Sherlock: "The Sign of Three"

[tj_teejay]

Episode 3x03 hasn’t even aired yet, and already I can tell that the theme of me not liking the middle episode in any Sherlock season continues.

Don’t get me wrong, “The Sign of Three” had a lot of cute, funny, intense and quirky moments, but I couldn’t help cringing all the way through at the overall depressing undertone. Sherlock in E minor.

Comments

[tj_teejay]

because for the first time I'm reading not at all positive reviews of not just one (the middle) ep, but the first two. When there are only three episodes every thousand years (so it feels), that's troubling.

Just for the record, I loved The Empty Hearse a lot, so if you're referring to my review about it, I must have phrased it wrongly. But I'm guessing you're alluding more to the general tone of the fandom's take on it.

Yes, it is a little disconcerting to think that after the long wait, people aren't happy with what they're getting. But that, in itself, may be part of the "problem". The Reichenbach Fall was a very strong episode, with the cliffhanger of cliffhangers. People had two years to agonize over the continuation, throw different survival theories out there and just generally pine for Moffat and Gatiss to resolve the myth they created.

And then, when it actually happened, I think it might not have lived up to the perhaps larger-than-life continuation they would have expected.

I don't really follow the Sherlock fandom in a lot of detail, so I haven't read more than one or two metas about season 3. However, I think the general gist of what I've seen mostly has to do with the fact that a lot of people were angry at Sherlock to be so dismissive of John's feelings, and then play another cruel mind game on him on the train in 3x01.

I can see where they're coming from. I would have to lie if I said that didn't cross my own mind. But in the end it comes down to trying to stay true to Sherlock's character and motivation, and I think they managed to walk that fine line very well.

Personally, I don't think we need to be worried that some of the fandom didn't seem to have liked season 3 much so far. The franchise is way too successful for the BBC to abandon because some of the hardcore fans are a bit disgruntled.

[gaedhal]

I'm not talking about the fandom at all -- I'm talking about the professional
critics, both here and in the UK, mainly ones who have been very supportive
of the show in the past. That concerns me.

But I'm holding my judgment.