BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / What is the Special about? (Spoilers)

**Posted by ukaunz** October 20, 2015 11:20 pm

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-10-20/amanda-abbington-the-victorian-sherlock-christmas-special-is-not-what-you-think

We're only two months away now from the 90-minute Sherlock Christmas special and Amanda Abbington is bursting to talk about the film, which appears to show our heroes in Victorian dress.
But of course she can't. She admits, though, that it has been hard to keep the plot points secret. And she has an intriguing little teaser for RadioTimes.com readers...
“It’s not what you think,” says the actress, who plays Mary, the wife of real-life partner Martin Freeman's John Watson.
“People say the perfect thing was that Sherlock was modern day. But I know what’s happened. There’s more to this... Although I can say that it’s great.”
Sherlock fans have been searching the trailer for clues as to what’s in store.
In the clip, Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman's Dr Watson find themselves in danger in sequences which appear to be set in Victorian London, the traditional home of Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic detective.

I'm not sure if this is an old quote, or one that sounds very similar to what she's already been quoted as saying. Nothing new, in other words!

Last edited by ukaunz (October 20, 2015 11:22 pm)

**Posted by Yitzock** October 20, 2015 11:57 pm

Not much, but the "it's not what you think comment" is interesting. I don't know what that entails, but it's curious.

**Posted by SusiGo** October 28, 2015 12:35 pm

Interesting meta:

http://tykobrian.tumblr.com/post/132078346554/sussexbound-hydranjor-sussexbound-has

**Posted by tonnaree** October 28, 2015 12:43 pm

" Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman's Dr Watson find themselves in danger in sequences which appear to be set in Victorian London, the traditional home of Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic detective."

All of a sudden I'm wondering why they use the phrase "appear to be"? Could mean nothing...........................just something else to wonder about.

**Posted by SusiGo** October 28, 2015 12:50 pm

They say it even twice: "which appears to show our heroes in Victorian dress."

But this is Radio Times who probably have not seen it yet. And we have speculated it could be mind palace so in a way it would just "appear" to be Victorian.

**Posted by Liberty** October 28, 2015 1:08 pm

SusiGo wrote:
Interesting meta:

http://tykobrian.tumblr.com/post/132078346554/sussexbound-hydranjor-sussexbound-has

Interesting take. As you know, I don't see Johnlock (although I DO think that if it was going to be put in, this special is the very episode to do it). But I agree that the bride is similar to Irene and that Irene was a mirror of Sherlock. (And also that both Irene and Mary make Sherlock and John confront less desirable parts of themselves).

There's something very off about the bride's makeup. It's not the sort of makeup a bride would wear. I don't know about Victorian times, but certainly to our modern sensibilities, it's not what we'd expect to see.

**Posted by This Is The Phantom Lady** October 28, 2015 1:15 pm

I still have my theory that the entire thing will be a mind palace scene... or someone telling a story... a bedtime story perhaps? Remember the teddy bears?

**Posted by SusiGo** October 28, 2015 1:27 pm

Liberty wrote:
SusiGo wrote:
Interesting meta:

http://tykobrian.tumblr.com/post/132078346554/sussexbound-hydranjor-sussexbound-has
Interesting take. As you know, I don't see Johnlock (although I DO think that if it was going to be put in, this special is the very episode to do it). But I agree that the bride is similar to Irene and that Irene was a mirror of Sherlock. (And also that both Irene and Mary make Sherlock and John confront less desirable parts of themselves).

There's something very off about the bride's makeup. It's not the sort of makeup a bride would wear. I don't know about Victorian times, but certainly to our modern sensibilities, it's not what we'd expect to see.

I did not post it so much for the Johnlock angle as for the Bride/Irene/Mary parallels as such. The make-up is very conspicuous. Not only what you would not see in a respectable Victorian woman. It could be stage make-up that has been smeared. And she does remind me also of a vampire.

@Phantom: Yes, that might be true.

**Posted by KeepersPrice** October 28, 2015 4:31 pm

Whatever that make-up is it certainly makes her look distraught to the point of complete madness.

**Posted by ukaunz** October 28, 2015 11:12 pm

SusiGo wrote:
Liberty wrote:
There's something very off about the bride's makeup. It's not the sort of makeup a bride would wear. I don't know about Victorian times, but certainly to our modern sensibilities, it's not what we'd expect to see.
The make-up is very conspicuous. Not only what you would not see in a respectable Victorian woman. It could be stage make-up that has been smeared. And she does remind me also of a vampire.

When they were filming, didn't they put a casting call out for mime artists and "physical theatre" specialists? Wasn't there some speculation that there might be a circus theme to the special? To me, it definitely looks like greasepaint. Why the stage makeup is combined with a bridal veil and dress is a mystery though.

**Posted by besleybean** October 29, 2015 6:42 am

Does it point to it all being a dream sequence?

**Posted by SolarSystem** October 29, 2015 11:03 am

I definitely hope that the special isn't going to be a dream thing. It's okay to have a mind palace sequence or even a dream sequence, and yes, the bride with her weird make-up would make for a good character to occupy a dream.
But the whole special a dream...? I'm not sure that would work. And yes, I'll admit that I'm expecting something more innovative than a dream episode from Mofftiss.

Last edited by SolarSystem (October 29, 2015 11:04 am)

**Posted by SusiGo** October 29, 2015 11:30 am

Yes, I think a dream would be too easy.

**Posted by KeepersPrice** October 30, 2015 1:40 am

I'm still sticking to my theory that someone is making a mystery thriller movie based on a story in John's blog and setting it in the Victorian era. Didn't someone (Amanda?) say it will all make sense when we see it?

**Posted by Yitzock** October 30, 2015 1:49 am

That's an interesting idea, although the thought that they found people who look EXACTLY like the characters might be a little hard for viewers to believe.

**Posted by Schmiezi** October 30, 2015 5:31 am

Yitzock wrote:
That's an interesting idea, although the thought that they found people who look EXACTLY like the characters might be a little hard for viewers to believe.

Maybe someone made a book instead of a movie and John and Sherlock read it and make up the images in their mind.

**Posted by Yitzock** October 30, 2015 3:19 pm

That is an interesting possibility.

I can't help but feel that whatever we guess is going to wrong, though I think we've already come up with some good ideas.

**Posted by SusiGo** October 31, 2015 4:35 pm

So maybe we really get an explanation for Moriarty not being dead. Over in the picture thread nakahara posted the setlock pics of the bride putting the gun into her mouth. Same method as Moriarty which is probably no coincidence. If we assume she is an actress as has been proposed they might show us a stage trick of how to pretend shooting yourself in the mouth, blood and all included. (And we do not see Sherlock checking if Moriarty is dead, later on paralleled by him not checking if Private Bainbridge is dead).

**Posted by besleybean** October 31, 2015 4:50 pm

I don't know exactly how. but maybe Sherlock and John discover this Victorian case, which they can compare with their modern situation...or maybe they simply go and see a play...
Thing is, dreams do figure large in John's life and messages do come to him...
Equally Sherlock could draw this story form his mind palace...
And we know he gets messages from Moriarty in his delerium.

**Posted by Yitzock** October 31, 2015 6:51 pm

@Susi, that is a very intriguing thought!

@besleybean, also interesting. I like the idea of perhaps discovering a Victorian case, though I feel like we would need more on why it's connected to them. But of course that's what the episode itself would provide.