Sherlock 2.01 A Scandal in Belgravia

[selenak]

You know, last year I had a double Sherlock Holmes problem, in that the Ritchie movie amused and entertained me but I really could have done without the bloody slow mo freeze frame thing, plus I thought Robert Downey Jr. did a variation of his persona rather than a performance of Sherlock Holmes, though Jude Law was fabulous as Watson. Also, I

Comments

[thornyrose42]

See I'm still torn on whether or the not the 'Sherlock/John are the real couple' jokes were just jokes, like they were in the first series, or actually the show-runners actually doing something with it. Obviously I'd love it if it were so, but I'm not sure I trust Moffat & Co to actually do anything like delivering on it.

[selenak]

Given Mark Gatiss' attitude towards slash and insistence on the relationship not being sexual, I think they're definitely NOT doing something with it.

[thornyrose42]

*sigh*

I hadn't seen that quote before... ah well... so much for that vain hope.

Still an enjoyable episode though.

[kathyh]

I really enjoyed it too. The blog sequence with the changed titles was hilarious and one of the things I liked most was the use of Mrs Hudson and how she was obviously very important to Holmes.

[selenak]

Yes, the fact that the adoption is mutual, i.e. that Sherlock and John care as much about Mrs. Hudson as she does for them is what makes it so endearing!

[torn_eledhwen]

At the BFI preview, which I was lucky enough to go to, Cumberbatch revealed that he's known Una Stubbs (who plays Mrs Hudson) since he was a boy. In other words, she really is practically like a mum to him, and a lot of the affection just came naturally so Moffat and Gatiss made more of it in this series as a result. But I loved it. "England would fall!" indeed!

[ponygirl2000]

As soon as I saw you'd posted I thought that you must have loved the messed up family dynamics. For all that Irene was great and that every character (except Lestrade) had a chance to shine, this was Mycroft's episode. They showed him as definitely being "the most dangerous man you'll ever meet," both a loving brother and likely a person who's inflicted a great deal of damage upon said brother. I loved the suggestion that whatever is going on between Sherlock and Moriarty it may just be part of a larger game between Moriarty and Holmes the elder. I think the key to Sherlock's likeableness here was that he came across as so very young, it was something the series hadn't shown since Study in Pink (and yes I am very worried too about the writing for the next two eps.), and goes a long way towards explaining why people like John and Mrs. Hudson care about him besides the brilliance - he's not done yet, and whatever he's becoming is being decided by his interactions with the others

[selenak]

Agreed on both this being the best episode for Mycroft yet and Sherlock coming across as so very young. If they ever show their mother, she needs to be played by Judi Dench, clearly.

[ponygirl2000]

I don't know, I think Mummy Holmes has to be French. Maybe Fanny Ardant?

[selenak]

This lady looks too young to be Mark Gatiss' mother, but I'm all for French actresses. shezan, who is still alive and available?

[wee_warrior]

Haven't seen it yet, so no other comments, but next one - Hounds of the Baskervilles - is Gatiss (and has Russell Tovey), and the last one - Reichenbach Falls - is What's His Name Pirate Guy again. Yes, they let him write the finale. I don't know, either.

[selenak]

Blind Banker and Pirates and... What does the guy have on Moffat, I ask?

[ffutures]

It was great fun - just re-watching it now to catch the details I missed when it was airing. The whole thing with Irene's rescue at the end was pushing it a little, but Holmes always was a man of action and master of disguise, so it actually fits reasonably well into canon.

What I particularly liked was the waty that Holmes was way too clever for his own good regarding the jumbo jet.