Dorian Thompson wrote:
As for Sherlock surviving the fall--he must have jumped into the lorry that was parked there. He must have; it could have been filled with mattresses. Sherlock did ask Moriarty to step away and give him privacy.
It's not a given he'd survive the fall. Molly has another body available. There was a small building between Sherlock and John--Sherlock implores John to stay right where he is. That's key, I think. Sherlock can't afford to have John see him land. Sherlock pays off so many homeless and street artists around the city--the cyclist obviously leveled John on purpose. John falls down, hits his head; he's woozy. The people crowd around the body but John never gets a really good look though he manages to grab the wrist to check for a pulse. I agree that Mycroft must be involved somehow. He's got to be. He certainly owes Sherlock after giving Moriarty all the ammuntion he needed. Sherlock picks the place with Moriarty; he gets John out of the way with the phony call about Mrs. Hudson...but he's hoping he won't have to go through with it, that Moriarty will call off the gunman. Then Moriarty offs himself unexpectedly. Sherlock realizes he has no choice but to go through with it and he's in tears because he realizes he'll never see his friend again, and that he must ruin his own reputation to spare John's public reputation. His sadness on the roof at that moment is more than genuine.
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I agree with
most of this. However, a body substitution at the scene isn't necessary -- the rubber ball he was bouncing in a previous scene goes into his armpit to slow his pulse in that arm (John is
meant to get close enough to take his pulse), while he's quickly splashed with "blood" or makeup to look more injured than he really is.