The Six Thatchers

The episode still has great witty dialogue and humorous. It is a little bit of a mess but still awesome as always. I think a lot of people miss the point of watching this show the acting is outstanding every time and it's far better than most shows out there.

It seemed like centuries since I had popped down on the couch for the newest episode of Sherlock. Dare I say I ever doubted the arrival of the new season, as I spent my days checking the Twitter account that counted down the days until the new episode. Without a doubt, the first episode of season 4 has been one of the more lacking entries in the series' history. For the first hour or so, Sherlock and co. investigate a newer case that Lestrade has handed them, along with the expository re-introduction of the cast. Even early in the episode you can see how the writers intended for there to be a focus on the matrimony of John and Mary. As the episode dwindles on, Sherlock solves the first case easily and the plot deepens. Unfortunately, going deeper is not what the episode needed. We find out about the huge spy-associated history of Mary, and the mysterious flash drives and their connections to her team. This entire story is built in one episode, and it is the centerpiece of it as well. This decision by the writers backfires, because the actual flesh of the story is not only unnecessary but at times boring. As viewers have come to see a show about Sherlock, they are immersed into the Watson world of Mary and John's boring adventures. From an irrelevant 'love' side plot of John and a random bus passenger, to Mary's affairs in the spy world, the episode lacks any real entertaining substance. Mary is followed by Sherlock to the destinations she wishes to hide herself, thus making the whole idea of her hiding herself unnatural and unneeded. Another issue is some plotshielding throughout, which allows the characters to go about things altogether unrealistic. Although the episode uses the concurrent themes and music from the past seasons, its main focus is astray from the brilliance of the Sherlock series- and that is Sherlock himself. The great thing that lifts this episode above a terrible rating is the acting. Even though the writing and plot bores me, Cumberbatch and Freeman once again deliver exciting portrayals of their characters. By the end of the episode, there is a deep gash in the cast, with Sherlock and John divided for 'classified reasons' (I wish not to spoil). Hopefully this gash will be the interest of a new story arc to power the next two episodes in season 4. The first episode just lacked interesting detail and function for the latter half. Please, Moffat, don't disappoint me like you did with Doctor Who, and bring season 4 home with some exciting content.

6/10

We saw the first episode on STAN in Sydney on 2 January. We are absolute dedicated Sherlock fans, but were disappointed with the offering. Not because of what happened in the end- that was predictable. It just seemed as though we were watching a pilot that had not been tightened up either that or the authors had grown tired of the writing the series. It was all a bit sloppy with silly and unnecessary dialog that could have been deleted. And it just seemed as though the whole cast was wondering where it was all going. What was the reason for that ridiculous coiffured Dr Watson hairdo? Freeman just didn't seem the same to us. Was this because of his real life breakup with his partner?

But the biggest omission to my mind: where was that thumping Arnold and Price music that kept the pace of previous episodes. All the dynamic music had been 'sucked out' of the presentation and we were left with limpid weedy muzak that reminded me of cheap 80's drama background of distant wailing strings not all that relevant to the story. It sounded like someone had left the radio on in the background. It was pathetic. It left the characters 'naked' with embarrassing dialog in many of the scenes. So were all of these changes because of budget limitations? Sorry I give it a bare 6.5 to 7/10.

I feel like the writers of Sherlock aren't even trying anymore. The "ah-hah" moments are completely phoned in every single time, the solutions to the mysteries are so far-fetched that you can easily tell that the writers were thinking "ok, what sounds ridiculous?"

It doesn't even feel clever anymore. It's the same old formulaic structure that is so open-ended that any character could be killed off and brought back at any moment.

Steven Moffat is doing the same thing to Sherlock that he's doing to Doctor Who. He's somehow able to create mediocre shows with huge fan bases who are willfully oblivious to how awful the shows actually are. Granted, I watch both of them, but now they're both guilty pleasures.

I was so hyped for this season of Sherlock, after all it's been years since the last present-day episode. But this one was not anything like what I expected, and not in a good way. First of all, it takes a long time for the plot to get moving, with many irrelevant scenes, which while funny are obtrusive in what's supposed to be the darkest season yet. And the plot itself is convoluted, lacking a clear focus. It's mainly about Mary's backstory, which is annoying as it requires you to recall details from Season 3 which was about three years ago. There's also not much of a sustained sense of threat, very little tension expect in a few scenes. There's no traditional murder case to solve and it feels like a generic thriller rather than a Sherlock episode. And one other thing- that action movie-style fight in the pool is unintentionally goofy and silly, which I would not usually expect from a Sherlock episode.

That's the bad, but the episode is still clever and fast-paced, despite lacking a clear focus. The ending sets the tone for rest of the season, marking a clear change in Sherlock's personality and explaining this season's tagline 'This isn't a game anymore'. So not the best Sherlock episode, but the sets the scene for the rest of the season.