The Definitive Ranking of Every Sherlock Episode (So Far)
By Lacy Baugher
This exceptionally dramatic promo shot of Benedict Cumberbatch is from “The Empty Hearse” and is so well lit. (Photo: (Photo: Courtesy of (C)Robert Viglasky/Hartswood Films 2013 for MASTERPIECE)
Sherlock has had many great episodes over its three season run. But which of these fantastic episodes is actually the best? We break it down.
Sherlock is one of the best television series in existence right now. It even has the critical acclaim, international fanbase, and ratings success to prove it. It’s also one of those shows that’s actually consistently good. So, when you try and have a debate about which episode is the best of the lot, it’s even harder than you might initially expect. To be fair, though, some of these episodes are much better than others. But once you get to the top half of the list, they’re all so strong that criticizing them feels a bit like you’re complaining that your diamond shoes are too tight.
The only real downside is that there’s just so little to argue about.
Unfortunately, Sherlock only produces three episodes a season, and generally only releases a new season once every two years or so. Therefore, this definitive ranking list is perhaps not as robust as we might like, just because there are only ten episodes of the show in existence at the moment. Sure, they’re all 90 minutes long, and basically mini-movies in and of themselves. But that doesn’t stop us all from wanting more than just ten total episodes.
Good news: A new season of Sherlock is just around the corner! And its existence will instantly up our total amount of series content by 30%! Bad news: It means we’ll have to redo this list again pretty much immediately. (Oh no, first world problems, right?)
But in the meantime, let’s break down where the episodes of the first three seasons fall. (And then argue about it afterward.)