I loved it. Its like Moffat and Gatiss picked the best fan-solutions for how Sherlock escaped death and decided, hey lets film them all. I laughed at the first Bond/Bourne-like solution, not really Sherlock's style but I loved it. Then the plot straight from V for Vendetta...
[Mycroft]Do you remember what Papa used to tell us when we were young? Eliminate the impossible and whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.[/Mycroft] -- but yes, his father shortened his own name for the stage as someone else mentioned. Perhaps he was afraid of people calling him "cucumber patch" or something...
Brilliant, had me laughing all the way through, and they did have me going at the start. Question is, is what Sherlock said to Phillip (?) actually correct or not? Maybe a bit too convoluted, especially near the end, and just because Daniel Craig looks cool standing before the London skyline doesn't mean Sherlock has to do it, but it is great to have the show back.
The V for Vendetta plot device aside, I really loved it. Lots of good humour and great tension. I loved the different reactions to Sherlock's return. The show lacked too heavy a mystery, I assume because they had to spend most of it clearing up from last series, but I'm hoping Sunday's ep will make up for that.
Not much of a story but I could watch the characters bounce off each other all day. Highly enjoyable. Nice that Sherlock got on with Mary rather than trying to come between them.
I don't think it's impossible, probably quite rare but you never know. Actuially according to the met office...
Actually series 2 of Moffat's Coupling would as well, 9x30 minute episodes! Plus the episode last night wasn't actually even 90 minutes long!
Wonderful episode. I loved the humor, the Freeman/Cumberbatch rapport, the multi-explanations (I'm not entirely convinced what Sherlock told Philip was true), John's strong reaction to Sherlock's survival as well as everyone else's varied reactions (although it's too bad Donovan wasn't in this episode), and even the meta references towards the fans (including Sherlock/Jim shipping). A little light on story, yes, but the emotional resonance throughout the episode made it worth while. I also loved the sly Moffat Doctor Who reference ("I believe in Sherlock." "Yeah, but that's not going to bring him back.") and how Philip has gone completely off the rails, batshit insane.
Did Sherlock actually visit Philip? I got the impression that it was just Philip hallucinating - he even admits that Sherlock wouldn't be wasting time on him.
So, who was the mysterious person at the end of the episode? Any guesses? Any hints I overlooked or forgot about?
I would say no, he didnt visit him. Seeing how he ripped off all his papers at the end I would say that Philip has lost his mind. Well, there is a partly familiar name, atleast to Sherlock fans, in episode descriptions on the first post of this thread..
I thought it was obvious that it was Mycroft at the end and that it was Mycroft who kidnapped Watson. The kidnapping served a dual purpose: first, it got Watson working with Sherlock again, which served Mycroft's needs, as Sherlock is at his best with Watson. Second, Sherlock was going on and on about loneliness and friendship and Mycroft has decided to study the phenomenon and dissect what this friendship thing is really all about, hence the ending where he is literally studying Sherlock not only saving Watson but feeling emotions towards him. Plus, those were clearly Mycroft's light blue eyes.
Remind me of the part where Fawkes and Catesby tried to use an underground carriage filled with C4 in an unused Underground line...