I guess they had Martin Freeman do the intro about how terrific "The Final Problem" script is because otherwise we wouldn't know. The script is, in fact, so convoluted and ridiculous, so sensational in the worst sense of the word,
that I'm embarrassed for these fine actors. The mad sister locked away who escapes to wreak havoc on the family? Charlotte Bronte is doing high-fives with bony fingers.
I don't mind the violence. It's consistent with Moriarty's character -- it's what he does to the world. But for Sherlock to fall for Eurus' 'deals' several times -- to believe that she's going to keep her word when he solves the puzzles she assigns him-- is not consistent with Sherlock's character, even if she is his sister.
I get that this is about family and friendship, and I get that we're supposed to see a side of Sherlock that's been previously hidden, but what's revealed to us is just not convincing, or it's too abrupt: they should have given us several more episodes showing his character changing. Really, the scene at the end with Sherlock and John, crime-fighting duo, bursting through the flames like an inverse Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid!
The first "Sherlock" episodes are fine at developing the characters and riffing on the relationship between Sherlock and Dr. Watson. And I love the jokes in the later episodes about John's blog -- ties in so well with the whole philosophical questions of 'is this how it really happened or is it just a description of how it happened' and 'once you describe it, does that change the event itself,' and moreover, 'how can we really know anything, anyway, filtered as everything is by our own faulty perceptions and interpreted via our crummy childhood baggage'?
Okay, I officially no longer know what I'm talking about. But, really, the whole blog thing ties in so well with the current lament about how the press has re-configured our reality.
I also love the wry comments in the face of danger like the Lady Bracknell cracks (you guys ever see the old black-and-white "Avengers" episode where John Steed, blindfolded, facing a firing squad, and asked if he has any last words, says "Please cancel my milk"?)
But most of what we get in these last "Sherlocks"? Bah! BAH! I say.
Oops. I just remembered this isn't the "Sherlock" board. So sorry. I promise to write a legitimate "Hollow Crown" post soon and explain how all that stuff about how nasty Richard III was, actually came from a 'tell-all' the Duke of Buckingham wrote after Richard told him he was "not in the giving vein."
reply
share