I love this show. They’ve managed to take the Victorian universe of the famous sleuth and bring it into the 21st century with style. Cumbersnatch is excellent as the isolated sociopath, and Freeman does great as a war-scarred Watson.
The plot was whipsmart, and paced excellently. Obviously a bit of Doctor Who style storytelling from the writers here, but its an excellent thing for a modern Holmes. Loved what they did with the (avoiding spoilers here) umbrella carrying man who I really hope to see more of. Excellent villain of the first story too, whose modus operandi set up a fascinating investigation. Some wonderful bits of dialogue, most notably when Sherlock extorts Watson to “use his imagination” when trying to figure out what someone would be thinking in their last moments. The reply, perfectly in keeping with Watson’s background, is simply “I don’t have to”. And a larger sense of intrigue has been created in the form of just one word: Moriarty.
I know that some comparisons can be made with the Robert Downey Jnr movie of last year (especially in the way Holmes’ thought process is filmed) but the Guy Ritchie version was a very different, Americanised tale. This is very, very British, just like Who.
Only two more episodes in this season, but I can’t see how we won’t get more. Cumbersnatch and Freeman are the new Brett and Burke.
