Benedict Cumberbatch and Andrew Scott in the famous rooftop scene in “Sherlock’s” “The Reichenbach Fall”. (Photo: BBC)
When It Refused to Solve Its Biggest Mystery
Sherlock is well known for its shocking twists. But somehow it never managed to explain its biggest one. At the end of Season 2, Sherlock jumped off a building to save the lives of his friends. The audience knows that Sherlock survived his fall, but we don’t know how.
This mystery carried over into Season 3. Actually, it became the major focus of discussion about Season 3. For two years before it aired. Sure, we all couldn’t wait to see Sherlock and John reunited. We all looked forward to John’s discovery that his BFF wasn’t dead. But what we most wanted to know was how he did it. Millions of fans worldwide engaged in active speculation about how Sherlock faked his death. There were complicated theories, based on every conceivable angle of the mystery. People were so into this, y’all. The BBC clearly understood this, as their initial marketing campaign for the third season used the hashtag #SherlockLives and heavily focused on answering the question of how he died.
Except that the show never actually did that.
Unfortunately, despite the frenzy around the great detective’s “death”, the show never really answered the question of how he survived. It offered several ridiculous theories, which featured everything from an assist from British illusionist Derren Brown to an inflatable landing pad to a bungee cord to makeout sessions involving both Molly and Moriarty. The episode’s third possible “solution” is generally the one most viewers decided was closest to the truth. But the show itself makes sure to point out that there’s no guarantee it’s any more accurate than the other versions.
And after two years worth of waiting for the answer – to not really get one feels like an exceptionally big let down.
Number of eyerolls (on a scale of 1-10): 10