m0r1arty wrote:

Yes. "Careful now" and "Down with this sort of thing" are how I feel about comparing 'Doctor Who' and 'Sherlock'.

Although Moffat has stated that there are apparently clues there, between both, if you can see them.

-m0r

What? There are clues? Watching both if you watch one should be optional, not required in order to understand it!

m0r1arty wrote:

I don't think it's required SLA, just Moffat teasing his usual trollish self.

-m0r

I scream his name like a cry for vengeance every time I watch DW or Sherlock. My younger sister is convinced that I am actually filled with murderous fury towards him.

That said, I amend my previous comment. Personally, I prefer Sherlock to Doctor Who. If I'm going to sit down one afternoon and rewatch a BBC show, something like 4/5 times it will be Sherlock. It really depends on the kind of person you are. I do love Doctor Who, though. Just ever so slightly less than Sherlock.

I'm kind of drifting away from the idea of IOU with this comment, but back on topic somewhat. I checked out The Annotated Brothers Grimm from the library this afternoon and read Hansel and Gretel. One thing really nags me about it. It's probably nothing, but assuming Steve Thompson did his homework (and assuming Sherlock knows), the children were actually abandoned by both their father and their stepmother. It was, in fact, originally the stepmother's idea to leave them in the forest. Sherlock says in the show, "two children abandoned by their father in the forest." I'm reading through the tales to see if there are any other clues, but to be frank I don't have much hope.

I've got to Skype you or something Davina!

You are a real champion and yet lack a few skills which would make you the end game winner.

My username on Skype is 'm0r1arty' and if you don't know what Skype is...then really...ha ha ha...that was sardonic in case you thought otherwise.

-m0r

A strange idea came to my mind.

You said about fall from the grace and literal fall, yet no one thought about this:

Sherlock was on the side of angels but once he admitted he's Mortiarty he became fallen angel. He said he could do everything to make Jim speak.
You mentioned the black wings with the IOU text. Maybe Moriarty didn't want Sherlock to jump but to join him on dark side?
Or replace, since Moriarty killed himself.
Sherlock could have do nothing, confirming his transfer to dark side, or jump from the building. Either way - he had to fall. And that was Moriarty's plan and ultimate problem. Sherlock must be not boring or gone. Maybe Moriarty saw in that very scene that if Holmes becomes evil he'll outwit him and there's no reason for living along?
Holmes however, found third way. After all, that's how he works

Apologies if someone has already linked to it before, but this blog has a really crazy and detailed IOU theory. Quite interesting to read even if you don't agree with it. Personally I think their theorising is really clever and works out well, but it's far too over complicated to actually be true:

http://eva-christine.tumblr.com/post/27733467733/iou-explanation-53-8-92-grimms-fairy-tales-cipher

I ansolutely loved this theory! I just think it is absolutely something Moftiss would think of and I squealed in excitement as I came to the part with the violinist tale.
In my opinion, it's perfect. Since I'm from Germany, I know a lot of Grimms' Tales and except for Little Snow White, of course; I didn't know these two. They're not even included in my personal book with their tales in it, and I believe if I asked my friends about famous Grimm tales, none of them would name those two. It's nothing anyone would go like 'Oh, obvious, those are absolutely popular tales' about and therefore I just... aah, I love the theory :D
I mean, come on, a violinist looking for a friend? There HAS to be a connection.

The blog entry is really interesting but seems a little forced. Why would Moriarty leave a clue to a message by referencing 3 distinct stories in Grimm? One would expect the reference to be more specific, a reference to a story a paragraph and a line number or sentence perhaps. The cipher in The Blind Banker referred to specific entries in the book, not to a collection of pages, and ultimately the blog argues the message would be written in invisible ink. One needs at most to realize there's a message in the book with the story number sufficing.

Also, the interpretations of the three stories are a bit stylized to fit the narrative of the theory. The King of Gold Mountain is about a boy who is inadvertently traded for wealth by his father and who ends up by boat on an island where he passes a trial to marry a princess. The princess, now queen, betrays him to marry another and he finds 3 magical items on his way back to her with which he kills her and the suitor.

Last edited by Lupin (July 29, 2012 1:47 am)

I kind of discussed this blog with SusiGo some days ago.
Thought it was quite interesting, e.g the story of the violinist, the I O U as elements which numbers lead to the numbers of the fairytales...  I think it was in Baskerville where Sherlock already connected a letter to an element incl. its atomic number.
AND the collection of the Grimm fairytales was shown in TRF.
BUT the solution would be a book again, like London A-Z and this would be a repeat which would be kind of boring to me.

Or the London phonebook.

Something just came to my mind:
That scene in the lab.
Sherlock murmuring "IOU" in front of Molly while looking into the microscope.
Mental note, as he tells her? Not at all!

He knows the IOU carved into the apple is a warning meant for John as for a person Sherlock cares for.
The IOU opposite 221 Baker Street is meant likewise for Mrs Hudson.

Who else would Moriarty consider a weak point of Sherlock?
By confronting Molly with "IOU" Sherlock wants to find out whether Molly has got or seen an IOU recently as well, be it in a letter or by email or sprayed onto her flat. If it was so she certainly would say something like: "Oh, Sherlock, just as you mention it, something funny happened to me. Look, I got an email/a parcel/a photo with just these three letters in it…what's the point?"
As she doesn't say anything in this regard Sherlock can be sure that Molly is not taken into account as one of his weak points.

Later, when he sees the IOU in the windows opposite Scotland Yard he knows that the third person considered to be a friend he cares for must be Lestrade, not Molly.
By this he knows:
Molly is not in immediate threat of being killed by Moriarty and therefore can provide a possible assistance to his plans.