‘THE REICHENBACH FALL’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
Confronting Moriarty with Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock and Martin Freeman’s Watson
‘The Reichenbach Fall’ is the third and final episode of Series 2 of ‘Sherlock’. I will say this, ‘The Reichenbach Fall’ is a far better ‘Sherlock’ season finale compared to ‘The Great Game’ in Series 1. 🙂
Does that redeem the TV series for me though? Well, I still can’t around the fact that Steven Moffat’s ego is plastered throughout the episodes and Sherlock is often quite an unlikeable character.
Mind you, the season finale itself isn’t by Steven Moffat or by Mark Gatiss as you would expect. It’s by Stephen Thompson, who wrote ‘The Blind Banker’. It’s quite unusual to have him write the finale.
Don’t get me wrong, I did follow most of what went on in ‘The Reichenbach Fall’. But surely it would be either Steven Moffat or Mark Gatiss who takes charge of the first and last episodes of a season. 😐
The episode is directed by Toby Haynes. ‘The Pandorica Opens’/’The Big Bang’, ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘The Impossible Astronaut’/’Day of the Moon’ are the ‘Doctor Who’ episodes that Toby has directed. 😀
When this episode came out on TV back in 2012, there was a lot of online and media speculation that focused on Sherlock’s death. Oh yeah! In the episode, it’s made out Sherlock gets killed here. 😐
Or rather he commits suicide. Yet, I knew Sherlock wasn’t going to be dead, since he clearly makes an appearance at the episode’s end whilst he watches Watson and Mrs. Hudson visiting his grave. 😐
Mind you, the resolution on how Sherlock managed to cheat death is cleverly handled, but that’s something to discuss for the next episode. Yes, I did check out the following episode for a preview. 😀
In the episode, Sherlock and Watson investigate Moriarty’s attempt to undermine the public’s view of Sherlock. Earlier on, Sherlock and Watson are seen to solve quite a number of cases in London. 😀
I really wish each ‘Sherlock’ season had more episodes extended to more than just three. I’d like to see more of Sherlock and Watson solving crimes rather than having them compressed in three episodes.
It was funny when Sherlock was made to wear the deerstalker hat when at a press conference for a successful police case. I think Sherlock should’ve kept the deerstalker hat, since it suits him very well.
But yeah! Andrew Scott as Jim Moriarty is back as he attempts to drive Sherlock to suicide. I’m not sure why Moriarty wants Sherlock got rid of, apart from the brother Mycroft telling him about Sherlock.
And look! Andrew Scott is a good actor, but his Moriarty does tend to be on the hyperactive at times. Maybe that is the point of him being a villain, but I recall previous Moriartys being calmer than that.
The Moriartys in the Basil Rathbone films weren’t so hyperactive, so why should Andrew Scott’s be like that? He does come across as being more Joker-like compared to how I’ve envisaged Moriarty. 😐
Then again, there was that ‘Hat-man and Robin’ joke from ‘A Scandal in Belgravia’ to match Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock and Martin Freeman’s Watson against Andrew Scott’s Moriarty in the story.
So, I suppose it fits. Incidentally, the episode is inspired by ‘The Final Problem’ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. And this isn’t to be too confused with the Series 4 finale episode called ‘The Final Problem’. 😀
There are also elements heavily used from the film called ‘The Woman in Green’ with Basil Rathbone. I don’t know though. There’s also ‘The Spider Woman’ where Sherlock faked his death. 😀
The sequences in the episode that occur at the Tower of London were filmed at Cardiff Castle. Other locations featured in the episode include Newport Cemetery, Tredegar House and Cardiff City Hall. 🙂
The cast also includes Una Stubbs as Mrs. Hudson, Rupert Graves as Lestrade, Mark Gatiss as Mycroft, Louise Brealey as Molly, Vinette Robinson as Sally Donovan and Jonathan Aris as Anderson.
There’s also Katherine Parkinson as Kitty Riley, Douglas Wilmer as a Diogenes Club member and Edward Holtom as Rufus Bruhl. Ian Hallard guest stars a defence barrister at Moriarty’s trial in the story.
Tony Pitts (who would later appear in the ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ Channel 5 series) plays a chief superintendent in the episode. All of the actors in the episode deliver very good performances.
I can’t say ‘The Reichenbach Fall’ is an excellent ‘Sherlock’ season finale for Series 2, but I’m intrigued as to how Sherlock will return to Watson and Mrs. Hudson once they learn he isn’t dead. 🙂
On Disc 4 of the complete ‘Sherlock’ DVD/Blu-ray box set, there’s ‘Sherlock Uncovered’, a behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of Series 2 of ‘Sherlock’ with cast and crew interviews.
‘The Reichenbach Fall’ rating – 7/10
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