Haaa!  THAT GUY!!!  Thanks, BB!
 

I watched for the second time last night, the 18th, in a theater with all of 8 other Sherlock fans, in the ENTIRE THEATER.  A bit disappointing, that.  But, I met up with a colleague of a friend, who's been a fan since the beginning.  Although we didn't know each other to begin with, love of the show was a great bond, and it was fun to see it again with another fan!

I'm here to say that The Final Problem is now probably my top favorite episode! 

Favorite three are The Sign of Three, TFP, and A Scandal in Belgravia.  Because TFP is the freshest, it's at the top of my re-watch list.  I loved Sherlock's growth through the 4th Series.  My feeling that he was the most normal of his siblings proved true.  I loved that Mycroft was taken down a notch, and is probably more normal now.  Sherlock became generous and compassionate. 

In so many ways TFP is a perfect bookend to SIP...  Lestrade hopes Sherlock will become a good man in the first, and then says that he is a good man, in the last.  Sherlock texting "You know where to find me. SH" in both episodes.  Those are the two that come to mind right now.  There are others, I know. 

I have to say that now I love this entire dark series 4!  Mostly the final episode!

 

ewige wrote:

I actually enjoyed the ep more the second time around and would have gladly seen it on the big screen given a chance.

Good to know!  Thanks!!!

 

gently69 wrote:

Swanpride wrote:

To me more than half of the episode was filler.....those little games seem to be only there to fill time. It didn't feel like we learned anything new or profound about any of the characters during it.

Sadly I have to agree. There were maybe a handful of scenes that touched me in one way or another. But is that enough for the so it seems final episode ever? Not for me.
After TLD I had hope. Now after Mary (why???) having the (very) last words I'm just sad and mostly disappointed.

Happy to respectfully disagree.

We learned a LOT about Sherlock, John, and Mycroft during those "little games"!!!

Each room was a trial for the trio of Sherlock, Watson and Mycroft.  Evil Euros was testing them, and in her warped twisted perverted way deriving pleasure and information by watching their dynamics, their interactions. It was painful to watch, and just as it became too tedious to bear, it changed, and Sherlock understood it.

We learned about each of them.  John was brave, compassionate, and *almost* able to kill a man. (who, frankly, was not innocent. He got what he deserved when he killed himself ((I know that sounds harsh)) for defying orders regarding contact with Euros. He wrought his own, and his wife's, desruction) Mycroft couldn't do it. He was physically ill as a result of the suicide. That weakness in itself was SO enlightening!  These trials showed Sherlock and John to be MUCH stronger men than Mycroft!

Sherlock proved willing to kill himself rather than kill his brother or John.

Mycroft tried to provoke Sherlock to kill HIM rather than John.  Sherlock knew his brother well enough to see through him.

The trio's compassion for the girl on the plane compelled them to comply with Euros. Otherwise she had no power over them. This was a powerful act of compassion on their part. They put the needs of the one ahead of the needs of themselves.

Mary was us, the audience,  in the final words of the episode. She spoke w

Reading through the thread now.

This!
(my emphasis added!)

Vhanja wrote:

I'm the kind of person who, when I first really fall in love with something and become a huge fan of it, I am very loyal. I don't have too many preconceived notions of where I want the show/series/books to go, because I know that the chance of the writers happen to write what I have in my head is extremly slim (that's what I have fanfics for!)

So instead, I am on board with their ride, wherever that takes me. No, it's not what I expected. But that was awesome too - seeing them in a situation I never, ever thought I would see.

Yes, it would've been great if there were more breathing room and more of the "old days". But if I that is what I want to see, I can go back and rewatch S1 and s2.

I think this is what keeps Ben and Martin coming back - the fact that it's NOT the same. If the seasons kept being "case of the week" and banter at 221b over and over, they would probably both grow tired and leave the show. 

This is Moftiss' vision. It's not ACD canon. I don't need that - I have ACD books for that. It's not ACD canon on screen - I have Brett for that. This is a thing of it's own, and I love it.

JEALOUS OF YOU ALL ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE POND!!!

Enjoy, survive.

5 hours more for me.

 

Hi, All!  I'm late to Sherlock, late to the Forum, and super sad that there are only 3 episodes for us to chew up!  Being in the Mountain Time zone of the U.S., I stayed away, not wanting spoilers, and by the time I got here this thread was pages long! So, I haven't read through all the comments.  I'm sure that at this point I won't come up with anything that hasn't been mentioned, but I'm going CRAZY HERE with nobody to talk to about this episode!!!  In no special order:

My thought is that the "Mutual Friend" of Euros and C.S. was obviously Moriarty.  A supreme victory for him, albeit posthumously, would be for Sherlock to be murdered by the most horrible person imaginable. We know that Moriarty was a broker of criminal deals. This was his supreme deal: putting C.S. in touch with the insane Holmes sister who has been hidden away for these many years.  Luring C.S. with the promise of the best kill ever.  Laying out a blueprint, and providing the perfect partner. Moriarty was willing to put a gun in his mouth because he knew what was in store for Sherlock.

C.S. literally owned that hospital and everyone in it, patients and staff alike. He clearly could do whatever he wanted, wherever he wanted to do it, and he had no fear of discovery or betrayal.  People feared for their jobs. We're supposed to know that he's a brilliant man; he knew the names of his employees at a glance.  If we discover in the next episode that he also owned a mental health facility, or that there was a mental health wing of his hospital, we wouldn't be surprised.  It would have been easy to instruct his employees to mislead Mycroft when he called the facility to ascertain that Sherrinford was "secure".

Euros' comment at the end of TLD "It has a funny look on it's face. I think I'll put a hole in it." is clearly to inform us that she is crazy/nuts/psychotic.  She added Moriarty's "Miss Me?" to the note, and gloated that Sherlock missed it.

Moftiss are not ones for throwing in empty

Ha! That's a good way! Nice that there are only 3 epis per season to remember; but sad too.  I'd love a longer season. I'm sure the caliber of production & length of episodes of Sherlock are prohibitive.  Considering that  one season of my show was twelve 45 minute episodes, Sherlock at 90 minutes (?) is equal to 6 episodes, which were each produced in one week. Worth it for the superior quality! 

I was wracking my pea-sized brain for an episode name with that acronym!  I'm glad I'm in good company. Looks like it's been a long wait.  I'll fill the time until the new series memorizing  episode acronyms.

Sorry to hijack such a fun thread with newbie questions. Congrats to Jim_from_IT and ukaunz for finding each other!
 

It's good to see a knitter on here, too, ukaunz!  Is there any fun Sherlockian knitting to be done? Outlander is a source of fabulous inspiration!