'Sherlock' - Season 4 Review
I was enthralled by Sherlock from the very start. I am ashamed to admit that I still have never read any of the books that inspire it all, but this show has made me want to very much. If only I had enough time to do the reading that I would like to do. I say SPOILER ALERT now, because there are likely to be bits and pieces of information throughout this entry that could spoil things for you, depending on how much of the show you have seen.
Season 1 was fun. It was the introduction to show-off Sherlock and rock-solid Watson. Season 2 was emotional, what with the whole 'death prank,' if you want to call it that. Season 3 was...okay. I couldn't stand Mary so it was troublesome for me to have her added into the beautiful dynamic of Sherlock and Watson. In anticipation of finally getting around to watching Season 4, I rewatched the entire series, and I will admit to giving Mary more of a fair shake the second time around. I suppose she was a good character in the end.
Season 4 though. Through the grapevine I have heard a lot of negative things about season 4. I have heard that it was all wrong, that it needs to be fixed, that it was a disappointment. Call me biased towards any obnoxiously smart character ever (I am), but I don't understand those complaints. Season 4 was gripping, intense, chilling and marvelous from beginning to end. I will admit that Irene Adler sort of tentatively existing on the fringes of the show was not my cup of tea, but aside from that I just adored it.
Mary goes away. Despite my new appreciation for her contributions, I was pleased to see her go. That loss provided the tipping point for all of the angst in the season, and the main reason that we get to see a more emotional and vulnerable Sherlock Holmes. Don't get me wrong. Sherlock is bad at playing the fair maiden and I am not the biggest fan of him being intentionally reckless and messed up. But there is something appealing about getting to see Sherlock (and John, by extension) honest and hurting and allowing himself to fail. John beating the crap out of Sherlock in episode 2 is a continuation of that theme.
Then there is Eurus. More obnoxiously brilliant people!! My favourite. What more could you want than a forgotten Holmes sister with the power to literally bend people to her will? She is a blend of overconfident, control-freak Mycroft, and off-the-cuff, more-emotional-than-he'll-admit Sherlock. We get to explore thought of an intelligence so great that it makes you incapable of understanding. Eurus wanted to understand. She wanted a friend and wanted to fit in. She saw Sherlock play and laugh and wanted to be a part of that. Yet because of her brilliance (and seeming lack of emotions, or at least comprehension of the emotional spectrum) she was unable to differentiate between pain and curiosity, or laughter and screaming.
Maybe some viewers just didn't like the Eurus storyline, but I think it is one of the greatest character reveals of all time. We see so little of her, yet she is immediately so complex and confusing. She can see the world better than anyone else, and can see patterns that even Sherlock and Mycroft cannot, and yet she is so much more damaged than the other two put together.
A young girl who just wants to play, accidentally (more or less) kills a little boy. There's pure serial killer intent executed because of child-like curiosity without the comprehension of how the rules of life work. It is an utterly captivating exploration of intelligence and human morality. I loved every second of it.
Plus, the ending scenes with the Holmes' violin duet was goosebump-inducing. 10/10 I highly recommend this show and this season in particular.
