After a very quick recap of the series so far the word 'Alternatively' appears on the screen and we are suddenly back in Victorian London. Lestrade brings an intriguing case to Holmes and Watson; a woman, in a bridal dress, appeared at a balcony with a revolver in each hand and started shooting at people in the street before putting one of the revolvers in her mouth and pulling the trigger
the mystery is that she was witnessed murdering her husband with a shotgun some time later! Her identity was no mystery and her body is in the morgue, there is no twin sister and Sherlock does not believe in ghosts
a mystery indeed. The plot thickens when she is implicated in more killings including a man who Sherlock and Watson had been protecting. Will our protagonists be able to solve the case or is it too strange even for them?
Moving the action to Victorian London was an interesting idea which at times did get a little convoluted; after almost an hour we are told that everything we've seen is part of Sherlock's 'Mind Palace' then later Victorian Holmes tells Watson that the twenty first century scenes are actually his speculation about how technology will progress just as the camera pans outside to show a modern street scene. This may be annoying for some people but I found it rather fun just like most of the episode. The central case was interesting with a satisfying explanation; it should keep most viewers guessing. There are plenty of strangely amusing moments such as the doctor in the morgue who is clearly a woman, despite an impressive moustache, that only Watson spotted and an enormous Mycroft who was eating himself to death as part of a bet with Sherlock. It wasn't all laughs though Moriarty makes a return in a way that threatens Sherlock's life or sanity. As expected the cast do a fine job; Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are great as Holmes and Watson and are ably supported by the likes of Rupert Graves, Mark Gatiss and Andrew Scott. Overall a fun special episode that nicely mixed mystery, humour and drama.
Moving the action to Victorian London was an interesting idea which at times did get a little convoluted; after almost an hour we are told that everything we've seen is part of Sherlock's 'Mind Palace' then later Victorian Holmes tells Watson that the twenty first century scenes are actually his speculation about how technology will progress just as the camera pans outside to show a modern street scene. This may be annoying for some people but I found it rather fun just like most of the episode. The central case was interesting with a satisfying explanation; it should keep most viewers guessing. There are plenty of strangely amusing moments such as the doctor in the morgue who is clearly a woman, despite an impressive moustache, that only Watson spotted and an enormous Mycroft who was eating himself to death as part of a bet with Sherlock. It wasn't all laughs though Moriarty makes a return in a way that threatens Sherlock's life or sanity. As expected the cast do a fine job; Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are great as Holmes and Watson and are ably supported by the likes of Rupert Graves, Mark Gatiss and Andrew Scott. Overall a fun special episode that nicely mixed mystery, humour and drama.