BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / TLD Headscratchers

**Posted by Vhanja** August 25, 2017 2:21 pm

Sorry if this has been brought up before, but does any know how or why Sherlock suddenly has a gun in TLD? The last we saw of John's gun was when Sherlock used it to shoot Magnussen. So either it's confiscated by the police/government or John got it back. If it's the latter, then I would assume it's in John's and Mary's flat.

Of course, I would assume that it wouldn't be too much trouble for Sherlock to get a gun if he really wanted to (through his homeless network, for instance). I just found it a bit odd seeing as we haven't seen him have one before (he always asked John to bring his).

**Posted by Yitzock** August 25, 2017 2:46 pm

That never occurred to me, but I see your point. I guess he could have got ahold of it a few different ways, such as the one you suggest. And I suppose it's also possible that he's had one for a while that he never told anyone about. Is it just assumed that the gun he uses to shoot the wall in series 1 is John's or is it mentioned at some point? I don't remember.

**Posted by besleybean** August 25, 2017 3:34 pm

No in TGG it definitely is John's gun. John takes it from Sherlock and replaces it in the locked box where he keeps it.

**Posted by Yitzock** August 26, 2017 2:38 pm

OK. I remember that now. Then I suppose Sherlock must have acquired the gun he uses in TLD at some point after John moved out.

Last edited by Yitzock (August 26, 2017 2:39 pm)

**Posted by Vhanja** August 26, 2017 7:49 pm

I wonder why? We don't see Sherlock use it expect for that scene.

**Posted by Yitzock** August 27, 2017 3:04 pm

That's true. I guess it's just convenient for the plot. And I suppose we can't know for sure whether he kept it (or was allowed to keep it, if Mrs. Hudson had anything to say about it) after that episode.

**Posted by SusiGo** October 30, 2017 11:03 am

Maybe you remember the discussion about the opening date of the Culverton Smith wing at the hospital. Here is a clear pic of the plaque:

1. 20 July 2014 was a Sunday.
2. Nurse Cornish cannot have worked there for seven years.
3. This reminds me of the gravestones with the impossible dates in TFP.
4. How can anyone still believe anything in this show?

**Posted by Liberty** October 30, 2017 6:05 pm

I have various thoughts ...

- the date is deliberately impossible, emphasising that this is fiction (a bit like deliberately using impossible names, addresses, phone numbers, etc.).
- miscommunication between the writers and the set people (the specific date may not have been in the script. Or the other way round - it WAS in the script and so was copied exactly in case it had significance, which it didn't). Or just a mistake.
- the date does have some significance which ended up not being part of the final episode
- I wouldn't attach any significance to Nurse Cornish working there - perhaps she had been working there (i.e., at the hospital, where I presume Culverton had been "visiting" for several years too) since before the new wing was opened. (I know it's obvious, but I don't think how long she has been there is significant - the point is that by asking, Culverton is reminding her that he can get her fired if she speaks out against him).

**Posted by Kittyhawk** October 30, 2017 6:07 pm

"SusiGo" wrote:
4. How can anyone still believe anything in this show?

I think most people don't. Actually, I think most people have left the fandom, going by the lack of activity here.

But I could forgive the plaque (and all other faults that I only see in screenshots) if the rest made more sense. I'm a lot more upset about Sherlock's "predictions" being "true" over several weeks, John suddenly making genius deductions and Sherlock reading John's thoughts...

What I do not understand is why countless people over the years have written something like "considering how carefully the details are planned I don't understand how they could get ...... wrong". Once I add up all these comments, I get the feeling that Sherlock's production designers are doing what they can to get things right (somebody did look up - or happen to know - what type of gun John would have used in Afghanistan), but sometimes they do get things wrong. Probably due to time or budget limitations. It's "only" tv after all - and not U.S. pay tv either...

And hey, wasn't there a brand sticker on the apple thrown in The Fellowship of the Ring when it first appeared on screen and some cars in the background somewhere? (Just a rumour, the SEE DVD doesn't show them).

Last edited by Kittyhawk (October 30, 2017 6:09 pm)

**Posted by besleybean** October 30, 2017 9:05 pm

Indeed, stranger things have happened...

**Posted by Vhanja** October 30, 2017 10:34 pm

I haven't left the fandom, but I'm less active as there is less discussion going on. And a lot of what fueled the debates were speculations about S4, which has now been answered. I reckon the activity on the board will go up if there is ever confirmed a S5 in the future - I sure am interested in a new round of speculation should that happen!

**Posted by Yitzock** October 31, 2017 1:15 am

Liberty wrote:
I have various thoughts ...

- the date is deliberately impossible, emphasising that this is fiction (a bit like deliberately using impossible names, addresses, phone numbers, etc.).
- miscommunication between the writers and the set people (the specific date may not have been in the script. Or the other way round - it WAS in the script and so was copied exactly in case it had significance, which it didn't). Or just a mistake.
- the date does have some significance which ended up not being part of the final episode
- I wouldn't attach any significance to Nurse Cornish working there - perhaps she had been working there (i.e., at the hospital, where I presume Culverton had been "visiting" for several years too) since before the new wing was opened. (I know it's obvious, but I don't think how long she has been there is significant - the point is that by asking, Culverton is reminding her that he can get her fired if she speaks out against him).

All those explantions seem like real possibilities to me that could have happened. But I think another possibility is that it could be a date in 2014 since there is probably less of gap in time between when series 3 and 4 take place than their air dates. Wasn't series 3 originally aired in 2013? I think The Abominable Bride refers to either 2013 or 2014 for the events of series 3 taking place. And if the events of series 4 take place fairly soon after Sherlock gets off the plane, then they would be continuing in that year or the next year.

As for the wrong day of the week, it could be any of the reasons you already supplied.

**Posted by Liberty** October 31, 2017 7:37 am

I was just thinking of the day of the week, to be honest, not the year! Is there a problem with the year, apart from Nurse Cornish's answer? I believe S3 was aired at the beginning of 2014, and I was thinking a year ahead of you (i.e. Rosie being born in 2015). But yes, if it was a year earlier, the date (if not the day) would still fit.

I suppose the announcement of Rosie's birth is relevant here, because she was apparently born in 2016!

**Posted by Yitzock** October 31, 2017 2:39 pm

I guess I was just assuming it was the date in general that seemed off to you. Where did you see that Rosie is born in 2016?
If it doesn't match up with when these events of TLD take place, it could be that the year of one thing was changed in the script as time passed but not the other, maybe?

**Posted by Liberty** October 31, 2017 6:00 pm

I just meant the birth announcement in the Telegraph! I can't remember the date, but it must have been shortly before S4 aired, so towards the end of 2016. I'm sure it was meant as publicity rather than a plot point, but maybe they're just not too worried about dates and timings.

**Posted by Vhanja** February 20, 2018 11:19 am

I'm nitpicking now, but, hey, we haven't got much else on as it is.

I've been thinking about the scene where Molly examines Sherlock in the ambulance. And it raises a couple of questions for me.

1. Molly is a pathologist. I am not familiar with their education, but is she a doctor? Does she have the knowledge to perform such an exam?

2. The ambulance ride doesn't seem to take too long, so it would have to be a rather superficial exam. Maybe a blood sample, but I don't think that an ambulance is equipped with an analysis lab. And thinking of the "pee in a jar" comment from HLV, it would probably be a urin sample and not a blood sample. I'm not going to go into having a urine sample done in a moving ambulance from someone already unsteady on their feet... (and again: how to analyze it an an ambulance?)

3. Molly says he'll be dead within weeks if he keeps taking what he's taking at the same rate he's taking it now. Well, you only need knowledge about what various types of drugs do to the human body to say that, you don't need an examination.

The whole scene just confuses me. Of course, it's probably not meant to be very medically accurate, the point is more to show how far gone Sherlock is. But what else can we do in our hiatus but nitpick?

**Posted by Liberty** February 20, 2018 1:10 pm

I agree that I think they go for story/drama over medical accuracy, but also agree about us having to nitpick for want of new material!

1. Yes, Molly is a doctor.
2. The ambulance would probably be equipped with a bottle which could be used while traveling, so yes, she could do a dipstick test. I believe there are dipsticks for drug testing which would take a few minutes. Even a basic dipstick could show things that would be relevant (such as protein, blood, etc.). So yes, it would be easy to get a specimen and quick to test.
3. True, but I suppose the examination would help her find just how badly affected he was at that point. It could have included other things than the urine test, such as asking him what he was taking, blood pressure, etc.

**Posted by Vhanja** February 22, 2018 3:08 pm

Thanks for your comments, it cleared things up a bit for me. (I'm still not sure how easy it would be to "get a specimen" in a moving wehicle from a wobbly man high as a kite, but I'll let that one go ).

**Posted by Liberty** February 22, 2018 9:24 pm

Probably not that difficult, as long as he was willing and able to "produce" something! By a bottle, I meant the type used in hospitals. They can be used sitting or lying if somebody can't stand.

**Posted by Vhanja** February 23, 2018 9:29 am

Yeah, he seemed prepared to go through such an examination, so I assume he would be willing to do it. Poor Molly to be put in such a position!