Sherlock’s biggest problem was its season finale cliffhangers
0
0
While the BBC programme Sherlock was an exceptional version of the iconic detective, its weakest point being the resolutions of its final season cliffhangers. Sherlock was known for leaving its dedicated audience shocked with season finales. The resolutions of these cliffhangers would not be seen for years, as the show was known for its years between seasons.
As the seasons went on, the cliffhanger stakes got higher, and audiences kept falling down rabbit holes of theories to find out what had happened to Sherlock, John, and the show’s other intelligent characters. As great as these cliffhangers were, the resolutions provided in later season premieres always ended up lackluster and rushed. In retrospect, these resolutions ended up ruining one of the best aspects of the series, at least until the final season.
The Cliffhangers in Sherlock were great, the resolutions were not
The season finale cliffhangers for Sherlock seasons 1, 2 and 3 left audiences on the edge of their seats. Season 1 ended with the episode “The Great Game”, in which Sherlock and John solved a series of cases linked to Moriarty. The episode ended with the three characters facing off in a swimming pool and Sherlock pointing a gun at an active bomb, not knowing if he ended up pulling the trigger. However, at the beginning of “A Scandal in Belgravia”, the first episode of Season 2, Irene Adler inadvertently saved Sherlock and John by calling Moriarty.
In the season 2 finale, “The Fall of Reichenbach”, Moriarty has Sherlock go into a tailspin and seemingly kill himself, leaving John distraught. However, in the final moments of the episode, Sherlock is seen looking at John at his gravestone from afar, revealing that Sherlock is, in fact, alive and well. This led to hundreds of theories about how Sherlock faked his death. However, when Season 3 aired, the first episode, “The Empty Cose”, shows multiple solutions to how Sherlock survived the fall, most of which are unexplained or disproved, and it is never confirmed how Sherlock faked it. his death
The Season 3 finale, “His Last Vow,” followed Sherlock and John’s efforts to take down Charles Magnussen. To save John and his wife, Mary, Sherlock kills Magnussen, leading to his banishment from the country. Sherlock is on a plane on a suicide mission when he is called to England while Moriarty, who killed himself in season 2, has appeared on screens across the country with the message. “Did you miss me?” Again, the audience came up with many different theories explaining how Moriarty came back, but the story was only briefly covered in the season 4 finale, “The Final Problem.” Sherlock’s sister Eurus Holmes revealed that Moriarty recorded himself saying many cryptic messages before he died.
Why none of Sherlock’s big cliffhangers worked
The problem with SherlockThe heat for this one was that the resolutions ranged from comical to vague or even completely ignored. While it’s a fun joke at first, Moriarty changing his mind at the start of Season 2 about dying with Sherlock in the pool now feels cheesy and relieves the scene of all its tension. The cliffhangers of Sherlock Seasons 2 and 3 were so big that they spawned countless theories, and then the audience was either given a boring answer or none at all. For a show known for its clever writing, this was a big letdown, especially when the title character himself is known for wanting to explain every detail of how he solves these complex scenarios.
Sherlock season 4 fixed its cliffhanger problem
The final episode of season 4, aka the Sherlock series finale, is the only exception to this rule. The episode follows Sherlock, John and Mycroft Holmes as they try to escape Erus’ death game and succeed. At the end of the episode, Sherlock and John are seen returning to their old lives at 221B Baker Street, solving crimes and raising baby Rosie Watson. A voiceover by Mary replays the episode, with the final shot of Sherlock and John running into danger.
What makes this a great finale for the season and the series is that it doesn’t leave audiences with some giant cliff-hangers, but the possibility of what the next adventure will be for the legendary Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. The audience can read this as a happy ending or a new beginning. Regardless, there are no lingering questions or plot threads that need to be handled delicately. whether Sherlock Season 5 is ever created or if this was really the end, the audience is satisfied.
The BBC is known for taking traditional and iconic stories and reworking them for a modern audience Sherlock it is undoubtedly his most successful attempt. Sherlock remains a beloved show, and its iterations of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson have become classics. Looking back, it’s a shame the series dropped the ball on resolutions to its shocking cliffhangers. However, with the end of the series, Sherlock managed to get out with a bang instead of a whimper.
