It was a weak episode of television all around, even before we got to the fanservice. The multiple iterations of the faked suicide scene--the one thing the episode really needed to address in a satisfying way--were too long (I got bored) and too similar to each other (they weren't scripted to emphasize the differences among them very effectively), and too disconnected from the coming-home themes they dealt with in the rest of the episode (they felt gratuitous). The plot/mystery was stupid. The reactions to Sherlock's return seemed off, somehow--John's anger and emotions were played for laughs, Mary's wry amusement didn't fit in with John's anger. (I mean, fine, have them react differently, but show us that they recognize the dissonance between the two reactions.)
Re: the fanservice, it wasn't just that there were a lot of things I disliked, but there were a lot of the types of things I disliked--the nods to fandom with the fan group and the kiss between Sherlock and Moriarty, definitely, but the nods to action-film tropes with
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You're right about the action sequences! I hadn't even consciously realised that, except in the stupid motorbike scene, but they've shifted from the focus on information and details to the simplistic external symbols, and the show is much the worse for it. *sigh*
but they've shifted from the focus on information and details to the simplistic external symbols, and the show is much the worse for it. *sigh*
*nods* There was a moment when I found myself watching Sherlock and Mary careen across London on a motorcycle, and I checked my e-mail. Not good, you know? M.
I thought the fake suicide was such a clever opener, but it got old as soon as they did it a second time. The first one should have been it. Open with one fandom-nod internet theory, and move on.
And to be fair to Martin Freeman, my favorite person on earth, I thought his reaction to Sherlock was perfect and moving. But agreed: all of that emotion was played off as a joke even though it was SO ripe for drama. And it's such a shift in tone from, say, the very first episode of the series, when the drama is so much more important than the humor. Not to mention that it used to be quiet understated human drama underneath the mystery and action bits, instead of this frenzy to make everything exciting and action-y even when there's nothing going on
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And it's such a shift in tone from, say, the very first episode of the series, when the drama is so much more important than the humor. Not to mention that it used to be quiet understated human drama underneath the mystery and action bits, instead of this frenzy to make everything exciting and action-y even when there's nothing going on.
Yes. It's not like earlier episodes didn't have changes in tone, but this one didn't have a strong plot to hang them on, which made them stand out all the more. M.
Re: the fanservice, it wasn't just that there were a lot of things I disliked, but there were a lot of the types of things I disliked--the nods to fandom with the fan group and the kiss between Sherlock and Moriarty, definitely, but the nods to action-film tropes with ( ... )
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*nods* There was a moment when I found myself watching Sherlock and Mary careen across London on a motorcycle, and I checked my e-mail. Not good, you know? M.
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And to be fair to Martin Freeman, my favorite person on earth, I thought his reaction to Sherlock was perfect and moving. But agreed: all of that emotion was played off as a joke even though it was SO ripe for drama. And it's such a shift in tone from, say, the very first episode of the series, when the drama is so much more important than the humor. Not to mention that it used to be quiet understated human drama underneath the mystery and action bits, instead of this frenzy to make everything exciting and action-y even when there's nothing going on ( ... )
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Yes. It's not like earlier episodes didn't have changes in tone, but this one didn't have a strong plot to hang them on, which made them stand out all the more. M.
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