NatureNoHumansNo wrote:

It's a real probability IMO, that S4 revolves around a dark secret from Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes 's past.
But given that I don't like the idea of Sherlock Holmes being his brother's puppet, I think I'll stay away from M theory ( moreover, I don't wish the show turning to a complicated thriller scenario).
I can imagine some ways Moriarty is still alive, but Mycroft knowing it and agreeing that his brother is away, miserable and tortured for two years while the center of the network he wants to dismantle is still in activity, is too vicious for me.

I think if Moriarty is still alive, than Mycroft has to know, or at least suspect. While only Sherlock and Moriarty knew what happened on the roof of Bart's, it seems implausible that Sherlock would not have told his brother the one surprising thing that happened there: that Moriarty committed suicide. But if Moriarty is still alive, Mycroft would have failed to discover his body on the roof (so would the police when they investigated the place from which Sherlock jumped into his “death”). The police would not have suspected a body on the roof, but Mycroft would. The question then would be: If Moriarty’s body vanquished, why didn’t Mycroft tell Sherlock?
 

NatureNoHumansNo wrote:

That's not how I understood it. Magnussen wants to have Mycroft under his thumb and certainly hope he will by entrapping Sherlock ( I guess Magnussen didn't really want the laptop, as he seems to know that being caught with the laptop would be compromising for him). But Mary being way to reach Mycroft doesn't mean she compromises Mycroft.

It would fit with CAM’s MO wouldn’t it? Take a bit of truth and twist it until one of the great has fallen. Mycroft, who is the British government personified, the British secrets service and the CIA on a freelance basis, associates himself with an undercover assassin who went rouge on his American friends. That should be enough to turn those friends against him and bring him down, shouldn’t it? Though I think CAM did not plan on cashing in on Mycroft for a long time, as long as he did not do too much harm (=anything that Mycroft would have deemed more important than his own fate), he was under Mycroft’s protection, that was far more valuable than seeing Mycroft down and CAM was, after all, a businessman.

 

If Magnussen wanted Mycroft compromised directly through Mary, then he had all the informations he needs before entrapping Sherlock in Appledore. Moreover, Mycroft is not, according to what we know, a public person ( he is the british governement undercover, but he's a civil servant ocupying a minor place in the public eyes) so it's doubtful that Magnussen can use newspapers against him. I think magnussen needs to trap Sherlock to have a direct and private access to Mycroft ( by threatening him of revealing Sherlock's been caught giving/selling confidential informations)

So do I. But I suspect that they will not show us an idyllic marriage where John solves cases with Sherlock while Mary looks after the baby. Or even worse, with Mrs Hudson looking after the baby while we get a crime-solving trio. 
I get the impression that Mary's story is far from over. Which does not mean we do not get an interesting Mycroft story arc as well. 

SusiGo wrote:

I get the impression that Mary's story is far from over. Which does not mean we do not get an interesting Mycroft story arc as well. 

We might even get both at the same time, a story arc which includes Mycroft AND Mary, together. We have mentioned it before, it's very hard to believe that Myroft didn't know about Mary. So we might get an explanation why that is... or why he knew about her and didn't tell Sherlock nor John.
 

I get the feeling Mycroft and Mary are hard to seperate. We're talking Mycroft in the Mary thread, and Mary keeps coming up in the Mycroft thread. I don't mean anything by it, but it has some significance, no? There's something......

If Moriarty is alive, I shall turn absolutely monstrous. Well, tbh, simply that we're discussing the possibility, is already hurting my TRF feels. I'm totally with you there, tonnaree.

I rewatched HLV and suddenly could see why some see Mary as not-the-villain. For a moment, I could even imagine she won't play a big role in s4 anymore. But everytime I watch any of the episodes, I feel a need to get to know more about Mycroft. That's why I'm also sure there must be some storyarc for Mycroft ahead. He is one of the few bigger characters who is still very much in the dark, imo.

Yes, I also cannot see how Magnusson has actual power over Mycroft. Which kind of government secrets has he? How would he publish them without s.o. questioning his sources? And even if he did, why would they put pressure on Mycroft only?

Also, the last scenes in HLV show that Mycroft isn't a lone wolf in governmental questions. He clearly has people who trust him, and he apparently shares information with them, even explaining his reasoning. Makes blackmailing him not so easy.
 

SusiGo wrote:

So do I. But I suspect that they will not show us an idyllic marriage where John solves cases with Sherlock while Mary looks after the baby. Or even worse, with Mrs Hudson looking after the baby while we get a crime-solving trio. 
 

 It may be impossible in the long run, but, if S4 takes place just after the end of S3, with Mary close to due date, we absolutely can imagine she'll stay away from the Moriarty case.

Whisky wrote:

If Moriarty is alive, I shall turn absolutely monstrous. Well, tbh, simply that we're discussing the possibility, is already hurting my TRF feels. I'm totally with you there, tonnaree  

Why? Because Moriarty wouldn't have been really suicidal?
Because, if he "just" tricked everyone, it doesn't change things a great amount.

Whisky wrote:

 I also cannot see how Magnusson has actual power over Mycroft. Which kind of government secrets has he? How would he publish them without s.o. questioning his sources? And even if he did, why would they put pressure on Mycroft only? 

I guess he want the possibility to pressure Mycroft, so that he gives him confidential informations.
 

I just had a look at the final scene of ASiP - in which Mycroft is compared to Moriarty (criminal mastermind) and people like Mary (working for the CIA on a freelance basis). Of course he is not exactly like either of them but his dealings have always seemed a bit shady. So I would not be surprised if he was in some way blackmailed or under pressure or compromised. I do not think he is a villain, far from it, but he might be not be omnipotent after all. 

You think Moriarty's Brother is behind the broadcast? In a way, it would suit the canon, as Colonel Moriarty published a letter to defend the memory of his brother.