'The Empty Hearse' Review - or - A Study In Contrasts
To say I was nervous about this episode would have been a vast understatement of my sentiments. This time around, I was not quite as spoiler manic, yet what glimpses I did catch were not easing my trepidations - the trailers, I will admit, went so far as to make me angry. Was this going to be reminiscent of RDJ!Holmes and Jude Law's Watson? Were we going to get another main female character in the vein of what they attempted to pass off as Irene Adler?
I will be first to admit when my foot needs a firm planting in an oral cavity, and for The Empty Hearse, at least, that is precisely where I have shoved it.
What I Adored RE: The Grand Reveal - Or - Contrast I
Yes, I am comparing Series Three to the second one, and I think nothing screams of that contrast more loudly than the opening scenes of S2E1 & S3E1. Not being someone who expected anything approaching elaborate for that notorious pool scene, I confess myself disgusted with its "resolution". This could have easily gone in the same direction if Gatiss hadn't made such light of the issue, teasing us with all those "this is how it could have happened" moments - the best of which, IMHO, was his (possibly) pulling Anderson's leg with that fan group. And oh, the poke at fandom! Gorgeously done, sir.
There are a good many people scratching their heads wondering which explanation was the truth, or closest to it, which in my estimation was a clever way to write himself out of the dead end this very well could have turned into with something that took itself too seriously.
Sarah vs. Mary - Or - Contrast II
It's no secret I hated Sarah Sawyer. There were hints of SIGN in The Blind Banker, and not only were the efforts at making her seem clever an epic!fail, what purpose she served was beyond me. Her character was a cardboard one, made John seem interested in only one thing, and quite honestly, she was brought on as a potential main character far too soon in the series' development. She didn't work in the grand dynamics of things, and part of that was the way in which she was written. I.e., obligatory love interest - not anyone actually special. I despised Sarah.
Whereas Sarah was hopeless from the start, this Mary has potential. We get only glimpses of her, but her interests in John seem to extend beyond her own. In short, whatever is between them thus comes off as more genuine. I did not think I was going to like having her inserted in after the hiatus instead of before, but I am interested to see what sort of role they have planned out for her. Especially since I actually catch hints of Canon!Mary in there, with her advice, encouragement, and overall pleasantness. The foundation of a good character has been laid, if nothing else - it will be up to the next two writers to take that solid groundwork and build up.
Sherlock's Persona - or - Contrast III
Now we come to the point in which I am a bit more conflicted about, and that was the presentation of Sherlock. Holmes was never such a grating, unthinking dickwad, Victorian mannerliness be damned. The greatest contrast of all between Doyle's Holmes and Cumberbatch's Sherlock can be summed up by their respective hiatuses. Book!Holmes was prepared to fight his intellectual rival to the death to rid the world of his evil, and his escape was done on the spur of the moment - and his note, I might add, was also genuine. Cumberbatch!Sherlock planned this out to the last detail, and returns cocky as ever, expecting that the world revolves around him and in some instances abusing John's emotions to get his way. That is not Holmes & Watson, in any incarnation.
This is going to get me burned in effigy, but I think the problem lies just as much with Cumberbatch then it does with the scripting. NOT giving Gatiss or any others a free pass on this issue; the blame rightfully belongs on them for writing him as some sort of a sociopath in the first place, but... Cumberbatch tends to overact to an almost painful degree at times, so scripting that is actually in character and intended to be subtle does not come off as such with him at the helm. He worsens an already existing problem, in other words.
For instance, there was a scene from the trailer that I misread re: when he looks through John's file and comments the moustache makes him look old, that he doesn't want to be seen with an old man - the writing itself implies that Holmes is wearing his mask, but underneath that, those words stemmed from real pain at seeing how his absence has aged John. The acting, however, reeks of character misinterpretation and lack of subtlety. The better example would probably be in TRF, where John gets arrested for punching the superintendent, and that quick half smile Sherlock gives to denote suppressed pleasure at it. Only reason I eventually "got" the meaning was because of (ACD Canon) character knowledge. Otherwise, I first mistook it for a pained grimace. Compare that to Brett's subtle lip twitches, where he could convey an entire paragraph with a gesture you might miss if you blinked.
So yes; I have said before that IMO, this series writes Sherlock inconsistently, not only from one writer to another, but also during the course of an episode. That was apparent here, and my worst gripe with the episode, but the fault is not 100% on the scriptwriters, I begin to think. Martin Freeman, OTOH, was flawless as ever.
Even with its blatant lack of a plot, I cannot help but think The Empty Hearse was fantastic. It rekindled my love of the series, and in spite of my issues with Sherlock's caustic personality, it was still a worthy adaptation with so many nuanced Canon references I nearly died of joy. Not that my lowly opinion matters in the grand scheme of things, but I very heartily approve.
I will be first to admit when my foot needs a firm planting in an oral cavity, and for The Empty Hearse, at least, that is precisely where I have shoved it.
What I Adored RE: The Grand Reveal - Or - Contrast I
Yes, I am comparing Series Three to the second one, and I think nothing screams of that contrast more loudly than the opening scenes of S2E1 & S3E1. Not being someone who expected anything approaching elaborate for that notorious pool scene, I confess myself disgusted with its "resolution". This could have easily gone in the same direction if Gatiss hadn't made such light of the issue, teasing us with all those "this is how it could have happened" moments - the best of which, IMHO, was his (possibly) pulling Anderson's leg with that fan group. And oh, the poke at fandom! Gorgeously done, sir.
There are a good many people scratching their heads wondering which explanation was the truth, or closest to it, which in my estimation was a clever way to write himself out of the dead end this very well could have turned into with something that took itself too seriously.
Sarah vs. Mary - Or - Contrast II
It's no secret I hated Sarah Sawyer. There were hints of SIGN in The Blind Banker, and not only were the efforts at making her seem clever an epic!fail, what purpose she served was beyond me. Her character was a cardboard one, made John seem interested in only one thing, and quite honestly, she was brought on as a potential main character far too soon in the series' development. She didn't work in the grand dynamics of things, and part of that was the way in which she was written. I.e., obligatory love interest - not anyone actually special. I despised Sarah.
Whereas Sarah was hopeless from the start, this Mary has potential. We get only glimpses of her, but her interests in John seem to extend beyond her own. In short, whatever is between them thus comes off as more genuine. I did not think I was going to like having her inserted in after the hiatus instead of before, but I am interested to see what sort of role they have planned out for her. Especially since I actually catch hints of Canon!Mary in there, with her advice, encouragement, and overall pleasantness. The foundation of a good character has been laid, if nothing else - it will be up to the next two writers to take that solid groundwork and build up.
Sherlock's Persona - or - Contrast III
Now we come to the point in which I am a bit more conflicted about, and that was the presentation of Sherlock. Holmes was never such a grating, unthinking dickwad, Victorian mannerliness be damned. The greatest contrast of all between Doyle's Holmes and Cumberbatch's Sherlock can be summed up by their respective hiatuses. Book!Holmes was prepared to fight his intellectual rival to the death to rid the world of his evil, and his escape was done on the spur of the moment - and his note, I might add, was also genuine. Cumberbatch!Sherlock planned this out to the last detail, and returns cocky as ever, expecting that the world revolves around him and in some instances abusing John's emotions to get his way. That is not Holmes & Watson, in any incarnation.
This is going to get me burned in effigy, but I think the problem lies just as much with Cumberbatch then it does with the scripting. NOT giving Gatiss or any others a free pass on this issue; the blame rightfully belongs on them for writing him as some sort of a sociopath in the first place, but... Cumberbatch tends to overact to an almost painful degree at times, so scripting that is actually in character and intended to be subtle does not come off as such with him at the helm. He worsens an already existing problem, in other words.
For instance, there was a scene from the trailer that I misread re: when he looks through John's file and comments the moustache makes him look old, that he doesn't want to be seen with an old man - the writing itself implies that Holmes is wearing his mask, but underneath that, those words stemmed from real pain at seeing how his absence has aged John. The acting, however, reeks of character misinterpretation and lack of subtlety. The better example would probably be in TRF, where John gets arrested for punching the superintendent, and that quick half smile Sherlock gives to denote suppressed pleasure at it. Only reason I eventually "got" the meaning was because of (ACD Canon) character knowledge. Otherwise, I first mistook it for a pained grimace. Compare that to Brett's subtle lip twitches, where he could convey an entire paragraph with a gesture you might miss if you blinked.
So yes; I have said before that IMO, this series writes Sherlock inconsistently, not only from one writer to another, but also during the course of an episode. That was apparent here, and my worst gripe with the episode, but the fault is not 100% on the scriptwriters, I begin to think. Martin Freeman, OTOH, was flawless as ever.
Even with its blatant lack of a plot, I cannot help but think The Empty Hearse was fantastic. It rekindled my love of the series, and in spite of my issues with Sherlock's caustic personality, it was still a worthy adaptation with so many nuanced Canon references I nearly died of joy. Not that my lowly opinion matters in the grand scheme of things, but I very heartily approve.