BBC Sherlock Season 3 Review
I know I don't usually write TV reviews, but this is my favorite show on television, and with the latest season's finale airing last night in the US, I really wanted to talk about it. Each episode is basically like a full-length film anyway. So here it is; my review of the third season of Sherlock.
So, as I mentioned, this is my absolute favorite show on TV, and honestly, it's one of the best television shows I've ever watched. It's ingenious modern reinvention of the Holmes mythos is brilliant to say the least, and its blend of mystery and suspense, comedy, and smarts is unmatched in the TV industry. Also, the impeccable casting of Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role and Martin Freeman as his trusty sidekick doesn't hurt.
Season 3 of Sherlock picks up 2 years after the events of Season 2's finale, where Sherlock supposedly sacrificed himself to save the only people he cares about. Of course, in one of the most tantalizing and controversial cliffhangers in television history, it is revealed that it was all some sort of ruse, and Sherlock Holmes is still alive. John Watson has gotten over Holmes' apparent death, and has been dating a woman named Mary for some time. In fact, the two get married in this season's second episode. So, yeah, it's serious.
Of course, when Sherlock reveals himself to Watson in the season's premiere, John goes through somewhat of an emotional relapse, undoing all the grieving he's done over the past couple years. This is a pretty emotional moment for the series. I mean, you can really see the shock in Watson's face and body, as though he's having a heart attack. I liked how the writers didn't simply skip over the reintroduction of Holmes and Watson as if they could go back to the way things were just like that. Imagine believing your best friend was dead for 2 years, then suddenly find out he was actually alive the entire time. I don't know about you, but I'd feel a mixture of extreme anger, disappointment, and confusion. The show explores that, which I liked.
I also liked the relationship between Mary and John. To be honest, I didn't expect to initially. I don't know why, but when a romance involving a character I really care about is introduced, whether it be in movies, TV shows, comics, or whatever, I immediately feel very cynical about it. However, Sherlock quickly won me over with it. It's not a fake relationship. You can tell the two of them care about each other. Even when it was revealed in the finale that Mary has lied to John since they met, they don't just stop having feelings for each other. Sure, Watson feels cheated, betrayed, even disappointed, but that doesn't eradicate the love he has for Mary.
The series took more of a comedic turn with the third season. It has always been a consistently funny and witty show, but I felt like the writers turned the comedy up a notch with Season 3. This isn't inherently a bad thing, but there were times when I thought the jokes and gags were a bit forced, and took me out of the show for a bit. However, Sherlock has also never been funnier, so it pays off to some degree.
I've heard complaints about how this season was less about the crimes and detective work and more about the characters themselves. I think it's rather unfortunate if you feel that's a bad thing. Yes, part of the series' magic is how smart and how shocking some of the plotlines are. And seeing Sherlock solve crimes is ridiculously entertaining. However, what makes the series special in my opinion is the fact that it gets you to care about its characters and what happens to them. Holmes is not the easiest guy to like. The show deliberately sets him up as such. The third season, particularly the first two episodes, takes advantage of the fact that the show has captured our affection for the characters. Now, they delve deeper into their relationship, and its emotional themes.
Speaking more to what I was just saying, now that Sherlock and John's relationship is more fully developed, and we have seen the emotional ups and downs of the pair, the series now has a stronger foundation, and has set itself up for more possibilities in the future.
There were a couple intriguing twists that came from this season, more specifically from the finale. As I previously mentioned, there is the fact that Mary has been leading a double life this whole time, which to be honest completely blindsided me. And it worked. I'm interested where they take this in future seasons. Also, at the very end of the season finale, there was the reveal that Moriarty is, in fact, alive. This came as a relief to me. He was such a magnificent villain, so I was really disappointed when they killed him off in Season 2. Charles Magnussen, the villain from the finale, was actually really good, so I was hoping he became the series' new Moriarty. This hope was obviously crushed when Sherlock shot Magnussen at the end of the finale. Magnussen being gone is not really a problem what with Moriarty now returning. I'm interested to see how they explain Moriarty's apparent fake death, or even if they will at all. They failed to fully explain Sherlock's, so you never know. This actually takes me to my first complaint.
After it was revealed that Sherlock was actually alive at the very end of Season 2, we all knew he had faked it. What we didn't know was how he did this. I was a little skeptical that the writers would be able to explain it in a completely satisfactory manner, but I was hoping for an explanation that I could at least accept, if not like. However, after giving us a number of false explanations without really explaining it in the season premiere, the writers seemed to think we would just forget about it. John even says, "I don't care how you did it. I want to know why." Well, I care how you did it. I'm still waiting for the real reason, and I hope, at some point in the next season it is explained.
Another thing I couldn't bring myself to fully support was the fact that Sherlock kills Magnussen. Yes, Holmes is a somewhat uncaring and sociopathic person, but I didn't think murder was in his repertoire. I thought he was the guy that solved, and in some cases stopped the murder. You can make the argument that Magnussen was a dirty guy, and he deserved it. But it's just like the Batman rule. Killing is killing, no matter who it is you do it to. I'd rather not go into semantics and philosophy in a simple review, but bottom line is I was not a fan of that. Also, I didn't like the fact that Sherlock was simply allowed to turn around and come back immediately because he was needed. So, he gets off completely scot-free? Doesn't seem right, does it? Had they cut to some remote foreign country six months later where Mycroft gets a hold of Sherlock and tells him to come back, it'd be a different story.
Despite these things, I loved the season as a whole. It was still as gripping and compelling as it has been in the past, and as I mentioned, it's funnier and explores the relationship between Holmes and Watson with greater depth. There has yet to been an episode of Sherlock that I did not love or find utterly entertaining. All three episodes of Season 3 brought something new to the series. And of course, the Moriarty reveal promises a fourth season, and more of the wonderful adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. I'm counting down the two years until Season 4 of Sherlock airs.
Conclusion
The third season of BBC's Sherlock finds the series still soaring in top form, delivering the riveting and uncommonly smart plots that the show has become known for, while also delving deeper into the emotional themes of the relationships of the boys from Baker Street. Still spectacularly acted and brilliantly written, the fourth season can't come soon enough. I'm tempted to give this season a perfect score, as I did with the previous two seasons, but it wasn't quite perfect. Only a minor complaint, though. This show is still amazing.
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