BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / How does he get out of the Reichenback fall in the canon?

**Posted by beekeeper** March 27, 2013 10:13 am

Here's a link to the pdf of the Empty House http://www.enotes.com/best-sherlock-holmes-text/the-adventure-of-the-empty-house. You need to scroll down about a third to "“I am full of curiosity. I should much prefer to hear now.”

(that doesn't count as a spoiler I assume?)

I don't know how helpful it is. I'd say that in Sherlock, the fall is basically a psychological one and so this might be more about telling us how he played Moriaty and how he will rebuild his reputation. But still, interesting.

Another important point here-he didn't plan his escape. He expected to die with Moriaty. It just turned out he was better at fighting than he thought. He didn't collude ahead of time with Mycroft, rather contacting him after.

(also apologies for the typo in the title-that's my spellchecker being odd)

Last edited by beekeeper (March 27, 2013 10:15 am)

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** March 27, 2013 10:23 am

It's implied in the "note" that he colluded with Mycroft, as it says he's made arrangements for Mycroft to have all of his possessions etc. He must have done that before he left London, seeing as he couldn't just send him a quick text message on the edge of the falls after successfully throwing Moriarty over.

**Posted by beekeeper** March 27, 2013 11:08 am

But his possession, I presume, in the event of his death?

I really get the impression from that story-and, tbh, from the show-that Sherlock/ Holmes expects to die. He has a lucky escape and uses his wits to make the most of it.

Last edited by beekeeper (March 27, 2013 11:09 am)

**Posted by anjaH_alias** March 27, 2013 11:22 am

This might have something to do that ACD wanted to let him die in "The Final Problem". So it was a very bad trick - this Bartitsu technique -, which was used by him then in "The Empty House", a skyhookery. Moffat once said they want to make it better - no cheating, like ACD did.
I don´t think that our Sherlock really expects to die. Too much planning to fake his death. But yes, there might have been a risk and he was aware of that.

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** March 27, 2013 1:02 pm

I think canon Holmes was fully prepared to go down fighting with Moriarty, and to die if he had to. He was probably hoping he didn't have to....just like Sherlock was hoping he didn't have to jump off the roof (despite having made the preparations juse in case). It only became apparent that he definitely had to do it when Moriarty shot himself. Then he had no other choice.

**Posted by Davina** March 27, 2013 3:14 pm

Remember that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle meant Sherlock Holmes to die at the Reichenbach Falls. The only reason he escaped death is that the author was forced (after many years and with great reluctance) to resurrect him. Consequently he had to invent some way in which Holmes survived after all.

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** March 27, 2013 3:19 pm

Davina wrote:
Remember that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle meant Sherlock Holmes to die at the Reichenbach Falls. The only reason he escaped death is that the author was forced (after many years and with great reluctance) to resurrect him. Consequently he had to invent some way in which Holmes survived after all.

Not that it was hard considering there were no witnesses to his "dying".

**Posted by beekeeper** March 27, 2013 4:03 pm

"Not that it was hard considering there were no witnesses to his "dying"."

There was to the contrary though (retrofitted), there was Colonel Sebastian Moran, he saw Holmes escape and shot him.

The reason Holmes did go into such complete hiding for three years was that Moran knew he was still alive. Presumably the same applies here.

I always thought that was a serious plot hole from ACD. The criminal underworld knows of Holmes escape, presumably, or at least the Moriaty in waiting does. And yet Holmes best and only friend and colleague never gets any word of it. He's never tortured for information, either about Holmes wherabouts or even any info he has from the past that might shed light. Always was a bit hmm there (I know in reality its a fudge by ACD anyway). Not only that but he lives a happy and quiet life despite being known to have been friends withand in on the cases of the sworn enemy of the most ruthless and dangerous man in Europe. I guess it was a gentler time ;-)

Last edited by beekeeper (March 27, 2013 4:08 pm)

**Posted by lvmarak** December 12, 2013 5:24 pm

If you take a look at the deliberate mispellings in ACD's text of the story, Holmes is obviously giving false info to Watson about what he did during the 3 years that he was dead. As spelt, Holmes visited llamas (the andean camelids) in Tibet and did coal tar research not in Montpelier France but in Montpellier Vermont. ACD never did come clean. (He had killed off his blasted series character and couldn't come up with believable explanation for his re-appearance, so he just faked it).

**Posted by SherlocklivesinOH** January 20, 2014 5:03 am

Reichenbach Falls is an actual waterfall in Switzerland, at which Holmes and Moriarty battle, and Watson is led to believe they both go over.