This is possibly a comment by the producers on the fandom’s various takes on pairings and shipping, and I’m not entirely sure it’s not a dig - then again, Mark Gatiss has stated so many times how fond he is of The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, I don’t believe he meant to put one over on us, merely tease.īut I digress. Piss pot.Īs it is, we get to see some of the possible theories played out - including some, shall we say, romanticism courtesy of Sherlock’s ‘fans’… practically everyone gets paired off with Sherlock in this episode, especially John, of course. John repeatedly attacking Sherlock is the best possible reaction ever (rather than, you know, just fainting), and the sequence where Mrs Hudson talks to Sherlock about talking to John… now, that’s clever editing. At the same time as being heartwrenching and emotional, the script is also absolutely funny and banking on both dialogue and situational comedy. Mark Gatiss has managed to devise a narrative that fit all of these things comfortably, giving even the many supporting characters that make the audience love this show so much time to shine. It had to be the resolution of the cliffhanger - the big one, the answer to the question that’s been driving the entire fandom insane for the past two years. The reconciliation, the introduction of a new threat, a plausibly exciting new case that would draw Sherlock out of hiding. This episode - its title loaned from the original return story, The Empty House - had to be several things at once. Sherlock Holmes has returned - not quite in a blaze of glory, perhaps, but definitely to assault and battery. Previously on Sherlock: The Reichenbach Fall.

Review sherlock the empty hearse