Sherlock 3x01: The Empty Hearse

[istne_pieklo]

The two-year-long wait is finally over, and here's two Series 3! I must say I'm finding it a bit hard to put my thoughts and impressions into words here. I'd say I liked the episode overall, but I found it a bit... underwhelming? It's not necessarily a bad thing; at least it gives some food for thought and it's something I might want to rewatch

Comments

[zoicite]

Hm. Now that I'm really thinking about it, I would find all of those things in Baskerville IC on paper as well, which has me back to thinking it's the execution that results in me disliking those scenes so much. (I wasn't trying to say that I thought it was bad acting in that episode, more just that the acting choices didn't necessarily work for me there.) Really, I think the turn-off for me is that Sherlock was so overly dramatic in those sections of that episode, which you're right, isn't OOC, but also isn't one of his character traits that I like in more than very small doses.

I really like the flashy bits with the text and maps, etc, in general, and I think they're effective and cool most of the time, but man, that mind palace scene. And every time I hear 'mind palace' all I can think about is that Stephen King book/movie Dreamcatcher. I don't even remember much about the book or the movie except that one of the characters locks himself away in his head and it's like this big office/warehouse in there with all kinds of files and desks. Except Sherlock's mind is a palace, so I imagine fancier files. ;)

re: Anderson
I think I need to rewatch Reichenbach and this episode and think about it all a bit(I'm starting to sense that my weekend may involve an entire series rewatch) but Lestrade's "you did this and it killed him" line at the start bothered me a bit. I guess we didn't know enough about Anderson prior to this episode to really say much about the rest of it. Maybe he was always an obsessive conspiracy theorist, who knows. The (probably intended to be comedic) nervous breakdown scene bothered me for a lot of the same reasons that you mention in your post.

it's a bit weird to have Sherlock without a proper case (that bomb thing was not a case, it was one major wtf!).

Good point! I actually didn't even notice that until you stated it. (I mean, I noticed that the bomb thing was wtf, but didn't really think about the lack of proper case in general)

re: the wallpaper
I get hung up on stuff like that so I actually did go check. It's the same wallpaper. I think the lighting is a bit different in the scenes filmed in the flat in 3x01, which made it stand out more and made the pattern appear bolder than it had to me in the past.

[istne_pieklo]

Sherlock could be a bit (okay, a lot) ridiculous and dramatic in the books too, so I suppose it doesn't annoy me all that much. Combined with all the craziness modern people compared to 19th century people (I do think the world's become a lot crazier XD), it seems natural. But I have to say, I made that conclusion only after a couple of rewatches. The first time I saw Baskerville, the scene at the inn sort of annoyed me a bit. The bit with the cigarettes didn't annoy me b/c it kind of reminded me of myself when my wifi dies. XDDD
Except Sherlock's mind is a palace, so I imagine fancier files Haha, I love all the funny fanarts it spawns. Like the one where Sherlock is standing on the balcony of some castle and saying that he's a pretty princess and this is his mind palace XD
Lestrade's "you did this and it killed him" line at the start bothered me a bit This part doesn't bother me really (the mini-vid Many Happy Returns sort of lays ground for that too) because I can see it happening. I don't know about conspiracy theories, but it shows that Anderson wasn't some sort of a malicious asshole, but a regular person (and Moriarty's machinations fooled a lot of regular people), so of course he feels guilty. I wonder where Donovan is though... What really irks me was that in the end all his research was brushed off and played for laughs, even though he turned out to be a lot cleverer than both Sherlock and the audience gave him credit for. It's even worse when you consider that he comes off as a fandom avatar (and the fandom gleefully accepts it). It's as if they're telling us: yeah, you spent two years making ridiculous theories, but in the end none of this matters, Sherlock is back, be happy about it. On another level, it says: We can write whatever BS we want, our quality can drop, but you'll still gobble it because you're as crazy as Anderson and his fanclub, you just love the show. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but this is what I find offensive. I don't care about gay jokes and supposed queerbaiting, but I care about insulting the fandom. I often say that there are many annoying people in fandom, but that's the same as a black person using the word "nigger": they can do it, white people can't. We fans can insult the fandom because we are part of it; Moffat and Co should shut up already.
LOL, sorry for the rant. I love this show but I have less and less tolerance for its authors. This level of disrespect is something I expect from Moffat, not Gatiss. That's a bit sad.
I think the lighting is a bit different in the scenes filmed in the flat in 3x01, which made it stand out more and made the pattern appear bolder than it had to me in the past. Oh yes, I've noticed the lighting too. Definitely different. And I think the wallpaper in Mrs Hudson's kitchen is different?

[zoicite]

Yeah, I find I can put up with more ridiculous dramatics on page than I can on screen. It's one thing to read it; it sometimes becomes less enjoyable to watch depending on the execution. But I really only feel that way about those few scenes in that one episode, so in the grand scheme it's not a huge thing (except for the part where when I distance myself from the show for a while and then start to think about it, for whatever reason those scenes are often the first that come to mind for me. But then I actually rewatch the show or whatever and remember that I enjoy the character the other 95% of the time).

I don't keep up on the Sherlock fandom and don't think I've seen any of the mind palace fanart, but I can imagine it would make excellent fodder for funny fanworks!

Ah, I totally missed the mini-vid. I think I was wrapped up in family stuff at the time and then I just forgot about it. That actually does help my feelings re: Anderson and Lestrade, because in the actual episode it felt like Lestrade's line was explaining, but also accusing? It feels less so given the mini.

(I never thought that Anderson (or Donovan) was a malicious asshole to begin with though. I don't recall thinking that Anderson or Donovan were being overly unreasonable given the evidence in Reichenbach at the time. A bit too happy about it, but like you said, Moriarty fooled a lot of people. I mean, again, I need to rewatch. It's been at least a year since I last watched s2.) Overall, I think it's just another case of feeling that the show took something that I'd be fine with in theory (Anderson feeling guilty re: his part in Reichenbach), and then pushed it too far for me, with the staged murder scene and his breakdown at the end, etc.

I hope that's not all we're going to get of that storyline this series and that they are actually going somewhere with it all other than just using it as a punchline. And I completely agree with your points regarding Anderson as the fandom avatar. That bothered me as well.

This all just reminded me about that bit where Lestrade and Anderson's coffee cups were edited/merged into John's eyeballs. Whyyyy editor of Sherlock, whyyyy?

I spent a lot of time staring at the wallpaper in the train dude's flat, but didn't notice the wallpaper in Mrs. Hudson's kitchen. I'll have to check that out!