Sherlock: The Abominable bride is finally here and as the one-off episode comes to an end, you are left wondering if it is a genius work of art or somehow, have they managed to confuse us more than ever?
Following the recent trend in television shows, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss take the route of the concept made famous by Christopher Nolan and coined as 'Inception-y' by some. The Abominable bride tries very hard to present that concept along with the changes in the era Holmes is actually supposed to be in. Ultimately, it feels like one of the fanfictions have been brought to life by a fan video! But you can't blame the fanboy creators for creating what they love, can you?
Right from the introduction, the episode picks up the pace. Scenes have been hand-picked from every episode of the series and given the Victorian era transformation. All the characters who have something to say or who had their speech buried in the subtext, are given a chance to explain some unanswered question. Sherlock and John of our time are replaced by the sharp and wittier Holmes and Watson of 1985, right after 'The Reichenbach Fall'. The handlebar moustache is back and so are other props which are adored by fans of the show. Okay, tiny spoiler, we have Mr Blue Skull, the skull with the headphones, the knife, the Persian slipper, and another skull on the mantle (Wow, Holmes sure has a lot of them!) but all of these are transformed in the Victorian setting.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are the strength of the narrative you wish had a straight line to follow. Cumberbatch's Holmes is more active than the modern day version. The crisp lines and sharp delivery are a delight to watch. His 'boswell' Watson is more observant, keen and a little more acidic than the season three John.
There are characters who were not presented in the trailer and I can say this was the best promotional decision the showrunners made. The episode has its moments which will leave you in shock and awe. The spookiness of the story and dark palette of the cinematography only add to the impact. The floating text, a signature camera trick of the show is transformed in a spectacular way. That scene is one of my favourites of the episode.
But in the attempt to cram them all in one 90 minute episode with a string of murders to solve, the writers blur the lines of individual threads of the story. They also fail to clear the air on some important ambiguities. The chaos within another chaos makes you wonder exactly which timeline the showrunners want us to follow. And you still have no answer to the most important question! This leads to the cliffhanger perfect to set up the beginning of season four.
In conclusion, fans finally have an episode of Sherlock after a long hiatus. It is mysterious, it is funny, it is fast. But I wish the strokes of genius were not so haphazard.
