Rambling about Sherlock Season 3 Episode 1 for real now.
Totally rambling, rather than having deep deep thoughts, because I'm still in slightly insane mode. :)
When I say not deep thoughts, you have to trust me, and not read it if you don't like disjointed gasps of awe.
The Empty Hearse was brilliant. There are so many things to be said about it. SO MANY!
Of course, one of the highlights for me was the fangurl baiting. I LOVED it. First the ridiculous bungee cord one with the kissing Molly and everything. I was all weirded out by the music when it started, and when he used a bungee cord, my pathetically ridiculously pedantic brain was going "THAT'S SO DANGEROUS! HOW ON EARTH WOULD HE KNOW HE WOULDN'T SMASH HIMSELF ON THE WALL?!??!?!?!" And then he kissed Molly and I was a bit displeased, because I thought that was TOTALLY out of character. And the whole time I was hating hating hating the way the music was making the whole thing so . . . what it was. And then when Lestrade chimed in, I laughed SO HARD. And of course, the second the Sherlock/Jim version started I was in stitches. And the SERIOUSLY HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU I'M NOT GAY!? from John. I feel like if I were one of the writers of this show, I'd be a tad irritated that the vocal fandom was so intent on missing everything brilliant I was doing because of the myopic focus on Sherlock and John sleeping together. WHEN THAT NOTION WAS TRASHED IN THE FIRST EPISODE!!!!! Sometimes I'm on a fanfiction archive, and for a second I think "maybe I am crazy. Maybe they are painfully obviously gay, and I'm just blind." And then the series starts again, and I smile to myself. :) I'm fan because I'm (wildly) fanatical about the series rather than a fangurl because I fantasize about the actors, and I sometimes feel prickly about the fact that I will be associated with the latter group. SO I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Also I'm mean nasty snarkastic person. The end.)
Second, THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!!!!!!!!! This show is awesome because characters are developed consistently and subtly and realistically. There is no rush to dump all the information on us, but it comes out organically.
The insight into Sherlock and Mycroft's childhood was amazing! "You thought you were an idiot!" The playing Operation while not looking. And of course the parents showing up (I was staring and thinking "Wow, those people could really be Cumberbatch's parents." Sure enough, they actually were.) And as far as character development in the way of change/progression: When Sherlock actually made Mycroft speechless by showing that he was alone and didn't have to be -- that was amazing. Especially when he pulled out the "how do you know?" like Mycroft had used on him in A Scandal in Belgravia. It was SUCH growth for Sherlock that he is self conscious of his need for people, and that he realizes it's a good thing, rather than a weakness -- even for super-smart Mycroft. He learned a lot from John, and he learned a lot from being alone, I think. And the way he treated Molly was amazing -- especially that he said he wouldn't say anything about the way her fiance looked. :-P John has grown because he doesn't need Sherlock anymore, but he's willing to forgive him, and he knows Sherlock is good for him. Also, that he is willing to commit to Mary, rather than just randomly chasing after attractive women he doesn't take the time to know? He's not old, but he's grown up.
Speaking of Mary! MARY MARY MARY MARY!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE HER!!!!!!!!! I knew they wouldn't make her an evil witch who is the killer of bromance. But it was awesome to see it. She's a snarky one, and she cares about John, and she immediately likes Sherlock. And Sherlock thinks she's awesome the moment he stops to look. :) I'm just really worried she's going to die THIS season. Her theme music is too wistful. And I fear that in this show that is always chock full of foreshadowing, when Sherlock says "If it weren't for me you could have a life with Mary", he may be on to something. :-( But she's awesome.
Real explanation of the fall-survival was excellent. Generally the the only thing that could have happened, of course, but the part with the body like Sherlock was AWESOME. Especially as it resolved that issue in the previous episode. And THE BALL UNDER THE ARM. Or, PATRICK JANE FOR THE WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I may have cheered. :P And I love the way telling Anderson what happened was the perfect revenge, because it made him even crazier.
There were the usual Sherlock references. My faorite was The giant Rat of Sumatra. I noticed Sumatra right away, but it wasn't until the second watching that I realized Sherlock called Lord Moran "the biggest rat". :-)
I LOVED the scene where John says he forgives Sherlock. Because first off, Sherlock is such a manipulator. I was thinking, "no, he's just messing" and then I thought "WAIT MAYBE HE'S NOT!!!!!" And then he starts laughing his head off. Beautiful. So perfectly awesomely amazing.
But the best scene was when Sherlock revealed himself. The way he pulled together his disguise. THE WAY IT DIDN'T WORK THE FIRST TIME. The accent. John's BRILLIANT reaction -- when he punches the table it's actually scary. And he doesn't even know what to say, because speaking is not his forte. And then when he takes Sherlock down! (The music just made it better.) And then the development as they kicked out of each restaurant -- the way Sherlock starts to genuinely get that John is a human being with a life that doesn't have to include him, and the way Mary is starting to be on Sherlock's side that John needs to maybe get over it. I could watch it a zillion times.
Now in my headcanon Sherlock talked to John throughout the two year hiatus, by the way. :)
And then finally, if The Reichenbach Falls is Paradise Lost, The Empty Hearse is the gospels. There were so many references -- even the multiple tellings of the same story. I like that sort of organization by allusion approach to literature. I think I will be writing an actually intelligent post about that.
That's all folks. I'm sure I have much more to blather about, but I'm really hungry, so Ta Ta For Now.
When I say not deep thoughts, you have to trust me, and not read it if you don't like disjointed gasps of awe.
The Empty Hearse was brilliant. There are so many things to be said about it. SO MANY!
Of course, one of the highlights for me was the fangurl baiting. I LOVED it. First the ridiculous bungee cord one with the kissing Molly and everything. I was all weirded out by the music when it started, and when he used a bungee cord, my pathetically ridiculously pedantic brain was going "THAT'S SO DANGEROUS! HOW ON EARTH WOULD HE KNOW HE WOULDN'T SMASH HIMSELF ON THE WALL?!??!?!?!" And then he kissed Molly and I was a bit displeased, because I thought that was TOTALLY out of character. And the whole time I was hating hating hating the way the music was making the whole thing so . . . what it was. And then when Lestrade chimed in, I laughed SO HARD. And of course, the second the Sherlock/Jim version started I was in stitches. And the SERIOUSLY HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU I'M NOT GAY!? from John. I feel like if I were one of the writers of this show, I'd be a tad irritated that the vocal fandom was so intent on missing everything brilliant I was doing because of the myopic focus on Sherlock and John sleeping together. WHEN THAT NOTION WAS TRASHED IN THE FIRST EPISODE!!!!! Sometimes I'm on a fanfiction archive, and for a second I think "maybe I am crazy. Maybe they are painfully obviously gay, and I'm just blind." And then the series starts again, and I smile to myself. :) I'm fan because I'm (wildly) fanatical about the series rather than a fangurl because I fantasize about the actors, and I sometimes feel prickly about the fact that I will be associated with the latter group. SO I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Also I'm mean nasty snarkastic person. The end.)
Second, THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!!!!!!!!! This show is awesome because characters are developed consistently and subtly and realistically. There is no rush to dump all the information on us, but it comes out organically.
The insight into Sherlock and Mycroft's childhood was amazing! "You thought you were an idiot!" The playing Operation while not looking. And of course the parents showing up (I was staring and thinking "Wow, those people could really be Cumberbatch's parents." Sure enough, they actually were.) And as far as character development in the way of change/progression: When Sherlock actually made Mycroft speechless by showing that he was alone and didn't have to be -- that was amazing. Especially when he pulled out the "how do you know?" like Mycroft had used on him in A Scandal in Belgravia. It was SUCH growth for Sherlock that he is self conscious of his need for people, and that he realizes it's a good thing, rather than a weakness -- even for super-smart Mycroft. He learned a lot from John, and he learned a lot from being alone, I think. And the way he treated Molly was amazing -- especially that he said he wouldn't say anything about the way her fiance looked. :-P John has grown because he doesn't need Sherlock anymore, but he's willing to forgive him, and he knows Sherlock is good for him. Also, that he is willing to commit to Mary, rather than just randomly chasing after attractive women he doesn't take the time to know? He's not old, but he's grown up.
Speaking of Mary! MARY MARY MARY MARY!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE HER!!!!!!!!! I knew they wouldn't make her an evil witch who is the killer of bromance. But it was awesome to see it. She's a snarky one, and she cares about John, and she immediately likes Sherlock. And Sherlock thinks she's awesome the moment he stops to look. :) I'm just really worried she's going to die THIS season. Her theme music is too wistful. And I fear that in this show that is always chock full of foreshadowing, when Sherlock says "If it weren't for me you could have a life with Mary", he may be on to something. :-( But she's awesome.
Real explanation of the fall-survival was excellent. Generally the the only thing that could have happened, of course, but the part with the body like Sherlock was AWESOME. Especially as it resolved that issue in the previous episode. And THE BALL UNDER THE ARM. Or, PATRICK JANE FOR THE WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I may have cheered. :P And I love the way telling Anderson what happened was the perfect revenge, because it made him even crazier.
There were the usual Sherlock references. My faorite was The giant Rat of Sumatra. I noticed Sumatra right away, but it wasn't until the second watching that I realized Sherlock called Lord Moran "the biggest rat". :-)
I LOVED the scene where John says he forgives Sherlock. Because first off, Sherlock is such a manipulator. I was thinking, "no, he's just messing" and then I thought "WAIT MAYBE HE'S NOT!!!!!" And then he starts laughing his head off. Beautiful. So perfectly awesomely amazing.
But the best scene was when Sherlock revealed himself. The way he pulled together his disguise. THE WAY IT DIDN'T WORK THE FIRST TIME. The accent. John's BRILLIANT reaction -- when he punches the table it's actually scary. And he doesn't even know what to say, because speaking is not his forte. And then when he takes Sherlock down! (The music just made it better.) And then the development as they kicked out of each restaurant -- the way Sherlock starts to genuinely get that John is a human being with a life that doesn't have to include him, and the way Mary is starting to be on Sherlock's side that John needs to maybe get over it. I could watch it a zillion times.
Now in my headcanon Sherlock talked to John throughout the two year hiatus, by the way. :)
And then finally, if The Reichenbach Falls is Paradise Lost, The Empty Hearse is the gospels. There were so many references -- even the multiple tellings of the same story. I like that sort of organization by allusion approach to literature. I think I will be writing an actually intelligent post about that.
That's all folks. I'm sure I have much more to blather about, but I'm really hungry, so Ta Ta For Now.