Luckily for us and one of the main reason we're all here loving and admiring this show is that it isn't just a "case of the week" kind of deal. We're watching  beloved characters grow and change over an arc of years as Bruce commented so eloquently. And luckily for us, these beloved characters are portrayed by actors with such great talent and emotional depth  that they are truly brought to life for us.

BHavers wrote:

I didn't like HLV -as a whole- neither. I think I was just disappointed with the vilain and his relationship with Sherlock.

There are excellent moments : John & Sherlock, Mycroft & Serlock, as ever, and many others -by the way, I really liked the slap ! Sherlock deserves it so much, it's a kind of relief !

But Magnussen, worse than others ? Really ? Because he is a cynical manipulator ? And what do you believe Google, Facebook and other "big brothers" do with all the data they collect...
Although I like so much fictional characters like Moriarty or Jeff the caby, they may deserve to be killed, but not Magnussen. Sherlock fails against him and becomes a murderer, not a very glorious position.

But anyway, the general level of the show is so high, that's not a crime to be disappointing (to me) sometimes. Just a pity it was the end of the last episode.

Let's not forget that Magussen's threats drove Lord Smallwood to suicide and I am certain he's not the only casualty left in this viillian's wake.  He destroys lives.  To me Magussen is just as dangerous as a man with a bomb.
 

I don't think he had anything to do with Sebria, that was Moriarty.

I undestood he was dismantling Moriarty's netwoirk but yes, I can accept what you propose.

Yes, but then why didn';t he just tell Mycroft that!

BHavers wrote:

I agree, Magnussen destroys lives if he doesn't kill himself, but does that give Sherlock a right to kill him? Doubtful. 

I also agree that stopping him is very hard (Sherlock actually fails for the first time), but we can't just kill people when no other solution appears... In this case, erasing memories ? Risky, but not lethal.

Maybe Sherlock hates Magnussen so much because he touched his "pressure point" and make him feel weak, but I'm still not convinced that he is worse than terrorists or other criminals.
 

I think this has a lot to do with our personal view of Sherlock's character tend to be; a lot of us tend towards more sinister readings of Sherlock; so we assume that he has selfish or nefarious reasons for everything. 

Personally, I really wish that Mofftiss hadn't made the decision to have Sherlock murder Magnussen; but I can't help but think that a lot if us didn't have a problem with John shooting the Bad Cabbie in ASiP. And I think that part of that is because he's a much more sympathetic character. 

I wish Sherlock hadn't killed Magnusson because Magnusson was my favourite villain so far.  I'd love to have seen him again in S4. 

RavenMorganLeigh wrote:

I think this has a lot to do with our personal view of Sherlock's character tend to be; a lot of us tend towards more sinister readings of Sherlock; so we assume that he has selfish or nefarious reasons for everything. 

Personally, I really wish that Mofftiss hadn't made the decision to have Sherlock murder Magnussen; but I can't help but think that a lot if us didn't have a problem with John shooting the Bad Cabbie in ASiP. And I think that part of that is because he's a much more sympathetic character. 

I find it interesting that I would have put myself into this camp at the end of series 2. After the stunt Sherlock pulled on the roof in TRF, I was firmly in camp John. So it amazed me that minutes into The Empty Hearse, I was sympathetic to Sherlock and having major issues with John, and I stayed that way through the very end of the series.

That two years between the series and the fallout has made a huge impact on the characters. One has become more human and more in touch with his emotions like the other has grown harder and out of touch with his emotions.

All that to say, I believe that Sherlock killed Magnussen for noble reasons, 'good' ones, if you will. It wasn't malicious. It was an act of love and sacrifice.

Series 1 and 2 Sherlock couldn't have made that decision. That reasoning came from two years on his own, torture, beatings, and harsh words that made him realise how much certain people mean to him and that he has more of an impact on these people than he ever realised. Series 3 Sherlock has learned selflessness. And if you'll pardon me mixing up my fandoms, he knows now that the needs of the many can outweigh the needs of the one.

I'm not condoning Magnussen's murder. But I like what it says about the man Sherlock has become.

Mary

You're going to make me cry with that quote, Mary.  I agree, I had a similar switch from sympathising with John (his devotion to a man who doesn't seem to tell him anything), to Sherlock (genuinely selfless) at around the same point. 

I wonder, though, if Magnusson really was going to get Mary murdered?  It seemed to me that he had much more fun settting people on the path to their own destruction rather than destroying them directly.  What he said could have just been to taunt John.  After all, Mary was proving quite useful to Magnusson. 

Last edited by Liberty (August 31, 2014 8:09 pm)

HLV had its moments but as whole I haven’t liked it
 
It starts off reasonably well as I enjoy the first 30 minutes or so but after Sherlock gets shot it goes into a complicated direction from there.  I will state that the entire “mind palace “ scene in which Sherlock has to desperately deduce how to survive after being shot is intense and surreal. As for Magnussen, he was getting interesting until he was taken out. However, the general revelation of Mary being a government assassin makes me feel uneasy since it will be hard for me to look at her the same way again especially by the fact that she shot Sherlock and could have killed him. Also, I don’t know how to feel about the idea that Moriarty might be returning. As great as Andrew Scott was, I do feel that the character has served his purpose but his comeback could perhaps bring back to its previously glory.
 
This season felt very different from Season One and Two. In one and two, the episodes felt like they were self-contained, independent adventures. While the episodes in this third season felt as if they were all part of a three act play. I feel the series is going in a direction where it is all about the personal lives of the characters as if it is going to be an ongoing saga. I know that Moffat has said that it is “a show about a detective, not a detective show” but come on when we watch a Sherlock Holmes TV show we want puzzles, sleuthing, and crime solving. The first two seasons managed to balance character development along with great cases and adventures. I do love “Sherlock” but I just don’t want it to become a soap opera.

Last edited by BrettHolmes (August 31, 2014 8:25 pm)