BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Mrs Holmes, Moriarty, and mathematics

**Posted by SusiGo** August 29, 2014 2:03 pm

Well, just when you think there is nothing more to discover (and I hope this has not been discussed yet) you find something new.
I thought about Sherlock's parents and his mother's book and did a little search and found this here: http://mid0nz.tumblr.com/post/74285781560/a-dynamic-equation-sherlocks-mathematics-of
(I do not subscrice to this interpretation as a whole but wanted to show my source).

In canon Moriarty is a genius mathematician.
In the show Sherlock's mother is a genius mathematician.
In canon Moriarty has written a book called "The Dynamics of an Asteroid".
In the show Mrs Holmes has written a book called "The Dynamics of Combustion".

Just a nice nod to canon? Or more?

**Posted by maryagrawatson** August 29, 2014 2:15 pm

I read another meta somewhere that posits that Mummy will be a villain in series 4, tying together Magnussen's insistence that he was in control of the bonfire with Mummy's knowledge of combustion. I thought the person was crackers, but this info about Moriarty (whom I think is working with CAM or vice versa) suddenly makes this crazy theory almost plausible...

Mary

**Posted by SusiGo** August 29, 2014 2:23 pm

And it would indeed be shocking.

**Posted by Harriet** August 29, 2014 2:50 pm

Or she might turn out a heroine, on the side of the angels, blowing up the true villain

**Posted by SusiGo** August 29, 2014 2:51 pm

I would love to see her "turning absolutely monstrous."

**Posted by maryagrawatson** August 29, 2014 2:54 pm

SusiGo wrote:
I would love to see her "turning absolutely monstrous."

Me too!

I keep envisioning a confrontation between Mummy and Mary. Mummy is holding a gun, hand shaking a little, but her voice is even and her eyes are cold. "You put a bullet in my boy." Boom.

Mary

**Posted by tonnaree** August 29, 2014 2:58 pm

I have very mixed emotions about Mummy Holmes being a villian.

**Posted by SusiGo** August 29, 2014 3:01 pm

So have I but the parallels intrigued me.

**Posted by Russell** August 29, 2014 4:30 pm

Well, Mycroft does have a file on her……
(of course, of course, that could simply be a more personal thing, but still) I like the idea of her being a well-known professor or having dabbled in things… makes sense, with how her boys are too. And they are protective of her, despite their disinterest in family time.

**Posted by silverblaze** August 29, 2014 7:09 pm

I find it hard to believe that it's coincidence that she's a mathematician. Also, I read The Final Problem a couple of weeks ago and I noticed that Holmes made a comment about the painting above his head, in the new Mycroft office there's such a painting. Coincidence??? Maybe. And then there's mention of the third brother, who is (according to most) supposed to be older than Mycroft. Seems to be the right age for a Moriarty. Maybe a father or cosin?

**Posted by tobeornot221b** August 29, 2014 7:32 pm

silverblaze wrote:
And then there's mention of the third brother, who is (according to most) supposed to be older than Mycroft. Seems to be the right age for a Moriarty. Maybe a father or cosin?

No. Nobody mentions "a third brother".
In HLV, Mycroft speaks of "the other one". Possibly he does not even refer to a member of his own family. "The other one" could be anyone who experienced similar family implications.

**Posted by CarlPowers** August 29, 2014 9:02 pm

SusiGo wrote:
I would love to see her "turning absolutely monstrous."

HUGELY fun!!

**Posted by maryagrawatson** August 29, 2014 10:05 pm

silverblaze wrote:
And then there's mention of the third brother, who is (according to most) supposed to be older than Mycroft. Seems to be the right age for a Moriarty. Maybe a father or cosin?

I just had a crazy thought. Let's say that 'the other one' is another brother who is older. What if he's the real Moriarty and his son was just essentially a puppet? That would make Andrew Scott's Moriarty Sherlock's nephew. Now, before I get weird looks, remember that Benedict has a niece his age or slightly older, so this crazy theory would work with the age of the Holmes parents. I'm just thinking back to the comment about ACD's Moriarty being into mathematics. Maybe Mummy passed her mathematical prowess onto her eldest boy?

Mary

**Posted by SusiGo** August 29, 2014 10:31 pm

I just another look at the scene and it can really be understood in several ways:

MYCROFT: There will always come a time when we need Sherlock Holmes.
SIR EDWIN: If this is some expression of familial sentiment ...
MYCROFT: Don’t be absurd. I am not given to outbursts of brotherly compassion.
You know what happened to the other one.

So it could apply to another Holmes brother or to a person who was given to outbursts of brotherly compassion. Anyway, the person must be known to Sir Edwin which is quite interesting.

**Posted by La Jolie** August 30, 2014 9:31 pm

I'm sure they took excellent care to make that line as ambiguous as possible. It's excellent stuff for speculation and theories but it really can't be read as canonical evidence that there is or ever was a third Holmes brother.

Evil men, our writers.

I, too, would love to see Mrs Holmes turn absolutely monstrous at some point, but in a good cause, please. Rising like a tigeress to protect her young, maybe. Or maybe grab them both by the scruff of their necks, bang their heads together and tell them to sort it out between them, once and for all. Yes, I should like to see that.

Seriously, I've had quite enough of warm-hearted, maternal women turning out to be kick-ass assassins in this series. OK, there was just one, but one was enough. It worked for Mary but please don't make it a pattern.

I have a question to the scientific folk on this board. How are the Dynamics of Combustion a mathematical topic? It sounds like chemistry or maybe physics to me, but not like maths. I'm still honestly confused about this.

Last edited by La Jolie (August 30, 2014 9:33 pm)

**Posted by SusiGo** August 30, 2014 9:33 pm

I am no scientist, far from that, but I had the same thought. I think it may be just a trick to combine mathematics (allusion to Moriarty) and his book "The Dynamics of an Asteroid" (anyone knows how this connects to mathematics?)

**Posted by besleybean** August 30, 2014 9:34 pm

All dynamics is maths based, I believe.

**Posted by silverblaze** August 31, 2014 8:49 am

It sounds more like physics to me. But on a high level mathemathics and physics are very intertwined. And Moftiss are humanities majors so what do they know.

**Posted by silverblaze** August 31, 2014 8:52 am

maryagrawatson wrote:
silverblaze wrote:
And then there's mention of the third brother, who is (according to most) supposed to be older than Mycroft. Seems to be the right age for a Moriarty. Maybe a father or cosin?
I just had a crazy thought. Let's say that 'the other one' is another brother who is older. What if he's the real Moriarty and his son was just essentially a puppet? That would make Andrew Scott's Moriarty Sherlock's nephew. Now, before I get weird looks, remember that Benedict has a niece his age or slightly older, so this crazy theory would work with the age of the Holmes parents. I'm just thinking back to the comment about ACD's Moriarty being into mathematics. Maybe Mummy passed her mathematical prowess onto her eldest boy?

Mary

That's basically my theory.

**Posted by besleybean** August 31, 2014 9:47 am

Physics is maths!