Review: Sherlock Season 3

BY MELANIE SMITH

Dark curls falling to his eyes, he swaggers in with the collar of his coat pulled above his neck, taking in the crime scene with an eerie delight, clearly enjoying it.  Within seconds, clues that have stumped the police for hours, days, and even weeks, become easily apparent to him.  Sherlock Holmes has once again proved his wit by solving yet another murder.  Based off the original novel by Sir Arthur Cohan Doyle, BBC’s Sherlock, puts a modern spin on the classic, intelligent hero that has captured the attention of audiences for decades.  Even now, after the third season, its popularity continues to mount.

Written by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, Sherlock first aired in July of 2010, with three episodes, each an hour and a half in length.  After an overall positive response from viewers, the second season was aired in September two years later. After much anticipation, the third season finally aired on January first of this year, satisfying its hungry fans.  For those who have not seen the third series, it is strongly advised not to read beyond this point. However, should you choose to do so, The Lariat cannot be held accountable in either a legitimate or illegitimate court system.

For those who have seen the preceding seasons, the latest installment of Sherlock exceeded expectations held by viewers.  Not only did Moffat and Gatiss add upon the typical clever mysteries Sherlock is famous for, they also expand upon other ideas and themes that the other two seasons lacked. Character relationships were developed further, and events were portrayed in creative ways few have even thought of. All of the show’s elements help to attract audiences of all ages to Sherlock’s growing fan-base.

Sherlock’s plots typically revolve around some mind-bending mystery; for example, a murder within a locked room where no weapons or killer can be found.  By constantly keeping up the suspense, fans are left on the edge of their seat.  In the third episode of the latest season, His Last Vow, the audience was convinced that the blackmailer’s information was stored in a tangible place, they would have never expected it to be within his mind.  The characters are also just as unpredictable as the plots.  When we come to know Mary, wife of John Watson, is actually an assassin, viewers are left stunned and speechless; no one could have ever foreseen the sweet, blonde being a lethal killer.  Fans are never able to predict what will happen in the next several minutes, let alone an entire episode; the constant suspense makes Sherlock that more thrilling to watch.

Perhaps an essential part of the third season was the further development of both new and old characters, especially Sherlock Holmes himself.  During the first two seasons, we see Sherlock as someone incredibly bright, but at the same time cold and distant.  While there were several instances when his humanity did come through, they were not nearly as apparent or numerous compared to those of the third season.  On multiple occasions, Sherlock has shown his affection for both John and Mary, such as when he killed the blackmailer to free them of Mary’s murderous past.  These actions allow the audience to not only see into the mind of the detective, but into the heart, helping to humanize him; therefore, making him easier to relate too.

The scene where Sherlock had been shot and went into a sort of “survival mode”, hands down, the coolest part of the entire show.  What would have been a typical, mundane shooting, was an intense scene of Sherlock trying to outwit what appeared to be his immediate demise.  We see him debating with mentally created versions of his friends, such as Mycroft and Molly, about what techniques must be used in order to overcome the crisis, such as which way to fall, how to survive shock, etc.  It would have been so much simpler and easier to have Sherlock fall to the ground, be taken by the ambulance, and then wake up in the hospital, yet the writers chose the creative way of portraying it from the detective’s point of view. One of the most remarkable things is how within Sherlock’s mind, all of these calculations seemed to be happening over a period of several minutes, when in reality, it was several seconds.  Audiences were left in awe at the detective’s ability to make such precise decisions in such a short amount of time, while his body was severely injured.

With a television selection polluted by sub-par shows such as The Simpsons and Family Guy, Sherlock proves that a show does not have to have vulgar, low level humor in order to be successful.  The third series has definitely continued this trend, sending fans flying to their Tumblr and FanFiction accounts, with the only downside being the yearlong wait for Season 4.