"you use me, yet you do not trust me." | a hounds of baskerville review.

[falling_voices]

So I got caught up in my semester finals and I have a paper to finish writing on Rear Window, but I'm taking a moment to post this review before Fall airs because HOLY SHIT, HOUNDS.

Mark Gatiss, you goddamn brilliant motherfucker.

Comments

[shezan]

Oh, yesyesYES, the mirrors held to Sherlock, so very true and so clever of you. And Moriarty will be a third, won't he? Except Sherlock won't yield.

Didn't you LOVE Sherlock's little smile when John pulled rank as Captain John Watson of the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers?

[falling_voices]

TBH, I believe everybody on-show is a mirror held up to Sherlock at some point or other, even John. These three are really obvious this season, though.

Yeah, that was pretty brilliant! He looked so strangely proud. Sherlock's reactions to John were all around amazing in this episode.

[ningen_demonai]

Read it all and all I came up was "I JUST LOVE THIS EPISODE SO MU-HU-HUUUCH"

Fuck you, Reichenbach, you can't take HOUN away from me. :(

[falling_voices]

See, that's the proper fannish reaction. I go all English major on those episodes. :(

The best thing is, though, it won't. It'll always be there, a shining picture of their lives together before everything went to hell.

[ningen_demonai]

Yup. That and all the fics. I have requisitioned one of my friends as hugging pillow either during or after I watch this episode. :|b

[falling_voices]

OH GOD NIN. SPOILERS. Sort of? we already know it'll happen, but this puts a picture to it, and. Just.

[kim47]

"Oh, boys" was exactly my reaction to this episode. Augh I don't know if I'm ready for Reichenbach.

[falling_voices]

I'm not ready. I don't think I'll become ready even after I've watched the episode right through. By that time it'll probably be three in the morning, and I'll have that Hitchcock paper to hand in the next day, and I'll be wrecked.

[veronamay]

I can't have been the only one to be chuffed beyond reason when Sherlock asks him Not Good? after John groans at his waxing rhapsodic over the case, down in Dewer's Hollow

You definitely weren't the only one. I made a noise that only dogs could hear.

The real fear here is not that of concrete events - the hound - but of the mind: it is Sherlock being scared of losing himself, of losing his logic, of losing his mind. Applied to what we know of Sherlock Holmes as a concept - to the cliché of Sherlock Holmes, reasoning machine - this becomes unnaturally disturbing.

THIS THIS THIS. I'd hazard a guess that this is probably Sherlock's biggest fear, perhaps on a level with losing John--which is itself a massive concern because feelings, what the hell, when did that happen?

(Oh, Reichenbach is going to shatter that man's heart. Both of their hearts.)

Thirty hours to go. I don't know whether to be impatient or terrified. JOHN.

It's 2:00am and I'm mostly asleep at this point but I had to read this before going to bed, because I saw A Game

[falling_voices]

I'd hazard a guess that this is probably Sherlock's biggest fear, perhaps on a level with losing John--which is itself a massive concern because feelings, what the hell, when did that happen?

EXACTLY. It spun off Scandal, because that was Sherlock discovering how very much he can care, and then it promptly turned into a massive emotional overload.

Oh, I'm mostly impatient about Reichenbach - I'm a sucker for good FINA/EMPT angst, and this is going to be delicious. Especially after GoS, which I've only seen in fairly terrible quality somewhere on MV, and which is - well, cracky at best. It's quite fantastically All! The! Explosions! All! The! Subtext! Holmes and Watson went waltzing off across a room full of European dignitaries! Jesus, what were they smoking? (Mary was awesome, though. I love Kelly Reilly, so I'm rather biased in her favour, but - she was amazing and snarky at Lestrade and eye-rolly at Mycroft and. Mary, holy shit.)

[veronamay]

So using the theme of "Sherlock is a human being" in series 2, the progression would seem to be:

Scandal - Sherlock discovers he has feelings. He tries to rise above, fails, and elects to accept said feelings to a point.
Hounds - Sherlock tries to deny, and then is infuriated by, his inability to deny, the effect said feelings have on him.
Reichenbach - Sherlock falls prey to his feelings in some way (re: John, definitely, and I am very loosely speculating that Irene will be referenced somehow) and this is instrumental to his downfall.

I guess we'll find out in about 16 hours. Well, plus another 8 for me (finish the workday, get home, download).

I saw AGOS yesterday and was a bit ranty about it in a review post last night. Well, a lot ranty. Although I totally agree with you about Kelly Reilly; she is outstanding.

[falling_voices]

That seems to be the case, yeah. Although, re: Irene, I'm not sure - I honestly don't think we'll ever see her again, but I can see Jim taunting Sherlock about her right on the edge, so. Mmm. But it's clear enough that Sherlock's going to be challenged both intellectually and emotionally (and perhaps morally, which would be a nice twist) in the Fall. Apparently, there is something fairytale-y to this episode, which 1. is bloody exciting, and 2. would fit right in with that progression of yours.

Twelve hours or so to go, depending on how fast I can get to watch it once the links go live. Hitchcock is absorbing my residue nervosity, which is probably going to result either in a very good paper or a very bad one.

[shadowfireflame]

I think I enjoyed this review almost as much as the episode, tbh; you really got their dynamic, especially over the bet. Thanks for sharing this.

P.S. I can't wait for Sunday...

[falling_voices]

Thank you! That's lovely to hear. :D

I don't think any of us can. That's exactly twenty-four hours left, now.