Oh My Freakin' God! Mark Gatiss is a Cruel but Brilliant Bastard!

[rusty_armour]

Oh, I'm so over the moon about "The Great Game" that I barely know where to start! That cliffhanger was superb! I wondered if Gatiss might treat us to a conclusion à la "The Final Problem"! I love the way Gatiss substituted a pool for Reichenbach! Instead of dangling over the edge of those Swiss falls, Sherlock and Jim are left facing off at the edge of the swimming pool! And Gatiss even managed to work in his own version of Moriarty's canon speech to Holmes in which Moriarty says, "You must stand clear, Mr. Holmes, or be trodden under foot." Well, Jim doesn't say that, of course. Being a thoroughly modern IT guy, he sums it up in two words: "Fuck off". Oh! But Gatiss did work in these famous lines from "The Final Problem":

Moriarty: All I have to say has already crossed your mind.

Holmes: Then possibly my answer has crossed yours.

Unlike the original "Final Problem," Gatiss adds a twist. While Watson is led on a bit of a wild goose chase as Holmes goes off to face Moriarty (In "The Final Problem," Watson receives a fake note telling him that an English woman staying at the Englischer Hof has fallen ill), he isn't there when Holmes and Moriarty have their life and death struggle at Reichenbach Falls. However, in "The Great Game," Watson is not only a witness to Sherlock and Jim's duel but a pivotal player as well. It was so moving when he tried to save Sherlock's life, proving once again his courage, loyalty and deep affection for his friend. It's even more satisfying to catch glimpses of emotion from Sherlock that even Jim the psychopath can spot. I love it when Jim threatens to burn out Sherlock's heart if he doesn't stop prying, informing Sherlock that they both know he has one despite what he may have heard to the contrary.

The actor who played Jim was marvelous and utterly delicious! Okay, he's no Eric Porter, but maybe that's a good thing. He brought something fresh to the role and made the character a lot of fun. Twisted and evil as hell, but still fun. And I love love love this new dimension of Moriarty - that he's a "consulting criminal"! Okay, it's rather in the vein of Michael Kurland's Moriarty pastiches, but I think Gatiss still put his own spin on it.

Before I forget, a BIG round of applause for puckrobin for figuring out that Jim the IT guy was Moriarty after seeing his name mentioned on The Personal Blog of Dr. John H. Watson! That was extremely well spotted!

I've gone on so much about Moriarty and "The Final Problem" that I'm almost afraid to mention other aspects of the episode. I'd certainly say it had a darker tone than "A Study in Pink" and "The Blind Banker". After that old woman was killed, I'm not surprised Lestrade wasn't happy to hear a kid's voice on that pink mobile! Still, the series of tests that Jim sets up for Sherlock reveal some interesting facets of Sherlock's character. Poor Watson is left to wonder if Sherlock really is so heartless as to not care about the people being used as hostages. You'd have to be blind not to notice the pleasure Sherlock derives from each puzzle. However, he makes a good argument for not caring when he points out that it will make no difference to the people being taken hostage whether he has a heart or not, that being emotional might actually hinder his ability to help them. Of course, it's a different story when Watson is the hostage. You can see Sherlock struggling to push past his emotions and keep up with Jim's feats of mental gymnastics.

I know I've gone on and on about this in every Sherlock post, but the geeky amateur Sherlockian is busting to get out as the canon references this time around totally blew my mind! Holy crap! I'm not even sure how many novels/stories Gatiss included! Of course, there was "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans". With the possible exception of "The Final Problem," that was the most obvious one. I was impressed by the way Gatiss was able to weave that story throughout "The Great Game". In fact, I believe this is the one Conan Doyle story the Sherlock writers have been most faithful to. As in canon, Mycroft is the one to bring this case to his brother. While the Bruce-Partington Plans become the Bruce-Partington Project in "The Great Game," many details remain the same. Both murdered men are name "West," though "Cadogan West" becomes "Andrew West" in "The Great Game". In "The Bruce-Partington Plans," West's body is also placed on top of a train through the window of a building. It then falls off that same train when the train passes over the points. There was even the fiancée who swore West was innocent and the mention of a knighthood for Sherlock. At the end of "The Bruce-Partington Plans," Holmes receives an emerald tie pin from Queen Victoria.

As I'd like to go to bed some time tonight, I'll just include a quick list of some of the other canon references I noticed:


Bullets in the shape of a smiley face in the wall ("The Great Game") / Bullets in the shape of V.R. in the wall ("The Musgrave Ritual")

John mocking Sherlock for not knowing how the solar system works ("The Great Game") / Watson mocking Holmes for not knowing how the solar system works (A Study in Scarlet)

"I'd be lost without my blogger." ("The Great Game") / "I am lost without my Boswell." ("A Scandal in Bohemia")

Sherlock's Homeless Network ("The Great Game") / Holmes's Baker Street irregulars (The Sign of Four)

Sherlock telling John that he missed most of the important details about the trainers in the lab ("The Great Game") / Holmes telling Watson that most of his conclusions were erroneous when it came to Mortimer's walking stick (The Hound of the Baskervilles)

Sherlock receives a letter written by a woman on Bohemian paper ("The Great Game") / Holmes is hired to retrieve an indiscreet letter that the King of Bohemia sent to Irene Adler. For that matter, Holmes receives a letter from Irene Adler himself after she outsmarts him. ("A Scandal in Bohemia")

The old woman hostage is killed ("The Great Game") / Holmes's client (John Openshaw) is killed ("The Five Orange Pips")


I'm positive that there are more references that I'm missing, but those were the ones that immediately sprang to mind when I was watching the episode. Okay, I'll admit that I've had to do some fact-checking as I wasn't sure which Conan Doyle story described the "V.R." Holmes shot in the wall. I also wasn't sure if it was in The Hound of the Baskervilles or "The Blue Carbuncle" where Holmes told Watson that most of his deductions were wrong. In "The Blue Carbuncle," Watson finds Holmes studying a mysterious hat that has been brought to him by Commissioner Peterson. However, Watson doesn't even try to make any deductions about the hat, declaring that he can see nothing.

Well, it's going to be hard waiting to see how the Moffat/Gatiss team plans to resolve that spectacular cliffhanger, but the frustration hasn't hit me yet because I'm still so thrilled about that episode!

Comments

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

I just about had a little nervous breakdown. I couldn't watch my copy of this right away -- but we settled in tonight to watch. And then I found out that my copy was corrupted, and it kicked out right at "4" in the countdown at the gallery!!

Yikes! I'm not surprised that you nearly had yourself a little nervous breakdown! I almost started screaming when I tried accessing the episode at my usual YouTube channel and discovered that the BBC had got there first. Thankfully, someone else had posted the entire episode, so I was still able to watch it. I also made sure to download it that very night in case those files were also removed.

After a little hyperventilating (and about a half an hour) I got a working copy.

Thank Herne for that! :-)

This episode was so packed! The second one was a bit slow in the middle, but this one was a rollercoaster.

I know! I'm not sure if the episode slowed down for a second! It was very packed and oh-so-rollercoastery! :-)

Something I liked this time was that I'd checked out John's blog and Sherlock's forum before I saw the show, so I had little clues about what was going on (I assume anonymous was Moriarty -- still not sure who "theimprobableone" might be).

Damn. That's what I should have done. I have to admit that I really only took a quick look at John's blog and read what I believe was the first entry. I'd have to take a look, but I would think it's likely that Moriarty is "anonymous". I'm not sure about "theimprobableone". Maybe it's a character that has yet to be introduced. The other possibility is a character we have seen but have been mislead about -- someone who isn't all they seem maybe.

like the idea of being someone who's following John's blog, and being in the dark as to what's happening to him (until I got my uncorrupted file!).

Well, whoever came up with the idea of providing fans with access to John's blog is a genius, especially if hints and clues are being dropped for upcoming episodes. I'll definitely have to make an effort to be a regular follower.

One thing I keep coming back to -- they could have made him lovable and heroic. They could have made him to have this super intelligence, and still be deeply concerned about the people in jeopardy. But they didn't. They were willing to make him unlikable, and I love that.

Yes, I'm actually very happy that they didn't make him lovable and heroic. I thought it was wonderful when Sherlock told John quite bluntly that he wasn't a hero and that he should look somewhere else if he's trying to find one. Since the episode I've been wondering if Sherlock believes in justice the same way Holmes does. Despite Holmes's flaws, he does believe in justice. It's not always justice in a strictly legal sense, but it's justice all the same. I'm not sure if Sherlock is the same. For him, it seems to be about the pleasure he derives from solving a mystery -- and that's it. It makes me wonder if that's what Lestrade meant when he said that Sherlock was a great man but not a good one.

I've got one question though: What accent do you think Moriarty supposed to have? Sounded north american to me...most of the time. I suppose he could be affecting an accent, just to mess with Sherlock.

Okay, so I wasn't the only one! I thought maybe I was imagining it! If anything, I would think the accent he used by the pool would be his real one as he apparently had every intention of killing Sherlock and John and had no need to hide anything anymore. If he had been talking to Sherlock over the phone (and trying to disguise his identity), I could see him adopting a fake accent. Hmm...Maybe he has a split personality, or maybe - just maybe - the guy actually is North American...

[dubghall.livejournal.com]

Since the episode I've been wondering if Sherlock believes in justice the same way Holmes does. Despite Holmes's flaws, he does believe in justice. It's not always justice in a strictly legal sense, but it's justice all the same.

Oooh! That's an interesting potential difference between the original character and the current one. That would also go along with whatshername police person who was saying that if he got bored enough, he'd start committing the crimes himself. I don't think he'd go so far as to do it, but perhaps people in the police department don't see him as committed to a concept of Justice. He has enough of a moral compass that he's a consulting detective instead of a consulting criminal (love that idea), but only so far as it provides his brain with interesting puzzles.

Maybe the after effects of realizing that he does care if someone is killed (John) will lead him to solving some boring crimes, just to make sure justice is served.

Just so long as he stays a sarcastic bastard too...

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Ooooh! Excellent point about the police! Their resentment of Sherlock could also stem from doubts regarding his moral compass. Both Donovan and Anderson seem to think that Sherlock is a psychopath. I keep wondering what Sherlock did to piss Donovan off so thoroughly. She really doesn't like him.

I think you could be right about Sherlock eventually taking on some boring cases to make sure justice is served. I'm not sure how long that would last, but I could see it happening if there's an inner struggle going on between the great man and the good man. Well, I, for one, would be very interested in seeing where such an inner struggle might take Sherlock in terms of character. However, like you, I don't want it to be at the cost of his bitchy side. There's no question about it: he has to stay a sarcastic bastard. *g*