As for Mary meeting John because she was assigned to kill him...nonsense! She has had anew identity for 5 years and hasn't been killing anyone. They only met fairly recently.

m0r I bet you were over the moon by Moriarty's reappearance at the end! 

Just because a load of photos and a broadcast appear does not mean he is alive. If it is the same Moriarty and he didn't die on the roof I will be very, very disappointed in the writers!

Davina wrote:

Just because a load of photos and a broadcast appear does not mean he is alive. If it is the same Moriarty and he didn't die on the roof I will be very, very disappointed in the writers!

 
Oh I don't think you'll be disappointed. Let's face it, a lot of photos, videos and even newspaper articles appeared about Richard Brook didn't they?
And look how that turned out?
Surely another 'consulting something or rather' could do the same as Moriarty with Moriarty's image to instill fear into the British Government ensuring they keep the ONE person who can beat this guy around for as long as it takes to catch him?
What an insurance policy that would be, having that sort of a weapon to unleash on society, an elusive Moriarty stalking in the underworld somewhere.
Now who would find that beneficial to their well being & longevity if they got into another sticky situation???

And as far as producing a show like that, wouldn't that keep the squeeing public intrigued for a while?
Appear to be giving them what they asked for.
After all, they have done that already this series several times, why wouldn't they keep doing it?

LOL!

I think the "Have you learnt your lesson?" comment was meant to sound like Mycroft is still the alpha-Holmes in control of the situation. I don't know how to explain it better.
I'm convinced he really meant to send him off (though he probably would have got him home safely before anything could happen to Sherlock).

True But I don't think Mycroft had anything to do with Moriarty's little appearance. He seemed truly surprised.

anjaH_alias wrote:

I have to watch it again. Just saw it once right now. And I don´t insist on that , it was just another possibility coming to my mind.

I only watched it once last night, so I could be mistaken as well. Don't stone me if my comment turns out to be rubbish

And let's not forget; Mycroft, like Sherlock, just loves it when people think he's a psychopath. Only he's way better at pretending to be one. 

silverblaze wrote:

Ozma wrote:

I wouldn't be surprised to see series 4 start with Sherlock excitedly putting his coat on to go after Moriarty, and Mycroft chirping 'Where are you going? I made that video you dumbass'

I'm with Ozma and Anja on this. That video looked fake, very fake. Mycroft has a motive to make something like that and he has the opportunity. 

That and I was shocked that Mycroft might kill his brother, like literally kill to death, with the secret mission thing. I hope it isn't true. The fact that Mycroft wanted Sherlock to go on the mission rather than to prison suggests that he had something planned, otherwise he wouldn't choose death over imprisonment. The 'I hope you've learned your lesson' seems a bit telling as well. And surely Mycroft would just be as good an actor as Sherlock. 

Maybe Mycroft even foresaw Sherlock's intention to steal his laptop and was just playing along. What neither of them knew was Magnussen's mind palace. 
 

 
So you believe that Sherlock, who has been duped with fake videos, pictures etc before, would swallow the "Moriarty's alive" story even though he saw him kill himself & had some kind of plan to get rid of that body etc? I very much doubt that; and yes I do believe Mycroft would whisk his brother out of the country on a 'suicide mission'. Once out of the country & away from many prying eyes, Mycroft would have ... again... helped his brother escape death.  That's what he does; that's the facade of the relationship they want everyone to see.

yes. Mycroft was buying time. As things were, he fought for the best possible solution available to them - but he wouldn't have just let him die.

tobeornot221b wrote:

kazza474 wrote:

that's the facade of the relationship they want everyone to see.

Facade?
No.
They deeply care for each other.

 

 
Agree. Shown e.g. at the end when (and HOW) Mycroft says: "Oh Sherlock, what have you done?" And they cut in Sherlock as a boy.

tobeornot221b wrote:

kazza474 wrote:

that's the facade of the relationship they want everyone to see.

Facade?
No.
They deeply care for each other.

 

 
That is what we call 'taking words out of context'.

Let me try again using the whole quote that relates to this:

kazza474 wrote:

 
.... and yes I do believe Mycroft would whisk his brother out of the country on a 'suicide mission'. Once out of the country & away from many prying eyes, Mycroft would have ... again... helped his brother escape death.  That's what he does; that's the facade of the relationship they want everyone to see.

 Or to put it another way;
- Mycroft is seen to punish his brother by exiling him. This is what the Government sees, the public sees and his friends see.
- Having done so, he then helps Sherlock in some way to ensure his safety. This is not  what the Government sees, the public sees and his friends see.
To add history to this:
- Mycroft has had many spats, disagreements & arguments publicly with his brother.

This shows that there is a facade, a public face to their relationship that suggests non-caring, distrust or even hatred to some degree because the Government, the public and even friends rarely see the brothers working together for a common cause, or having concern for the other one's well being.

In order for the pair to carry out undercover work, etc together it would be useful to keep that facade of disdain as their public image.

So in this instance I do believe Mycroft was indeed serious about exiling his brother as we saw.

Will all my posts be scrutinised this way? It may get tiresome.