I've seen Sebastian Moran - Analysis of Moran's possible appearences
I’ve seen Sebastian Moran.
For all those who say Moran hasn’t yet made an appearance in BBC Sherlock
In a way, it’s true. Or at least, it was true before The Reichenbach Fall. Seb hasn’t made a physical appearance before the last moments of the last episode
But still, we know for sure he’s going to be the main villain of season three, if Moffat and Gatiss chose to stay close to the canon and they said they would respect it. Plus, Moffat watched Ritchie’s Holmes and said he loved it, I would be really surprised if he didn’t think of making his own interpretation of Sebastian Moran, a classic Holmesian villain.
And they left hints of Moran’s presence thorough the whole series :
1 - The sniper Moriarty ordered to shot Shan in the end of The Blind Banker. Notice that it is the first episode with a reference to Moran and it was written by Thompson. Yeah, the same guy who wrote the Reichenbach Fall.
2 - Obviously, the sniper(s ?) who was there at the pool. Why Moran ? First because Moriarty entrust him with aiming at Sherlock, his precious nemesis. I don’t think Moriarty is the kind of person who would let anybody take on such an important role. Secondly, he’s sniper, it’s not a coincidence, trust me. And last but not least, Moriarty only needs to snap his fingers to order him to leave. If that’s not an allusion to Moran’s unfailing loyalty, I don’t know what that is. In my opinion, it’s also a way to show they understand each other perfectly, just like Sherlock and John’s (even if they don’t share the same exact relationship, i’ll get to that later). It’s a parallel to the scene, in the Great Game, where Moriarty only needs to say “But then people do get sentimental about their pets. They’re so touching and loyal.” to order Moran to aim at Sherlock. What makes me think it’s some sort of secret signal between the two ? The fact that Moriarty then looks away, smiling, almost surprised by Moran’s quick reaction. It’s an interpretation, of course, but I’ve always read the scene that way.
- There is also that moment in The Reichenbach Fall where Sherlock looks at the footmarks on the floor during the kidnapping investigation. Moriarty could have sent anybody to kidnap these children, I agree. But what’s interesting about this precise scene is that you can hear the same sound you hear when the red dot appear and disappear in the Great Game. I don’t know if it’s relevant, but it’s something I find quite intriguing.
Also, don’t forget the little girl screamed when she saw Sherlock : the man Moriarty sent must have looked like him. And when you think about it, the guy at the end of the Reichenbach Fall, the one with the sniper rifle … he could totally pretend to be Sherlock : he’s tall, slim, dark-haired and he even seems to have high cheekbones.
Plus the fact that BBC!Moran may look like Sherlock is super interesting (and creepy given Moriarty’s obsession with Sherlock).
- Finally, we have this man with the sniper rifle. I’m sure he’s Moran. Many reasons for that : firstly he’s an international top assassin and his weapon of choice is a sniper rifle, just like canon!Moran. Secondly, he’s the only assassin in the Reichenbach Fall to have such a ‘long’ screentime. The others have no screentime at all or are just briefly shown. What would be the point of showing us a random sniper, seriously. Thirdly, he’s shown assembling his rifle and right after that who appears on the screen ? Watson. Remember this line on John’s blog : “His John Watson ?”. Moran’s often compared to Watson and you’ve got to admit the parallel between the two men is obvious : they both were in the army, have quite an unusual best friend and are extremely loyal.
He’s also the only assassin who appears after Moriarty’s death. After all, he’s going to avenge him later. Don’t forget that the main reason Sherlock Holmes hides in canon is Moran. He’s afraid of that man who literally hunts him because he swore he would finish Moriarty’s work.
Some said Sebastian doesn’t look upset by Moriarty’s death. I disagree, you can clearly see he’s annoyed.
Yes, annoyed. Because in my opinion he was well aware Jim would die. Or at least, he knew it was a very high possibility. He wasn’t surprised or upset because he expected it. Sure, it probably bothered him. Living without Jim, well, life would lose all its flavour. But, here, in that staircase, he looked annoyed.
My guess is that he understood Sherlock wasn’t really dead (from the top of a building, Sherlock’s trick may become obvious) and, like in the canon, considered that Moriarty simply died for … nothing. His plan failed. He shot himself in the head for Sherlock. And it didn’t even work. Sherlock had become so important for Moriarty the last months of his life, it was already annoying for Seb. He knew he wouldn’t ever be Holmes. The consulting detective seemed to become Jim’s very reason to live. But Seb knew Jim still needed him. He could bear being in the shadow of the great Sherlock. If Sherlock died, Seb wouldn’t have been furious. Sad, depressed, nostalgic, maybe. But not angry, because, in the end, Jim would have won.Except Sherlock lived. He won and James died. Can you imagine Moran’s rage when he searches three years for Sherlock Holmes in the canon ? Well, perhaps BBC!Moran felt the same.
- I also asked myself if at least one of the assassins who save Sherlock during the Reichenbach Fall could be Moran. Why would he save Sherlock ? Because Jim needs him alive. He could have ordered Moran to look after him. But I’m not entirely sure of that. What exactly led me to think of that ? Perhaps the fact that, the first time a mysterious sniper saves Sherlock’s life, it’s just after his ride with taxi driver Moriarty ? Or maybe because Watson arrives just after that, as to save him from his criminal counterpart ?
Well, whatever. Moran already appeared in the series. He’s there, hidden, and he will only show himself in series 3.
Or so I hope.