On a side note...isn't it great that we can be having such intense debates and discussions about one scene nearly two years after it was first shown? That definitely says something about the quality of the show, I think.

Sherlock Holmes wrote:

On a side note...isn't it great that we can be having such intense debates and discussions about one scene nearly two years after it was first shown? That definitely says something about the quality of the show, I think.

I love it.  Definitely sharpens the debate skills :D


It wouldn't shock me if he was a little bit shocked by the gun...but maybe he was afraid of Moriarty pulling the gun on him, and not necessarily because he killed himself.  But after that, I think it's all very calculated- Sherlock does do something very strange during the little "montage".  He's very deliberately touching the top of his head here:



...which is odd for someone in shock to do.  He also does something else very strange....



...by covering his nose and mouth and then turning around.  I can't believe that he's doing anything other than acting in these shots, because it's not natural for someone like Sherlock to do.  He's anticipating that he will have to jump, and he's planned for it...why would he be scared and freaked out by it?  He's not.  He's using that opportunity to do something important (adding blood packets, maybe?  his head, nose and mouth are the only places bleeding when he is turned over on the sidewalk) before he jumps so that anyone watching won't be able to discern what he's doing.

Last edited by sj4iy (July 11, 2013 9:24 pm)

besleybean wrote:

No.
They are both stress reactions.

But why would he be stressed or shocked by something he expecting to happen?  If he's planned to survive the fall, then he knows that he has to get rid of Moriarty somehow.  He's not afraid of dying, and he knows he can save his friends...he's not going to be upset or stressed out by this.  That's not how Sherlock acts...he's never been upset by seeing someone die (especially someone like Moriarty).  Like I said, when Moriarty pulls the gun, that might be genuine, because he doesn't know if Moriarty will shoot him...but everything after that is staged.  It has to be.  It doesn't make sense otherwise.  This is chess, and Sherlock is ahead of all of us by several moves.

Last edited by sj4iy (July 11, 2013 9:29 pm)

besleybean wrote:

He wasn't expecting Moriarty to kill himself...
Heck, even if he was.  It's a hell of a thing he's about to do!

Then how would he have jumped with Moriarty looking?

besleybean wrote:

Dunno...

That's because he can't jump with Moriarty looking.  Therefore, he has to get rid of Moriarty.  How?  By convincing Moriarty that he can only win the game by killing himself and forcing Sherlock to jump.  It's risky, but that's how Sherlock plays the game.  And it worked.

besleybean wrote:

You could be right.  
Still hell of a lot for the one lonely guy to go through...

Definitely  The reunion will probably be pretty funny, but sad.

besleybean wrote:

We'll see.

I'd probably headbutt Sherlock, too, if I were John.

Sherlock Holmes wrote:

I think he still could have faked it with Moriarty watching and was probably planning to do that.

For a start off, there's no way they used a great big blue matt for him to land on, it was more likely something a lot more subtle, that couldn't have been seen from up the top of the building where Moriarty was.

So, even if Moriarty was peering over the edge and watching. He just would have seen Sherlock fall, land, and then a bunch of people instantly crowding around him. That's what he would have EXPECTED to see too, he wouldn't have been looking out for anything weird going on because by that point he was already so convinced he'd beaten Sherlock.
 

There's no way to feasibly survive that fall without landing on something that can take the impact without injuring or killing him.  No matter what it is- an airbag, secret compartment,etc.  But there's no way to conceal whatever it is from Moriarty from above.  None.  He will be able to see anything that Sherlock does.  He simply can't be there.