A Scandal in Belgravia (review)
So I guess I'm reviewing the newest ep of Sherlock.
It's going to be (uninentionally) spoilery, I'm sure, so it's behind
First off, Belgravia is the super-expensive, super-posh district of London.
Here: Wikipedia link
Anyway, Irene Adler-episode.
And a Mycroft-episode.
And (surprisingly), a Mrs-Hudson-episode.
Unfortunately, this means that it was a John-lite episode. :(
ALL MY CREYS.
Irene Adler was...fine, I guess, but I didn't love her.
Surprised myself in liking Rachel McAdams (of the RDJude Sherlock films) much better now--she seems to succeed at Sherlock's game almost as much as he does; this Irene...doesn't.
I don't know why, but I kept on getting the impression that there was nothing special about her.
I know I'm going to be accused of having slash goggles on and therefore unable to see Irene, but I don't think it's that at all.
I just don't think Lara Pulver and Benedict Cumberbatch had enough chemistry to convince me that they were similar/in lust/whatever.
John had far fewer "emotional" scenes with Sherlock but I'm under the distinct impression (as is John's "girlfriend", as is Mrs Hudson, as is Mycroft, as is Irene herself) that John and Sherlock are in an exclusive, romantic relationship.
The sex may not be there, but the love totally is.
I also think that Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch (and of course Mark Gatiss and Rupert Graves and Andrew Scott) have vast amounts of chemistry together, and I don't think Lara Pulver fit in as well as we would have liked to the boys' club.
We needed an Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) to be brash and bright and amazing, not a quiet and submissivedominatrix Adler. Or perhaps someone like Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), someone quietly amazing and steadfast who slips under our defenses until we almost like him more than the showrunner.
Don't get me wrong, as a character I thought she was fine.
But was Irene Adler, THE WOMAN (from Sherlock's mouth)?
No.
(Still waiting on an Irene Adler who is in fact a long-lost Holmes relative. Sister, maybe. I might have to write this, huh?)
The plot moved along at a swift clip; there wasn't much in the way of mystery (do I hear "A Game of Shadows" comparisons?); not enough John/Sherlock interaction, but what there was, was glorious.
Example: Sherlock is in a snit because of a lack of interesting cases. He decides to NOT go out of his house for less than a 7 (on the interesting scale), so John goes in his stead, carrying a laptop with webcam. Sherlock hasn't even bothered to get dressed, and is lounging around the flat in a bedsheet. (A rather large bedsheet, in fact.)
I get the impression that Sherlock wasn't wearing anything when John left that morning, but John put his foot firmly down and told Sherlock that there would be no webcamming unless Sherlock put on some clothes. So.
Sherlock gets kidnapped by some Mycroft associates but refuses to get dressed.
John also gets kidnapped by helicopter.
The end up in a palace (Buckingham, I think).
John walks in on Sherlock, still in bedclothes, and they communicate (silently), that neither knows what's going on. (Sherlock's foot twitches. It's adorable.)
They sit down together on a couch.
They are quiet for a bit (John looking around, Sherlock retreated into himself), when John looks down at Sherlock's lap.
John: You wearing any pants? (In britspeak, this probably refers to "underwear")
Sherlock: Mmm..no.
John: Okay. (Clearly taking it in stride.)
About five seconds pass, then they both start giggling like schoolboys.
Later:
John: What are we doing here Sherlock, seriously.
Here to see the queen?
(In walks Mycroft.)
Sherlock: Apparently yes.
(They start gigggling uncontrollably again.)
Also, Mycroft steps on Sherlock's sheet when he tries to walk out without taking the case.
IT IS AS AMAZING AS YOU PROBABLY THINK.
Sherlock ends up at Irene's house; she's naked, in an attempt to tell Sherlock nothing about herself.
Um...yeah, that doesn't really work. (For the viewers, that is. It works fine (against) for Sherlock.
Irene has some telling photographs, like you do, of people in compromising positions. She's a dominatrix, of course she does.
Um...yeah.
Sherlock saves Irene, later, after she's presumed dead (really this time) for the second time.
Dunno if it's implied that Mycroft knows, but I think not.
I do think John might.
(Also, this episode seems to take place over the course of 6-8 months. WTAF?)
Next week is Hound of the Baskervilles, which will hopefully be infinitely better. With an actual mystery, wot wot.
Finally, a few final notes:
1. Sherlock knows who James Bond is, or at least that James Bond = 007 (this makes sense in context). Meaning either: John and Sherlock sat down and watched some Bond movies (they have Netflix?) or Sherlock watched them when he was much younger. (Mycroft confesses that Sherlock wanted to be a pirate, so, not too far off, right?)
2. The text message alert from Irene (sorta sounds like a female orgasm-moan--no, I'm not kidding) was brilliant and a great way of showing where Sherlock was. (Irene texts Sherlock, hears the sound, goes "OH!", like you do (and like the text message alert) and is saved. Repeatedly.
3. I would be happy to never see her again unless they made her awesome/have chemistry with Sherlock. Or put Sherlock in a committed, public relationship with John, and that's why they don't have chemistry. (She just didn't seem that brilliant.)
4. The solution for the Mexican standoff from the ending of The Great Game was in character and awesome and wonderful and Moriarty is a crazy motherfucker.
5. Cumberbatch has said he doesn't want to do another series, so this will probably be the last time we see him as Sherlock. THERE BETTER BE A HAPPY ENDING AT THE END OF REICHENBACH, DAMMIT.
Holy shit, only 2 more weeks until no more new Sherlock EVER.
*goes in a corner to cry*
WHAT NEXT MOFFAT/GATISS? SOMETHING WONDERFUL, PLZKTHX, WHILE WE WAIT FOR NEW DOCTOR WHO (Fall 2012)
It's going to be (uninentionally) spoilery, I'm sure, so it's behind
First off, Belgravia is the super-expensive, super-posh district of London.
Here: Wikipedia link
Anyway, Irene Adler-episode.
And a Mycroft-episode.
And (surprisingly), a Mrs-Hudson-episode.
Unfortunately, this means that it was a John-lite episode. :(
ALL MY CREYS.
Irene Adler was...fine, I guess, but I didn't love her.
Surprised myself in liking Rachel McAdams (of the RDJude Sherlock films) much better now--she seems to succeed at Sherlock's game almost as much as he does; this Irene...doesn't.
I don't know why, but I kept on getting the impression that there was nothing special about her.
I know I'm going to be accused of having slash goggles on and therefore unable to see Irene, but I don't think it's that at all.
I just don't think Lara Pulver and Benedict Cumberbatch had enough chemistry to convince me that they were similar/in lust/whatever.
John had far fewer "emotional" scenes with Sherlock but I'm under the distinct impression (as is John's "girlfriend", as is Mrs Hudson, as is Mycroft, as is Irene herself) that John and Sherlock are in an exclusive, romantic relationship.
The sex may not be there, but the love totally is.
I also think that Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch (and of course Mark Gatiss and Rupert Graves and Andrew Scott) have vast amounts of chemistry together, and I don't think Lara Pulver fit in as well as we would have liked to the boys' club.
We needed an Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) to be brash and bright and amazing, not a quiet and submissivedominatrix Adler. Or perhaps someone like Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), someone quietly amazing and steadfast who slips under our defenses until we almost like him more than the showrunner.
Don't get me wrong, as a character I thought she was fine.
But was Irene Adler, THE WOMAN (from Sherlock's mouth)?
No.
(Still waiting on an Irene Adler who is in fact a long-lost Holmes relative. Sister, maybe. I might have to write this, huh?)
The plot moved along at a swift clip; there wasn't much in the way of mystery (do I hear "A Game of Shadows" comparisons?); not enough John/Sherlock interaction, but what there was, was glorious.
Example: Sherlock is in a snit because of a lack of interesting cases. He decides to NOT go out of his house for less than a 7 (on the interesting scale), so John goes in his stead, carrying a laptop with webcam. Sherlock hasn't even bothered to get dressed, and is lounging around the flat in a bedsheet. (A rather large bedsheet, in fact.)
I get the impression that Sherlock wasn't wearing anything when John left that morning, but John put his foot firmly down and told Sherlock that there would be no webcamming unless Sherlock put on some clothes. So.
Sherlock gets kidnapped by some Mycroft associates but refuses to get dressed.
John also gets kidnapped by helicopter.
The end up in a palace (Buckingham, I think).
John walks in on Sherlock, still in bedclothes, and they communicate (silently), that neither knows what's going on. (Sherlock's foot twitches. It's adorable.)
They sit down together on a couch.
They are quiet for a bit (John looking around, Sherlock retreated into himself), when John looks down at Sherlock's lap.
John: You wearing any pants? (In britspeak, this probably refers to "underwear")
Sherlock: Mmm..no.
John: Okay. (Clearly taking it in stride.)
About five seconds pass, then they both start giggling like schoolboys.
Later:
John: What are we doing here Sherlock, seriously.
Here to see the queen?
(In walks Mycroft.)
Sherlock: Apparently yes.
(They start gigggling uncontrollably again.)
Also, Mycroft steps on Sherlock's sheet when he tries to walk out without taking the case.
IT IS AS AMAZING AS YOU PROBABLY THINK.
Sherlock ends up at Irene's house; she's naked, in an attempt to tell Sherlock nothing about herself.
Um...yeah, that doesn't really work. (For the viewers, that is. It works fine (against) for Sherlock.
Irene has some telling photographs, like you do, of people in compromising positions. She's a dominatrix, of course she does.
Um...yeah.
Sherlock saves Irene, later, after she's presumed dead (really this time) for the second time.
Dunno if it's implied that Mycroft knows, but I think not.
I do think John might.
(Also, this episode seems to take place over the course of 6-8 months. WTAF?)
Next week is Hound of the Baskervilles, which will hopefully be infinitely better. With an actual mystery, wot wot.
Finally, a few final notes:
1. Sherlock knows who James Bond is, or at least that James Bond = 007 (this makes sense in context). Meaning either: John and Sherlock sat down and watched some Bond movies (they have Netflix?) or Sherlock watched them when he was much younger. (Mycroft confesses that Sherlock wanted to be a pirate, so, not too far off, right?)
2. The text message alert from Irene (sorta sounds like a female orgasm-moan--no, I'm not kidding) was brilliant and a great way of showing where Sherlock was. (Irene texts Sherlock, hears the sound, goes "OH!", like you do (and like the text message alert) and is saved. Repeatedly.
3. I would be happy to never see her again unless they made her awesome/have chemistry with Sherlock. Or put Sherlock in a committed, public relationship with John, and that's why they don't have chemistry. (She just didn't seem that brilliant.)
4. The solution for the Mexican standoff from the ending of The Great Game was in character and awesome and wonderful and Moriarty is a crazy motherfucker.
5. Cumberbatch has said he doesn't want to do another series, so this will probably be the last time we see him as Sherlock. THERE BETTER BE A HAPPY ENDING AT THE END OF REICHENBACH, DAMMIT.
Holy shit, only 2 more weeks until no more new Sherlock EVER.
*goes in a corner to cry*
WHAT NEXT MOFFAT/GATISS? SOMETHING WONDERFUL, PLZKTHX, WHILE WE WAIT FOR NEW DOCTOR WHO (Fall 2012)