Sherlock: The Six Thatchers (4x01)

Rarely have I been so conflicted about an episode of a TV show. I feel like a mixed reaction is inevitable when you wait three years for something. This show has the problem that while it was busy hiatus-ing and making all of its key players into superstars, another modern-day Sherlock Holmes adaption came along that is arguably better in almost every way. But we're not here to talk about Elementary, or about living in Sherlock's prolonged hiatus hell. We're here to talk about "The Six Thatchers," an episode with some great moments and phenomenal acting, but some off-putting developments to say the least.

Cons:

Okay, so let's start with the big one: Mary dies. On the one hand, this isn't a surprise, for many reasons. Mary dies in ACD's canon, and the story of Sherlock Holmes is, at its core, a story about Holmes and Watson. There's also the fact that Moffat has never successfully pulled off a character arc for a female character, or at least not that I'm aware of. So yeah, I guess I'm not surprised. But I'm still disappointed. The shifting dynamics between Mary, John, and Sherlock were really, really interesting. I think Mary got let off the hook for shooting Sherlock just a little too quickly last season, but that could have been explored here. We have John ostensibly engaging in an affair, which is despicable, but is this a manifestation of lingering resentment because Mary lied to him? Or, even more interestingly, a manifestation of his jealousy, since Sherlock openly remarks that Mary is better at working cases than John is? He should be thrilled that his best friend and his wife get along so well, but is he really? Or is John being forced to choose between a life of thrill and a life of convention, represented by two people he really loves? Or is Sherlock forced to learn to share his best friend, the only person he's ever really let in, with somebody just as clever and engaging as himself?

I could go on. All of those elements made for this trio being a really compelling one to explore. But what did we get? Mary is killed off as the result of a standard revenge plot. Mary's past catches up with her, she tries to run, Sherlock brings her back to London, Sherlock mouths off to the secret baddie, Mary jumps in front of a bullet meant for Sherlock, and dies in John's arms. What I think is so frustrating about this is that, on its surface, this could have been a fulfilling arc for Mary. And yet somehow, even in the instant of her death, this becomes about Sherlock and John. Why did Mary die for Sherlock? Well, they're friends, and I get the sense that she felt like a violent end was inevitable for her. All great things that could have been explored more. Instead, we get John blaming Sherlock, and pushing him away.

All of this, by the way, is excellent angst-fodder for those of us (myself included) who want to see Sherlock and John at odds so we can watch their emotional bond regrow. But that doesn't change the fact that Mary was actually an interesting, intelligent, dynamic character who really added something to the show as a whole, and she's just been fridged for the development of male angst. That's never not going to piss me off, and it's particularly hard to stomach from Moffat, a man pretty much infamous for fridging the ladies.

Also, let's talk about John for a hot second. Above, I mentioned that John is having an affair in this episode. All may not be as it seems, of course, but I think we can safely assume that he at least has been having an emotional affair of sorts with a woman he met on a bus. As I mentioned above, there could be something interesting going on here - John resenting Mary for the lies, John feeling insecure in his marriage because of how close Sherlock and Mary are becoming, John feeling restless with his normal happy little family... but that's not what we get. We get John Watson, a guy who lords his moral superiority over everybody, cheating on his wife. His wife who just had a baby. Like... what? Ew. I don't want to rage about this for too long, because there's this part of me that thinks I'm missing information, and that there will be a twist in here somewhere wherein we get a better explanation for John's behavior. But as is? Yikes.

So, John's initial reaction of anger and grief over Mary's death is perfectly acceptable. He is furious at Sherlock because he "made a vow" to protect them, and now Mary is dead. Okay, yeah. I can get that. But you would think that after some time passed, John would realize that Sherlock is not actually a mythical being capable of planning for every contingency. You would think that John would come to accept that Mary's past caught up with her, and that even if Sherlock might have been able to do something to prevent this, it wasn't his fault. The fact that John told Molly to send Sherlock away just breaks my heart. Like I said earlier, this is great angst-fodder. But is it realistic behavior from John Watson, the man who forgave Sherlock for lying to him about being dead for two years, in a matter of days? Riddle me this one: what if Mary hadn't jumped in front of Sherlock? What if Sherlock had taken that bullet and died? Would John have blamed Mary for getting Sherlock entangled in her past, leading to his death? I'm not blaming Mary for her own death, here. But I'm just saying - there's just as much reason to point the finger at her as there is to point it at Sherlock. This is another situation where I think I need to wait and see how it plays out. What's in that letter that John wrote to Sherlock? Maybe he will come around and stop blaming Sherlock for things that aren't his fault. The jury is out, folks.

Pros:

Despite everything I just wrote, this episode was still worth the wait. Even if the biggest plot development of the night left me with a really sour taste in my mouth, I still have so much to say in praise of this collective effort. There are acting kudos to give out, there are script moments to praise, and I won't let a couple of big things overshadow all of the awesomeness this episode truly did have to offer.

I've basically already told the plot, insofar as this episode even had a standard plot. Mary's past comes back to haunt her as one of her fellow assassins believes that she betrayed their group six years ago. The mastermind behind the betrayal is eventually revealed to be a secretary, who then shoots at Sherlock for mouthing off, while Lestrade, Mycroft, and a whole host of law enforcement look on. Mary takes the bullet. John shows up just in time to hold her in his arms as she dies. One of the weird things about this episode that I actually quite enjoyed was how all over the place it seemed in the beginning. We're seeing Sherlock working manically on cases, we're seeing John and Mary welcoming baby Rosamund into their lives (Rosamond is Mary's real name, by the way), we see Mycroft and his fellow government-running secret agent people pardoning Sherlock for killing Magnussen, we see worry about what Moriarty might be up to, and then somebody starts smashing Margaret Thatcher busts and things start to coalesce into an A-plot. It's weird and it's messy and for whatever reason, it actually works for me.

I like seeing the chaos of these character's lives. I liked the moment when Sherlock and John were off on a case, and John realizes he's got like 50 missed calls from Mary, as she's gone into labor. Sherlock remarks "we're in trouble." I like that Sherlock is made Rosie's godfather, despite his ineptitude for ordinary social interaction. I liked seeing Sherlock babysitting Rosie. I liked the hints we got here of Lestrade, Molly, and Mrs. Hudson, even if they were mostly background characters. It felt sort of like we were just seeing the whirlwind of these characters' lives, without the need for structure until things started to narrow to a focus. For whatever reason, and I'm sorry I'm having such a hard time articulating that reason, the pacing of this episode really worked for me.

Best character of the week? Mycroft Holmes. I'm more convinced than ever that Mycroft is going to die, if not this season, then definitely by the end of the show. Although we don't see this stated explicitly, there's an implication here that Mycroft's predictions from last season's "The Sign of Three" are coming true: he and Sherlock seem to be spending more and more time together. There seems to be less animosity and more trust between them than ever before, as Sherlock depends on his brother to believe his word and investigate one of his colleagues, and Sherlock goes to Mycroft to get help in keeping his vow of protecting Mary, John, and their child. If I were writing this show, I'd be setting Mycroft up as more and more of a true support system for Sherlock, so that his death would pack an appropriately big punch. I'm dreading being right about this.

Continuing a theme from last season's finale, we see that Sherlock is embracing his humanity more and more, while Mycroft remains aloof. Sherlock shows Mycroft a picture of baby Rosie on his phone, and Mycroft has nothing to say other than that the child looks "fully functioning." Sherlock seems disappointed, asking Mycroft "is that really the best you can do?" I love that we see Sherlock making a real effort for John and his family, even though this sort of human connection doesn't come naturally to him. Mycroft, on the other hand, doesn't appear to have made any effort whatsoever. An interesting thread to pull!

As I mentioned before, some of our other characters didn't really get a lot of screen time, but I still admired the characterization they did receive. Molly was gently chastising of Sherlock when he was texting during Rosie's baptism. She was named a godparent, along with both Mrs. Hudson and Sherlock. Not sure why they were allowed three godparents, but whatever! I love that Molly was included! Mrs. Hudson was given a great deal of respect, especially when Sherlock told her to keep him in check if he seemed too arrogant or sure of himself. The fact that Sherlock would ask Mrs. Hudson to police him in this way shows how much he trusts her. Lestrade spent the episode quietly annoyed at his difficult work situation. See, Sherlock insists on not taking credit for every case he solves, meaning that Lestrade gets the official credit. But then, of course, John blogs about it, so everybody who follows this sort of thing knows that Sherlock was actually the brains behind the operation. It makes Lestrade look like an egomaniac who insists on getting credit even when he doesn't deserve it. I liked this comedic little thread, because it raised some more serious questions about Sherlock's work. Does he like getting the credit? I mean, he certainly likes showing off, right? Poor Lestrade, that's all I can say!

Let's talk about Mary. For all that her death feels like a letdown, Amanda Abbington gave a truly incredible performance, and that deserves to be talked about. Her love for John feels genuine, but so does her past as an assassin. Her connection to her fellow assassins feels real, even though we're just learning about them for the first time. Her decision to jump in front of a bullet feels right for her character. She both acted on emotional instinct and made a calculated decision. It was a very... Sherlockian thing for her to do, and does go a long way towards redeeming her for her betrayal in the last season. As sad as I am to lose the dynamic between Mary and the two leads, I guess if she had to be killed off, this was about as good as it was going to get.

John's character took a bit of an ethical beating this week, as I've discussed, what with his cruelty towards his best friend even after the initial grief has worn off, and his infidelity, and all of that. But Martin Freeman still deserves all the props for his incredibly delicate portrayal of John Watson. He balances the comedy with the drama as seamlessly as ever. Highlights include John asking Sherlock to be the godfather of baby Rosie, John substituting himself with a balloon to act as a stand-in for Sherlock to talk to, and John's flummoxed expression upon hearing that Sherlock considers Mary better at case work than John. And, of course, on the drama side of things, his reaction to Mary's death was just as heart-rending as you would expect. It was hard to watch, honestly.

This episode, more-so perhaps than any other single episode this show has ever done, acted as a character study of Sherlock Holmes. As I'll discuss during these last few paragraphs of the review, it's this that saves the episode from too harsh of a critique. I'm super salty about Mary's death, but if you look at this episode for what it does for its main character, it's... well, it's stunning. If you think back to Series One or even Series Two, the show really featured John Watson as the protagonist, and Sherlock as the center of the A-plot, if that makes sense. Series Three began to mix things up in this regard, and now, Series Four contains this episode, which takes a comprehensive look at Sherlock Holmes. His flaws, his strengths, what he values, and what he cares about. We see him try to make a change, try and fail to keep promises, and, at the end, begin to examine his choices and his behavior in a way we've yet to see from him.

First of all, we see that he's making a real effort to be there for his friend and his new family. He texts rudely during the christening, of course, but this takes on a much more melancholy edge when you consider what Sherlock tells Mrs. Hudson at the end of the episode, about work being the best antidote to grief. He's keeping himself busy. Why? Because he's afraid of Moriarty? Because he's bored? Well, sure, both of those things to some extent. But I think he's also keeping himself busy to avoid thinking about all the changes going on. The fact that John and Sherlock carried on, business as usual, while Mary was pregnant doesn't mean that things can keep going indefinitely. Sherlock is visibly trying to adjust to his new reality, taking care of baby Rosie and even showing her off to his brother.

He's also being more open and honest with John than ever before. We saw in last season's wedding episode that Sherlock was willing to express his love and deep affection for John. But that was at a wedding. In the everyday chaos of life, it would probably be all too easy for Sherlock to slip back into old and indifferent habits. There's lots of evidence to suggest that making John feel important is a real priority to Sherlock. He tells him that he values his contributions. He compares John to the dog Toby, saying he's "slow but steady" and knows what he wants. John remarks: "you just like this dog, don't you?" and Sherlock says: "well, I like you." There's just something so sincere and honest about that. I saw real effort on Sherlock's part to soften the edges of his harsh personality, solely for the sake of growing the affection between himself and John. And it's not just John, either! He actually makes an effort to learn Lestrade's first name, even if he does forget it a few more times. This active effort is really endearing.

But, of course, Sherlock still has a big problem. He gets too focused on his cases. He gets too caught up in his own brilliance, and he can fail to be compassionate because of that. It's what leads him to be dismissive of the family that loses their son, in favor of the more interesting mystery of the smashed Thatcher bust. It's what leads him to show off with deductions to such an extent that our bad guy of the evening ends up shooting at him, costing Mary her life.

And here's where we get the incredible, remarkable thing that makes this episode such a gift. Benedict Cumberbatch's acting is always a treat to watch, but that moment when Mary was dying, that look on his face... oh boy. We then learn that he's been having a recurring nightmare. How do we know this? Well, he talks about it with his therapist. That's right. Sherlock Holmes is talking to a therapist. He expressly informs said therapist that he's there because he needs to know what to do about John. He asks Mrs. Hudson to help keep him in check if he gets too cocky in the future. John has just told him that he's at fault for Mary's death. He believes that to be true, and takes immediate steps to learn how to change himself so that nothing like this will ever happen again. It's... I mean... wow. These last few scenes are just so gut-wrenching and complicated and everything else in between. All of Series Three and all of this episode showed me that Sherlock Holmes will do anything, anything for John Watson. He'd die for him, become a criminal for him, even write a best man speech and throw him a stag party. And he made a vow to protect the Watsons. The fact that he broke that vow, however unintentionally, has fundamentally changed him as a person, and I think we're really going to see the ramifications of that.

I'll end with Mary, again. She leaves a video message for Sherlock, to be delivered to him in the event of her death. She tells him to "Save John Watson." She also says, in a brief moment after the credits: "Go to Hell, Sherlock." It's an odd message, to say the least. Does she mean "Save John Watson" just in the generic sense, as in save him from his grief over losing Mary? Or is there a specific threat at work here? And what's with the "Go to Hell?" My guess is that she's referring to a place - a town or a city or something called "Hell." It was just too weird and pointed not to mean something else. Mary is clever, and she's not cruel, and she likes Sherlock. In her final moments, she did not blame Sherlock at all for what had happened. She wouldn't just be randomly telling him to go to Hell.

I guess I should wrap up this review. It's always impossible to talk about this show with any kind of brevity, but since it comes around so rarely, that's alright. My thoughts are difficult to articulate, as you might be able to guess by all my rambling on. I am annoyed, on principle, with Mary's death. In execution, it was done about as well as I could have hoped. I am frustrated with John Watson's behavior, but I'm holding out hope that there's more to this than I currently understand. I'm delighted with Sherlock's character development, but annoyed that Mary had to die to get us there. I'm happy with Mycroft's expanding role in events, but wish we could have had more Molly, Mrs. Hudson, and Lestrade. As I prepare to boil down my thoughts into a rating out of ten, I'm forced to admit that I enjoyed watching this episode quite a lot. The good does outweigh the bad.

8/10