Aujouret, I wouldn't be so sure that Moriarty is back.. it'd be great though because he was brilliant and a one-of-a-kind villain.

I'm really glad they didn't opt for a cliffhanger ending too and I think it will also please ordinary non-fandom viewers like my parents who say they find the cliffhangers "annoying". This felt more like a traditional series ending, which was nice. There was a resolution to the storyline, followed by hints and teasers at what might be to come.

I agree that TRF wasn't a proper cliffhanger either, because we knew Sherlock was still alive. The agonising wait was due to the fact that we didn't know how he survived and more painfully, the fact that John didn't know and was clearly going through a lot of emotions and grief at the loss of his friend. That was what I found so torturous about Reichenbach.

Anyway, what TRF did do, was leave us with a question (lots of them!) and things to ponder during the hiatus, which is exactly what HLV did but in a different kind of way. This time, the questions are "IS MORIARTY REALLY ALIVE? IF SO, HOW DID HE SURVIVE? IF NOT, WHO IS IT BEHIND THE VIDEOS?"

They will keep the fandom going for a while, which is what they intended, as well as discussing the other finer points of the TEH and TSOT, including that old favourite "how did Sherlock survive".

I don't think they needed to end on a mega cliffhanger and although we were promised it - and indeed, promised an emotionally painful episode - I actually felt quite happy and positive at the end. I had a bit of a cry immediately after Sherlock shot Magnussen because I honestly thought he was going to have to go away again, but then I cheered up significantly at the Moriarty twist.

I'm glad they didn't end with Sherlock going off on the plane. It would have been too similar to TRF in as much that Sherlock has to "go away" and go on hiatus, essentially. It would basically have been TRF without the mystery, which wouldn't have been much of an ending at all, just a sort of fizzle out ending, not very exciting. The final twist had much more drama to it and although I really don't like the idea of Moriarty being back, I still genuinely think it's not him, there's another explanation and there'll be another twist to it.

The thing I find the most interesting though, is this...so far, none of the fandom have ever been able to predict any of the episodes. They always surprise us. Can they keep this up? Or will we guess what the Moriarty thing is about by the time Series 4 comes out?

Sherlock Holmes wrote:

I'm really glad they didn't opt for a cliffhanger ending too and I think it will also please ordinary non-fandom viewers like my parents who say they find the cliffhangers "annoying". This felt more like a traditional series ending, which was nice. There was a resolution to the storyline, followed by hints and teasers at what might be to come.

I agree that TRF wasn't a proper cliffhanger either, because we knew Sherlock was still alive. The agonising wait was due to the fact that we didn't know how he survived and more painfully, the fact that John didn't know and was clearly going through a lot of emotions and grief at the loss of his friend. That was what I found so torturous about Reichenbach.

Anyway, what TRF did do, was leave us with a question (lots of them!) and things to ponder during the hiatus, which is exactly what HLV did but in a different kind of way. This time, the questions are "IS MORIARTY REALLY ALIVE? IF SO, HOW DID HE SURVIVE? IF NOT, WHO IS IT BEHIND THE VIDEOS?"

They will keep the fandom going for a while, which is what they intended, as well as discussing the other finer points of the TEH and TSOT, including that old favourite "how did Sherlock survive".

I don't think they needed to end on a mega cliffhanger and although we were promised it - and indeed, promised an emotionally painful episode - I actually felt quite happy and positive at the end. I had a bit of a cry immediately after Sherlock shot Magnussen because I honestly thought he was going to have to go away again, but then I cheered up significantly at the Moriarty twist.

I'm glad they didn't end with Sherlock going off on the plane. It would have been too similar to TRF in as much that Sherlock has to "go away" and go on hiatus, essentially. It would basically have been TRF without the mystery, which wouldn't have been much of an ending at all, just a sort of fizzle out ending, not very exciting. The final twist had much more drama to it and although I really don't like the idea of Moriarty being back, I still genuinely think it's not him, there's another explanation and there'll be another twist to it.

The thing I find the most interesting though, is this...so far, none of the fandom have ever been able to predict any of the episodes. They always surprise us. Can they keep this up? Or will we guess what the Moriarty thing is about by the time Series 4 comes out?

I agreed with everything you just said here. And I'm fully intending to make it as difficult as possible for the Moftiss to surprise me. 

But just as with Reichenbach, I don't think the answer to the question will be the main surprise. The Reichenbach answer was guessed more or less by the fandom, and the writers cleverly managed to surprise us in other ways. There are five or six theories now about Moriarty and I'm predicting that the right one is already among them. Don't know which, though I do have a personal favorite so far. 

Noooo, they're gonna surprise us with new villains, unexpected plot twists, character arcs and relationships. 
 

I think he said all his goodbyes at the grave.

Sherlock Holmes wrote:

IIt would have been too similar to TRF in as much that Sherlock has to "go away" and go on hiatus, essentially. It would basically have been TRF without the mystery...

And, indeed, this time the hiatus itself will look quite different. It is amazing how the (cocial media-supported) momentum built between series 2 and 3, but now the show is a frontrunner and super-popular. Without a question, innocent and coincidental developments will now look far more contrieved etc. There is so much at stake by now.

No wonder series 4 will be fast tracked!

I totally thought he was dead and I still think he might be!
Would like him to still be alive, tho!

I´m convinced Moriarty is dead. Sherlock has been breaking his net for two years - he´d found out Moriarty was still alive and active. Question is - did Sherlock expect someone of Moriarty´s men to appear like this? And does he know who is it really?