‘THE FINAL PROBLEM’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
Eurus Holmes with Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock and Martin Freeman’s Watson
Here we are on the final episode of ‘Sherlock’ (for now). ‘The Final Problem’ is the season finale for Series 4 of ‘Sherlock’ and it has Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes meeting his sister Eurus. 🙂
For a while, I found the ‘Sherlock’ series underwhelming. I suppose it’s fair we have a series finale that’s very dramatic and tense, especially when we get to meet the secret sister of Sherlock Holmes.
Mind you, I wish Eurus had been introduced earlier rather than later, perhaps in Series 3 to establish the threat she was to the Holmes family. Then again, perhaps Series 5 is on the cards by this stage. 😐
This episode also makes it clear that Jim Moriarty didn’t resurrect as we presumed he did at the end of Series 3. I can’t help feel disappointed about that, as I expected he would make a ‘glorious’ return.
Then again, this series has been quite garbled in its telling on how to unravel the story of Sherlock Holmes in contemporary times. I feel many missed opportunities were made in making this series. 😦
This is especially considering ‘The Abominable Bride’ suggested that Moriarty managed to resurrect due to a 1800s crime case that happened. But I don’t think the dots to that are well-connected here.
‘The Final Problem’ of course is penned by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. Rather appropriate, considering they co-created this TV series together. The episode is also directed by Benjamin Caron.
There is a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle called ‘The Final Problem’, but I think this episode is a loose adaptation of the short story. There’s bound to be artistic licence on the series’ creators’ part.
I wonder if Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss knew what they were doing when they crafted this series together. It’s implied Eurus Holmes was behind most things that happened in the ‘Sherlock’ series. 😐
But with a lot being cryptic and a challenge to get your head around, I’m not sure if that’s really the case in this regard. Agatha Christie-like TV shows and ‘Grantchester’ aren’t so very complicated. 😐
Maybe I’m not an avid ‘Sherlock Holmes’ fan to understand how Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss crafted the series, but I feel the movie versions with Basil Rathbone and Robert Downey Jr. are better. 🙂
After getting Mark Gatiss as Mycroft Holmes to reveal the truth about Eurus, Sherlock and Watson take Mycroft and they visit the sister at a security facility on a remote island. But things go wrong. 😐
Once captured by Eurus who has taken over the facility, Sherlock, Watson and Mycroft have to endure a series of sick, manipulative, psychologically and potentially fatal games in order to survive.
I must admit, the tension featured throughout this episode is very good. I wanted to find out how Sherlock, Watson and Mycroft would survive and understand why Eurus was being so sick and cruel.
Sian Brooke delivers a very good performance as Eurus Holmes in the episode. I’ve not seen many versions of ‘Sherlock Holmes’ featuring Eurus, but she could be considered the ultimate foe for him.
Mind you, the reasoning behind her madness and evil comes from when she was lonely as a child and she wasn’t allowed to play with Sherlock and Mycroft. On first glance, this does seem very petty.
But like I established in my previous review for ‘The Lying Detective’, the mental mindsets of villains could be due to mental health, which does seem to be a recurring theme throughout ‘Sherlock’ here.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman continue to be excellent in ‘Sherlock’s series finale. They’re also joined by Una Stubbs as Mrs. Hudson and Rupert Graves as D.I. Lestrade in the episode.
There’s a tense scene where Sherlock gets Louise Brealey as Molly Hooper to say “I love you” in order to escape death. I’ve mixed feelings about that considering how they’ve both developed as characters.
Then again, it demonstrates how cruel Eurus can be when breaking down Sherlock’s defences, especially with the emotional connections he has to people. Not sure how Sherlock will reconcile with Molly.
Amanda Abbington also guest stars as Mary Watson via a video recording, encouraging Watson to carry on crime-fighting with Sherlock by the episode’s end. There’s also Andrew Scott as Moriarty. 🙂
Art Malik (who I’ve seen in the ‘Doctor Who’ episode ‘The Ghost Monument’) guest stars as the prison governor. Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham also return to play Sherlock Holmes’ parents.
There’s Honor Kneafsev as the girl on the plane, Tom Stoughton as young Sherlock and Indica Watson as little Eurus. There’s also Simon Kunz as Sir Edwin, Richard Crehan as Ben and Tam Mutu as Leonard.
And there’s Matt Young as a young police officer. ‘The Final Problem’ has been a pretty dramatic series finale for ‘Sherlock’. I wouldn’t say it’s satisfying, but I’m glad they ended on a dramatic note.
On Disc 10 of the complete ‘Sherlock’ DVD/Blu-ray box set, there’s the ‘Behind 221B’ featurette on ‘The Final Problem’. There’s also ‘The Writer’s Chat’ with Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, ‘Script to Screen’, ‘John & Mary’s Flat’, ‘Mark Gatiss Video Diary: On Set’, ‘Mark Gatiss Video Diary: Final Scenes’, ‘Danny Hargeaves Video Diary’ and ‘Timelapse: Building 221B’.
So, in conclusion, after having seen the complete ‘Sherlock’ series from beginning in Series 1 to end in Series 4, I’m pleased my parents and I managed to watch every episode after so many false starts. With that said, I can’t say I’m enamoured with the efforts given by Steven Moffat and Mark Gattis. 😦
I honestly like the idea of Sherlock Holmes in 21st century times and maybe if I saw this series more than once, I’d be able to appreciate more of what Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss were trying to deliver in terms of story and characters. But I honestly felt underwhelmed from watching this series.
I understand that crime dramas are meant to be a challenge to get your head around and Sherlock Holmes as a character isn’t always easy to understand when it comes to solving crimes. But the series’ writing feels overly complex than it should’ve been. I struggled to connect with its characters.
I also don’t agree with the philosophy that Steven Moffat employs in his writing, both in ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Sherlock’. Sometimes the tone feels very uneven and mean-spirited. Sometimes ‘Sherlock’ wants to be comedic, sometimes it wants to be serious, and it feels very unbalanced here.
Sometimes, I think Steven Moffat’s ego takes over Mark Gatiss’ handling of storytelling. That’s something I feel shouldn’t be a prominent focus in showing off how bright Steven Moffat seems to be. I feel it alienates audiences, including me, who aren’t into his mindset as he delivers his stories. 😦
It’s a real shame, as I really like Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson. As far as I’m concerned, the quality of acting is top notch. Maybe that’s why people rate ‘Sherlock’ highly. The acting is brilliant compared to how the series’ writing seems underwhelming. 😦
Maybe if the episodes weren’t 90-minute TV movies and we had more multi-part stories in the series, I could perhaps absorb and process the details of everything that’s going on in each episode. That way, I could appreciate the characters and enjoy the emotional journeys they’ve been going on.
I know not everyone will agree with these opinions I have about ‘Sherlock’ and there’s clearly something I’ve missed in order to understand how highly rated it is by its fans and audiences. But speaking personally, after having seen the series, I don’t feel the urgency to hurry and watch it again.
‘The Final Problem’ rating – 7/10
‘Sherlock’ (TV series) rating – 6/10
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