miriel68 wrote:

For example, for all his cleverness in figuring out where John would be two weeks in advance, Sherlock could not possibly predict when exactly mrs Hudson would decide to abduct him.
 

Why not? He could perfectly plan and time his scary freak out / shooting spree which led to convincing Mrs. Hudson that he'd totally lost it and John was needed.

As far as Sherlock's plans are concerend, he mentioned himself that he had quite a few alternative plans prepared in case things had gone differently. I think in the mortuary he was actually still carrying his three recording devices, his coat got searched after he was admitted to the hospital. But I don't think he actually expected Faith to admit that she had met Sherlock. The woman Sherlock thought was Faith had seemed quite scared of her father and I don't think she would have had the courage to admit ever meeting Sherlock. So I guess Sherlock was genuinly surprised that Faith wasn't the woman he had met, but her denying that she had ever met him was actually part of his plan.

If the entire episode was Sherlock’s plan he could not have been as high as he appeared in some scenes or he has a really big tolerance for whatever drug he was on to be able to function.   And if he did plan it all let me break it down as I understand -
Two weeks ago he told Mrs Hudson and Molly to be X place.  I think he told both of them his plan.  I also think he told Molly to tell John he was in worse shape than he was.  
I still don’t buy that Sherlock could deduce the therapist and date and time John would get an appointment (2 weeks in advance) as  John said he had just decided that week to go.   Still going with the improbable that Sherlock still could deduce all this – how did the sister (I don’t think her real name is Eurus) know John would go to that therapist that day to kill her and take her place?
And blah blah he deduced,  Smith could have smothered him before John got there.  But the power of TV he got there in time.   And knowing John’s pent up anger issues (since John was willing to punch him around before)  he guessed that John would do some damage so he’d be hospitalized (don’t know if I believe he had the kidney damages etc that Molly said – she does examine dead bodies as Mrs Hudson said)  he is hospitalized.  And Mrs Hudson is the one that pointed John to where the dvd was – so she had to know the plan.
But he didn’t know that he saw a fake Faith so he had to be really thrown when the real one showed up so I am not sure how having her there figured in the plan but TV wise it was only so he would see that the woman he talked to was fake.
I don’t like the secret sister idea.  It’s cheap writing IMO.  It could easily have been (and probably is) a Moriarty helper.   So it didn’t have to be a sister.  
I think Billy helped him ‘play’ the part as drug addict without it getting out of control.  I do not doubt he took drugs, as he seems to do easily.   As we have already seen with Magnussen.
I don’t like that Mary encourage him to go to these extremes to ‘save’ John.  It’s another manipulation.  Sherlock can’t seem to just explain things and make a plan with John without manipulating him.  Same with Mary.   
The only thing I enjoyed in this episode was Mrs. Hudson.  I think the ‘case’ was weak or the circumstances surrounding it.  I hope, if the show continues, that they stop with the Sherlock drugging himself.   His mom should kick his ass.   And as I said I don’t like the whole plot of there is a surprise sister, too much like a soap opera.  
 
 

miriel68 wrote:

Liberty wrote:

Yes, I think there was quite a lot of dramatic timing in this episode!  Same at the beginning when John talks about Sherlock and the car arrives!  

Sherlock is looking at Culverton & Faith photo on the phone when she is in his flat. Even drugged, there is no human possibility he would not notice it is not the same person, I think. I think it is quite probable he was convinced she was part of his hallucination and the whole "texting your daughter and then loosing it" part was set up for being put in the hospital.
 

But then at the end of the episode he says to John "and of course, I hadn't really anticipated that I'd hallucinated meeting his daughter." so it seems he really thought the daughter was the woman he had met and she was on her way to the hospital. He did say he had several back up plans but he couldn't remember them so I guess we'll never know.

Sharon H58 - The deduction  of terapists is quite clear and might work . Not the exact timing of Molly's arrival, but why not. Mrs. Hudson needed to know just something. It is Sherlock way to tell as few as necessary. But I like the idea of Molly exaggerating Sherlock health problems. He could have easily talk her into it, they were alone and if he told her it was for John's good. And he was not in any goood shape anyway.

I do not like the secret sister (or brother) idea, too, but I still believe the writers will do something unexpextable. 

Kae Em wrote:

miriel68 wrote:

For example, for all his cleverness in figuring out where John would be two weeks in advance, Sherlock could not possibly predict when exactly mrs Hudson would decide to abduct him.
 

Why not? He could perfectly plan and time his scary freak out / shooting spree which led to convincing Mrs. Hudson that he'd totally lost it and John was needed..

Well, mrs Hudson could have gone shopping... he surely could have foreseen her reaction, but not such an exact timing. But I don't think it really matters, it is not "realistic" show after all.
However, it is interesting that mrs Hudson is in contact with Mycroft while driving. What does he know about the whole thing?