Why does this show think we care about the cases of the week? Literally please just give me an entire episode about Sherlock's past, his mother and father... I would love to watch that. Let's dive in.
Cons:
I'm of two minds about Joan's role in this episode. There were hints of her learning and developing her skills, but Sherlock still solved everything in the main case. I always wish that her insights could lead to the answers a bit more often. And then the subplot gave a lot of really interesting nuance and detail to Sherlock's character, and it just reminded me that we haven't seen much of that with Joan. I just wish we could get more development with her!
The case itself involved Triad Chinese gangs, a mortician with an amazing mask-making ability, and a old folk's home that was tied to the mob. While I appreciated many things about the case, I also thought some of the stuff was a little silly. The inner politics of the Triad groups weren't really addressed, and one of the two guilty parties was sort of confusingly given a sympathetic reception by Joan and the others, despite the fact that he murdered three people in cold blood. If they had spent some time delving in to the moral ambiguities of some of this stuff, maybe it would have been interesting. But I'm sorry... just because a guy is dying doesn't give him permission to murder people, no matter who they are.
Pros:
The social commentary in this show is often really interesting to me. I admire the fact that they don't really pull their punches. For example, when Joan and Sherlock are questioning gang members, they get snappy responses that basically boil down to: "if the police were competent, there wouldn't be gang activity and people wouldn't need to turn to alternative sources for protection." It's a damn good point. Also, there was the horrifying moment when you learn that the mobs are preying on the fortunes of the elderly and dying by getting them to donate money to a phony charity that puts money into the pockets of the Triad.
I did like that this episode had sort of a two-tiered villain system going on. The first villain was the guy who committed the murders, but once he's confessed, there's a second bad guy to take down, this one for helping the members of the Triad take advantage of people in the old folk's home. I liked the fact that finding the murderer wasn't enough to solve the whole case.
The best thing about the A-plot was the character of Bai May-Lung, an elderly "grandmother" of one of the Chinese mobs. She was just so saucy and rude to everybody. She had that "I'm old so I don't have to be tactful" thing going, and it was executed brilliantly.
But as is true almost always with this show, the subplot is what holds my interest. In this one, Sherlock and Joan find Morland's dead girlfriend Sabine's daughter, and they steal from her house to try and do more research. Sherlock is convinced that Sabine may have been in on the assassination attempt on his father, whether intentionally or not. Morland reveals to Sherlock that he feels responsible for Sabine's death, and is in fact still in touch with her daughter. This sparks a conversation about the people who Morland has let down, and we finally learn the truth about Sherlock's mother, May.
Turns out, Morland divorced her and she ended up living in a terrible run-down flat, which burned up with her inside it. Sherlock has never forgiven his father for this. Morland confides in Sherlock that May was an addict, and that he begged her to get help, finally deciding to leave her as a last resort. He says that he did it for selfish reasons, not because he really thought she would get better if he cut her off. He'll never forgive himself. Sherlock says that it doesn't change anything about their relationship.
There are so many incredible complexities with Sherlock's backstory. In most other shows, the revelation about Sherlock's mother's addiction might have been the focus, but Sherlock says it merely gives him a marginally better understanding of his own behavior. It doesn't change what his father did, and it doesn't repair all of the damage it cost. I feel sympathy for Morland, and I understand how heartbreaking it must be for him to understand his son's affections are out of reach forever. But at the same time, I deeply respect Sherlock's point of view. Just because Morland revealed May's addiction, it doesn't excuse the fact that she's dead, and Morland was the one who kicked her out.
I think my favorite moment of this subplot was when Sherlock came back to talk to his father about the files he'd been shown regarding his mother's stints in rehab. "Did you give me this just to be horrible?" Sherlock asks. "Or did you think it would change anything?" It was a bleakly humorous line that did a lot to underscore the fact that Sherlock is not going to be making up with dear old dad any time soon.
I also loved the moment when Sherlock confided in Joan about his mother. As viewers, we take it for granted now that Sherlock and Joan are as close as they could possibly be. They respect and love each other deeply, and will have each other's backs no matter what. When Sherlock does tell Joan about his mother, he seems almost surprised that he hadn't already told her about this. It's just really difficult for him to talk about - his silence isn't because he doesn't trust Joan with the most vulnerable parts of himself. Johnny Lee Miller gave a heartbreaking performance during the moment when he told Joan the story. He has such a way with understated grief and pain.
That's all I've got. I wish we could nix the cases of the week for a while and dive in to the meatier stuff with Sherlock's father. I also wish Joan could be brought into the main story a bit more. But as a stand-alone installment, this episode had a lot of great stuff to offer.
8/10
Turns out, Morland divorced her and she ended up living in a terrible run-down flat, which burned up with her inside it. Sherlock has never forgiven his father for this. Morland confides in Sherlock that May was an addict, and that he begged her to get help, finally deciding to leave her as a last resort. He says that he did it for selfish reasons, not because he really thought she would get better if he cut her off. He'll never forgive himself. Sherlock says that it doesn't change anything about their relationship.
There are so many incredible complexities with Sherlock's backstory. In most other shows, the revelation about Sherlock's mother's addiction might have been the focus, but Sherlock says it merely gives him a marginally better understanding of his own behavior. It doesn't change what his father did, and it doesn't repair all of the damage it cost. I feel sympathy for Morland, and I understand how heartbreaking it must be for him to understand his son's affections are out of reach forever. But at the same time, I deeply respect Sherlock's point of view. Just because Morland revealed May's addiction, it doesn't excuse the fact that she's dead, and Morland was the one who kicked her out.
I think my favorite moment of this subplot was when Sherlock came back to talk to his father about the files he'd been shown regarding his mother's stints in rehab. "Did you give me this just to be horrible?" Sherlock asks. "Or did you think it would change anything?" It was a bleakly humorous line that did a lot to underscore the fact that Sherlock is not going to be making up with dear old dad any time soon.
I also loved the moment when Sherlock confided in Joan about his mother. As viewers, we take it for granted now that Sherlock and Joan are as close as they could possibly be. They respect and love each other deeply, and will have each other's backs no matter what. When Sherlock does tell Joan about his mother, he seems almost surprised that he hadn't already told her about this. It's just really difficult for him to talk about - his silence isn't because he doesn't trust Joan with the most vulnerable parts of himself. Johnny Lee Miller gave a heartbreaking performance during the moment when he told Joan the story. He has such a way with understated grief and pain.
That's all I've got. I wish we could nix the cases of the week for a while and dive in to the meatier stuff with Sherlock's father. I also wish Joan could be brought into the main story a bit more. But as a stand-alone installment, this episode had a lot of great stuff to offer.
8/10
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