Sherlock really didn't have any choice about going on the 6 month mission. It was either that or stay in England and face murder & treason charges.

But one moment he is saying there is always a time when the world will need sherlock and in the next breath exiling him to this 6 month mission of death. Contradictory don't ya think.  Weird. I think there is play there but I don't understand why Mycroft would claim we need him alive and then exile Sherl to death the next if all along maybe he was planning on retrieving Sherlock before the death exile ended?

My point is there is something being maneuvered here-other than the obvious- does anyone else agree that there is something more to this?

sirlockofthesher wrote:

the contradictions of Mycroft bother me in this episode.

How does Mycroft NOT see that CAM is maneuvering to have Mycroft under his power?

He speaks to Sherlock openly during Christmas saying,"Your loss would break my heart"

"Oh Sherlock what have you done?" Looking at him as a young child and saying, "There will come a time when we will need Sherlock Holmes". 

Not given to outbursts of brotherly compassion and then recommends a 6 mo. suicide mission...

Then he calls Sherlock back off of the Jet when "Moriarty" pops up again.
(Is anyone else shocked that Sherlock would be so congenial after his death sentence when Mycroft needs him again... his brother just sent him off to die)

Your thoughts?
 

Um, sorry spoilers for season 4
Mycroft runs the country.
I think that Mycroft has arranged - without the other government members and MI6 etc knowing - for this threat of the return of Moriarty to ensure that Sherlock actually never really goes on the mission. He puts on an act for the benefit of others - in a similar manner to his younger brother - but he also exercises a bit of his usual elder brother authority over Sherlock - the four minutes he was in the air - "I hope you've learned your lesson", to try and make sure that Sherlock doesn't do anything so wildly self-sacrificing again.
Just my twopennyworth ...

I was first shocked that Mycroft would send Sherlock to his death but now I feel it's part of some bureaucratic maneuvring to keep him out of prison and alive. I don't believe he wants Sherlock to die, he said so in the smoking scene, CAM uses Sherlock as his pressure point and he protected Sherlock from the helicopter. 

There are some odd things he does: he seems to know there's somthing in the punch, he arranges Sherlock's exile with the woman whose husband was driven to suicide by CAM, she can't be too sorry that he's dead. Something fishy is going on. 

My explanation: Mycroft is desperately trying to be perceived as a psychopath with no soft feelings whatsoever. He is really powerful and has a lot of enemies. His brother is his weak spot and his enemies will exploit that if they find out. That's why he has to be so callous. He pretends that he doesn't care and gives him a death sentence to prove it.

Then, conveniently, Morarty shows up and Mycroft doesn't have to follow through. How nice for him!   I find this way too much lucky coincidence for Mycroft so I believe he's behind it. But whether he arranged the film or not, he surely used it to his advantage. 

I'm suspecting that Mycroft's gonna take a nose dive in the next series. 'Cause that's what I would do if I were a writer. 

And I just realised something else. In TEH and in TSOT Mycroft tries to persuade Sherlock not to get involved too much. Could it be because he suspected it would make them vulnerable for blackmail? I thought at the time that it was some ridiculous defense mechanism but this would be a very good reason. Especially when Sherlock is his weak spot. 

Of course he doesn't succeed. Mycroft's gonna fall.