So I tried to work with cinderella and tried to think to up something as organically as possible. This is what I have at the moment.

So Sherlock, on the rooftop with Moriarty, said he wanted to use the key code to get rid of Rich Brook and bring back Moriarty.  Moriarty then states that there is no key code (dummy).  I'm thinking this is partly true, but not completely.  I still think the key code is used for something, and CAN be used to bring back Moriarty.  It just isn't the powerful hack anything code that Moriarty made it out to be.  It can only bring back Moriarty if the code properly fits.  Hence, the key code is the slipper.  The problem is, it doesn't fit Rich Brook, because Rich Brook is real.  Rich Brook is actually an actor playing Moriarty.  This is a theory others have been toying with.  So this places Rich Brook as one of the evil step sisters. But then who is Moriarty?  Well it's the one who the slipper fits, the Cinderella.  But if Sherlock is indeed the Evil Step mother, then Cinderella i s the one who he neglects, poorly treats.  Molly.  It's a bit of a far fetched idea, but the most natural I could come up with.

This is definitely the weakest part of the theory, but possibly a step in the right direction.

MysteriaSleuthbedder wrote:

ekai65 wrote:

I think that the writers did intend that IOU should refer to the stories. Look at the time of the story where Sherlock brings up the IOU term. It is at the lab, the Grimm Fairy Tale book is referenced, and he has just concluded that the children's kidnapping is the Hansel and Gretel story - right at that ponit he says "IOU", which indicates that part of the IOU riddle refers to Hansel and Gretel.

 

Actually, that's not where he says it.  It's when he is looking through the microscope and kind of speaking unconsciously:  "I .....O ....U."  (Or perhaps, "I.....owe .... you.")  Molly asks him about it, what it means.  He deflects her question, "Nothing - mental  note."  Then she launches into the "sad" speech.  It's after she leaves the lab that John notices the seal and brings Sherlock the envelope of bread crumbs and he makes the Hansel Gretel connection and they leave.

This is absolutely true.  The best we can say is that Sherlock had I.O.U. on his mind when he made the Hansel and Gretel connection.

I would also like to point out that when Sherlock is first seen with Grimm's fairy tales, he does an extremely quick skim, not looking at any specific page.  However, when he makes the Hansel and Gretel connection, not only is the page with Hansel and Gretel shown, but the table of contents (to which I have associated I.O.U.) are shown with his finger running through the list.  Again, this is very soon after he whispers "I.O.U.". 

I appreciate the support from you two.  If you have any ideas as to how to make it all fit, I'm looking for input.

Hello all!  I have posted on these boards a while ago with a fairy-tale theory with some mixed responses.  Some people had issues with it, some people liked it.  Since then I have actually made some very significant progress, enough that I think it would be better to start a new thread than to bump up the old.  The new version of the theory will take some reading, but I promise you there will be pay off. 

Some really important quotes from the episode (some may be off, as I don't have these quotes written down, if you wanna correct them I'll edit this first post):

"Every Fairytale needs a good old fashion villain." - Moriarty

Sherlock: I never liked riddles.
Moriarty: Get used to it, because I owe you a fall.  I owe you.

John?: What kind of criminal leaves clues behind?
Sherlock: The kind of villain who wants to boast, to show off (something along those lines)

"I love newspapers.  Fairytales, pretty grim(m) ones too." - Moriarty


So these are some quotes that I will be bringing up in my discussion.  So the first one I would like to mention is the "what kind of criminal leaves clues behind"?  When Sherlock responds, he is clearly talking about Moriarty.  However, in Moriarty's grand scheme of things, in all the episode, what clues did he leave for Sherlock?  The code?  Well he stated that was fake, so that doesn't appear to be a clue at first glance.  The crumbs?  Well that was a clue for the kidnapping portion.  The gingerbread cookie?  That seemed to be more of a message "run, run as fast as you can".  It actually appears as though Moriarty left no hints behind as to what his grand scheme was.  But if he left no hints, then why is he so disappointed that it was so easy to take down Sherlock?  Surely it would be disappointingly easy to take down anyone with a gun.  Moriarty wanted a challenge, and hence he wanted to leave clues.  So where are they?

This brings me to "I never liked riddles".  "Get used to it, because I owe you a fall".  S

You see a stronger connection to snow white than cinderella, or the other two stories?  Hanzel and Getel is quite clearly the strongest connection.  I personally see the twelve brothers connection to be quite strong as well.

Update!

I must give credit to my friend for this (Together we make a very smart think tank)

As mentioned, the first story is twelve brothers.  This story begins with a King and Queen who have 12 sons.

The Queen gets pregnant again.  The king says all he ever wanted was  a daughter, and so  if the new baby is a girl, he will kill all his sons and start fresh.  If it's a boy, then he still does not get his wish, so he will keep his sons alive.  The queen does not want her children harmed, so she tells them to run into the forest.  If she waves a white flag, it means that she had a son and they are safe, if it is a red flag it means she had a daughter and she is in danger.  She ended up with a  daughter, so they stayed in the forest.  There is more to the story than this, but this is all that is needed for now.

The 12 sons is like the 12 jury members.  Moriarty threatened them all. If he was found innocent, they were safe, and if found guilty, they were all in danger.   It would appear as though the first part of Moriarty's plan was presented with this story, and the second part of his plan (the children in the chocolate factory) is presented in Hansel and Gretel.  That only leaves the third part of his plan (framing Sherlock/the rooftop) to somehow match with Cinderella.  It would appear to me that somehow the Grimm version of Cinderella will somehow unlock the rest of the mystery!

I have actually seen this, but I prefer the direct translation as it is simpler (less steps) and includes Hansel and Gretel, which I feel is required for this line of reasoning to have any merit.

Thanks. I feel like I got two puzzle pieces to fit together, but they don't match the rest of the puzzle.

I'm obviously not the first person who tried to see extra "significance" into Moriarty's "I.O.U'.  There are many people who think that this was just Moriarty's way to be dramatic.  Sherlock has caused Moriarty to "fall" as a master criminal, getting in the way of several of Moriarty's cases, and thus Moriarty "owes" Sherlock a fall. 

I accept that this is quite possible. I have looked around for alternate explanations, and have found one that has come close to what I am thinking, but allow me to express it anyway.

The theme of fairy tales came up a lot in this episode, repeatedly in fact.  The major story being Hansel and Gretel, which came up several times from the children, the envelopes with bread, the invisible trail left by the kid, etc.  Moriarty said several things relating to fairy tales.  "Every fairy tale needs a villain" for example.  And also, Moriarty wrote that fairy tale for Sherlock in the cab.  The one that drove me crazy was "I love newspapers, fairy tales.  Grim ones at that".  This drove me crazy because of his choice of word "Grim", or to me more likely "Grimm".

Further, it was a Grimms' fairy tales that Sherlock found in the kids room.  What does this have to do with I.O.U.?  If you do a direct translation from letters to numbers, A-1, B-2, C-3... then I.O.U.  = 9, 15, 21.

The very book that Sherlock is holding has a table of contents, exactly like the one found on the Wikipedia page " Grimms' Fairy tales".  The three stories associated with these numbers are: The 12 Brothers, Hansel and Gretel, and Cinderella.  The fact that out of 86 stories, we get a match up to Hansel and Gretel seems TERRIBLY suspect to me.  Having just read Cinderella, I have having trouble making any further connections than I already have, and thus brings us back to "Moriarty owes Sherlock", but this coincidence makes me feel at least a closer look is in order.

Edit: Breakthrough in this theory, check the second reply!