HCAU Reviews: Sherlock The Final Problem
It must be said that I am probably one of the biggest Sherlock fans there is. Nevertheless – or, more probably, for that exact reason – I was hugely disappointed with the fourth season and the final episode in particular. As much as I enjoy seeing people get severely frustrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, I have to admit that I would, at this point, prefer if there were no more episodes. Why?
Well, the first episode of the new season, “The Six Thatchers”, was in general, not bad but it really wasn’t good either. I appreciate the homage to the original Arthur Conan Doyle story, “The Six Napoleons”- this is something I’ve always loved about BBC’s Sherlock – but in general, there’s not that much that really excited me about this episode. “The case”, the mystery of the Thatcher busts, gets done with very quickly in order to make room for the unveiling of Mary’s real history. It feels quite unlovingly done, and the sudden death of the son in the exact moment that he is going to meet his father seems extremely random.
In general, it felt like this whole season had a lot of unnecessary drama, for example, the meeting of Sherlock and Mary. I get that old derelict buildings make for interesting meeting points, but was all that candle light really necessary? As heart breaking as Amanda Abbington and Martin Freeman’s acting was at the moment of Mary’s death, the episode in general just didn’t catch me.
The second episode appealed to me much more, although I have to say that I didn’t like this episode’s villain, Culverton Smith. To me, it felt like after Moriarty’s death, the writers of the show were trying to create a similarly good villain but it just didn’t work. While Magnussen, in season three, has the slick, manipulative, disgusting charm of Moriarty, I feel like he still worked as a villain. His collected calm craziness was what made him truly scary. Culverton Smith on the other hand, just didn’t seem as creepy to me. If they were trying to make the baddie be like Moriarty, I would much rather just have the real thing. It felt like he was just a cover for introducing the season’s true villain; the third Holmes sibling, Eurus.
What I did like about the second episode was the depiction of the trauma left after Mary’s death, and the way John and Sherlock just seem to need each other in order to live. The parallels to the very first episode, appealed to me as well, that’s why I had hopes that the final episode, “The Final Problem”. It should have been as good an episode as I am used to from Sherlock. Sadly, I was bitterly disappointed.
This one, especially just didn’t feel like Sherlock. A cheaply made explosion at the beginning? All those action scenes?
I’ve always thought that the entire show lives from its cleverness. The intelligence of not only Sherlock Holmes but the show’s creators was what continued to astound and excite me, this one just didn’t have that. The deductions, which are normally the most deliciously amazing part of a Sherlock episode, felt like they were just thrown in there for good measure. My problem with the show’s villains continued on… I mean, Moriarty’s “comeback” scene was amazing, but it just increased the disappointment when I realised that it was actually a flashback. Eurus too, she didn’t really come together for me as a villain. Apparently the same was true for Sherlock, after just witnessing her kill a bunch of people, he goes on to play a nice little violin duet with her? I get that music is supposed to be the only way those Holmes siblings can really communicate but come on, doesn’t that seem a little cliché?
One thing I did like about it was the portrayal of Mrs Hudson, she will forever be my hero! Apart from that, all of the writing seemed quite lazy, like they were making up for loss of wit by throwing in explosions and dying kids. The whole thing was just too dark. I could have lived with that, had those depressing scenes been sufficiently resolved. But especially the Sherlock/Molly scene was heartbreaking to watch, and if this is really the last episode ever, it will probably not be addressed any further. The ending felt rather forced, rushed and sappy; not only because the connection to the actual episode failed to make itself clear.
In general, the whole season, sadly, felt like the authors were selling out here. If there is more to come, I sincerely hope they will go back to the brilliantness of the earlier seasons.
Photos: Google Images