But is he still on drugs? Would he be on drugs again, without the cases?

Actually, I would be interested in that... is he better now, on a whole? With John and Mary as friends, not on his way to certain death, back home...
Isn't there a chance that he could be fine without drugs, even without so many cases? He was before. I mean, he wasn't exactly behaving healthy when bored, but I think we have seen him clean before.
I think it's not only distraction. He also likes it.

 

Not exactly about a single case, but:

I wondered about Mary and John trying to get Sherlock's attention while he is solving cases. Finally there's "Sherlock, you can’t go on spinning plates like this."

I wondered about this, because, isn't that what Sherlock has always done? What is different this time? And why can't he go on like that? I am not quite sure what they mean by it. Because of Moriarty? Or because he is going to be Godfather? I cannot think of a reason why. He looks pretty much like himself in the scenes. Or do they mean the manic behaviour he also showed in the opening scene in the office ("natural high")?

He solves the cases, he is arrogant about it, he is having fun - he is pretty much himself, isn't he, while solving them. What do John and Mary not like about it?

 

Just realised, what is going on when Sherlock dismisses John and takes Mary's help instead.... it felt like  a joke first, but then... I would be very pissed off in John's place! Sherlock doesn't seem to joke. Or is he?

Rewatching, I love Mycroft and Sherlock even more together. Their interaction is great! 

Also, the scenes with Lestrade, Sherlock and John... I really enjoy them. Like a little save haven in the big troubled Mary ocean  Not meant negative, but it's nice to have this quiet detective work before things get dark.

Swanpride wrote:

I think I have pinned down the issues with the episode:
1. It didn't actually continue the story which was set up and for which we waited for three years. It just throw in distractions. I mean, that is the big revelation, that Moriarty set up something in case he died, and now Sherlock has to wait? Really?
2. It set up a new story on top of the one which is already dangling in the air, and honestly, I have a hard time to get invested in this because at this point it feels more like the writers are stringing the audience around than an actual mystery for us to solve.
3. You could have spread out what happened in the episode over two. It showed a glimpse of a story and then it run just forward. "Here are moments with Sherlock and Rosalind"....ops, let's shuffle the baby aside. "Here is Lestrade meeting a new character and talking about how he meet Sherlock"...but nah, that is way to interesting to actually linger on it, let's move forward. "Here is a new case"....oh, you thought that we would spend some time on it? Nah, here is the solution. Even the whole thing with Mary being suspected to be a traitor played pretty much on speed dial. I mean, wouldn't it be way more interesting if we actually got to see John talking to Sherlock about Mary?

 
Thank you for structuring this. I agree, especially on point 2 and 3.
(Because Moriarty, to me, feels by now like an old villain that has been once, don't feel much need to wait for any more revelation from him or his helpers. And Magnusson was such a good distraction in between that I stopped missing Moriarty. And now there is another great villain on the horizon...)

I would have loved it if some of the small scenes could have been longer. I kind of understand there wasn't time... but it felt there was so much potential!

Magnusson... actually, I find it still disgusting what he did to people, but listening to Mycroft and his freelance party, I think it isn't such a wrong sentiment to want to tell th

tonnaree wrote:

Everyone being upset that John is OOC in blaming Sherlock for Mary's death.  My opinion is that there is no such thing as In Character when it comes to grief.  Everyone is OOC when gripped by that kind of pain.  I know from experience that you will say and do things that you would never have imagined of yourself.  To the point where loved ones may even comment that you are not yourself.  I think John's immediate reaction is totally understandable.

 

 
You are absolutely right. But to me, it didn't feel immediate. It felt like a set-up for another relationship-resolving arc. I don't mean John's grief as such feels wrong. But the way it is shown, or rather, used... I am not sure it is possible to seperate that, but I agree with you. It just felt more than just showing someone grieving, and doing irrational things in grief.

@Vhanja -Wasn't that the paper Molly gave Sherlock in the scene at the door?

I interpreted it that way. Can be wrong, I was still processing other things at that point.... it all happened rather quickly 

Now that I had some time to think about it, I find it interesting how my impressions and feelings and opinions about Mary and series three shift again. The feeling that is strongest is that Mary has been around for quite a long while and that I feel kind of relieved the story arc is finished (and I hope it is). I really enjoyed her role, I didn't enjoy how very close she got in between John and Sherlock, and I didn't enjoy her skill set. I like how her death links back to HLV.

I enjoyed the episode, I was hooked, and held my breath at points.
But it felt a bit strange. I didn't get this "Sherlock feeling" overall. Only felt that in some scenes which were scattered. also it was all so fast-paced.

what I didn't like so much was the way the Watson family was shown. god, that baby is just a pain in the ass for both of them, waking them, and needs being babysitted all the time because the parents aren't around. I liked the focus wasn't on the baby or family, but at the same time, the baby felt very much like a prop and not a character

Also bit sad about the action and bigscale case. i miss "normal" cases. not international-british government-cases. Aaaand there wasn't much 221b , also there was not much Mrs hudson or Molly   and because it was so confusing (or i thought so), it felt like Sherlock and John had no real chemistry. it was business-like, somehow.

John's bus scenes didn't add to the story, imo. they felt so unrelated. But I think maybe the woman from the bus will come back again.

I don't know, I am forgetting parts already. need to rewatch.

Right now, I still pine for the style of series 1 and 2, while I really start to love series 3 now, in comparison. which i found hard to love at first. but maybe i find this new episode even harder to embrace. I don't like how everything becomes so very personal on such a big scale. The original stories feel different. I cannot say what it is exactly, but it doesn't sit right with me

the end makes me feel conf

I wasn't as surprised as I could have been. So, this death didn't come as a big shock... but, yes, emotional.

I don't get the end, really. Why blame Sherlock?
I mean, I understand, in a way... but then again, it's not Sherlock's fault. They have been through so much, why would John blame Sherlock now... he must have always known Mary was in that danger. And it was more her history than Sherlock's that lead to this.

It doesn't feel fair to Sherlock.

I felt the last 15 minutes where a bit rushed. I couldn't relate to all those feelings quickly enough... feeling a bit dazed by John's reaction...

I would have preferred if it had stayed the way it was. Then it could have been continued at some point.

i wonder what would bring John Watson to stop writing his blog though. Maybe it's a hint. Maybe he has more sinister things to do now.   

Maybe it would explain a bit better why she had to keep her past secret. Maybe it wasn't just about her crimes, but also about protecting someone she loves but had to abandon for his\her own sake. That would also explain her character a bit better.