Holmes looking up with blood on his forehead in BBC Sherlock
By
Adrienne Tyler
Published 54 minutes ago
Adrienne Tyler is a movies & TV features writer, with a focus on horror. She has written for Netflix, FanSided, & more. She was a regular guest on the Netfreaks podcast and was a YouTuber at some point. Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once.
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The BBC’s Sherlock is one of the best modern adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, but its final two seasons were so disappointing that some theories would have fixed the show. As one of the most popular characters in literature, Sherlock Holmes has been adapted to all types of media for decades.
Thanks to the status of the rights to the character, Sherlock Holmes has also been adapted to the modern day, as did the BBC’s Sherlock. Created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, Sherlock follows Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Watson (Martin Freeman) as they solve different mysteries in modern-day London, adapted to modern technology and social issues.
Sherlock had a strong start in its first two seasons, which earned it a place among the best detective TV shows, but its decline began with the first episode of season 3. Unfortunately, Sherlock’s seasons 3 and 4 were a huge disappointment, and there are some theories that, had they been true, they would have fixed the show.
Irene Adler Wanted Protection From Magnussen
Irene Adler looking at her phone in BBC Sherlock
Sherlock season 2 introduced the audience to Irene Adler (Lara Pulver), who, in the books, is the only woman who has outsmarted Holmes and for whom the detective developed feelings. In the show, Irene was turned into a dominatrix known as “The Woman”, who took pictures of her clients during her job to protect herself.
This is what gets her into trouble in Sherlock’s “A Scandal in Belgravia”, and she mentions that her phone is her “protection.” This is why she panics when Holmes figures out her password and unlocks her phone, but the question remains about who she wanted to protect herself from, and a Reddit theory suggests it was from Charles Augustus Magnussen (Lars Mikkelsen).
Magnussen was a villain in season 3 of Sherlock, and he was a powerful businessman with information on a lot of equally powerful people, so much so that Holmes nicknamed him “the Napoleon of blackmail.” Magnussen could have had important information about Adler, too, and given how dangerous he was, she would have needed as much protection as possible.
Molly Was Working For Moriarty
Molly looking worried in BBC Sherlock
Molly Hooper (Louise Brealey) was an original Sherlock character, and she quickly became a fan favorite. Molly was a specialist registrar in the morgue at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, and she had a crush on Holmes, which he was unaware of.
In season 3, it was revealed that Molly was one of the very few people who knew Holmes had faked his death. In season 4, she was used by the third Holmes sibling, Eurus (Sian Brooke), in her elaborate (and nonsensical) trap for her brothers, in which Holmes had to trick her into telling him she loved him.
Sherlock failed Molly, but a theory gives a twist to her story that would have fixed the show. Shared on Reddit, the theory suggests Molly was contacted by Moriarty after “The Great Game” and, taking advantage of how bad she felt for being used, manipulated her into helping him bring Holmes down.
As Holmes didn't pay attention to her, he would never have suspected that she was secretly working with Moriarty. The details on exactly how she worked with Moriarty against Holmes are up to every viewer, but that would have been a truly unexpected twist.
Jim Moriarty Wasn’t The Real Moriarty
Moriarty posing in the shadows in BBC Sherlock
Speaking of Moriarty, one of the most popular Sherlock theories is about Moriarty not being the real Moriarty. The theory suggests that Andrew Scott's Moriarty wasn’t the real Moriarty, this based on a comment he made in his first appearance on the show about being “so changeable” and other possible clues.
The shocking part of this theory is that the real Moriarty was actually journalist Kitty Riley (Katherine Parkinson), who appeared in “The Reichenbach Fall.” The “proof” of this is Jim Moriarty staring at Kitty, who was sitting in front of John, in the court scene, and the similarities between their handwriting.
Although there isn’t enough proof to support the theory, if it had been real, it would have solved Sherlock’s big villain issue after Moriarty’s death by revealing that he was just an actor and the real one was still alive.
There Was A Hidden Moriarty Brother
Moriarty distracted in BBC Sherlock
Another popular Moriarty-related theory claims that there was another Moriarty, who was Jim's twin brother. This theory uses almost the same evidence as the one above, such as the “changeable” line and the cabbie in “A Study in Pink” telling Holmes that he’s just a man “but they’re so much more”, referring to Moriarty.
The theory suggests that one Moriarty twin was fascinated by Holmes and wanted to keep him around, while the other wanted him dead – the former was the one who used the “Richard Brook” identity, while the latter was the one who killed himself in “The Reichenbach Fall.” If the theory had been true, Sherlock’s “Did you miss me?” Moriarty tease would have made sense.
Sherlock had a villain problem after “The Reinchenbach Fall,” as it failed to introduce a new big villain, completely wasting characters like Sebastian Moran and Magnussen. A Moriarty twin would have fixed this by following the surviving Moriarty, who could have turned evil to avenge his brother.
Season 3 Is John Blogging To Deal With Grief
Martin Freeman as John Watson looking serious in Sherlock
This is a theory that would have completely changed the final seasons of Sherlock, and while it could have been enraging at first, it would have done a lot more good for the show. Holmes fakes his death in “The Reichenbach Fall” and returns in season 3’s premiere episode, “The Empty Hearse”, and in both, the audience gets a glimpse at Watson mourning his friend.
As mentioned above, season 3 was the start of Sherlock’s decline, and things like the show’s tone, the characters’ personalities, and Holmes’ deduction abilities changed for the worse. This led to a theory (via Reddit) that says season 3 feels off because the events aren’t real, and, instead, they are Watson’s blog entries.
Watson wrote Holmes’ return and the cases in season 3 to deal with grief, and even added the character of Mary Morstan to his tales. Although this would have been a dark and depressing ending to the stories of Holmes and Watson, it would have meant that season 3 (and possibly season 4, too) of Sherlock weren’t real, thus invalidating all its nonsensical stories and twists.
Source: Reddit.
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10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed Release Date 2010 - 2017-00-00 Network BBC Showrunner Steven Moffat Directors Steven Moffat Writers Steven Moffat, Steve Thompson, Mark Gatiss Franchise(s) Sherlock HolmesCast
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