SEARCH MY BLOG

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Sherlock: The Empty Hearse Review

Now that Sherlock has been officially released in America, here is my full spoiler review of the "The Empty Hearse."

After two very long years of waiting for return of the critically acclaimed and fan favorite series Sherlock, how could anything live up to the impossibly lofty expectations that nearly everyone anticipates?
*Major Sherlock Spoilers Ahead*

"The Empty Hearse" opens with a scene that answers our long awaited question: how did Sherlock survive the "The Reichenbach Fall," or does it? Well, not exactly. Next Lestrade calls "bollocks" on Anderson's theory. My first reaction when the scene started was: "Yes! We finally get to see how he did it!" and then after he used the bungee cord and kisses Molly I figured it was probably Anderson's theory, aka Moffat trolling us. On a side note, the tech music in that scene was great; I am listening to it while writing this review. In addition, we now know that Sherlock faked his death to take down Moriarty's organization, and seeing Mycroft, played brilliantly by co-creator and writer Mark Gatiss, again was good fun, especially the brotherly rivalry interaction between the two. However, I am a bit confused since Mycroft and Sherlock seem to agree that Mycroft is the smarter of the two. Isn't Sherlock suppose to the be the smarter one? Also, even though Mycroft does not like personal interaction, he does not seem to have the social ineptitude that Sherlock displays, considering his high position in the government.

Among all of the mystery of how Sherlock survived, why he faked his death, and exactly what happened at the end of the "The Reichenbach Fall," we all know what we wanted to see in this episode, the reunion of Holmes and Watson, and it really did deliver what we were hoping to see. Everything about that aspect was absolutely perfect. From John punching, headbutting, and tackling Sherlock to perfectly timed musical cues that add to the comedy of the situation, everything about the reunion was, well, perfect. Throughout the scene I nearly died of laughter multiple times. It was comedic genius and Watson's reaction was exactly what I was hoping to see.

The best and intended way to experience "The Empty Hearse" to its fullest degree is have watched the "The Reichenbach Fall" around the time it air, which is about two years ago, and then waited until for those two long years because "The Empty Hearse" caters directly to those fans, or at least the ones that have been eagerly anticipating Sherlock's return. Having the two back on screen together reminds me how much I have missed the show in its absence.

Having Andersen be the head of the "The Empty Hearse," a group of Sherlock conspiracy theorists, essentially mirroring the real life fandom was rather hysterical! Also, the episodes pokes fun at the absurd "fan" ideas that imply that Sherlock and Watson are homosexual in anyway, which was hilarious! Particularly with Watson proclaiming to Mrs. Hudson that he is "Not gay!"

Molly teaming up with Sherlock as a replacement for John was a lot of fun. She claims to have moved on from her crush on Sherlock since she is now engaged, however when we meet her fiance he turns out to be a virtual clone of Sherlock in terms of how he dressing and looks.

Not surprisingly, Freeman and Abbington have fantastic chemistry since they are a real life couple, although the best of her character comes in the following episodes.

We get to see Sherlock's parents, who are played by Cumberbatch's real life parents, which is kind of cool.

The Good: Cumbertach remains the best, Perfect character beats, Superb stylistic direction and camera work, Tons of fan-service and meta humor, Even better presentation of Sherlock's mind, Freeman is beyond excellent, Hilarious throughout, Watson's mustache, Perfect chemistry between the actors, Satisfying answers, Stunning cinematography, Memorable quotes,

The Bad: Less focus on mystery,

Mystery: 8.3/10- For my Sherlock reviews I have a new category to give a rating, the actual mystery featured in the episode. With the character development and fallout from last season's cliffhanger resolved, the quality of the mystery suffered. Even though it did have its merits, the actual mystery was lacking in clues for the audience to pick up, however the resolution of the mystery was satisfying.

Characterization: 10/10- "Characterization" is another new category where I rate how well effectively the episode progresses the characters since, in the end, characters are the most important part of almost any story. "The Empty Hearse" featured possibly the best character development and overall characterization of any episode of the series yet. Much thought and time was given to John and Sherlock's friendship and how the events of the previous episode effect that. The addition of Mary Morstan was more than welcome. Thanks to a strong performance by Amanda Abbington, Mary seemed like a realistic and believable character. Even though he is not featured heavily in the episode, Lestrade is given an excellent character moment as well.

Acting: 10/10- Benedict Cumberbatch is the definition of perfection as Sherlock and Martin Freeman continues to give a believable and likable performance as Watson. As stated previously, Amanda Abbington is a more than welcome addition to the cast and Rupert Graves' Lestrade is as great as ever.

Soundtrack: 10/10- Sherlock's soundtrack returns as brilliant as ever with many familiar themes that perfectly fit Sherlock Holmes and his endeavors.

Direction: 10/10- Jeremy Lovering's direction of "The Empty Hearse" was positively superb. There were so many intriguing stylistic choices, camera movements, transitions, and editing throughout the episode. While the previous episodes of the series has shown us, the audience, an inside look into Sherlock's brain through floating text and an occasional inner monologue, the presentation is even better in this episode than ever before.

Humor: 10/10- The first half of the episode made me laugh more than probably anything I have seen in a very long time. Also, the dialogue was witty and fast paced, and the actors delivery was spot on.

Relative Rating: 9.7/10- The relative rating compares the episode to the other episodes of the series, not television in general. For example, the worst episode of Sherlock, "The Blind Banker," which was still better than the majority of what is on TV today, would rate around a 8.2/10, and the best episode of Sherlock at this point, “The Reichenbach Fall,” would rate a 10/10. Therefore, since "The Empty Hearse" is not the best episode of the series, albeit it one of the best, it receives a rating of 9.7/10. Most likely, my explanation made absolutely no sense.

Overall: 10/10- Overall, "The Empty Hearse" serves its purpose brilliantly as it resolves the events of the previous episode as well as providing fans the needed return of everyone's favorite detective. The episode might not be the best Sherlock episode yet, but the pitch perfect characterization is more than deserving of a 10 out of 10.

Since I tried to avoid spoilers when the episode first came on, please let me know if you have written a review and leave a link to it in the comments if I have not commented on it yet!

If you want a chance to win a free copy of Iron Man 3 please click here to enter my giveaway.

Click here to check out more of my movie reviews.


If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

23 comments:

  1. Great review!! :) I agree, it was definitely a great episode(though, for me, it left a little to be desired, but over all I really enjoyed it). It was definitely really nice to see Sherlock and John again and the reunion was hilarious XD I especially loved how Sherlock dressed up as a waiter and was talking in an accent. I wasn't expecting to like Mary at first, but she was really great, especially in the second episode- very likable and very well-acted.
    I actually do ship Sherlock and John, but in-between seasons 2 and 3, I kind of figured it probably wasn't going to happen.
    I now really can't wait to get around to watching the last episode(which I haven't seen yet) :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! :) Their reunion was basically just like the gif set you showed me a while with Sherlock trying to explain and John hitting him! XD Yes, Sherlock's accent was great! "It is like a familiar face from the past." I think you will really like the character when you get around to watching the last episode of the season. :)
      Yeah, I am almost always in favor of the cannon over any shipping.

      -James

      Delete
  2. It's Molly he kisses, not Sally. And actually in the books, Mycroft was much more intelligent than Sherlock, but he was incredibly lazy and that's why he always pushed his brother to do his work for him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the correction, I got the names mixed up. Also, thanks for explaining about Mycroft, I did not know that about his character in the books.

      -James

      Delete
  3. This was such a good episode, everything I could have hoped for, the perfect mixture of emotion and hilarity and character development and fan service!

    About your questions on Mycroft; him being smarter is taken right out of the books. It is stated in there that on rare occasions Holmes would go to his brother for help if he got really really stuck in a mystery and Mycroft would solve it for him in a snap. :P Him disliking social life is also from the books; Book Mycroft, although 'The British Government', seemed to practically live at his gentlemen's club where nobody talked to each other...I think I'm remembering that right. So far, while the show has used Mycroft more than he's used in the books, I really like how they've developed him and Mark is fantastic as the character. :) Anyway, I hope you don't mind me rattling on here.

    Excellent review of the episode, I can't wait to read your one for The Sign of Three. :)

    ~Jamie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly, it was most fan's dreams put into one episode!

      Thank you for the long explanation! I did not know that about Mycroft in the books, and I have to say that it is rather interesting. I agree, Mark is fantastic in the role!

      Of course, I love it when you rattle on. ;)

      -James

      Delete
  4. You liked it more than me! My review is in the usual place and should anyone else fancy a visit - theblogofdelights.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That seems to be the case with Moffat's recent work, although it was a vast improvement over "The Time of the Doctor." I will have to go check out your review now!

      -James

      Delete
  5. Jamie and Ivy Miranda are correct -- in the original stories, Mycroft is the smarter brother. He first appears in "The Greek Interpreter" (part of the collection called The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, where Sherlock says, "Mycroft has better powers of observation than I," and explains that Mycroft is 7 years older than Sherlock. He spends three hours a day at The Diogenes Club, a peculiar place where no one is allowed to talk to anyone else at all except in the Stranger's Room. (Sounds perfectly marvelous to me, especially today.) But Mycroft hates activity, and has no inclination to run around gathering clues like Sherlock does. Also, he's very important in the government, just like in the show. Once in a while he brings a problem to Sherlock, or Sherlock goes to Mycroft for assistance in solving a case, but he's only in 4 canon stories. He's kind of an armchair detective -- if you bring the clues to him, he'll solve the case, but he won't do the footwork.

    I'll comment on the rest of your review in a bit -- got to clean up the kitchen now that lunch is finally over.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the further explanation Hamlette! I had never thought of Mycroft as the smarter one until the series, although I have yet to read the Sherlock stories where he is featured. Haha, yes it does! I did not know that Mycroft was so lazy, but it makes more sense now.

      -James

      Delete
    2. In the stories, Mycroft is also as fat as Sherlock is thin, which is why Sherlock makes that little dig about diets to Mycroft in "A Study in Pink."

      Delete
    3. Ah, him being fat would also explain why in the Elementary series, why Sherlock calls his brother "Fatty," and in BBC Sherlock episode "The Sign of Three," *Very Minor spoiler ahead* why Sherlock was surprised by Mycroft working out on the treadmill when he called him. Thanks again!

      -James

      Delete
    4. How is Elementary? I totally missed the first season, but could try to watch some of this one. I do have another Sherlockian friend who quite enjoys it.

      Delete
    5. Elementary is inconsistent. It starts out slow, but progressively gets better and then it reaches a point and just levels off. It has some fun mysteries, but the show seems a little too generic crime drama. That is not to say the show is bad, it is quite good, but rarely great. Since you are a Sherlockian, I would recommend that you give the show a try at some point, but compared to all of the other shows on network TV right now like Agents of SHIELD, The Blacklist, and Intelligence, Elementary is not nearly as good as those. Hopefully that helps and I hope that I made sense. :)

      -James

      Delete
    6. Thanks! That was very helpful and made total sense. I think I will just say it's a show I'd like to watch on DVD some day when I have the time, then. With Sherlock, SHIELD, and now Intelligence, I really have no free show-watching time.

      Delete
  6. And then it turns out I don't have a lot else to say, lol. I do wish that Molly would quit being so pathetic, move to America, and get over Sherlock.

    John's reaction to Sherlock's return is exactly what mine would be, and I cheered. A lot. I find it especially funny and cool that he totally smashed up Sherlock's nose -- remember back in "A Scandal in Belgravia" when Irene Adler pointed out that John punched him in the jaw and spared his nose, and that it was a sign of his affection for Sherlock? You know just how angry John is here, then.

    Random question -- did the bomb having an off switch bug you at all? I keep reading bloggers who are incensed by it, but I didn't have a problem with it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for returning to comment further! Without spoiling anything about Molly, you will see more of Molly when you watch the rest of the series.

      I would probably react the same way too. Haha, I forgot about Irene's comment in that episode, but you are right! That was a nice callback. The headbutt attack was the best!

      Well, I did not have as much of a problem with the bomb having an off switch as most did. It was a funny way to resolve the problem, although it felt kind of convenient in the classic Moffat way. But at the same time, it was making fun of the usually clever way Sherlock figures things out, which was fun.

      -James

      Delete
  7. Nice review, James. I liked "The Sign of Three" better and am looking forward to "His Last Vow".

    B2B.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks B2B. I liked "The Sign of Three" better as well, and I hope that you will like "His Last Vow" as much I did.

      -James

      Delete
  8. I loved this episode! I was laughing really hard two about the first half of the episode. I've watched the part where Sherlock reveals to John that he is still alive quite a few times. It always makes me laugh. :)
    The Sign of Three is my favourite out of the three *spoilers for those who have not seen it* it had more of a mystery and I loved Sherlock's speech, it was so nice and really, beautiful. And the end where Sherlock makes his deduction totally made me excited! :D
    I loved Mary! She was an amazing new character, a great choice, as I thought she wouldn't be when I first heard about the casting and saw a picture, but I was wrong. You're right, there is not much Lestrade, but I was surprised to see Donovan in *minor spoilers* SOT as I thought she would have been fired about what happened in Reichebach Fall. :) It still remains my favourite and the best Sherlock episodes as far as I am concerned.
    I was going to comment on the fact that in the original stories Mycroft's observation is better than Sherlock's but it seems that some other people have beat me to it. :) Also whereas in the first two seasons they didn't really like each other, they don't in the books. They just move in different circles.
    Great job! Will you be reviewing ep. 2 and 3?
    Also, I did do a review a while back, when I first watched it. Here is the link if you want to have a look: http://anirishmaideninaust.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/well-surprise-me-im-certainly.html

    God Bless,
    Vellvin.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, that scene is so funny! :D
      "His Last Vow" is probably my favorite of the season, although "Sign of Three" is a close second. But all of the episodes this season were so good it is hard to pick one. That is a good question about Donovan, although I suppose Lestrade maybe did something to keep her around.
      Thank for even more information about Mycroft!
      Yes, I will be review ep. 2 next week and ep. 3 the week after!
      After I finish my college stuff today, I will go read your review of the episode. :)

      -James

      Delete
  9. Great review James! It's too bad the only flaw of this episode seems to be that the mystery wasn't quite what we've come to expect. But they probably spent all their creative juices on all those other things that were awesome and mind-blowing, like the reunion, all that hilarious humor, and Mary, oh my goodness, I love her, she's perfect... so we can hardly blame them! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Sarah! Yeah, if the mystery was better, it would have been even better, although it would have to take up more time and then we wouldn't have gotten the awesome fan-service moments. That reunion is going to be a classic TV moment for sure. :D Mary was great, and I liked her even more in the later episodes!

      -James

      Delete

One rule: No strong profanity. If you want to link to one of your posts, please do; I am always interested in other reviews and such.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...