I know this is kind of resurrecting an old thread, but I just got around to watching "The Reichenbach Fall" for the second time, and I wanted to get people's opinions about the ending. Specifically, how much does Sherlock know and when does he know it?
Obviously spoilers to follow:
First: Sherlock knows that it is Moriarty’s plan that Sherlock will die. Sherlock plans the meet to be on the roof so he can commit suicide by jumping off. We know because he asks Molly for help, and because doesn’t actually die though everyone else thinks he does.
Second: I think Sherlock jumps into the “rubbish lorry”, as the British might say. There is one parked directly in front of the building where Sherlock jumps. John doesn’t see the whole fall because of where Sherlock told him to stand, and by the time John gets to the scene with the “body” everything has already gone down. Just as he arrives, you can see the rubbish truck pull away (top of the frame in an overhead shot). The editing on the fall implies that we see one complete fall divided into several shots, but they really just didn’t show Sherlock landing in the truck and jumping out again. Instead, they just show him as he lands on the pavement from the second small jump, and we only see the last moment of that “fall” as though it were the end of the first jump.
So those opinions established: Is Sherlock really unaware that there is no super-code?
Scenario A: In which, Benedict is playing the scene straightforward (as near as I can tell). He seems to really believe that he can use the code to fix the situation, and he seems pretty despondent and ready to jump when he sees no other options. Then he realizes that Moriarty implied that there was an alternative way out.
Scenario B: The scene is played from the beginning as a fake out for the audience (and Moriarty). Sherlock was ahead all the time. Sherlock thought there was no code, but wanted Moriarty to confirm it and/or was trying to get Moriarty to tell him the details. He may have also been sussing out the threat, to see if his fake would work. Maybe he didn’t believe the code existed, but was genuinely at his wits end about what to do about it until Moriarty accidentally spilled the beans.
The problem with both scenarios is that it seems difficult to fake his own death with Moriarty right there with him. It would be possible that the jump/death could be faked successfully once Sherlock asked for a bit of privacy, getting Moriarty to walk away just far enough away, but that is a close one.
The problem with B is if Moriarty didn’t make a mistake Sherlock would have to die without getting a touching farewell with John – but that is a minor issue since at least they would all survive.
I find A to be more attractive because it makes Sherlock cooler, but less believable because the scene seems to be played very straight. Also, other than asking Molly for help there are no other hints (in Benedict’s portrayal – no hidden smirk or anything) that Sherlock knew except that he turns up alive at the end.
So, what do you guys think? What did Sherlock know and when did he know it? Was he every really despairing that he would have to jump for real?
Also, Mycroft knows Moriarty is real and that Sherlock is for real, so he can’t be convinced that Sherlock died as a fraud. So I guess Mycroft is simply sad because he believes that Sherlock is dead, and unrightfully disgraced? Any thoughts on this item?
Hopefully, there will be an “Empty House” follow-up where Sherlock fights Colonel Moran and at some point tells John all about how he planned the fake death taking advantage of that particular place to make the jump with the most advantageous vantage points (i.e., the least visible to the lurking sniper).