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Season Four of BBC’s Sherlock Ends With a Bang

Warning: this article will contain spoilers for all three episodes of Sherlock Season 4. 

There are few TV shows that people wish they could become unaddicted to. BBC’s Sherlock is one of those shows. In the past seven years, BBC has released only four seasons of the show, each with only three episodes. The fact that each episode is an hour and a half long only slightly eases the suffering of the show’s fans.

This year, like a wild, British unicorn, the show made a miraculous return. The three episodes to be aired—The Six Thatchers, The Lying Detective, and The Final Problem—promised to be a chaotic ride of mystery, detective temper tantrums, John looking confused, and only a little queer-baiting.

Did the show deliver? Well, fans have mixed opinions. However, the general consensus is that this season, which has the potential to be the last season of Sherlock ever, didn’t live up to the hype.

From the first episode, the show seemed too self-conscious of its viewers. Weird special effects featuring Sherlock’s head floating in front of an ocean marked the end of the episode. Mary Watson’s death led fans who loved her to be disappointed and those who didn’t to be exasperated.

Even before her death (and John’s weird, almost comical groan), the chemistry between the Watsons just seemed…off. Maybe it was John’s secret “affair” that made him appear cold to her; maybe it was the real-life split between Martin Freeman and Amanda Abbington. Whatever the cause, the relationship between the two no longer seemed loving. It just seemed forced. Overall, the episode felt like one long parody compared to what it could’ve been.

The second episode, The Lying Detective, was less disappointing, featuring some touching, honest moments between John and Sherlock. One of the few complaints to be heard was that Sherlock managed to capture a creepy billionaire serial killer….but his crimes were never shown. (C’mon, they’re not even going to tell us what he did?) The ending plot twist, revealing that Sherlock and Mycroft’s mystery brother is actually a sister named Eurus, managed to shock viewers. The Lying Detective ended on a lot of question notes, and it was up to The Final Problem to answer them.

The grand finale of the season was not a failure, although it also didn’t have the typical, humorous “Sherlock” feel that fans of the show have come to adore. The Final Problem did have many good moments and told us the whole story behind Eurus Holmes. However, for a show that may be the last episode of Sherlock, it certainly left a lot of loose ends. What will happen, if anything, between Sherlock and Molly Hooper? Did Moriarty know he was going to die? Did Eurus know, too? As of now, the third Holmes sibling has been sent back to her old prison, Sherrinford, and while it seems like she’s “healing,” she did break out of that same prison before. So what will become of Eurus Holmes?

Overall, the season was much darker than fans expected, and while it had some high notes, the best high note of all has to be that now Sherlock and John can go back to solving everyday cases per usual. Now fans get to look forward to another three years of waiting for more adventures with their favorite consulting detective.

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