderstand, Mary trying to live a normal life but dives back into her past to protect those she cares about, Sherlock’s obsession with Moriarty blinding him from facts he would normally see from a mile away…These all were of no surprise. This episode did remind me a lot of Skyfall from the James Bond franchise, and if you read the points I have listed above you can see why.
All in all it was an okay episode, still very much worth a watch. I would, however, pay very close attention to the next episode to get a sense of if they will return to what we truly love about Sherlock in the first place; the brain over brawn stories, or whether we will continue with pseudo-007.
See the trailer for the next episode down below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxxSAqyrmOM
