The Definitive Ranking of Every Sherlock Episode (So Far)

 8. The Blind Banker (Season 1, Episode 2)

The Blind Banker isn’t exactly a bad episode, but it’s certainly not a great one, either. The plot is overly complicated, focusing on a band of Chinese smugglers. This case is kind of boring, to be honest, and lacks the tension of the other mysteries Sherlock and John must unravel. This episode also has weirdly racist undertones, and a tendency toward lazy Orientalism. It’s hard to get through the big confrontation at the end without some fairly aggressive eyerolling. It’s set at a literal Chinese circus and features pretty much every predictable stereotype you can imagine. In short: This is an episode you will enjoy a lot more if you can somehow ignore the central plot in it.

The Blind Banker does have some truly stand-out smaller moments, such as John’s row with the chip and pin machine, and Sherlock’s aggressive third wheeling on his roommate’s date with Sarah. The episode also features some rather fun and campy action-y sequences that wouldn’t really look out of place in Guy Ritchie’s big screen Sherlock Holmes movies.

Plus, the relationship between Sherlock and John is wonderfully realized, as they slowly navigate what it means to be partners and friends. The growing symbiosis between the two is deftly displayed via their different investigative methods, and how well they complement one another. (It’s not an accident that their greatest successes come when they are together.) If we could get a supercut of just Sherlock and John figuring out how friendship works, this episode would be ranked a lot higher.