BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Moriarty theories

**Posted by NatureNoHumansNo** March 17, 2015 2:11 pm

SusiGo wrote:
Moriarty is truly dead and someone has used CAM's extensive network to stage his return.

who would do it? and why? if someone wants to avenge CAM... well, Holmes is already sent to death, isn't he?

One of my other theories is, Moriarty being dead, and Anderson staging his return ( he maybe still has connections with police, he's obsessed with Sherlock and wouldn't want to see him sent away, and he proved to be clever enough to stalk Holmes witout being noticed...AND, he would be a grat villain!)
The theory I like the less is Mycroft planning it all, out of "brotherly affection"

**Posted by M.M.A** April 30, 2015 9:41 am

I think this is moriarty's own method that showing up in a video clip. Just like when he played a video for sherlock in taxi in the Reichenbach fall.

**Posted by tonnaree** April 30, 2015 12:57 pm

My favortite solution is that Moriarty is really dead and it's one of his network that Sherlock missed that staged the video. They would certainly have reason to want to get back at Sherlock.

**Posted by Lilythiell** April 30, 2015 2:39 pm

silverblaze wrote:
The problem with Moran is that there has already been a character with that name and the original wasn't very interesting. He was just a sniper with a big gun, basically, and a bit less scary than Moriarty.

The thing is, Moffat (or was it Gatiss? Anyway...) did say that. And he said that it was the only way they wanted to go with Moran. Logically, I don't believe a word he says. So, in a nutshell, your theory of an Anti-John does make sense, Swanpride. And I like this theory, I must say.

**Posted by ukaunz** August 31, 2015 7:27 am

So we've been warned to expect "tragedy" in S4... I just came across this possible explanation:
http://mid0nz.tumblr.com/post/106732426944/likingthistoomuch-the0blue0yoda

**Posted by mrshouse** August 31, 2015 7:29 am

That's it, you cracked the code, ukaunz!

**Posted by Lola Red** August 31, 2015 12:26 pm

My theory : Moriarty, as in Andrew Scott, is dead. Mark and Steven included the last clip to ensure their amusement over the hiatus.

Steven: “I keep telling them he is dead, but they won’t listen”
Mark (dropping his voice to Mycroft levels): “Give them a puzzle and watch them dance”

In a reversal of the great red herring of ASIP, it turns out that Mycroft “the most dangerous man you’ve ever met” is Moriarty, or at least part of it (“There’s others out there just like you, except you’re just a man and they’re so much more than that”). The Moriarty (born Richard Brook and a former actor “that’s what you do when you sell a big lie; you wrap it up in the truth to make it more palatable.”)we got to meet was a criminal looking to join Mycroft (“Yes, he’s been in touch. Seems desperate for my attention, which I’m sure can be arranged.”)But in the end, Moriarty went rouge and Mycroft send Sherlock after him. CAM, on the other hand, was a controlled part of Mycroft’s network (“You may consider him under my protection.” “If you go against Magnussen, then you will find yourself going against me.” “He’s a business-man, that’s all, and occasionally useful to us. A necessary evil”). Maybe CAM wanted too much by placing Mycroft on the receiving end of a pressure point chain(“For those who understand these things, Mycroft Holmes is the most powerful man in the country. Well, apart from me”). Maybe it was because Sherlock got hurt while hunting CAM. Whatever the reason, I believe that on Christmas Mycroft was sending Sherlock after CAM (letting his laptop lay around, basically tell Sherlock that he knows there is something in the punch and CAM’s comment of “Mycroft has been looking for this opportunity for a long time. He’ll be a very, very proud big brother”). So after Sherlock once more took out a criminal for him, Mycroft arranges the Moriarty gif (much in the same way as Sherlock’s mass SMS in ASIP) and the fake exile.

**Posted by Nickun** October 3, 2015 10:32 am

I think that "the Woman" had something to do with the comeback from Moriarty. Maybe she had send the Video to all the Screens. I'm not sure if Moriarty survived but I think he planed a very big thing and perhaps he will take revenge for Sherlock because he has not really even killed himself?
(I come from Germany so my English is not very well)

**Posted by Yitzock** October 3, 2015 1:43 pm

Don't worry, Nickun. I had no trouble understanding your post.

That's an interesting idea. That would mean that she was either working with Moriarty all along or joined his circle sometime after A Scandal in Belgravia and Sherlock didn't know about it.
If it's Moriarty getting revenge on Sherlock for not actually killing himself, then there would definitely have to be someone, like Irene if she's alive, who knows that Sherlock is alive in order to carry out the revenge in Moriarty's place.

**Posted by Solenn** October 3, 2015 4:27 pm

I see everybody here wants the death of Moriarty Come on , he 's not ! He will come back Doesn't his mobile ringtone say it all ?

**Posted by Yitzock** October 3, 2015 4:32 pm

Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive

Honestly, it's not that I want or don't want Moriarty to be dead, I just can't think of a possible explanation for how he survived. If there is one, it's going to be clever, I'm sure.

Last edited by Yitzock (October 3, 2015 10:22 pm)

**Posted by mrshouse** October 3, 2015 4:35 pm

Me neither. Loved the character very much, but I prefer remembering him in all his glory rather than milking him to nine more deaths.

**Posted by James Norrington** October 3, 2015 10:15 pm

As I happen to get more and more fangirl-obsessed with Moriarty and Andrew Scott would go so far as to just wish that he returns, as unbelievable his return may be. I know, that's not at all suitable for 'Sherlock' or is nothing one should wish for, but I am soooooo fond of this character that I think it would be a shame to not have him back.

But I heard other interesting theories recently (none of them involved the real Moriarty but all of them went with 'another person wants to protect Sherlock' / 'another person was behind it all along'), and the most recent one I've read about on the board of imdB was Janine.

The person who wrote the theory on that board said, maybe she was Moriartys sister or something like that or was in fact the real mastermind all along.
For me, this would be a huge disappointment.

**Posted by Yitzock** October 3, 2015 10:24 pm

While it's an interesting idea, I have my doubts that it was Janine behind it all. Since her involvement in the Magnussen storyline, I feel like her character has run its course. She was never really front and centre in the story despite her involvement, so I doubt she would be the mastermind of everything. She could have been behind something with Moriarty, but I doubt she was running it all.

**Posted by tonnaree** October 3, 2015 10:46 pm

My personal favorite theory is that Moran is behind the "Miss Me" video and is coming after Sherlock for revenge. This idea really excites me.

**Posted by Solenn** October 4, 2015 8:53 am

I know I should prepare myself , but I'm gonna cry so hard if Moriarty is really dead For me , there is still the mystery of his corpse . We don't know what happened to it, and that's utterly impossible for me that Mycroft'mens didn't drop by to take care of it . Whatever happened, Mycroft knows .
'

Last edited by Solenn (October 4, 2015 8:54 am)

**Posted by Ivy** November 11, 2015 12:24 pm

I was talking about that with two fellow Sherlockians recently, I was sure since I saw that last scene that there's no way Moriarty is alive and I was sure someone is using Moriarty for his/hers purposes.

I'm almost sure that Mycroft is using it to save Sherlock from that fatal undercover assignment.
But there will be a new villian sooner or later.

**Posted by Magingus** November 11, 2015 5:12 pm

Ivy wrote:
I'm almost sure that Mycroft is using it to save Sherlock from that fatal undercover assignment.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the "Mycroft is behind the Moriarty image" idea.

That event was the impetus for Sherlock's return from exile, so it stands to reason that those who brought him back (the government) want him to figure out who was behind it. If it were Mycroft, then Sherlock would not be able to provide a "culprit" to the government (unless he sells out Mycroft, which I would find unlikely).

Plus, a villain being behind the image would provide a good drive for the story.

**Posted by sweetskates1** May 1, 2016 8:34 pm

I think the Moriarty we met is dead. He is the brother of Professor Moriarty who killed Sherrinford and has been after Mummy Holmes for decades. Professor Moriarty is alive but Jim Moriarty is indeed dead.

**Posted by Rache** January 8, 2017 2:53 pm

A few years ago I read a thriller for youths, called "Erebos". It is written by a German author, so I suppose it is not known to an international audience, but it was quite clever. Moriarty could work with a very similar scheme like in the book:

A man sets things in motion to get posthumous revenge. He did it like this (spoilers for the book!!!): he was a designer for computer games and had an very innovative idea for a new game and managed to program a very high artifical intelligence. However a manager from another software company stole the game from him, accused the true inventor of stealing it, brought him to court, the man was falsely convicted and in despair commited suicide. Before his death however, he re-programmed the game to get revenge. After some time a disc was put in circulation via his little son. The game is very addicting, the players make copies and give it to none-players, the only way you can get into the game. To be successful in the virtual world you have to do tasks in the real world! It begins quite harmless, but there are also tasks that could lead to the death of innocent people. The artifical intelligence knows everything about the players in the real world: who they are, who their friends are, what they wish, what they fear, if they fulfilled their tasks or not, because the AI plays off the players against each other. Only a few players, who do all the tasks and thus are seen as "worthy" by the game, are instructed to do the final task in the real world - to kill the manager who stole the game.

I think Moriarty could play a similar game, although I wonder what the motivation/the reward could be for those who continue his work. In the novel, adolescents are easily hooked by rewards within the game (although sometimes they get rewarded in real life too, for example get a rare Shirt, that you wished for, as a present anonymous from another player).

Last edited by Rache (January 8, 2017 4:28 pm)