A part of me is sad that we got another episode of “Sherlock” so soon after Wednesday premiere of the third series, as last night the second (AND PENULTIMATE FOR THIS SERIES) episode “The Sign of Three” debuted. Now, we’re back for more, as we look at the wedding-centric that was wildly different in tone than most of the series so far.
But was it good?
That’s the question. Spoilers will be discussed for the episode, so if you’re waiting for the PBS broadcast to arrive, may I suggest you do not read this. Please share your thoughts in the comments as well, as per usual.
1. A…Silly Sherlock?
I imagine there may be a fair amount of viewers who were a wee bit annoyed by this one, as it being built around Mary and John’s wedding gave the episode a lot more room for…silliness, which is not something that it has often been known for. Whether it was Sherlock making it into Bainbridge’s facility by pretending to be a Beefeater (completely with the very over the top walking) or John and Sherlock getting absolutely tanked on John’s stag night, there was a healthy dose of things we’re not really used to seeing on this show.
But it’s a testament to all involved that “The Sign of Three” still worked as well as it did, as all of these moments still fit into the world of “Sherlock” very well, and managing to massage it into an overarching mystery not unlike ones we’ve seen before. Given that it is a wedding episode, it only makes sense that it would be a more fun than usual episode, and writer Steve Thompson’s ability to build a genuinely interesting set of cases into a very character driven episode was phenomenal.
Credit, of course, has to go to Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman for making it all so inviting, especially when they got to the drinking game and Mayfly Man portion of the Stag Night. Silly? Yes. Completely entertaining and still decidedly “Sherlock”? Absolutely.
2. The Best Man
One of the best bits of the episode were supporting characters reacting to reality of the idea that Sherlock may in fact be asked to be John’s Best Man and thus, Sherlock may have to give a speech, and in particular, Mrs. Hudson’s response to the idea was astonishingly funny (especially when you factor in Sherlock and John’s responses to her sounds). In fact, when all of their fears were truly realized, I shook my head a little bit. I mean, could Sherlock really be so…Sherlock to not realize this was not the time for his usual antics when giving his speech? It appeared so.
But then, Thompson’s script and Cumberbatch’s delivery brought down the house, as they cleverly factored in his boorish, know-it-all nature into the speech to make what he finally had to say all the more impressive and valuable. It was built from the character out, staying true while getting sentimental in a similarly Sherlocky way.
I’m going to be totally honest, it was getting a little dusty in the Harper household when that speech hit its crescendo.
3. But then it kept going…
The best speeches pick the right place to end, and fitting the show, Sherlock’s speech took the majority of the episode as he used it to buy time to figure out exactly what was going on. It worked out in many ways, as it gave the show a chance to pull off some of the very graphic and immersive elements they liked to use when Sherlock is in the zone, and it also gave many opportunities for him to unleash some genuinely funny and purely awkwardly funny moments, all somehow tucked into what mostly amounted to be a great, very unusually complimentary speech.
By the time the speech ended, it got everything in the right place for the mystery to be solved, but like last week, this episode was never really about the mystery, as much as it was about the new world order of Sherlock and the Watsons of John and Mary.
4. The Sign of Three
In Sherlock’s final speech, after playing the waltz he wrote for John and Mary, he accidentally revealed that Mary was in fact pregnant before either of them realized. Much of this episode was about how different Sherlock’s life might be past this day, as Mycroft taunted him with it and John assured him of only the opposite. But really, by the end, we’re given a clue into the idea that even Sherlock realizes this. With three involved, Sherlock doesn’t have a fit anymore. John and Mary dancing, Molly Hooper and her neo-Sherlock Tom laughing, even the bridesmaid – Janine – who fancied Sherlock, were all occupied with other, more present things.
Continued belowRight when Sherlock is beginning to understand people, his people are seemingly moving on a bit without him, and I have to imagine that theme will continue to play in next Sunday’s (sniff…sniff) finale.
5. Bits and Pieces from the Rest
There were a lot of excellent moments and interesting tidbits within this episode. Let’s hit on some of them:
– The open of Lestrade and Donovan trying to solve a endless case of robberies, but then him getting pulled off by a desperate Sherlock who only wanted to know if Greg (or Gavin…) knew any funny Watson stories was brilliant. Poor Lestrade, bringing the brunt of Scotland Yard to help his friend who didn’t need any help.
– As I predicted, we didn’t get anything touching on how Sherlock survived his Reichenbach Fall, and I think it’s safe to say that we won’t hear of it again.
– Also, the mystery man at the end of “The Empty Hearse”? Nada. We’ll see him next week, assuredly.
– It was great seeing good ol’ Dean Thomas in this episode, even if it was just as practice for a later attempted murder.
– I would watch an entire episode of Sherlock and John getting drunk, although I have to say it is a little amazing that Sherlock wouldn’t realize that John was sneaking additional drinks.
– Sherlock using the internet for the sake of deduction: something I’m glad we finally saw. For a modern take on Sherlock Holmes, internet research has been surprisingly absent, and him chatting with the women who dealt with the ghost man was fantastic, and I really enjoyed the way they demonstrated that.
– Sherlock loves to dance. Fangirls everywhere must have squeeeeed with delight when that was revealed.
So all in all, this was another very good episode, which felt very different both tonally and in how it was executed than the rest of the episodes from the show. I could easily see some receiving this one poorly, but honestly, I’m loving this season of “Sherlock” and the newfound humanity Sherlock has seen since he returned from the dead. I get the feeling, however, that it all might come crumbling with next week’s finale.
We’ll see about that.
