The Final Problem

"Because Sherlock Holmes is a great man. And I think one day - if we're very, very lucky, he might even be a good man." -Lestrade in 'A Study in Pink'

This is what this season was about - Sherlock becoming human again, the only thing that was missing from a truly epic story told over the span of four seasons. In this mind numbing psychological thriller, the brilliant acting and inspired direction is only surpassed by the emotional undertone that makes Sherlock find his humane touch - something that he had locked away somewhere within his psyche since his childhood. But that humane aspect of Sherlock's character, though not superficially apparent, always found expression in his love for Dr. Watson and Mary, more so than ever in this season of this epic series. Truly, as Mycroft explains - the man Sherlock is today, is a result of memories suppressed and modified and of deep seated psychological trauma.

Why then is he a sociopath and not a psychopathic villain like Moriarty or Culverton Smith? Because, he was always a good person deep down even though he did not know about it himself. The finale does a stunning job at giving us an insight into his past, and his troubled childhood, while at the same time giving us a glimpse of his genius intellect as in other episodes. It's a shame that some people are criticizing it for being overtly about psychological twists and less about solving crime. I ask them if they ever truly would have been satisfied with 'Sherlock' if there had been so many unanswered questions at the end of what could well be the last episode ever for the series. This was a story that needed to be told - and told it was, in the most magnificent and epic way possible - something that is well captured in the following quotes near the episode end:

Police Officer - "He's a great man sir."

Lestrade - "He's better than that. He's a good one."

As Mary put it aptly at the end - it's all about the legend, the stories and the adventures - a story that might well be the greatest detective story ever told!

Utter garbage of a finale. It is as writer never hear of what Sherlock Holmes is about and just invented his own new character. I have not been this mad at the TV in a long time. Honestly just delete this episode it from Netflix. You should feel horrible for making such garbage TV.

Absurd skill of a character, this is getting out of control, they have gone empty of ideas. Illogical Mycroft behaviour. There is an out of tune song, sadly. Poor and predictable ending. Nothing is surprising more.

This was an episode that could have been an awesome movie (like shutter island)... The last 10-15 minutes were very confusing and a bit rushed. It would have about 30-40 more minutes to make a smooth ending if it were a movie, and although it had its roots based on the continuity, it was still apart from the normal story like Hounds of Baskerville... There were a few plot holes and many things were left unexplained, also the ending of the previous episode (which was great) was not utilized to its potential. I still think it was a very good episode in itself and would rate it somewhere between 8.5-9... But if it's the final episode of the show (as the talk is), then the rating will go down to about 8 for the unexplained things throughout the episode. This should not be the last.

I am sad to say season 4 turns out to be my least favourite season of Sherlock. All of these trippy dream scenes and psychological drama are not what made the first three seasons such an enjoyable show for me, and this episode definitely has too much of that. Also, there are some plot holes and implausible scenarios. The scene with the glass is very questionable from a physics viewpoint, and as for the plane, without going into too much spoiling detail I can say that I saw this coming (whether that is necessarily a bad thing is something I leave up to you). I'm not saying it's not a gripping story, but perhaps it would have been better as a standalone film. It's not what I hoped to see on Sherlock. It feels a bit like the writers were overcomplicating things and going in the wrong direction thematically in an effort to create their masterpiece finale.