the writing was just so bad like there’s a lot of things i could talk about but particularly the scene where he has to shoot either mycroft or john comes to mind like that should’ve been hella emotional but tbh i felt more when sherlock threw those ginger nuts at his face
The screen is black. A woman’s voice cuts through. It’s Molly’s voice.
“Forward? Or Backward?”
A blinding white light floods the darkness. A pulsating heartbeat.
“Backward,” sighs Sherlock.
White noise stings as scenes are replayed backward. Sherlock and John running backward. John’s fist recoiling from Sherlock in the morgue. The christening, backward. The birth, backward. The plane glides into the air, tail first. Magnussen’s limp body jolts into standing position, Sherlock puts the gun back in John’s pocket. The flashdrive jumps from the fire, into John’s hand. The gun drops, the coin falls back into Mary’s fingers. Sherlock raises from Magnussen’s floor, the blood-stained shirt turns freshly white. Mary stands across from Sherlock, gun drawn.
I want all of you to know, I write screenplays for fun, and if Sherlock isn’t given any sort of fourth episode, then I’ll write the 90-minute script following this storyline and tying in TST, TAB, and TLD – our codes will all work, our subtext will all fit. I already have the entire thing planned out. That way every one of you can print it out. Every one of you can have The Lost Episode.
I think the worst mistake here, the very worst one, was taking a story that already had rich and interesting and complex characters and a cast of absurdly talented actors, and doing absolutely jackshit with them. This show could have delved so deeply into who John Watson and Sherlock Holmes really are, could have been a brilliant character study, and they could have fleshed out Lestrade and Molly and Mycroft and Mrs Hudson to create a show that was really about this little dysfunctional family of people who are broken but love each other, and who take care of and protect each other, and they could have made this not only groundbreaking but profoundly meaningful. And instead they went for explosions and killer clowns. It’s such a damn waste.
Where was Ben’s 20 page monologue they were so excited for during comicon?
Where was the scene Martin was uncomfortable to film, and had to do it alone? (it wasn’t Mary’s death scene cause other actors were present)
Why was John typing into a jpg file about a baby that wasn’t born yet?
Why did Lady Smallwood’s name change from Elizabeth to Alicia?
Why in the hell did Mycroft let his sister who he KNOWS is a manipulative genius psychopath talk to another manipulative genius psychopath?
Why all the water imagery that was never followed up on?
Why the glowing, sometimes black, skull painting?
Why constantly build Mary up as a villain, then have a half-arsed redemption arch?
Why WHY do that Molly Hooper?
Why think a secret sibling would be ‘history making’ when it’s an over used, soap opera level trope?
Why would Amanda say an actor playing more than one character would be ‘ground breaking’ when orphan black, vampire dairies, Tyler Perry’s movies and soooo many others do the same thing?
i kid you not, if we kidnap moffat and gatiss, chain them to a table, lay out all tjlc evidence along with 48 episodes of tjlce and a 10 hour long power point presentation, by the end of it they would be wailing like hungry toddlers at the biggest lost opportunity of their lives, proceed to give us all their awards and never write anything other than shopping lists ever again
you forget chains aren’t actually an effective way of restraining people
As I was saying, people need to knock it off with this evil!fandom stuff. Just because he deleted his Twitter doesn’t mean people were saying terrible things.
Shakespearean tragedy characterized by the “tragic flaw,” the internal imperfection in the hero that brings him down. His downfall becomes his own doing, and he is no longer, as in classical tragedy, the helpless victim of fate.
Sherlock has a few tragic flaws.
One is as we see him in ASiP. Rude, seemingly uncaring, flippant. As we find out, this is due to Eurus. She killed Sherlock’s childhood friend, Victor Trevor. In turn, because of trauma, he changed the memory of what happened. Victor Trevor became Redbeard the dog and Sherlock at a young age began his spiral inwards.
His wrong judgment, blunder and vision lead him to face his death.
Another flaw is his shortsightedness. His inability to see people for who they are right away (John, Molly). To use people in the wrong way (Molly, Irene, Janine). To misjudge situations that lead to disastrous effects (Mary, CAM, Irene, Smith).
Good Versus Evil
Shakespearean tragedy is an example of the struggle between good and evil. Most of his tragedies deal with this the supremacy of evil and suppression of good.
If we are to take metaphors as they are (and not some random happenstance that Mofftiss came upon), Moriarty burned the heart out of Sherlock. He only wanted to because Eurus wanted to do the same, but couldn’t do it herself, but that’s a moot point. And Eurus and Moriarty are only able to do this because Mycroft allowed him to speak to her for 5 minutes.
Regardless, John does not live with at Baker Street during the end of TFP. Moffat made that clear in a recent article. He comes by with Roise, sure. But really, Sherlock is alone. Greg, Molly and Mrs. Hudson are also moot points in this situation.
The dragons won in the end.
Conflict
External conflict
Every tragic hero in a Shakespearean tragedy is confronted with some external conflicts, which he has to solve by hook or by crook.
Moriarty/Eurus, his feelings for John, saving Mary, Society, TPTB (Mofftiss/the BBC)
Internal Conflict
Internal conflict is the most essential element in a Shakespearean tragedy. Internal conflict is responsible for the fall of a highly genius, intellectual, noble and virtuous personality. Internal conflict is the confusion in the mind of a tragic hero. The tragic hero is always on the horns of dilemma. He cannot make a decision, which brings about his fall.
The fall
Moriarty/Eurus win in the end. Sherlock is not together with John. Mary is dead
Mycroft is reprimanded by Mummy and Daddy Holmes. Eurus remains at Sherrinford. Moriarty and Mary are dead.
Bad reviews of Season 4. Reactions from fans. TPTB are taken off their pedestal.
Catharsis
A Shakespearean tragedy gives catharsis to our emotions. When, we watch a tragedy, we identify ourselves with the characters. We feel as if we are performing the role in the tragedy. Thus any trouble, misery or hardship of a hero compels us to feel pity for him. Similarly, we also express our wrath at the cruel deeds of the villain.
At the end of The Final Problem, we shake our fists at the main villains for the tragedy of Sherlock being alone in the end.
-Eurus
-Moriarty
-Mary
-Mycroft
-TPTB
-Society
(We could say John is also a villain).
We feel sorry for Sherlock for having to be alone. And for his faults to have been caused by someone else.
Our catharsis is realizing the true nature of the show. (Mofftiss are terrible people, everything meant nothing (but it was not a waste), etc.)
TL;DR: BBC Sherlock fits the tenets of a Shakespearean tragedy: A tragic hero, good versus evil, conflict, poetic justice, catharsis. Sherlock’s tragic flaws are no fault of his own, but is a flaw nonetheless. Our catharsis is realizing the true nature of the show in all aspects. X
TL;DR II:Sherlock is alone at the end of TFP and it’s a damned tragedy.
Sherlock Fandom Archive 