REVIEW: Sherlock, Series 3 Episode One 'The Empty Hearse'

 REVIEW: Sherlock, Series 3 Episode One 'The Empty Hearse'

My rewatch of 'The Empty Hearse' was a strange one for me. At the time of the original broadcast I remember enjoying it a lot, however this time round I was less enamoured. It's rare that my opinion changes like this, as my views often tend to stay the same, but with The Empty Hearse it seemed to lose a certain spark after watching it again years later.

A major problem with this episode is the sheer fact that it came straight after that shocking cliffhanger. In Series 2's finale, Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) faked his own death, which seemed to set up a follow-up episode exploring how Sherlock planned his own demise. However what we are instead given are a series of theories, presented by a group of fans who go by the name of 'The Empty Hearse', spearheaded by Philip Anderson (Jonathan Aris). These theories get increasingly more wild, essentially verging into a meta take on fanfiction, to the point where it is theorised that Sherlock and Moriarty (Andrew Scott) became an item. At one point it even seems like we are being given the actual solution, where Sherlock seemingly appears to Anderson and explains that he used a giant airbag, but it turns out to be a delusional vision. It's a pretty shoddy way to treat fans of the show, many of whom will have tuned in to find out exactly how it was done. It's essentially the equivalent of holding up the two fingers, and really should have been handled much greater than it was here.

Another issue is that it means John Watson (Martin Freeman) was treated horrendously by his mate. Watson is supposed to be Sherlock's best friend and closest confident, and yet here we are led to believe that not only did he not tell Watson that he was still alive, but he told twenty random tramps about how it was all fake. Twenty random tramps before him! Not only that, but Sherlock for some reason decides it's a totally great idea to tell Watson he is still alive whilst posing a waiter with a fake accent and a drawn on moustache. I know Sherlock is supposed to be socially awkward, but by this point he's just treating it as a joke. You really can't blame Watson for fighting him.

It does give some great pleasure to seeing Watson exposing Sherlock as still being alive to the entire world though, despite Sherlock wanting total anonymity. He does this through his blog site, and soon enough the entire world knows Sherlock is back from the dead. It's honestly a really great aspect of this story, as it means Sherlock does get some punishment for his poor treatment of John. It's also fun to see a closer appearance of John Watson in the show to that of Watson's most iconic look. Here he has the moustache, for the first time in this modern take, and Sherlock doesn't like it one bit.

I also like John's new love interest Mary (Amanda Abbington). She is immediately endearing, and seems like the exact kind of girl you would expect the former army doctor to go for. It probably would have been better had we been introduced to Mary in Series 2, so we could have got used to her and John's relationship more, and buy into them greater as a couple before their engagement, but the actors have so much chemistry together that it's forgivable.

One of my favourite things about Sherlock is the relationship with his brother Mycroft (Mark Gatiss), and we get plenty of that here. Most notably in the hilarious sequence where they play the classic kid's board game Operation. A scene that neatly demonstrates Sherlock's childish side, as well as the rather odd dynamic between these two brothers. It speaks volumes about Sherlock and Mycroft as characters, and it's one of the most interesting relationships in the show for sure.

As is Sherlock and his romantic flame Molly Hooper (Louise Brealey). Molly finds herself temporarily stepping in for an absent Watson, who still doesn't want to return to solving crimes with Sherlock, and she does a great job too. If anyone had to take over from Watson, it was always going to be Molly. She has this endearingly shy and lovestruck persona about her that makes her a delight to watch alongside the iconic detective, and it makes Sherlock and Molly's scenes together some of the best in the show.

The third act, which sees Sherlock and John stuck on a London tube carriage about to explode, starts off well. There's an impressive amount of tension and build-up, as it seems Sherlock is unable to stop the bomb. The resolution, however, leaves a lot to be desired. The whole thing is resolved purely by an 'off switch', which he conveniently decided not to tell Watson about. It just makes him seem like he's being a prick to his partner for no reason, leading him to believe that they are going to die when Sherlock knew how to diffuse the threat all along.

Overall, 'The Empty Hearse' is something of a mixed affair. It features some great scenes between Sherlock and Mycroft, and Sherlock and Molly Hooper, but the resolution (or lack thereof) to the Series 2 finale cliffhanger is underwhelming, and the conclusion to the third act is equally as poor. It's an episode that seems more concerned with teasing the fans rather than delivering a wholly satisfying story, and it's strange that they chose to take this route to resolving what was one of the biggest TV cliffhangers of all time.

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What are your thoughts on the first episode of Sherlock's third series? Let me know in the comments.