‘THE EMPTY HEARSE’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
Benedict Cumerbatch’s Sherlock returns and reunites with Martin Freeman’s Watson
It’s time for Series 3 of ‘Sherlock’ starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. And I’m not going to lie; I found this opening episode to Series 3 by Mark Gatiss really good to watch as I saw it. 🙂
Granted there are plot elements I don’t understand, especially when Sherlock and Watson are solving the case. But this is a better writing effort by Mark Gatiss compared to his previous efforts. 🙂
What appealed to me about this episode was the reunion between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Sherlock was presumed dead for two years. Gosh, returning from the dead after two years?
I imagine that would be tense and hard to grapple with, if you find the friend you thought was dead for two years came back to you. In fact, it’s well-presented once Watson sees Sherlock is still alive. 🙂
Martin Freeman as Watson portrays the frustration and the anger well when he sees Sherlock appearing before him whilst having dinner with his new girlfriend. It’s also very hilarious to watch. 🙂
Sherlock ends up with a bloodied nose from Watson – not once, not twice, but THREE times upon reuniting. And this is at three different restaurants! Gosh, I never realised Watson was so violent! 😀
Watson refuses to hear Sherlock’s explanations and refuses to help him when he’s investigating an underground terrorist network. So, Sherlock enlists the help of Louise Brealey as Molly Hooper here.
I like how Sherlock and Molly work together for a bit in the episode. Molly’s clearly no Watson, but she does use her initiative and makes notes. Sherlock also treats her well during the investigation. 🙂
There’s a nice scene between Sherlock and Molly where there’s an understanding that Molly can’t always be Sherlock’s crime-solving assistant. I do wish more scenes like that were in other episodes.
This episode is notable for featuring the debut appearance of Amanda Abbington as Mary Morstan, Watson’s new girlfriend. She seems to be a nice person and really understanding when with Watson.
Maybe there’s potential between John Watson and his girlfriend Mary. Maybe they might end up together forever as opposed to previous girlfriends John’s had in ‘Sherlock’s first two seasons here. 😀
Incidentally, it’s funny to see John Watson with a moustache in the two years after Sherlock was presumed dead. Sherlock doesn’t seem to like the moustache. Neither does Mary for that matter. 😐
I actually like Watson’s moustache in the episode. I think Watson should have kept it just like Sherlock should have kept the deer-stalker hat. Hopefully it will return in ‘The Abominable Bride’. 😀
Incidentally, there is a funny moment when Watson makes the mistake that Sherlock is in disguise when in actual fact, it’s really an old man. That’s homage to the film ‘The Spider Woman’ with Basil Rathbone.
The episode’s cast also includes Una Stubbs as Mrs. Hudson, Rupert Graves as D.I. Lestrade and Mark Gatiss as Mycroft Holmes. There’s also Andrew Scott as Jim Moriarty in a fantasy sequence. 😀
Yeah, the episode showcases theories made by characters on how Sherlock managed to cheat death in ‘The Reichenbach Fall’. Intriguing how Sherlock really cheated death in the real version of events!
There’s also Jonathan Aris as Anderson, Lars Mikkelsen as Charles Augustus Magnussen, Lisa McAllister as Anthea, David Fynn as Howard Shilcott and Derren Brown as himself in the episode. 😀
The episode also features Wanda Ventham and Timothy Carlton (Benedict Cumberbatch’s real-life parents) as Sherlock’s parents. It was surreal to see these two appear in the episode with Benedict. 🙂
I’ve seen Wanda Ventham in a number of ‘Doctor Who’ stories like ‘The Faceless Ones’, ‘Image of the Fendahl’ and ‘Time and the Rani’. I’ve also seen Timothy Carlton in ‘Keeping Up Appearances’. 🙂
It was amusing how Sherlock fooled Watson into thinking he couldn’t deactivate a bomb aboard a train. Sherlock did this to get out from Watson that he had missed him in the two years he vanished.
The episode concludes reassuringly, as Sherlock and Watson continue to solve crime cases and are back in business. They head out to meet the press and Sherlock even wears that deer-stalker hat. 😀
‘The Empty Hearse’ is a pretty enjoyable ‘Sherlock’ episode in the series. At this point, I can’t be sure if there’s hope for the rest of the series, but I’m pleased they churned out an above average episode.
On Disc 6 of the complete ‘Sherlock’ DVD/Blu-ray box set, there’s ‘The Fall’, looking into Sherlock’s rooftop plummet from the end of Series 2 into its subsequent resolution in ‘The Empty Hearse’.
‘The Empty Hearse’ rating – 8/10
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