BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / A little question..

**Posted by BigFan** July 3, 2012 2:13 pm

Everytime I watch this scene, I wonder :

Sherlock jumps from the roof like this:

Almost on the ground:

Finally he is lying parallel to the house:

Makes no sense to me...

I don´t think that this is an important detail, but it occured to me.

Last edited by BigFan (July 3, 2012 7:10 pm)

**Posted by SusiGo** July 3, 2012 2:20 pm

I had the same thought on seeing this. And another thing: During the fall his coat-tails are flapping around. When he is lying on the pavement, the coat once again looks quite neat. And these are things you can see without slow-motion or a magnifier so they might indeed be a hint.

**Posted by Sentimental Pulse** July 3, 2012 3:47 pm

That is an excellent question! Extremely observant of you. My only take on it would be this might indicate that whoever placed the body at scene was not Sherlock because he would never have oriented it in seemingly improper direction.

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** July 3, 2012 8:58 pm

Hmm, that's if you believe it was a fake body lying on the ground which I personally, don't.

I think that's just the position Sherlock got himself into when he positioned himself on the ground after his fake landing. He was only doing it for John's benefit really, and seeing as John didn't get the advantage of seeing those amazing shots in the same way we have, I don't think he would have noticed anything unusual about the way Sherlock was lying after he landed.

**Posted by kazza474** July 4, 2012 2:15 am

Some people DO think this is an important detail.
I don't.
(This is not directed at you or anyone here BigFan)
They believe it is evidence of body swaps, or 'sleight of hand' tricks where Sherlock somehow manages to make their way down stairs etc etc.
Points to note:
- If ANYONE thinks a man can throw something off a rooftop & then 'race gravity' to get downstairs before the body lands, I have some real estate I'd like them to look at.
- The actor Benedict Cumberbatch didn't really jump , so ANY landing will be fake.

It's a TV show for heaven's sakes. so the remaining points I make are really not relevant to reality, but will show how no-one can say definitively that the landing is 'right' or 'wrong'.
The variables on HOW a body will land are many.
- It depends on how much the person flails their arms & legs
- it depends on 'did they react' by folding their legs beneath them
- it depends on how strong their legs are at the end (rigid with fear or limp from unconsciousness)
- it depends on if they twisted their body to not look at the ground on impact.
- it depends on the rigidity of their WHOLE body as to whether it 'bounced' , fell sideways, etc etc.

It has been suggested he used nothing to stop the effect of hitting the ground & that he's just a 'good healer' etc. A fall that distance is virtually fatal, there is no way you could rely on any other outcome.

There are plenty of reasonable explanations as to how he ended up laying the way he did. But most of all, the whole show is staged, I cannot understand why people keep 'fake, fake' unless of course they WANT to see Benedict actually take that fall.

**Posted by BigFan** July 4, 2012 8:53 am

I KNOW THAT IT IS ONLY A TV SHOW !!!!

I KNOW HE DID THE STUND BY HIMSELF!!

THE ONLY THING I SAY IS, WHY THEY MAKE SO A MISTAKE WITH THE LANDED BODY??

Thank you and good night Vienna!

**Posted by kazza474** July 4, 2012 9:08 am

Why is it a mistake?

I just listed reasons why the body could very well be in that position.
I don't think I am understanding things anymore.

**Posted by Davina** July 4, 2012 10:22 am

The thing I find stranger than the final body position is how much further over he is falling from the first picture (between the two windows with crenellations under the top of the frame) to right over to the left just 2 storeys later. In real time this is quick. Again it could be a stunt fault but I'm not sure.

**Posted by kazza474** July 4, 2012 10:33 am

Davina wrote:
The thing I find stranger than the final body position is how much further over he is falling from the first picture (between the two windows with crenellations under the top of the frame) to right over to the left just 2 storeys later. In real time this is quick. Again it could be a stunt fault but I'm not sure.

Sorry I don't understand the question. You mean he moves away from the building or he moves sideways?

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** July 4, 2012 10:44 am

I think it's just the camera angle that makes it look like he's falling sideways kind of....

**Posted by kazza474** July 4, 2012 11:11 am

Well that plus it would depend on which way he projected himself. He certainly wouldn't fall parallel to the wall (he'd move slightly outwards as he fell) and if he was angled when he stepped off he'd move to that side as well.
Let's face it, he's not an Olympic diver and those arm movements would have lost him a lot of points for technique.

**Posted by Irene Adler** July 4, 2012 2:12 pm

I have also always thought the way Sherlock lands in the ground is a bit weird. For both matters; the distance from Saint Bart's wall and the orientation of the body.

It could very well be, as Kazza said, a result of his moves during the fall, that make him "advance" horizontally whilst falling and turn his body to the position he ends in the floor. But then... should we think Sherlock steps out of the ledge and falls straight to the floor and survives? It's not impossible, but somewhat improbable (I think).

I'm not a fan of the truck theory now, but something must have happened there, and I think it is clearly showed to us. I mean, I think that is deliberately showed to us the way he starts falling and the way his body lies in the ground.

Probably nothing of what I've said makes any sense, I think my brain was already burnt by february

**Posted by Sammy** July 4, 2012 6:17 pm

I said a bit about that on my "observation" thread, hehe.
I saw that, as soon as he landed, he moved so that he lies on his side. He really should be lying on his belly judging from his fall.
I think he positioned himself that way after falling for a purpose. Because for some reason it's important.
I'm not sure, it could be to ensure that John takes the pulse of the arm that is stretched out or whatever.
As for the coat - might be continuity error or also Sherlock's doing (for similiar reasons).

So... I really think it is a clue. Seems more likely to be one than other stuff, haha. At least it's something you can see clearly.

**Posted by Tantalus** July 5, 2012 6:49 pm

Well, pulling in the idea from another thread, if there was a net involved (my personal favourite hypothesis), the "bounce" from the net would have completely changed the angle of the body from the fall. Sherlock would have hit the net face-down, then kinda rolled off onto the pavement, probably on the street side of the net, and then momentum would have carried him on over to where he was resting on his right side. I also think the ball in the armpit to mask his pulse is likely.

I also tend to think some sort of drug was involved, but likely nothing more than some sort of sedative, giving him the extra "gumption" to carry through with his plan. Moriarty may even have noticed some effect of the drug in Sherlock's eyes. Dare I suggest that only when M realizes the presence of the drug does he believe Sherlock is like him--crazy enough to jump off the roof on his own accord?

**Posted by Irene Adler** July 5, 2012 9:37 pm

Tantalus wrote:
I also tend to think some sort of drug was involved, but likely nothing more than some sort of sedative, giving him the extra "gumption" to carry through with his plan. Moriarty may even have noticed some effect of the drug in Sherlock's eyes. Dare I suggest that only when M realizes the presence of the drug does he believe Sherlock is like him--crazy enough to jump off the roof on his own accord?

I don't know about drugs, but I think I posted some time ago somewhere that I found a bit odd the way Sherlock's eyes look in the final moments of his conversation with Moriarty. I have always thought there has to be something more than the "side of the angels" thing to make Moriarty realize Sherlock is like him.
His pupils look extraordinarily small in this image and he is not even facing the sunlight, Moriarty is. There are some drugs that have this effect in the pupils

Last edited by Irene Adler (July 5, 2012 9:37 pm)

**Posted by kazza474** July 6, 2012 12:24 am

Irene Adler wrote:
His pupils look extraordinarily small in this image and he is not even facing the sunlight, Moriarty is. There are some drugs that have this effect in the pupils

Whooa again; you mean they drugged Benedict so that his pupils dilated for this role???!!!

**Posted by Irene Adler** July 6, 2012 6:58 am

kazza474 wrote:
Irene Adler wrote:
His pupils look extraordinarily small in this image and he is not even facing the sunlight, Moriarty is. There are some drugs that have this effect in the pupils
Whooa again; you mean they drugged Benedict so that his pupils dilated for this role???!!!

Hey, chief! I might be wrong but... I think there are ways to make pupils look smaller without the need of drugs. You can use contact lenses if I'm not mistaken, the same way you can use them to make your eyes look another color.

Anyway, I'm not a fan of the drug theories, I was just stating something I find really odd. I'm sure they didn't drug our poor Ben

**Posted by Sammy** July 6, 2012 9:01 pm

I don't think it's supposed to do with drugs... but that moment really is weird. I mean the moment Moriarty realizes that Sherlock is "him".
Though I guess this is better for another topic? Has this been discussed before? Probably..

**Posted by tobeornot221b** July 6, 2012 9:15 pm

Jim: "You are me."
Kitty Riley: "You are him.."
No wonder Sherlock insists: "I'll just be myself." (Ironically, being "himself" wins him a stay in a prison cell. Poor Sherlock!)

**Posted by Arya** July 6, 2012 9:56 pm

tobeornot221b wrote:
No wonder Sherlock insists: "I'll just be myself." (Ironically, being "himself" wins him a stay in a prison cell. Poor Sherlock!)

lol...I LOVE the scene where he gets thrown in the prison cell.

The "you are me" stuff is really strange...I really have no idea what it means. It could be a clue, but I have no idea what. Anyone have any ideas?