Sherlock Lives

 

With Sherlock Season 3 only 7 days away, Al takes a look back at the series so far, and asks what reasons he could have to return?

When we left Sherlock he was a bloody mess on the ground, then a corpse in the ground but then camera pans back and he is standing on the ground watching his best mate mourn his death.
So one must wonder… is Sherlock some kind of masochist or does he have the best comedic timing in the world? 

It has been nearly two years since it adorned our TV and people have been speculating like crazy how such a thing could be accomplished, “How did Sherlock survive?” has been on the tip of many a fans tongue but people are missing the point, its not how did he commit such a good fake death (at least better than John Darwin) but why has he decided to come back.
If you remember the reasons he apparently jumped from the roof of the hospital is because there was no other choice, if he didn’t die then the hit men around his loved ones would snatch the life right out of them. In a moment of pure love and compassion Sherlock “gave his life” so that his friends could live.
So why come back? What’s to say the hit men aren’t still out there?

Well one could assume that they were paid to kill these people unless Sherlock died and when he did the contract was over but lets face it Moriarty is supposed to be as smart as Sherlock. A Sherlock from a different time and place, a different set of circumstances leading him to the life of the criminal instead of the hero, with that in mind would this Lex Luthor type criminal really make it so easy, would he not have put in place countermeasures or was he really the kind of megalomaniac who believes he had it all figured out.

The question still beckons, why is Sherlock back?
What motives does he have?

From the trailers for season 3 it looks like John Watson has moved on with his life as well as everyone else, they have come to accept his death and just when it seems everyone can settle back into life he comes waltzing back in, well dressed with his floppy hair expecting everyone to just accept it?

John misses his best friend but when Sherlock didn’t suddenly appear within a couple of months he would be at least comfortable in the knowledge his friend was having a well deserved rest.
When John first met Sherlock he was in a fragile state, coming back from Afghanistan injured and honourably discharged from the Army, he was a man without a home, without hope and with some psychological problems.
He then meets this wonderful man who is brash, abrasive but somewhat loveable, this man is able to deduce even the most random of facts about John from one look.
This was John’s saviour, the thing that made him feel alive again.
During the premier episode ‘A study in Pink’ John went from wonderment to worry within a short space of time, it was apparent that Sherlock didn’t know when to stop and when up against a taxi driver serial killer with nothing to lose Sherlock was willing to put his life on the line when suddenly saved by a bullet.
John was not willing to let his new friend kill himself to prove a point and in doing so probably saved Sherlock.

During the second episode ‘The Blind Banker’ John started dating but found out its not easy having a woman around Sherlock who will deduce them into dust, revealing all the intricacies and secrets a woman keeps, something which John mentions he doesn’t want to know.
Also the life of solving crimes with Sherlock often lands you in some strange situations e.g. being kidnapped by Chinese thugs looking for a jade hairpin.

Then comes ‘The Great Game’, the revelation of Moriarty, the greatest criminal Sherlock has ever faced and possibly will ever face. Sherlock and John must race against time to stop Moriarty who has adorned people around the city with explosive vests and challenges Sherlock to a game.
Of course Sherlock beats him but not before a final surprise. John has been kidnapped once more, this time it is he who wears an explosive vest and this could be the end of a beautiful friendship.

Especially as it ends with Sherlock pointing a gun at the explosive vest which now lies on the floor.

BOOM!!!! And the lads escape to save another day.
The second season was less about John; the first season had cemented John and Sherlock as fast friends who trust each other. This doesn’t mean John would never be in danger again, quite the contrary.

‘A Scandal in Belgravia’ showed the softer side of Sherlock, the awkward aloof Sherlock when faced with the wonderful and very sure of herself Irene Adler.
It may seem that Sherlock is perplexed most of the episode but he is merely a man clouded by love? Lust? Infatuation?

That is until you find out he saves Irene in the end then you are pretty sure of the emotion he is feeling.

John would once again be in trouble during ‘The Hounds of the Baskerville’ this time directly put in it by Sherlock. During the case they were investigating a giant hound near the Baskerville military lab, Sherlock has a hypothesis that the hound is a hallucination caused by some weapon that they have been developing, breaking into the lab John and Sherlock separate and John is locked in a lab and attacked by the hound but it is later revealed that Sherlock had dosed him with the toxin in order to test out his theory, some friend.

Then comes ‘The Reichenbach Fall’ where Sherlock is tested once more by Moriarty who is out to discredit Sherlock to his friends and family, tear down the house that Sherlock built so to speak.
This time everyone would be in danger and Sherlock having known it all along set a large plan into motion to fake his own death to save his friends.

The point is Sherlock’s friends don’t really need him; he gets in the way, makes things awkward and always has to be better than them. The thing is their lives are so much emptier without him but this is not why he is back.
He may not admit it, and will never show it but Sherlock needs these people in his life. He may put them in danger but he would never harm them, in ‘The Hounds of Baskerville’ he made sure John was safely locked in the lab before dosing him in.

We can be sure there will be a lot of surprise when he comes back, a lot of anger too but I’m sure in time they will be glad of his return.

This is all speculation and he could just be back to cause everyone a bit of grief but in my humble opinion it is because he missed his friends and we know they missed the excitement and death defying moments that come with being friends with Sherlock, never a dull moment one would say.

Sherlock returns to our screens in the UK on BBC One at 9pm on New Years Day, and a 7 minute prequel episode “Many Happy Returns” will be available on the BBC Iplayer sometime on Christmas eve, once available you can use this link to view it.