Writers: Stephen Thompson, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss
Director: Colm McCarthy
Story: Sherlock is John’s best man at his and Mary’s wedding, but events at the reception take a murderous turn…
Verdict: Well, that was probably the longest best man’s speech in television history! But what an enjoyable one, eh?
Suffice to say, SHERLOCK continues to impress more and more with each new episode. THE SIGN OF THREE may well be the breeziest and most enjoyable middle instalment of SHERLOCK to date, revelling in the outlandish and the fun side of Sherlock and Watson’s adventures (Elephant in the Room, anyone?), whilst also neatly finding a new and interesting way to surprise long-term viewers who may well be starting to find the show’s unpredictable narrative flair a wee bit…well…predictable. THE SIGN OF THREE is a great experiment in to the different narrative structures the show can play with, taking the form of a three short stories format for the most part, before turning things completely on their head and combining the three into one complex mystery. Most viewers may have seen it coming a mile-off, but when the execution is this good, who cares?
Yes, it’s perhaps a bit too slow to start with, the wedding antics taking up a good half hour before we get even a snifter of the ‘case of the week’ plot trickling in. But once the tale of the Bloody Guardsman begins, we’re rolling along at breakneck pace, with all the intrigue and dynamite mystery solving brilliance that makes SHERLOCK so unmissable. We just had to wait a little bit longer this week, is all.
Great storytelling, a perplexing mystery and some brilliant gags, combined with the usual A-Grade performances from all concerned makes for yet another fantastic SHERLOCK episode. Add in a typically ingenious plot structure that evokes a slight feel of Arthur Conan-Doyle’s short Sherlock Holmes stories, and you have a perfect wedding affair to remember!
Best Bit: Drunk Sherlock and drunk Watson are a hoot, as is David Arnold and Michael Price’s wonderfully remixed Sherlock Theme (can we play this in Clubs please?) and Colm McCarthy’s inspired direction, all awkward camera angles and out of focus shots. It’s enough to make you fell a bit wasted, I tells ya…hic!
The Gang: Whilst Sherlock and Watson get the most amount of screen-time, I’m loving how the show is starting to become a bit more of an ensemble piece – Lestrade, Molly, Mrs Hudson, Mycroft and new addition Mary all get a big moment or two to shine, both in the previous episode and this one.
Great Cameo: Mmm, Lara Pulver as Irene Adler, back for a blink and you’ll miss her cameo in this week’s wonderfully metaphorical deduction scene. Whilst we long for a proper return to the show for The Woman, it’s nice to see her show up for a quick bit of…well nothing actually. Hopefully this is a mere signpost for a proper return in the near future.
[usr=5]
Join THN next week for part three of our Sherlock Series 3 Blog.
