BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Which pill was the poisonous one??

**Posted by Biggles86** February 10, 2014 7:24 pm

Maybe that's what this is all about. Play one game of life with some people to get Sherlock's attention then play the real game with him.

The more I think about it (and I think about it silly amounts!) I think that was all about brining Moriarty to Sherlock's attention, laying the foundations for future episodes

**Posted by besleybean** February 10, 2014 7:31 pm

I think you're right.

**Posted by Biggles86** February 10, 2014 8:16 pm

Yes!!! You have no idea how excited by your comment and that I might have actually worked something out!! Usually I spend large amounts of time in the dark while people point out everything I missed!

Maybe I could apply to the homeless network after all!

**Posted by josey** February 11, 2014 1:49 pm

Sherlock was right that at best the odds were 50%. The only person the cabbie studied was Sherlock, so only he could try and predict what Sherlock would do not the other 4. When presented with an impossible 50/50 decision some people will not decide on their own and rely on chance. A flip of a coin would negate anything the killer said to the original 4. We don't know why there was more than 1 pill in the bottles but we can assume that the game was basically the same the odds would only be different. It could be assumed they were told 1/3 are poison or 2/3 are poison. Either way the killer never has to take a pill if they die which makes it more likley 100% were always poison. Moriarty would not have benefited what so ever if the killer died before his game played out. Why would he risk the effort to find this person who had nothing to lose and everything to gain die to the first person?

**Posted by besleybean** February 11, 2014 8:45 pm

Yeah I think Moriarty trusted Sherlock would figure it out.

**Posted by Sigwyn** February 19, 2014 7:06 pm

I wonder why Sherlock first notes there's a 50/50 chance and then in the end asks if he'd chosen the right pill. I mean, if it's all about chance, what's the point with asking if he chose the right one? If he only played with chance, there aren't a rational reason to choose the other one.

Also,if Moriarty used the cabby only to wake Sherlocks interest, the cabby would have been useless after game with Sherlock. So both pills could be poisonus, if the cabby got the pills from Moriarty and not some other source.

**Posted by Tinks** February 19, 2014 8:20 pm

There was a 50/50 chance that Sherlock would choose the "safe" pill, BUT the cabby claimed that he knew which was which - hence Sherlock asking if he'd picked the right one.

**Posted by Bixxel** May 6, 2014 5:05 pm

GUYS!!!! Both of them are poisoned.And the Cabbie has already taken the antidote for the pill.So no matter what the victim chooses,they'll both be poisoned but the Cabbie will always survive and the victim will choke to death.Remember,the cabbie won't take 50/50 chances when it comes to taking care of his children's future.He'll try to ensure that he always wins at that moment of deciding pills.And then again,Moriarty gave him the idea,Moriarty always pulls simple tricks to fool others-like that "Computer Code that can hack anything." which was nothing more than a set-up daylight robbery through bribe....

**Posted by Biggles86** May 6, 2014 6:40 pm

But if they were both poisoned and Sherlock took one then there'd be no more Sherlock. They wouldn't take the risk that Sherlock would inadvertently kill himself would they?!?

**Posted by Bixxel** May 7, 2014 12:35 pm

Biggles86 wrote:
But if they were both poisoned and Sherlock took one then there'd be no more Sherlock. They wouldn't take the risk that Sherlock would inadvertently kill himself would they?!?

Because Moriarty expected Sherlock to figure that out.

**Posted by AbbyTNT4** June 20, 2014 7:17 pm

In "The Study of Pink" Sherlock was forced to make a choice between a good pill and a bad pill.
This is my explanation of which was the "good" pill.

I believe that the pill that Sherlock chose was the correct one. Now, I'm not just saying that because Sherlock picked it and he's the best, blah blah blah...... I have info.

So, the cabbie driver is obviously right handed. You can tell by which hand he uses to hold the gun. So, he's right handed, moving on.

Because he is right handed he would most likely place the good pill in his right pocket, by instinct, because that is his dominant side. I don't believe he would switch the pill to a different pocket with each kill, because he might forget where the good pill was. And he obviously didn't switch the pills after he had taken them out of his pocket, we would've caught that.

So, that's my theory on which was the "good" pill in this episode of Sherlock, since we never got an answer from the cabbie driver.

If you read this, thanks, and please let me know what you think.

**Posted by Bored-to-be-alive** June 20, 2014 8:01 pm

Thank you Abby for your smart theory. It sounds so logical!
My thoughts: He could have had the "good" pill in his left pocket, because it's the side of the heart. Just an idea!

**Posted by maryagrawatson** June 20, 2014 8:05 pm

I think that's a brilliant theory. My only concern is that he might have thought Sherlock would figure it out, too, and do the opposite. There's a lot of potential for bluffing, double bluffing, and even triple bluffing here.

Before anyone says that if it was that obvious, Sherlock would have figured it out, let me remind you all that Sherlock has proven time and time again that he isn't as clever as he thinks he is, including in this episode.*

Mary

*I still can't get over how long it took him to figure out the murderer was a cabbie. I knew it was a cab driver well before the 'who hunts in the middle of a crowd' spiel.

And then there's The Empty Hearse. Who else immediately realised that there was a carriage missing and spent the rest of the episode waiting for Sherlock to catch on?

**Posted by savannahmurphy24** June 23, 2014 12:08 am

I don't think anyone will ever know, though it did keep me up at night

**Posted by Bored-to-be-alive** June 23, 2014 9:13 pm

The most important thing is that SHERLOCK has'nt swallow the pill...

And it was so erotically when he was on the verge of doing this....

(sorry, but I'm captured in a day dream....)

**Posted by OnlyinWestwood** July 5, 2014 7:07 pm

Erotic, yes! I like those little surprises! Well played Mr. Cumberbatch, well played! ;)
Interesting theories! I happened to rewatch this episode last night.

**Posted by Consultivedominatrix** July 17, 2014 4:56 pm

I am sure it was a double bluff , the cabbie wasnt a danger to sherlock due to sherlock knowing that john would save him perdsonallly , The only danger was himself , he was tempted but stopped when the shot came its a bit obvious , John who was a army doctor would know that it wasnt even safe with those pills.

**Posted by MartaSt** July 19, 2014 8:27 pm

AbbyTNT4 wrote:
In "The Study of Pink" Sherlock was forced to make a choice between a good pill and a bad pill.
This is my explanation of which was the "good" pill.

I believe that the pill that Sherlock chose was the correct one. Now, I'm not just saying that because Sherlock picked it and he's the best, blah blah blah...... I have info.

So, the cabbie driver is obviously right handed. You can tell by which hand he uses to hold the gun. So, he's right handed, moving on.

Because he is right handed he would most likely place the good pill in his right pocket, by instinct, because that is his dominant side. I don't believe he would switch the pill to a different pocket with each kill, because he might forget where the good pill was. And he obviously didn't switch the pills after he had taken them out of his pocket, we would've caught that.

So, that's my theory on which was the "good" pill in this episode of Sherlock, since we never got an answer from the cabbie driver.

If you read this, thanks, and please let me know what you think.

It's very good theory, actually one of the best I've read so far. But there is one thing that bothers me - I know many people (including myself) who are right handed but they're doing many things with their left hands and also keep their important stuff in the left pocket. So maybe it is just as you say or maybe the answer is not so easy. That's pity that we never find out if Sherlock was right or wrong.

**Posted by dyxdyx** August 21, 2014 2:45 am

I don't think the cabbie's play is just a 50/50 chance game - he is portrayed to be a sophisticated serial killer and no such killer would use pure chance to conduct the murder acts. Sure he can be great at reading people's minds but there is still a huge risk, especially when he has conducted four murders and survived. As the cabbie said himself: after four games, he survived. It's not chance. It's genius.

So here is my theory:

Both pills are indeed identical and both are poisonous. But the cabbie takes an antidote shortly before or after taking the pill. That way, his victim will surely die and he will surely live. The real correct choice is not to choose which pill to take, but to choose the gun, which Sherlock did.

**Posted by Bored-to-be-alive** August 21, 2014 6:21 am

Ingenious!
I never had thoughts in that way.