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February 17, 2012 5:55 pm  #1


Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

Hello everyone,

With the magical flair for writing things into stories which could be throw away or could be of absolute importance we need to consider everything we know about Moriarty from Steve Moffat's penmanship. There is enough, to my mind at least, for any true sceptical person to see possibilities beyond that of the normal or traditional. I hope we can each compile little oddities here and perhaps try to extrapolate potential truths or amusement at the least.

Take, for example, the Taxi Driver from 'A Study in Pink' saying Moriarty is "more than a man". Is he inferring that Moriarty is some kind of super-man due to his keen guile and ruthless nature or is he stating that Moriarty is a group, an association or otherwise as Sherlock notes?

Another thing to consider is the shoe Sherlock is given in 'The Great Game' which belonged to Carl Powers who was from Brighton. It's either highly coincidental that Moriarty took a trophy from Sherlock's first ever (And unsolved) case or that someone closer to home had a hand in it. We see nothing of Moriarty, very purposefully, during 'The Blind Banker' except that he signs off with an 'M' however during 'The Great Game' he makes himself more than abundantly visible whilst at the same time completely hidden from the eyes of his victims (And kills the blind old lady who begins to describe his voice). This, along with Moriarty being Irish and standing out like a sore thumb in Carl's community due to the Brighton bombing of 1984 led me to believe that the Moriarty of series one was just a meat puppet and the true Moriarty was watching from afar.

Immediately in series two Moriarty defuses the situation of the 'Mexican standoff' by receiving a phone call and acting apparently excited/livid at what is being said (This is presumed to be information from Irene Adler - however that is not established). If Moriarty is as bored as he claims prior to his suspected suicide then why continue this boring existence for any longer? Why not have Holmes blow them both up and be done with it there? What 'offer' could have made his existence worthwhile enough play with more little people? This, I take it, is what the revenge plot is all about. Sherlock trumped the puppet master by being prepared to destroy everyone at the pool. He won that game. If Moriarty is as brilliantly depressed as we are led to believe he is then why leave the standoff?

My theory on Moriarty being a meat puppet takes a blow though during the rest of 'A Scandal in Belgravia' as we are shown on-screen Moriarty receiving texts from Irene Adler and sending them to Mycroft. This means that the actor 'Andrew Scott' does indeed play a nefarious character and is more than just someone held to account for the actions of a shadowy puppeteer. The code however is incredibly easy to break and wouldn't have flummoxed anyone with more than a few minutes of time - why wouldn't Moriarty have been able to do this himself? It seems more like a test of Sherlock than an actual success against British Intelligence. Couple this with Moriarty assisting Sherlock during 'The Great Game' by telling Sherlock, via meat puppet proxy, that "The clue is in the name: Janus cars" and we see a relationship of intimacy upon Sherlock's knowledge. Why wouldn't anyone know that Janus was a two-faced god? There either was no clue but an indicator for prompting Sherlock into considering this information in a different light or a moment of humanity and playful conversation. A seat number on a plane and an ancient Greek god are both things Sherlock knew without referring to any books or the internet - no real test of knowledge there then, perhaps it is more of an emotional ploy to include them.

At the end of 'The Hounds of the Baskerville' we see Moriarty get released from a cell with Sherlock's name written all over it from Mycroft saying "All right, let him go". During 'The Reichenbach Fall' we are led to believe that Mycroft had him brought in after 'Scandal in Belgravia' for questioning and he was impenetrable to anything apart from Mycroft who swapped information about a 'computer code' for background knowledge on Sherlock. Only John would buy such a story as British Intelligence would have no trouble keeping him detained indefinitely and without council. The head of Intelligence, and Sherlock's older brother to boot, would not give out potentially damaging information and then release "The most dangerous criminal mind the world has ever seen" without very good reason. It is the character of Neilson, the CIA agent from 'Scandal in Belgravia' who releases him, which prompts questions as to why he would (Let's also not forget Mycroft's aide 'Anthea' working with Irene Adler). The fact that the only code which was broken was Sherlock getting the flight details, Mycroft knew this, and everyone knows that a few lines of computer code can't bring down the entire system (Doofus!). So what was Mycroft talking to Moriarty about and why was he released?

Now going into the Alternate Reality Game (ARG) elements of the show, John's website states that 'The Woman' case ended on March 12th with 'Hounds' being solved by March 16th. Mycroft stated to John that Moriarty had been interrogated "for weeks" and we know from Mycroft that the supposed beheading of Irene Adler was 2 months prior to March 16th. So somewhere between January and March Moriarty was allegedly interrogated and released. By March 16th Moriarty hacked into John's blog and posted a video of him going through the house.

Then we have "The Reichenbach Fall" episode. Lots of screen time for Moriarty and plenty of speculation on what occurs. What we do know is that Moriarty allowed himself to be captured by performing an incredible coup d'état involving 3 massive institutions fundamental to social order within Britain. He went on trial and was found not guilty, was released and visited an expectant Holmes who he then toyed with about Fairytales and his brilliance before leaving the clue 'IOU' and leaving. An easy kidnapping and some assassins later and Sherlock is under scrutiny for his validity and takes to the streets. He goes to the home of Kitty to get answers and finds Moriarty, aka Rich Brook, as her live in lover claiming to be an award winning children's entertainer. He goes to Saint Bart's and later meets Moriarty on the rooftop prior to their apparent required deaths (Which Holmes has at least given himself a plan for dealing with in advance).

It would seem that Moriarty knew how Holmes would respond to everything and that his apparent 'fall' would be a literal, and figurative, jump to his death.

So, off to a decent start already I see as I have rambled on. I have more to add (As I'm yet forming how it operates) however feel free to poke a stick at what I'v written, add your own and speculate about what is, and is not, important points to the overall story.

In the original literature there was mention of there being at least 3 people with the name Moriarty (Brothers supposedly) and so I expect we haven't heard the last of Moriarty - whatever or whoever that may be.

Any and all thoughts are welcome!

-m0r


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And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
 

February 17, 2012 6:14 pm  #2


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

Wow, that really is in depth!

It seems to me that the people who Morairty had working for him were all kept at arms length and all seemed to believe that "Moriarty" was just a name for a greater organisation or body of people, that's kind of the impression I got anyway, and I think that's what Moriarty wanted them to believe, when in reality it was just him - the master puppeteer.

I've also heard that Moriarty has brothers and close allies, and maybe we'll see some of them in Series 3. I started another topic in the Reichenbach section about whether Moriarty was really dead, and I think the general consensus is that he is...in the original stories he dies so it would be quite a big deviation to have him come back and a bit of a double wammy if they'd both faked their own death, maybe a step too far...but I definitely don't think this is the last we've heard of the Moriarty "organisation".

How do you think Moriarty met Carl Powers?? I don't think that was ever established...but he was killed because he laughed at him!

So you don't think Mycroft did give Moriarty info about Sherlock?? Hmmm, interesting. The questions then are what were they talking about, why was he released, and how did Moriarty find out all the stuff about Sherlock?

I've often thought if Moriarty knew that Sherlock's fall would be literal - in the tea scene he mimes a literal fall with a crash & burn ending (hitting the ground), but it could be just a coincidence and he was still only talking about a metaphorical fall.


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February 17, 2012 6:52 pm  #3


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

Wow I don't think I could have gone into that much depth good for you


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If you eliminate the impossible,
What every remains,
However improbable,...
Must be the truth !
 

February 17, 2012 7:24 pm  #4


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

Remember, at the trial of Moriarty, Sherlock states that he is a spider at the centre of a criminal web and Moriarty subtly nods at this in agreement.

I would agree that Mycroft and British Intelligence may well have a key part to play in all of this. Recall that Mycroft says that they know about people like Moriarty and they watch them. I also agree that it is strange that they should release Moriarty, unless they had an ulterior motive.

It is never established how Moriarty ever met Carl Powers. It is stated that all his class mates checked out but perhaps it was someone older than him. Moriarty claims that he killed him because he laughed at him.

Certainly in the original stories there is more than one Moriarty brother.

Moriarty may well have been directly behind the cabbie in A Study in Pink challenging Sherlock to the game of what is, in effect Russian Roulette. If this participation was fed back to Moriarty in some way then he knows that Sherlock is bored like him and prepared to gamble his life. This was reinforced by Sherlock's reaction to the bomb at the pool in The Great Game and indeed throughout the episode Sherlock is fascinated by the intellectual challenge of the game and is a more than willing participant. Ultimately, in the Reichenbach Fall Moriarty fully understands that, on many levels and in many ways, Sherlock is like him. They both find ordinary life and people boring and spend their time finding things to make it less so. Moriarty as a 'consulting criminal' and Sherlock as a 'consulting detective'. Moriarty's biggest verbal insult to Sherlock is that he is 'ordinary' and 'boring' because he is 'on the side of the angels'. Call that Sherlock's final retort to this is that, whilst he may be on their side, Moriarty should not make the mistake of believing that 'even for one moment I am one of them'. It is at this point that Moriarty seems to be totally in awe of Sherlock and gives him his blessing. He knows that Sherlock will go to any lengths to overcome Moriarty.

Think that will do for now. My little brain is hurting!


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Don't make people into heroes John. Heroes don't exist and if they did I wouldn't be one of them.
 

February 17, 2012 7:47 pm  #5


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

Oh yeah


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If you eliminate the impossible,
What every remains,
However improbable,...
Must be the truth !
 

February 18, 2012 4:22 pm  #6


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

Thanks for the responses and this entire post is conjecture rather than what we know...I think it's important to distinguish between the two.

Sherlock Holmes wrote:

It seems to me that the people who Morairty had working for him were all kept at arms length and all seemed to believe that "Moriarty" was just a name for a greater organisation or body of people, that's kind of the impression I got anyway, and I think that's what Moriarty wanted them to believe, when in reality it was just him - the master puppeteer.

It would be a smart way of keeping people away and retaining full control over them. However I counted 6 red dots on Sherlock and John and would assume these, or other, assassins would talk and establish that he's only one man and can be removed and replaced. The taxi driver from 'Study in Pink' was privy enough to enough information and from that I assume those who deal with Moriarty can have contact with one another.

Moriarty also answers the telephone which, to my mind, is odd considering we know Moriarty to be very secretive when dealing with others. With the leader of the Black Lotus Tong he signs off a chat application with M and the people held hostage during 'The Great Game' were unable to identify him. Unless he had an established relationship with someone who he could 'trust' enough there would be no way, again - to my mind, he would allow himself to be identified.

Sherlock Holmes wrote:

How do you think Moriarty met Carl Powers?? I don't think that was ever established...but he was killed because he laughed at him!

I don't think the Moriarty that Andrew Scott played ever met Carl Powers. I don't think it's plausible that a boy with an Irish accent would go unnoticed in Brighton at that time. Unless some kind of IRA mole school was being developed by British Intelligence (Which is too topical for the Beeb I'd wager) I think that Carl Powers was killed by someone else. Someone who knew Sherlock made a fuss about it at the time - not likely to be a boy in his early teens.

Sherlock Holmes wrote:

So you don't think Mycroft did give Moriarty info about Sherlock?? Hmmm, interesting. The questions then are what were they talking about, why was he released, and how did Moriarty find out all the stuff about Sherlock?

I believe Mycroft and Moriarty conspired to a degree. Over what and why I have no clue to. It is quite possible that Mycroft spoke of Sherlock's past to Moriarty believing he was detained indefinitely and that no harm would come of it. What he thought he was receiving from Moriarty certainly would not have been computer code though. It is also possible that Moriarty, like The Joker in Dark Knight, planned to be caught so he could be released via some ridiculously intricate plan utilising political connections beyond Mycroft's control.

I also entertain the notion that Moriarty is a product of British Intelligence and he was being debriefed by Mycroft. To what ends his role or objectives within his mission are I am clueless. This is the only other way I can see Moriarty being released and also why he would be capable of accessing information (Like the Bruce-Partington plans). He could be part of a 'cell' which in turn allows for other Moriarty figures to exist. It may also explain why he has a personal dislike for Sherlock as he is Mycroft's brother...I could get very comic book genetic manipulation programs here if I don't stop myself...

So that's kind of my thoughts on the situation - I know I'll be far from right but the fun of playing with concepts (Particularly within Moffat's excellent manner of teasing) is too tempting for me not to share.

Again feel free to share your own observations of what we know and your ideas about what underlying motivations and methods could be employed.

If you enjoy this kind of guesswork as much as I do then we'll be buzzing like well tended bees!

-m0r


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And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
     Thread Starter
 

May 18, 2012 10:09 am  #7


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

There is an article by PBS on 'The Making of Moriarty'. It has images and character analysis from Messrs. Moffat, Gatiss and Scott.

www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/moriarty.html

Hope this link works.


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Don't make people into heroes John. Heroes don't exist and if they did I wouldn't be one of them.
 

May 18, 2012 10:16 am  #8


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

Okie dokie. The link works and the character analysis and slide show of images are really worth looking at. Like to see what others make of it.


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Don't make people into heroes John. Heroes don't exist and if they did I wouldn't be one of them.
 

May 18, 2012 1:34 pm  #9


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

That was a fun read - good to see they put a lot of thought into him.

I thought the light suit (With 'Sinner Man' playing in the background) was quite indicative of a faith healer. Not mentioned and so perhaps it's only me.

I'd like to have seen the pool scenes which didn't make it to the final cut - reads like there were lots of experiments with his character.

-m0r


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And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
     Thread Starter
 

May 18, 2012 2:14 pm  #10


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

I love that scene - the song fits it perfectly.

Good article!


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May 18, 2012 4:28 pm  #11


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

I dont know if its just me but at the end of 'the Reichenbach fall when Microft was reading the newspaper he looked like he knew it was coming.
Its probably nothing but might as well put it out there


I <3 Sherlock Holmes
    Twitter = @ellen_lowe
 

May 18, 2012 4:42 pm  #12


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

Ellen5000 wrote:

I dont know if its just me but at the end of 'the Reichenbach fall when Microft was reading the newspaper he looked like he knew it was coming.
Its probably nothing but might as well put it out there

Possibly true.
I've done many hours ( yes hours) watching ho the guy is carrying drinks behind him, but to no avail. (If you get my drift, it would be extremely possible & opportunistic)
However , if he were truly grieving for his brother, he would have done so already & regained his composure for the "Club" and its patrons in case anyone slips a sliver of information his way. One needs to be seen to be in control at all times!

And please recall 'sentiment' has no place in the Brothers Holmes' hearts.


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Also, please note that sentences can also end in full stops. The exclamation mark can be overused.
Sherlock Holmes 28 March 13:08

Mycroft’s popularity doesn’t surprise me at all. He is, after all, incredibly beautiful, clever and well-dressed. And beautiful. Did I mention that?
--Mark Gatiss

"I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
Robert McCloskey
 

May 18, 2012 5:03 pm  #13


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

kazza474 wrote:

Possibly true.
I've done many hours ( yes hours) watching ho the guy is carrying drinks behind him, but to no avail. (If you get my drift, it would be extremely possible & opportunistic)
However , if he were truly grieving for his brother, he would have done so already & regained his composure for the "Club" and its patrons in case anyone slips a sliver of information his way. One needs to be seen to be in control at all times!

And please recall 'sentiment' has no place in the Brothers Holmes' hearts.

True, he may not have been grieving but might feel guilty about something, perhaps what he was talking to Moriarty about
however Microft might not 'feel' guilt because as you said there is no place for sentiment in the Holmes' hearts

Anyway it was just a thought, it's probably not significant   


I <3 Sherlock Holmes
    Twitter = @ellen_lowe
 

May 19, 2012 12:12 am  #14


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

Caring is not an advantage.

(although Mycroft SOOOO knows that Sherlock is alive).


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August 19, 2012 9:25 pm  #15


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

I just discovered this older thread because I was looking for ideas about Moriarty. I don't know if this has been discussed elsewhere, the question just popped up in my head today.

I was thinking about the origin of the Sherlock/Moriarty "relationship". In the series we never actually see Sherlock accidentally thwarting Moriarty's criminal doings. From the very beginning it is Moriarty who seeks him out, who orchestrates cases like the cabbie murders while staying in the background and observing Sherlock reaching his conclusions. He seems to dangle cases before his eyes and waiting what Sherlock's next moves will be (Hounds being the only exception if I'm not mistaken). But how did he discover Sherlock in the first place? Before John starts blogging about him he's no darling of the media. I could only think of his homepage or a possible informant within the police being his source. But would that be enough to stimulate him into these crazy machinations? The cabbie calls Moriarty Sherlock's "fan" so his fascinated hatred must have been there at a very early stage.

Just some reflections late in the evening. Please forgive me if this has been exhaustively discussed somewhere else but I thought I wouldn't sleep well before writing it down. 


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"To fake the death of one sibling may be regarded as a misfortune; to fake the death of both looks like carelessness." Oscar Wilde about Mycroft Holmes

"It is what it is says love." (Erich Fried)

“Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame. I’m also a great believer in treating others as you would like to be treated.” (Benedict Cumberbatch)



 
 

August 19, 2012 9:34 pm  #16


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

An informant in the police would be a distinct possibility especially as there is presumably an assassin with his sights on Lestrade in TRF in New Scotland Yard. Clearly Moriarty must have heard about Sherlock's abilities via the police somehow. Sherlock has been used by Lestrade on a number of cases before John even meets him.

Sherlock is a consulting detective and Moriarty is a consulting criminal, they are mirror images of each other.


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Don't make people into heroes John. Heroes don't exist and if they did I wouldn't be one of them.
 

September 25, 2012 2:59 am  #17


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

I think Jim Moriarty is Lucifer to Sherlock's (pick your favorite 'angel' name). He is a complete, high-functioning, genius psychopath, sadistic, schizoid and thanks to Andrew Scott, had me truly cringing in terror. Somebody probably burned the heart out of him long ago, a truly damaged soul.

I think he killed Carl Powers himself, then became more and more sophisticated as the years went on, finally becoming such a threat he caught certain people's attention and the wheels set in motion... .

I think he recognized his match in Sherlock, complete with warning sirens going off and a homoerotic fixation (i think jim IS unhappily gay, and at least opportunistically bi) culminating in his graphic and disturbing suicide. No straight guy says I'll make you into shoes.

Last edited by MaggieM (September 25, 2012 3:57 am)

 

September 25, 2012 7:41 pm  #18


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

MaggieM wrote:

I think Jim Moriarty is Lucifer to Sherlock's (pick your favorite 'angel' name). He is a complete, high-functioning, genius psychopath, sadistic, schizoid and thanks to Andrew Scott, had me truly cringing in terror. Somebody probably burned the heart out of him long ago, a truly damaged soul.

I think he killed Carl Powers himself, then became more and more sophisticated as the years went on, finally becoming such a threat he caught certain people's attention and the wheels set in motion... .

I think he recognized his match in Sherlock, complete with warning sirens going off and a homoerotic fixation (i think jim IS unhappily gay, and at least opportunistically bi) culminating in his graphic and disturbing suicide. No straight guy says I'll make you into shoes.

Agree that he killed Carl Powers as a teen and continued the life of crime. I bet he killed small innocent animals as a kid  Andrew's performance was perfection to me - the way he moved, talked, facial expressions - I can and do watch his scenes over and over.

I know sexuality doesn't matter but for discussions sake - I wondered if Moriarty is gay.

"No straight guy says I'll make you into shoes." - Haha didn't even think of that.
"homoerotic fixation" - with Sherlock you mean?

Other things: He cares about how he looks so that could be a sign, but it could just be pure vanity. He calls Sherlock "sexy" but a straight man could say this as a playful joke type thing.

Then there's this: "Do you know the big problem with a disguise, Mr. Holmes? However hard you try, it's always a self-portrait." which could be applied to "Jim from IT".

I think Jim is like Sherlock in that neither of them have time for romantic relationships or don't want them for that matter. And even if they did it would be hard to find someone. Not sure if Moriarty is an unhappily gay or if he just never found anyone to relate to period.


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SH: "Brilliant, Anderson."
Anderson: "Really?"
SH: "Yes. Brilliant impression of an idiot."
 

September 26, 2012 3:29 am  #19


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

sam--i think moriarty started offing small animals, too. i think he's highly intelligent like sherlock but just bad, bad, bad to the bone. riddled with self-loathing (extra sensitive to taunting which is why carl died), which would reach into all areas of his life, i'm guessing.

 

September 26, 2012 5:16 am  #20


Re: Moriarty; an in-depth analysis.

^ Ah, I didn't even think about WHY he killed Carl. Very true...


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SH: "Brilliant, Anderson."
Anderson: "Really?"
SH: "Yes. Brilliant impression of an idiot."
 

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