Sherlock 4.3 "The Final Problem" Review

Contains Spoilers

The Final Problem did indeed pose a final dilemma and a final possible outcome and solution.  With Mycroft (Mark Gatiss) having to come clean about the Holmes family having a sister and how Sherlock's memories were altered to make him forget.  As Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) and John (Martin Freeman) engage in an elaborate plan in his home to make him see this and bring in a girl and a clown to scare Mycroft into confessing the truth.  All John's idea, as he tells them about John being shot by his shrink with a tranquilizer.  John telling him if he wants to be safe he knows where to come: 221B.  Which he does and Mrs Hudson (Una Stubbs) says if he wants them to listen to him he has to sit on that chair, even if he's not a client, as he says.  Which he does and if he wants a cup of tea, Mrs Hudsona advises the kettle is over there and he should make it himself.  During all this taking place, is the plane in the air with the little girl, who really wasn't so little, so how come she didn't know a pilot flies a plane, not a driver.  Anyway she's the only one awake and everyone else is knocked out.  She needs help and hears a phone ringing which she picks up and hears Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott) introduce himself.

Mycroft tells them about Sherrinford, being a place where she's been locked up all these years.  How there was seven years between Sherlock and him and a year between Sherlock and Eurus.  John a adding that makes Sherlock a middle child, which explains a lot.  She was clever and as intelligent as them, as Mycroft sates it, but she was merely a thinker, unemotional and having no concept of right or wrong.  She used to sing a song.  Which they didn't understand.  Taking his dog Redbeard and causing Sherlock to search for him.  But he couldn't find him.  Mycroft also mentioning the cemetery with the funny graves where Sherlock was fascinated as the dates were all wrong.  The window crashes and a drone flies in with a bomb that Mycroft says they manufacture.  It's armed and the motion detector is set so they can't move to get it.  Mrs Hudson vacuums and they need for her to finish as she puts it away it the shed.  John mentions that the quote Mycroft stated about how "the truth is rarely pure and never simple" is from Oscar Wilde's, The Importance of Being Earnest, again as we know and they both studied it at school.  Mycroft played Lady Bracknell in the production and Sherlock thought he was rather good.  As Mycroft also tells him Eurus wasn't right in the head and she burned down their home and had to be taken away.  She also cut herself to see how her muscles worked.

Sherlock says he and John will jump out the window and Mycroft has to take the stairs and rescue Mrs Hudson too, cos he's the closest, which is what they do. The bomb explodes.  John and Sherlock then end up on a fishing boat and take it over, with Sherlock adding he's a pirate.  They take the boat to Sherrinford and are held there by the governor (Art Malik) who runs the place.  Of course Mycroft isn't really injured in hospital and is with them, as Sherlock disguises himself as one of the guards and is taken to see his sister.  With Mycroft being dressed as the old fisherman.  He could've dresses as Lady Bracknell.  Also making a reference about dressing up in clown suits cos that's what the staff at this facility have ended up as.  Just as Sherlock bought the clown to Mycroft's home.

Sherlock sees her and she's playing a violin with the sign reading 'Stand Three Feet Away From Glass' - perhaps that should've been in metric measurement!  Sherlock puts pieces of his memory together and she makes him come closer, as the others watch the tapes of her sessions.  She mentions the song and also Redbeard and flashes of how they used to play at their home, Musgrave.  We thought Moriarty was bad.  Sherlock edges towards the glass and mentions she was at his house and they had chips, asking how she escaped.  They touch the glass and their hands intertwine.  There's no glass and she's taken over the facility by talking everyone round.  The governor is the man in the taped sessions and she talked him round too.  As John goes outside and tells Mycroft to listen to the tapes.  They're all subdued and end up in her cell.  Sherlock again adding that it's not Moriarty, he's dead.  That much we'd gathered by now.

She has the governor's wife and she wants Sherlock to pick between Mycroft and John as to who will shoot him and save his wife.  Of course it was pointless listening to her, since apparently she'd have done it anyway.  He gives the gun to Mycroft but he refuses.  He's one of those people as we know who give orders to kill, but can't pull the trigger himself and she wouldn't ask Sherlock, cos Sherlock would be capable of doing it as we know from killing Magnussen.  He then gives it to John who takes the gun and there's a long, drawn out scene where he speaks with the governor who insists they must do it in order to save his wife.  Asking if John's married.  John refuses to kill David and he grabs the gun, shooting himself instead.  Again pointless as she shoots his wife anyway.  She tells Sherlock to pick up the gun.  She dials the phone and allows Sherlock to listen to the girl and speak with her.  If he wants to save her, he'll have to play her game.  Yeah the game is on but not with Moriarty at the helm.

Then sends them on a series of puzzle games.  One where he must solve who killed some woman out of three brothers and Sherlock deduces which one it was cos of the type of gun, which John examines and since there aren't any crosshairs the shooter must've had to have good eyesight or worn glasses, only one of them could have done it, yet she suspends all three outside so they will all fall into the sea.  'Sink or swim.'  Again it was apparent she wouldn't let any of them live.  Even the innocent ones. It's not about being guilty or innocent to someone like her.  John says they must do this cos today "we must be soldiers."  Who don't ask questions, only obey and do their duty.  Oh you know the saying, "ours is not to question why but to do or die."

She then sends them to a room with a coffin and Sherlock deduces its height is 5' 4".  So it was made for a woman, not a child since it would've been better quality for a child.  The top of it has a plaque with "I love you" written on it.  Obviously the person who loves him would be Molly (Louise Brealey) and not Irene as John thinks.  She calls her and wants Sherlock to make her say those three words to him, otherwise she'll explode the bomb.  Obviously Molly wouldn't pick up.  Molly it seems when she's at home is not the Molly we see at work.  Living in her own despair and misery and ruing her unrequited love for a man she can't have!  Yeah sure we've all been in that position at some time or another in our lives.  She finally picks up and then Sherlock tells her he's doing an experiment for a case and she must tell him those words.  After a drawn out attempt to reason with her, she agrees to say them if he says them first and mean them.  Which he does, eventually she does too.  He's tricked since she wouldn't have planted a bomb there and Molly is the only one who's spared.  The only one of the outsiders I should say.  But here you can say Sherlock was pleading with her using his heart and not his cold calculating mind.

Finally there's the crux of the entire 'game.'  Sherlock must choose which one he will shoot cos he can only continue with one of them.  Mycroft attempts to talk Sherlock into shooting him and not John cos he's trying to be the better man.  Obviously Sherlock plays her and says he'll follow the same route as David, holding the gun to himself.   During this time we get the flashback to Moriarty: Five Years Ago Christmas Day when he flies to the island. This time his song being Queen's "I want to break free."  He's her Christmas present and she wants to spend five minutes alone with him unsupervized, where they hatch this plan.  Or rather she does.  Sherlock saying that's all it took her; five minutes.  Well who knows how long she was cooking it up and no matter how much of a genius she's perceived to be, probably took her longer than five minutes.  Mycroft was impressed with how she could hep them out with terrorism and other matters.  Being Mycroft, would've thought curiosity would've got the better of him and he would've listened in, suspecting the game was afoot!  Or at least she was, in not trusting her.

She tranquilizes him and John and he ends up at the bottom of a well and Sherlock in a room surrounded by photos.  All the while speaking with the girl on the phone.  He tells her they're going to land the plane and she has to go to the front of the plane and radio in.  As he also speaks with John who tells him of bones he's found in the water.  But they're no dog bones.  Sherlock senses air through the wall and since they were only recently painted, he knocks them down and finds they're at Musgrave.  She wants him to solve the Redbeard puzzle.  He realizes that Redbeard doesn't exist. They didn't have a dog cos of their father's allergies. Instead Redbeard was his best friend when they were little and John finds his skull in the well.  Saying Mycroft lied to him.  Sherlock recalls his best friend and he rushes outside to the gravestones, working out the words of the song.  As he must save John from the well and the water filling up.  She says he didn't have a best friend and she wanted to play with them too but couldn't.  Thus putting John in the same well she put Redbeard, his friend.  He solves the code in the song and finds Eurus in her room.

She's taken back to the island and Mycroft must come clean with their parents about their sister, their daughter and they wanted to know she was still alive.  Sherlock pays her a visit with his violin and they both play together.  As they redecorate 221B Baker Street and John finds another DVD in the post from Mary.

Mary: "PS I know you two and if I'm gone I know who you could become because I know who you really are: a junky who solves crimes to get high and a doctor who never really came home from the war.  Will you listen to me, it doesn't really matter who you really are, it's all about the legend, the stories, the adventures.  There is a last refuge for the desperate, the unloved, the persecuted.  There is a final Court of Appeal for everyone...when life gets too strange, too impossible, too frightening, there is always one last hope when all else fails, there are two men sitting arguing in a scruffy flat like they've always been there and they always will.  The best and the wisest men I have ever known.  My Baker Street Boys: Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson."

All's well in the land of Sherlock as John and he move on, putting everything behind them and carrying on as usual.

Of course it was all a metaphor of sorts for Sherlock being on the plane: actually at their home and the girl was his sister, who couldn't cope with her emotions.  Locked up in her room.  Nemo Holmes in the cemtery wasn't so hard to work out, we, most of us, do know that Nemo means 'no one'.   Forget about Redbeard being a red herring, what about the fact if the plane was real someone would've noticed its course or seen a rogue plane in the sky flying towards a city, it stands to reason, to an extent.  As well as the cockpit not being open to the general passengers on the plane.  Sherlock hating water and always being surrounded by water.  I said that too, that he's always around some form of deep water, the swimming pool, the waterfall, the swimming pool again this season, some sort of river or the Thames.

All was an elaborate plan by their sister to finally reveal the truth now, question being why wait so long.  Of course there's not a real answer to that aside from the story being played out now at the end of the series.  However there were some parts of this episode which could've been excluded and the thrill of the chase wasn't as interesting as other episodes have been.  As Lestrade (Rupert Graves) takes her away and Sherlock actually calls him "Greg."  Not to mention everything being business as usual, even for Molly.  We don't get to see any reaction or fallout from her, even if it was meant to be an experiment on Sherlock's part when they declared their love for each other.  Admittedly didn't it appear as though Sherlock was being very sincere when he said, "I love you" to her, as if he really did mean it.  Or was he putting everything into a contextual emotional context.

The Musgrave Ritual is alluded to in the ep and it too was based on a riddle that Sherlock had to solve whilst investigating the disappearance of two staff members from the home of a university acquaintance, Reginald Musgrave.  "And so under..." appearing in the song...in the well, where John was now.  Sherlock's oldest enemy it appears was his own sister.  The trauma of losing Redbeard was so much for him that he shut away those memories, but now as he recalls them, we also see Sherlock's emotions come to the surface, once again a more humanization takes place.  This being something he needed to come to terms with, emotionally, and for him to dredge those painful memories up in order to save his best friend and in some ways himself.
Thinking out loud, that means Moriarty killing himself was dreamed up by Eurus talking him round when he came to her, if he couldn't get Sherlock to do it to himself.  She had to have known Sherlock would save himself.

Steven Moffat said they had Mycroft make a reference to "my sister..." as early on as the opening pilot episode The Great Game, but edited it out cos no one needed to know that just yet, or where they had planned to take the series.  The scene with the coffin was there but not written in that way and not about Molly and Sherlock, people hated the first scene and so they re-wrote it to what appeared in the episode.

Mark Gatiss: ‘I think what’s actually happened is we’ve now done the story of how Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who we’ve always known, became those men. It’s actually weirdly a backstory. We never intended that to be. But the reason we leave it at Rathbone place, is that actually if we do come back, and we’d love to come back, you could absolutely very easily start it with a knock on the door and Sherlock saying “John, do you want to come out and play?” They’ve become the two heroes we always knew them to be, and we’ve accidentally done their backstory. That wasn’t the plan.’
(From Metro.co.uk)

The final shot of Sherlock and John running from Rathbone Place (alas a tribute to Basil Rathbone, not really) but showing their escape from the public eyes and fandom for the foreseeable future!  But it can't go for good, it's one of our best drams as I said last ep review.
Thought of how if there was a remake of Remington Steele, Bene would be perfect for the title role. When he exited the lift for the first time to see his sister, and at the end, it just sort of came to me!
Ha.  He seemed to have a look of Pierce Brosnan about him!

Okay moving on...awaiting the next instalment...waiting...Miss me will apply to Sherlock now! Missing You...!

Yeh shamelessly plugging the book again!!
https://www.amazon.com/My-Continuing-Letter-Benedict-Cumberbatch/dp/1326198017/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1484527971&sr=8-9&keywords=mila+hasan

The Vampire Diaries 8.8 "We Have History Together" Review

                                                      
After the Christmas hiatus, have to say not a very exciting ep to get into but at least it was directed by Ian, which explains his foray into the hospital bed for part of the episode.  Not from over exhaustion but possibly giving him a chance to act and direct, not that he needs to.  All things considered, he did a great job as usual and succeeded in highlighting the two sides to the brothers and their characters. In making Stefan (Paul Wesley) as a cruel and horrific Ripper as possible, whilst showing Damon (Ian Somerhalder) has his own humanity in check and his conscience, helped in part by Elena's necklace. which is his saving grace in many ways.  He gets to demonstrate he's not so dark and opposing Stefan's bleak and dark inner self which is always present in him and when it comes to the surface manifests itself in the most violent and bloodthirsty way.  So much for him showing Damon in the beginning at group therapy  (ha) that he can use the meditation method and spill no blood whatsoever when he savagely attacks his Vics.  Damon not being convinced when he says there won't be any severed heads this time.

SO as they set out and continue the Salvatore road trip, taking a break to ponder which Vic should be next, it's apparent Stefan will pick the most innocent of them all and then choose to manipulate and compel into making them worthy for the kill and sacrifice to Cade.  Obviously this is exactly what Cade wanted from him as seen in the previous episode.  This time we get a doctor and of course Elena's lookalike.  They just can't help themselves mentioning her over and over and yes we know Alexandro Chando as Tara, is a bit of a Nina Dobrev lookalike.  He chose his Vic well as she was a doctor, having taken an oath to save lives, but she too has parents killed in a car crash by a drunk driver.  Again connotations of Elena and her parents' accident over the bridge but not by a drunk driver.

Damon is rushed to hospital cos Stefan vervains him and turns him into a patient who is also a donor and sets about convincing Tara to take his organs and basically just end his misery, considering the number of people on the donor list.  She refuses cos she has to make the best of everything and can't choose, but he compels her into believing that Damon was the drunk who killed her parents and to stop him doing it again she must take his life.  Of course he's already dead, moot point.  Damon tries to talk her out of it, but Stefan always gets in the way.  He convinces her to end his suffering so he doesn't do the same thing again.  As she tells Damon she's not thinking of the past, but his future.  So she kills him.  As Stefan checks Damon's belongings, he finds Elena's necklace and is convinced that's why Damon was a bit soft and all conscience provoking.

Confronting Damon in the car he tells him he needs to get rid of it and can't depend on it cos he can't do what they're meant to be doing.  Of course Damon tells him he's wrong and throws it out the car window, as we know he's going to go back and find it obviously.  Yeah Stefan you should've destroyed it yourself not made him take it from you!  Next day he goes back and finds an inmate (Devin McGee) on work duty and talks to him about redemption, or rather the inmate's redemption is picking up litter one piece at a time.  As Stefan spots a nurse he'd like to get peckish with, Chinese takeaway!!  Sorry I shouldn't have said it but he did choose her first to feed on!!  Damon finds the necklace and retrieves his piece of missing conscience as Stefan loses his rage and gorges on everyone at the hospital.  When Damon arrives he sees the carnage and the severed heads too! Ripper spree!!
Oh and Miss Tara Doco got killed at Damon's hands cos Stefan mentions how she looks like Elena and so he wouldn't be able to keep his bargain.

Elsewhere Caroline (Candice King) is called to a story at a school and she finds none other than Sybil (Nathalie Kelley) (oh why didn't you just cark it!) and she's now mind controlling her students, teaching them history and making them like it.  She's after the Mystic Falls bell and uses the students and needing Caroline find it.  They'll all burn themselves if she doesn't help.  Matt meets with Dorian (Demetrius Bridges) who Alaric left in charge at the Armoury, if he wants to help out and told him about the sirens.   He also has Matt's (Zach Roerig) dad, Peter (Joel Gretsch) working with him.  As he tells of the Maxwell family history and how the Maxwell's made the bell for the town.  However Dorian tells Matt how the founders took it over and the town and it's now missing.  It's been located at the bottom of Wickery Bridge, where Elena's parents had the accident and Peter admits he threw it there.  That everything he says isn't an excuse but is a reason.  He wishes he didn't make those mistakes in the past.

Caroline tells Matt about the students and they manage to get to them before Sybil finds there's nothing at Caroline's mother's garage.  Selina having taken the box.  Of course Sybil would lose it and go ahead and make the students kill each other.  Matt is angry cos they had a legacy in the town and all this time he could've been someone like the other children and not felt like an outsider in his own town.  However there wasn't much to be proud of since the Maxwell's did become a laughing stock.  Dorian says the bell goes together with the tuning fork and is meant to be the tuning fork magnified several times over for maximum impact on the sirens.

As the title suggest it's not just about the town history but also about Matt and his family too.  Sybil was just so irritating and maybe as she should've been a real teacher, her students would die of boredom, but she threatens Caroline with harming the twins cos they might not have been completely free of the mind control.  Though she probably couldn't decide if it was the children she was talking about or the students.   Caroline still believing she can take Stefan back after all the killing yet again. So being a vampire and losing his humanity means he can just get away with murder over and over, which any human would've been given the death penalty for over and over.  I say that cos everytime they need a decent-ish story it's bring back the Ripper again!  Hence his reference to the "we have history" in the title.

As I said before, it doesn't appear that Damon has completely lost his humanity, as we know the necklace helps, but Stefan convincing Tara to kill his brother didn't send warning signs to her.  What family member would want their loved one to die in any universe?  She was weak though and just gave in.  Even weaker than her namesake, Tara in Gone with The Wind, survived through all the hardships, war and adversity, but this one gave in without much of a fight.  Compulsion aside.  I like the ambiguity of Damon, he's doing this cos they made the deal, but Stefan is just relishing it.  Even if Damon convinced him it'd be easier to do this and switch of his humanity in the process, he needs to bring it back in some ways cos Cade is getting far too many Vics from him! And more importantly is heading the way Cade said he would, that he wouldn't be able to stop being the Ripper.

The title is a reference to the Pilot episode when Stefan and Elena meet: "We have history together."
Stefan: "And English and French."  So it was only fitting Stefan should make the Elena lookalike reference to Damon about Tara.  Seems as the Ripper the history he had with Elena meant nothing to him and he even wanted to take it away from his brother.  As Caroline also mentions that she's writing the diary for her and not Stefan, who'll be away for a while.

Oh and also have to mention Stefan's words in his journal from the Pilot: "for over a century I have lived in secret.  Hiding in the shadows, alone in the world, until now.  I am a vampire and this is my story."  He wasn't alone, he had Damon.  He was alone as the Ripper and his actions weren't so much in secret.  Just as now the Ripper resurfaces all menacing.

Michael Malarkey's Scars was used in this episode as a soundtrack in the scene with Damon when he searches for the necklace! A very appropriate song for this episode!  Considering Enzo's away in Paris with Bonnie! It was a very retro Paris-esque sounding song, as a slow-burn Tango and also alluding to Stefan in "going too far and have we lost our minds..."

Once Upon A Time 6.2 "A Bitter Draught" Review

                                         
Belle (Emilie de Ravin) tells everyone that she and Rumples (Robert Carlyle) are over, and we've heard that how many times.  Yet she still confesses she might love him and still harbour some feelings towards him, as she boards the Jolly Roger as her new makeshift home, being under the protection of Hook (Colin O'Donoghue).  This time we get the Count of Monte Cristo, Edmund Dantes (Craig Horner) turning up in his quest for revenge.  Isn't everyone, take a number and join the queue. but as he reveals himself at the suave soiree, which no surprise is attended by none other than the Evil Queen (Lana Parilla). She's impressed and asks if he spent all those years planning this. Then just passes him a scroll with the names of everyone who wronged him and his fiance.  Naturally it had to have the names of Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Charming (Josh Dallas) too.  As in a flashback we see Edmund Dantes attempting to poison them with wine but then sees Charlotte's (Andrea Brooks) (Snow's handmaiden's) eyes which remind him of his own fiance.  So he doesn't carry it through.

Zelena (Rebecca Mader) and the Queen turn up at the vault which Regina sealed using a blood spell, which didn't do much good.  She needs more magic and this is where she'll get it.  She's going to teach Regina a lesson.  At Granny's (Beverley Elliott) Regina and Henry (Jared S Gilmore) talk and he tells her she's a hero, as they help the newcomers.  As Mayor Regina welcomes them and tells then she knows what they're going through since she was once an outsider like them too.

Henry meets someone who leaves behind a sealed envelope.  He's sure he's seen him before.  As he gives the envelope to Snow and Charming.  Regina tells them he will kill them and that she was the one who hired Edmund to carry out the evil deed.  Emma (Jennifer Morrison) admits to Archie (Ralph Sbarge) her dream and visions, someone she is fighting kills her and ponders if she should tells her parents, as Archie suggests, since she knows all they'll do is protect her.  As they've been doing all her life.  They find Edmund's belongings and recall how Regina burned down a village where they found him and he was nursed by Charlotte.  Becoming mesmerized by her.  Regina is confronted by Edmund when she tells him to stop with his killing spree.  He doesn't back down and apparently the town is blocked by another spell.

Regina finds missing things from her vault and asks Zelena about it but she won't be questioned and vanishes.  However Regina put a protection spell on Snow and Charming so that Edmund can't hurt them. Rumples finds a missing coin that the Queen has stolen and he'll give it to her only if she promises not to hurt his son and Belle.  Henry and Regina find Charlotte dead.  She finds she was poisoned from the bottle she gave Edmund and when Regina touches her, she loses her magic. Another showdown at the docks when he tries to kill Snow and Charming and Regina can't help.  The Queen tells her she has his heart and he can't stop doing what he's doing.  As a flashback ensues with the Dark One poisoning Charlotte, there's no cure but it can be stopped, if he listens to him.  He wants the key to the Land of Untold Stories.  That key will get around cos Nemo will have one too in another ep.  Also in the next ep was this also the key Cinderella had which belonged to her mother.

In a showdown Regina has no choice but to run Edmund through and kills him.  Charming offers to back down from finding out about his father, but he needs answers so he's not going to do that.  He finds the coin and the Queen tells him his father used to carry it around and he was killed.  He too has an untold story.  The Queen gives Zelena the rattle that belonged to their mother for helping her in her schemes and not telling Regina about her.  Well it won't be too long before she finds out.
Archie tells Emma there was one person not in her vision and that was Regina, which doesn't really mean much of anything.  She could be otherwise disposed.  Once again more characters turn up only to meet their demise in Storybrooke: the land for the most deaths and killings it seems!

Not much going on here and it's pointless adding characters if they're just going to get killed off and not have any impact except for just adding to the episodes and making them longer.  It's not going to stay a secret for long that the Evil Queen didn't die.  Could he really remove part of herself without suffering some form of relapse or even killing herself.  She is obviously a part of Regina.  Emma's story is just another rehash.  Someone will always be after the Saviour and a season's not complete without some form of danger for her or having some sort of self doubts.  Belle can't decide either way if she loves Rumbles or she doesn't, part of her just wants to do both.  As for their son he must have some form of darkness within him.  Proving the apple doesn't fall far from the tree (no pun towards the Evil Queen intended.)

Not to mention the Queen making her moves on Rumbles, oh boy she waited years for that!!  But they'll just play each other of course.  He doesn't want anyone but Belle.  As well as Hook apologizing to Belle for hitting her, er, well you know, he was a pirate back then.  What did he know of behaving properly, even if he did love Milah and now he knows what redemption means.  Even if he did kill his father and was bad to the core.  Seems everyone can change and then go back to their former selves as if nothing happened.  Rumples did and then said he couldn't change cos he's a coward and too afraid to be powerless.  Truth is he's known nothing but power so how could eh give all that up.  Love conquers all but not Rumples and the Evil Queen!

Once Upon A Time 6.1 "The Saviour" Review

                                             
This begins with a foreshadowing of events to come as Jafar (Oded Fehr) hunts down a man and obliterates him and later sets his sights on Aladdin (Deniz Akdeniz) who's also the Saviour.  Jafar taunts him saying he's not a hero, only a common thief but someone who's lost his reason for being.

Present Storybrooke as Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) can't keep their hands off each other.  The house shakes and it turns out to be the ship carrying the refuges from the Land of Untold Stories.  Appropriate name and they were refugees as they didn't really have a story to take refuge in and live as they should.  Emma helps look through the wreckage but her hand shakes. She hides it from Hook and Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin).  Yet another storyline all about her just like last season.

Hyde (Sam Witwer) is leading Rumples (Robert Caryle) a merry dance as he sends him to the Temple of Morpheus (Giles Matthey).  Regina (Lana Parilla) seals her crypt with a blood spell so that Hyde can't get to the Evil Queen and Regain and Emma think they can bribe Jekyll (Hank Harris) to leave Storybrooke.  Emma is meant to shoot Hyde but her hand trembles and she can't go through with it. Even if it won't affect him at all but she manages and they lock him up.  Later he tells her he knows why she's suffering in that way.  He had an answer for everything but they couldn't do anything with his character.  He tells Emma to follow the red bird who turns out to be the Oracle.Jordan Ashley Olson).

Zelena (Rebecca Mader) stays with Regina and is in the process of unpacking when she tells Regina about a gift she had for her, a feather from Robin but she can't find it.  Yeah since when was Zelena ever absent minded, it wouldn't help her be wicked.  She's also upset that she spoke to Snow but not her and just got rid of her dark self.  It's not like she could talk to her as she was once wicked herself and wouldn't really have given her any objective advice.  A point proved when she joins up with the Evil Queen.  Emma's hand starts to shake again and she tells Hook she needs to be alone. She finds the bird and follows it, then it's revealed the visions are of Emma's own future.  She will battle the cloaked figure and end up dying.

Henry (Jared S Gilmore) tells Regina she can't be down and let Hyde get to her.  She's upset about the feather and also tells this to Snow, with the feather falling down on the bench where they sit. Rumples finds Morpheus at the temple and a sleeping Belle (Emilie de Ravin) and Morpheus makes her dream. Morpheus is their son from the future and he wakes Belle with true love's kiss.  He doesn't want her to go back to him.  Belle agrees and tells Rymples it's over for the countless time!  Hyde tells Emma the figure might already be here or even someone she's known for a long time.  Now who could that be considering there aren't many options right now.  Unless it's someone from the Land of Untold Stories, or another long lost relative.  So what happened to Maleficent and her daughter.

Once again Emma keeps the real reason for her trembling from Hook, so much for no more secrets. As well as Zelena finding out the Evil Queen is alive and lurking.  Obviously having repercussions for Regina who'll realize it wasn't easy defeating the darkness within her.  Instead of keeping it checked inside of her, she unleashed it to cause more problems for herself and everyone else. Sometimes it's better to keep your troubles to yourself but not always, as Emma will eventually reveal her secret, or have it revealed for her, always happens.

Sherlock 4.2 "The Lying Detective" Review

                                             

Contains Spoilers

John (Martin Freeman) has found himself a new shrink (that'll be shortlived) - okay and called it as soon as they showed her, it was Daisy woman from the bus, well her nose was a big giveaway and the fake accent and John wouldn't exactly divert from his routine and get a new shrink now would he.  I mean unlike Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) he wouldn't deduce that Sherlock would even contemplate seeing a shrink and that he'd choose his one.  So it's just the usual questions and John however is seeing Mary (Amanda Abbington).  Only she's inside his head.  So yet again she's guiding him to what he must do and the point being it's really John cos she's dead.  Also of course we knew Sherlock would let himself go once again and fall into his bad habits, viz one, that of his drug habit. It's an easy way out for him and Sherlock in this instance is more emotional, can't cope and has to fall back into his drug induced stupors to get by.  Even with his dealer around he's brewing up a Meth lab in the kitchen.

Cue Culverton Smith (Toby Jones) : egomaniac, psychopath and serial killer.  He's a most detestable small minded, little human being and he relishes getting other people to do what he wants.  In short he loves the fame and throwing his weight around.  The only reason why he's an entrepreneur and philanthropist.  He calls a meeting and talks of darkest secrets.  How he'd tell someone his secret and then wouldn't be able to take it back cos they'd know now and it'd be off his chest.  He couldn't take it back even if he wanted to.  In some ways an allusion to Sherlock who has many secrets, as does the entire Holmes family.  Smith makes his friends take a drug TD12 which is basically a memory inhibitor cos they won't remember what he told them.  He tells them he's going to kill someone.  His daughter Faith objects but he makes her take the drug anyway.   Later she wakes up and makes herself write a note and remember.  Of course we already know who the recipient of this note will be. She recalls one man was a police officer, some worked at Smith's company, she was there, and someone was going to be killed by Smith but she couldn't recall who.  (No reference to Doctor Who of course!  Although at the end John - a doctor - did get the gun in his face so...ha!)

Smith walks in and finds her with the note and takes it from her.  First clue was here: if he saw the note and what she wrote, why not just take it from her, it's easier than being discovered, unless he wanted exactly that; in his arrogance that no one could stop him.  Not even the world's greatest detective.  No, she goes to Sherlock and she gives him the note.  Sherlock as usual noticing her nuances, like the marks on her dress showing she drove here, but she was in a left handed car, perhaps.  That she's damp, it's raining and she didn't bring a coat.  She was once in a relationship but not anymore.  He says there's no case and throws her handbag to her.  He then realizes her handbag was heavy hence she's carrying a gun.  He stops her from leaving and tells her about his deductions. With her replying she came in a taxi, but his brain finally catches up to his thinking and he says that's what he looked for outside of the window: there was no taxi waiting for her and she didn't call for one.  He gives her a coat and tells her about the gun: that she was going to end it all, but they're going for chips.

Sherlock also knows that he's being watched by Mycroft (Mark Gatiss) who calls John about how Sherlock's a security risk and he has to act on it even if he is his brother.  Who doesn't seem to be interested.  Smallwood (Lindsay Duncan) will also accept an apology from him for arresting her, which she doesn't get.  Sherlock notices the police helicopters and he walks with Faith around London and we're back to Piccadilly Circus (see season 1) and the operators telling him he's leaving a trail as he doublesback leaving: "*uck off" for Mycroft!  He tells her about the note and how she lives in a small place with a small kitchen.  She had the note hidden cos of the fold in the middle and was in a relationship.  When it ended she pinned the note on a board in the kitchen and it smells of spices. She loves to cook (yeah cook up plans to ensnare Sherlock).  As well as having no visitors that's why it was on display.

At the bridge he says he wants payment but not cash and she gives him the gun.  With him saying she can't take her life.  It's not hers to "take" and why do people take their lives.  They only leave behind others who are affected by it (which is what I've always said about suicide: it's selfish - never thinking of those they leave behind who will have to deal with it. It's not about ending their own suffering but leaving loved ones to cope with theirs.  Okay digression!)  She stops him and tells him he's not like everyone else: he's "nice."

A car crashes outside the shrink's house and a helicopter chases it.  It's Mrs Hudson (Una Stubbs) driving and she tells John she needs help with Sherlock.  He lost the plot and she's terrified.  He was going crazy with photos everywhere and she made him a cup of tea, but he had a gun.  He threw the gun down in order to catch the falling cup and she took him at gunpoint and handcuffed him from the handcuffs in his salad drawer, which she's used before!  (Eeww wouldn't like to know about that! Ha.)  She shut him in the boot and drove him here, as Mycroft removes the policeman who was chasing her via phonecall.

Sherlock knew John would be here cos he planned it all three weeks ago.  He needs his help in catching the most despicable human being around: Culverton Smith, a serial killer and he accused him as such in the media.  Coincidentally exactly who John was looking at on the internet at the shrink's house.  Smith films an ad as a "Cereal Killer" which is nothing new and has been said before! He calls John and tells him he's sending a car around.  Again all arranged by Sherlock beforehand. John sees the marks on his hand and wants a second opinion, again contemplated by Sherlock as he's already called Molly (Louise Brealey).  Who arrived in an equipped ambulance and tests him.  At the rate he's going he's only got weeks (possible hint for next ep?)  They drive to the meeting with Smith. Mary appearing to John all the time and making comments about Sherlock planning it and being clever.  As well as referencing John's self loathing cos she's in his head.

Smith tells Sherlock he only hugs, which Smith does cos he doesn't shake hands, why DNA? Paranoia? Anyway he finds it amusing that Sherlock's accused him of being a serial/cereal killer cos that'll give give more ratings and yes his ad was tasteless (no pun) especially since the cerial (can I combine it like this? ha) was aimed at children.  As was the visit to his hospital, where he conveniently brings up the subject of HH Holmes: America's first serial killer, was expecting that a while ago, not least which cos of the Holmes similarity in name.  With it beginning and ending there, except for the third 'brother' or should I say family member.  The nurses are impressed with meeting Sherlock and how they love his blog even if John's the one who writes the blog.  They didn't like to hear that.  Smith wants them to talk about his cases, with Sherlock giving away the endings. Until Smith gets onto the morbid subject of killing and how the Queen could be a killer and get away with it cos of her money.  John adding that she's not a killer and wouldn't get away with it.  Possibly talking of himself, yet with such contempt since he has money and he got away with it too for along while.

After the tasteless subject, he takes them to his favourite room.  Sherlock saying that he's got about twenty minutes roughly, well seventeen and a half minutes exactly before they get a visitor.  His favourite room being the morgue and you know what, was getting tired of Smith's asking how long his staff have worked there when he didn't like being questioned, or playing with the dead woman's body. As John told him to stop it.  Again more mention of HH Holmes and his murder castle (which we all know about so won't mention here.  Wrote plenty on it in my Supernatural book for season 2.6 No Exit.)  He likes confessing to the bodies there, but he doesn't confess he's killed anyone.  Sherlock suffering from withdrawal and not having a fix.  Smith tells him he couldn't have met his daughter and she doesn't know him, since that's the visitor.  She doesn't resemble the woman who came to see him and at this point you were meant to see that she was actually the shrink who came to see Sherlock and was also the woman on the bus.  Well that's when I pointed it out (sorry.)  Sherlock loses it and takes a scalpel as he says Smith took one and it's behind his back.  Of course he doesn't have one.  John thinking Sherlock lied to him again cos that's what he does, he lies about everything to everyone (thus the title).

Cue Lestarade (Rupert Graves) asking John why he took the scalpel and he didn't see him take it. John wrestles with Sherlock for the scalpel and also beats him up to pull him out of it, but also cos it was brewing for a while.  Again missing the point of how that's exactly what Sherlock had wanted and planned.  He wanted to be here, as he's sedated and kept in the hospital.  John leaves his walking stick for him and says goodbye.  Mycroft searches Sherlock's place for anything untoward and again says the same thing to John about having to do this even if Sherlock wasn't his brother.  As Mary tells him he's lying, cos last time he said brother, he wasn't talking about Sherlock.  That there's another brother!  Mary loving John confronting Mycroft.  As the note from Faith falls to the floor.  Mrs Hudson comes in and says that they don't get Sherlock but she and John do.  If somethings not going right he'll fire the gun and stab something.  Where John finds Mary's DVD.  Mrs Hudson tells them all to leave her house.

John plays it and we get to see the rest of it too.  Mary wanted Sherlock to kill himself so that John would rescue him, or rather have himself killed.  Which is exactly why he chose Smith, not only to bring him down and make him stop, but also to help John.  John wouldn't help himself or save himself, but he would save Sherlock.   He realizes what will happen as he races over there in Mrs Hudson's car.  Oh and I liked how Mrs Hudson said she has her own house and also isn't John's housekeeper!

In pops Smith cos he can't refuse a victim and didn't that room remind you of the TARDIS!!  Some fancy wallpaper!  ha. Of course he'd have secret passages as he built the wing and yes admittedly he was in awe of HH Homles and his mistake was that he should've been in awe of Sherlock Holmes. Cos he didn't think HH Holmes was very intelligent and so could be a distant relative of Sherlock's! Smith confesses to his murders and Sherlock tells him he wants to die and he wants him to do it, which he does attempt.  Then Sherlock screaming he doesn't want to die!  With John arriving in time to stop Smith from suffocating him.  Smith says he didn't confess and he found the three recorders in his coat.  Yeah he'd be stupid enough to leave all three in one place.  He tells him he missed one in John's walking stick.  Again he'd accounted for that too weeks ago.  John calling Sherlock a cock as does Sherlock and that he "was off his tits" for weeks!

Mary saying he should wear a deerstalker in tribute to her, which he goes back and gets as they leave to meet Molly for cake: for his birthday.  See Sherlock: more human, he eats more now and chips!! Not just drinks tea!!  Mary also telling him about how Sherlock knew which shrink he'd find. Someone he'd go to in the lunch hour within bike riding distance so no one would know.  As he goes back to her now and she reveals who she is.  Mycroft and Smallwood having a mutual attraction       as she gives him her private number on her card.  And we see him pick it up to reveal a 2pm appointment with Sherrinford.  Surprise, surprise that's where John is!  And she asks him why couldn't their bother be a sister.  Pretty convenient, half expecting her to take off the mask and reveal Moriarty under it.  She pulls a gun on him and fires.  As Sherlock finds the note and realizes it really happened!  The woman was here.  So the game (race) is on for Sherlock to save John now.  As Mary already predicted and wanted him to.

Was Sherrinford in league with Moriarty all this time.  It's possible to get lost in all the confusion since everyone's using "Miss Me" these days.  Don't know what's what anymore, just joking. Also we get Irene's ringtone again: the famous moan and he's been in touch with her.  Again nothing new.  So if Sherrinford could be a woman, why can't Irene Adler be Sherlock?!!  Anyway John finds out it's Sherlock's birthday cos he never knew when it was and asks why he doesn't go to High Wycombe (how does he know she's there anyway?  She could be anywhere.  That life's too short and Sherlock should get some in before it's too late.  As Mary also tells John it's okay when he says he cheated on her.  They were only texts, but he texted her everytime he was alone.  There foreshadowing as that woman had to be involved in his life but funny how it was so easy for her to ingratiate herself into his life.  Especially since he tells Mary he's not the man she thought he was but who he wants to be.

Smith was indeed: "the most dangerous and despicable human being I have ever encountered (he hadn't met him yet had he, though being Sherlock, he would've had an inkling) a living breathing coagulation of human evil."  More so since he didn't have any remorse, most killers generally don't but the mere fact that he could kill "anyone."  This anyone being and including Sherlock.   Oh, oh and most importantly of all we got Sherrinford admitting what the 'E' stands for in the note she left for John, rather the texts.  E = Eurus: Greek for 'East Wind'!!  Re the third ep of last series.  When he says an "east wind is coming..."  Now it makes sense.  She being the east wind. and why Sherlock was needed back.  Not so much for Moriarty but his own family member!

Oh and a word on that scene where Sherlock dramatically lost the plot in his drug haze: so very Shakespeare and so very Hamlet in many ways!!  Which was also relevant as Sian Brooke who played the shrink/E was in Hamlet too with Bene as Ophelia!

This one wa  loosely based on The Adventures of the Dying Detective aka The Dying Detective (which is what Sherlock was doing, both in an attempt to rescue John and also to catch Smith.  With a reference from Sherlock to Watson after Smith tells them his word is a good as Sherlock's but won't stand up in court.  Thus Holmes saying the same to John here, that the confession was entrapment, but Smith can't top confessing to Lestrade.  Demonstrating yet more arrogance and how he still hungers for fame, even after Lestrade tells him he's already famous!  Yeah go serve him some Gnash!!  Yuk!

A little carried away on this one, showing how Sherlock still manages to excel after this long period of breaks in between episodes and also how we need it to continue.  Single handedly Britain can take over the world (and I don't mean that in some form or former or neo-colonial sense as in Colonial Gin re The Apprentice! ha) but in the sense of how Britain can still make excellent drama with a quality cast, regardless of whatever political turmoil or climate the country or the world is in!  Escapism is also good!  But as Benedict told USA Today: his words were taken out of context when he said it's the "end of an era."  He didn't mean it would end, but that it was the last one they had filmed for now. Only that if anymore come about, they won't be as regular as every two years cos everyone's busy. Yeah we know, but at least we can hope they can all find the time to bring back something sooner, even a one-off special.

You can check out my Bene book below, ah go on, you know you want to! Had some good words about this from Sue Vertue and even Mark commented on it when I met them at the Radio Times Women of Sherlock Festival. & no you won't make me a millionaire either!! Ha.

https://www.amazon.com/My-Continuing-Letter-Benedict-Cumberbatch/dp/1326198017/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1484186731&sr=8-9&keywords=mila+hasan

Paranormal Lockdown 2.4 "St Ignatius Hospital" Review

Another episode where Nick and Katrina explored the spectacularly large hospital building which was practically falling apart after it's closure in 2013.  This one was also where Valoree wanted them to see who was at the place and was attacking people there, as she told them of the paranormal experiences.  Most relevant being Rose in room 311 and also the room where they saw the hand on the window.  Clearly where all the activity was.  As well as that lift scene during the actual lockdown when Nick went in the shaft.  What a gut wrenching, heart pounding moment and agree with Katrina when she said she was more focused in making sure he didn't suffer an injury or worse!  Then again it's Nick, he always takes risks as far as investigating is concerned and it's one way to ensure results. Also glad Katrina and Rob talked Nick out of entering the lift on the third floor, cos NO! That would've been even more dangerous!

Sure the woman's voice says at 11.14 "don't" when Nick says if she doesn't talk to them they're going to leave her room. Then a man's voice comes through saying "yes." 11.28 when he asks if anyone else wants to talk.

Just want to say when I add what I hear in the  EVPs to any of their investigations or anything they may have missed it's not taking anything away from their investigations and lockdowns on my part. It's purely out of interest cos I know if I had spent 72 hours locked down, I would want to find and analyze every piece of evidence I had obtained.  It's not personal or to get one up on anyone, or to show off.  Always had a genuine interest in the paranormal and supernatural for as long as I can remember and ever since my father's own experience.

What I felt was beyond coincidental here was how they decided to do some EVP recordings and Katrina put the recorder in the lift and how when they were reviewing the playback they were exactly where they were supposed to be in that moment in time, to capture that amazing mist/smoke/dust.  It looked like it was more mist than dust and also it looked like there was part of a shoe or leg visible or something is thrown at 20.50. But if it was something thrown they would've found it. Apparently it did appear as if something was trying to manifest and again it was right in the hallway which led into that room with the hand.  It was as though they were meant to be right there and see this happen and with Nick's cam facing the right direction too!  It was attempting to emulate the smoke in the show's opening credits!  Only kidding!

This lockdown proved as successful and intriguing as those before, as once again they discovered there wasn't any malicious activity involved there which is understandable, as this was a hospital for the ill but also the mentally disabled.  Another reason why there was more activity during the day was probably cos that's when the hospital would be active and certain patients could roam the wards. Whereas they would be in their rooms during the night.  As well as the portable Geobox captures telling them to go to the third floor and 'Rose' coming through as well.  Not sure if this was meant to be heard or not but it did sound like there was a conversation going on there, with a woman's voice asking, "is this the way out?" (See below.)

Add to this Nick's idea for them to go on their own cos that's what the spirits wanted them to do, with Rob monitoring and how Katrina asked the spirit to show its pain through Nick and his backpain, again so uncanny and an intelligent response.  As Katrina asked Nick, think there were both intelligence and residual hauntings taking place here.  Those screams in the lift shaft Nick captured could've been residual when the poor man lost his life.  Then Katrina getting a response to her question of knocking on Rose's door and asking if she could come in.

Happy they asked Valoree about Rich, cos at that point before she said she knew a Richard I was going to research.  It's good when they can get information on the spirits and in some way perhaps helping then find closure, but also knowing they just wanted attention and weren't bad or negative too.  Another investigation where there was only good going on.  Nick losing all sense of time in room 310 and was definitely out of it, could tell he looked so tired emotionally and physically.  This ep was Nick's turn to be checked on.  All this and a pesky bat too! Ha.

Voices on the Geobox not sure if they're relevant or not: "
It's not finished.
Wanna see if I can hear her?
They just wanna help."

Sex, Death and Bowling Review

                                                
A film that comes round full circle in many ways as it explores the meaning of life and death, as seen through the eyes of 11 year old Eli (Joshua Rush) - so cute and so much going on in his head for one so young! He appears to have come to terms with the fact his father, Rick (Bailey Chase) is about to die.  But also how he still has hope, fuelled on by Evie (Melora Walters) who tells him stories of how a falling star is a soul of  a deceased one returning to Earth and coming back to life.  Which is a good story for him and giving him hope in some small way.  Yet he also explores other religions too and their beliefs as well as wanting to become a Catholic cos he likes the idea of purgatory and ending up somewhere, but not quite sure where (my words.)  Seems he too has trouble with the school bully, Wolf (Sean Ryan Fox) son of Tim (Drew Powell) and that aspect hasn't skipped a generation or the bully gene either, with Rick and uncle Sean (Adrian Grenier) also having to deal with the same family when they were at school and Sean still has to face up to him now.

There's Rick (Bailey Chase) who was on his last breath almost, as said and how Sean had come home for him.  A fashion designer recognized from being on the cover of GQ!  With the girls still throwing themselves at him, eve if he is gay.  As well as coming home to the town he left behind, the family and father, Dick (Daniel Hugh Kelly). Yeah when you have a character who's good in the longterm and not a bad father and a little at odds with his family and estranged Sean, always call 'em Dick!  But in a nice way.  Dick's obsessed with the bowling festival, as is Eli and they've won the trophy three years in a row.  This year with Rick not playing and having to resort to Hal's (Lyle Canouse) son-in-law, Ben (Wayne Wilderson) who isn't good at all, after Hal does his back in.

It's like a pride thing in a town where there's no sportsmanship but one-up-manship, particularly on the part of the Tile team, Tim, ergo once bullies and still are!  So it was good to see them get their faces and noses rubbed in it and that fight was brewing for years.  Took a homecoming and a bowling tournament for it to simmer, or rather boil over to the surface.  Yay nailed those bullies did Dick and Sean!  As well as winning the tournament.  The sad part being it's also the moment Rick loses his fight when they win.  He knew they would and he finally realized they did win and everything was okay and he could let go now.  As well as getting  a visit from Dick before he passed.  Stubborn as he was in not visiting him sooner. Seems he did the same when his wife died.

It wasn't just about Dick's prejudice, maybe back then over Sean's sexuality, but he came to terms with it now and he knew back then.  But something had to unite this family and that something was bowling and you could say it was exactly as the title says it all: Sex, Death and Bowling.

Ally Walker did an exceptional job with the script and directing.  Ally should write some more dramas of this quality. Of course it was a story seen before, how there are so many facets and elements behind a family's life and secrets.  Of growing up in a small town, fighting bullies, each other, but most of all it was real life and that made it different.  How adversity was always there in the heart of the McCallister's as well as pain but also love and not the fleeting kind, but the kind that lasts.

The cast also did a superb portrayal with Daniel playing Dick as someone who's making the most of a difficult time.  It's hard facing death once, but then twice and becoming distant was his way of coping.  As we've said often enough, a parent shouldn't survive a child and have to go through that emotional turmoil.  Adrian as the put upon son having to face small town bullies and their prejudices over again and realizing he loves his father after all and he loves him too.  As well as the funny moments.  Bowling was life and winning was everything.  Many a polystyrene cup my friend and I had ripped to shreds in the college canteen over the years!  Mostly out of boredom, not nervousness. Loved that scene! Hey Ponderosa reunion here with Drew, who played Hoss, alongside Daniel as Ben Cartwright. acting out.  "Hey don't talk to your pa like that!!  Asshole!"  ha.  Okay had to add that in.

Overall it wasn't as bad as some critics commented! Yeh who needs 'em?!!
Watching a film about terminal illness isn't easy on many levels, been through that, but Ally chose appropriate moments to pepper with simple comedy, with emotionally repressed Dick, coping as best he can.  As said having to go through it once is bad enough, but twice over, it's not a case of getting over it and being there for your family.  In many ways it's difficult to come to terms with, who does really, but doesn't mean he wasn't feeling for Rick and his family.  The father is the glue that keeps the family together. Nothing wrong with a dysfunctional family drama if and when done in the right way.

Daniel always plays his roles with relish and his comedy is exceptional.  A great choice and finally good to see him in a role which involved more than very little or hardly any screentime.  Bailey Chase and his cushy role of lying in bed for the duration, reminded me of his role in Longmire as Branch Connolly, he ended up being shot, in hospital and a short while later was murdered by his own father!  (No I wasn't thinking irony or anything here!  Ha.)

Paranormal Lockdown 2.3 "The Oliver House" Review

For a first so far this season The Oliver House presented itself with so much evidence but one where the spirits were more 'friendlier' than most of the places Nick and Katrina have investigated.  It was good to see there was nothing malicious in the house and how the children were intrigued by Katrina, as she sensed a little girl and how her hand was held.
The other fascinating aspect of the house was not only how it was seeped in so much history from the colonists to the revolutionists and how Benjamin Franklin really did get around!  But how it was also used as part of the Underground Railway network.  The Oliver's were not only persecuted by the revolutionists and betrayed by Franklin, yet to see that their house was also used for some good in helping the slaves reach Canada and freedom.

The evidence in the basement with the "ssh" so many times as you would do when hiding and running for your lives, it was so clear, as if someone was standing right next to them when it was said.  As well as the exceptional stick figures on the 3D mapping camera.  Then child with Katrina and then Nick seeing the little boy in the other room, as well as Katrina being woken when she felt like someone touching her feet.  Hey someone should've slept in the basement.

That's why as Katrina said the paranormal doesn't happen when you want it to or expect it to, but anytime, which is why sleeping in the place helps. At 15.26 you can hear a child saying "hmm." Then a voice followed by it when Katrina pulls the covers off her head, sounds like "hello" and definitely sounds like a little girl at 15.30. Such a coincidence that the voice is heard as soon as Katrina pulls the covers off.  That was some communication! When Katrina reviews the evidence next day you can hear the voice again at 16.16.
Have to say that clock counting down the hours was droning not to mention sounding like how you'd feel if you were exhausted.  Nick looked less tired than Katrina that morning, for a change.  ha.

You can hear the drums too at 18.58 as Rob says, since there's also no background music playing for the episode. More compelling evidence not only since the land belonged to the Native Americans but the deaths that have been associated with it.  Katrina was intrigued by the woods as she said, but also uncanny how Katrina ended up going out there when she was lost by Rob and Nick.  As though she was drawn out there.

At 26.40 when Nick communicates with Earl, sure there's also a child's voice that comes through before "upstairs" where something like, "let me go" is said.  The boot steps in the hallway, the back mass figures and Nick getting to interact with Earl was amazing.  Not to mention Katrina tripping on the stairs (not amazing) but what was endearing was Nick turning around and asking Rob if "she's okay" after Katrina replies that she is.  Yet more reasons why they are so in sync together and collect some of the best paranormal evidence around.  As well as Nick telling the 3D figure how it's still his house and even if people will come through, they won't be there to hurt them.  Always thinking of the spirits and being respectful.

Sherlock 4.1 "The Six Thatchers" Review

                                              
Contains spoilers

This one was inevitably all about Mary (Amanda Abbington) since the task of getting Sherlock's (Benedict Cumberbatch) name cleared was dealt with early on so he could return home.  This was done by doctoring the footage of Sherlock shooting Magnussen and putting it down to a trigger happy squaddie.  Clearly Sherlock was more interested in the Ginger Nuts and lollies!  Engaging with Vivien, the secretary and that's all she was, glorified secretary with delusions of grandeur.   Sherlock invariably tweeting cos Benedict doesn't!  #OhWhatABeautifulMorning.  He doesn't need stimulants, he's on an all natural high.  Sherlock: "What would you do Vivien?"  Quite frankly, the loaded question of the entire episode!  What did you do Vivien? should've been more apt!

Moriarty he says is planning a 'possum's game."  Planned when and if Sherlock survived the roof, you know, just a contingency.  He tells Lady Smallwood (Lindsay Duncan) he's going to wait. Sherlock: "I always know when the game is on...because I love it." Sherlock then paying a visit to the London Aquarium to watch the fish and to ponder death always meeting at every corner and the story of the merchant and his Appointment in Samara'. Which everyone brings up sooner or later, (as in Supernatural 6.11 Appointment in Samara.)  Which Mycroft (Mark Gatiss) later refers to as Appointment In Sumatra and how Sherlock was always obsessed with that story changing the ending. (From the Somerset Maugham story of the same name.)

Sherlock: "There was once a merchant in a famous market in Baghdad.  One day he saw a stranger looking at him in surprise and he knew that this stranger was death...the merchant fled and made his way to the city of Samara..where he thought death could not follow...where the merchant saw waiting for him the grim figure of death...he looked so surprised...because I had an appointment with you in Samara."

Sherlock can now return to his sleuthing ways and has a slew of cases, not least of which is one LeStrade (Rupert Graves) brings him.  One where a boy was found dead in the front seat of his car. His father had gotten a call from him via Skype at a party and then spoke to him over the phone.  A drunk driver was chased by the police who just happened to turn into their driveway (with precision driving for a drunk) until he crashed into their son's car.  The report shows there were two types of vinyl on the car seat which Sherlock is impressed with and John (Martin Freeman) says that he was already dead a week.  Which intrigues Sherlock.  They pay a visit to his parent's house and he notices the CCTV was broken and also notices the table where once stood the bust of Margaret Thatcher.

His father says there was a break-in and the bust was broken, but Sherlock notices the thick rug.  Also is his annoying self (in a lovable) way when feigning not to know who Thatcher was and also forgetting Lestarde's name is Greg.  When John called him that not moments before.  As well as a reference to Sherlock wanting Lestarde to get recognition for his case, but he won't cos John will blog it.  He explains how their son called but was really outside (said that) and how he was watching him the car when he was supposed to surprise him after he hid behind the vinyl cover.  Said that too eventually, well actually sis did first.  He had died a week before and if that drunk hadn't happened along, then he wouldn't have been found for an even longer time.  But the bust still intrigues Sherlock when he says it was smashed outside.

Obviously the bust was involved - it wasn't called The Six Thatchers for nothing you know (though one was one too many or more than enough!  Ha.)  This leads him onto the other busts and the use of a hacker named Toby, however the hacker is Craig and his dog is Toby and he leads them around to the market and a trail of blood.  Think he just wanted to get the bloodhound involved, reminding him of his own Redbeard.  When I thought of this useless dog, thought of Columbo's useless mutt too! Ha. That trail was a dead end, until there are three more busts found to be have been broken in the same way and one of them Lestrade tells him involves a murder.  He gets Craig to find that these busts are big business and were manufactured in Georgia.  And that there is still one outstanding in Reading which is where Sherlock heads.  When he gets there he waits around until the intruder arrives and they fight.  Ending up in the pool once again, flashbacks to the Pilot episode 1 and how it all began. (Lestrade also tells the police woman of how it all began ten years ago, yeah it's been that long!!)

He smashes the bust hoping to find the Black Pearl of the Borgia's and instead he finds a memory stick with AGRA written on it.  Again flashback to 3.3 and Mary giving the stick to John but he burns it without reading it, cos The "future is my privilege."  However not for long.  Sherlock mentions Mary and she burnt it and he asks about Mary.  Saying she betrayed him.  There was a hostage crisis in Georgia and they were sent in to rescue the hostages, but it went wrong.  They were caught and he was kept and tortured.  Saying the English woman betrayed him.  Which obviously could've been anyone.  Sherlock meets with Mary after the man escapes saying she's a "dead woman walking" and she tells him about AGRA.  There were four of them and they went where they were hired to go.  The memory sticks were insurance as they each knew everything about the other.  She doesn't know anything about AJ (Sacha Dawaan) and she never betrayed him, she thought he was dead.  She knocks Sherlock out after giving him a paper laced with chloroform and leaves.

Leaving a letter for John saying she has to go and how she loves Rosamund, Rosie for short.  As that's what her name is.  Rosamund but she always liked Mary (said that too about her name, as we know there wasn't an 'M' on the stick.  Cue along series of scenes where she travels halfway round the world, practically and then ends up in Morocco and with Sherlock already there.  Obviously the tracker was John's idea.  Sherlock tells Mary she must come back to London where he can protect her as it's his city, he knows the turf.  But not the people!  That's what it seems.  AJ tuns up as he followed Sherlock there and tells her he saw one of the other team being tortured and killed and they did the same for him for no reason, but the fun of it.  He escaped and put the memory stick in the bust.  Then they left him for six years in a cell until he finally escaped.  AJ is killed by the police and Sherlock didn't get a reply to his question of what he was told exactly by his torturers.

He tells Mycroft about the stick and how AGRA was under his operation.  But he doesn't use mercenaries anymore and it was disbanded.  As well as telling him about the English woman and they assume it's Smallwood, she was too obvious a suspect and why would she betray them anyway, especially considering she required Sherlock's help with Magnussen and how she needed Sherlock back here when they thought Moriarty is back.  Sherlock insisting he's dead and his message was an earlier recording.  Though he was pleased to be back since it was his own life that was at stake not four hours ago and he was flying to his death.

Smallwood tells Mycroft she doesn't know what happened but she didn't betray anyone.  Sherlock works out who the English woman would've been (cos frankly not many suspects) and meets her at the London Aquarium, messaging John and Mary to come too.  John sends Mary first since he needs to find a babysitter for Rosie.  Sherlock confronts Vivien who wanted to show everyone she had brains, and wasn't just a secretary.  So when Smallwood ordered the AGRA team in to rescue the hostages, she called upon the men and told them of the operation.  Sherlock tells her it was out of jealousy and she disagrees.  But he proves his point.  She wanted to show them she was better and that she was clever.  More egotistical than jealous.  She pulls out a gun from behind her bag which was obvious, but instead of using it on herself when the game was up, she thought she'd go one better and shoot Sherlock.  Again out of jealousy, he figured out it was her and she couldn't match him in intelligence.  So really she'd remain a nobody after all.
Leading to Sherlock being the one who seeks professional help from John's therapist.  He doesn't know what to do about him.

Knew at the end Mary's case for Sherlock would be to "save John."  That was apparent cos he couldn't keep his vow (His Last Vow) and save Mary or protect her.  As soon as he said it, you knew it wouldn't turn out that way.  With everyone thinking they were dealing with Moriarty and especially also when she sent him the DVD with "Miss Me" on it.  That would catch his attention and how she kept saying if he's watching this then she's 'probably' dead and 'probably' gone.  Well if she's gone, she's gone, no probablies about it.  Though in a around about way it did remind me of Sherlock and Mary in Morocco when he spoke of probabilities and maths and was fast running out of clever things to say.  As for Morocco and Mary taking detours on the way, just wanted to say did he really need a tracker, he found Irene Adler fine when he rescued her in Pakistan.

So John doesn't want to see him around anymore, we being too much at that cemetery and this time round he said goodbye to his wife for real, as opposed to Sherlock turning up alive and well.  As we also get that mysterious 'E' in John's life now.  A little too much of a coincidence he happens to 'meet' a random stranger on his bus and continues the text conversation with her, only for Mary to get killed off at the end.  As for that 'taking bullet' can't believe Sherlock was just going to stand there and let the bullet get to him!  Not to mention no one did anything to stop Vivien.  No shootback or anything! As well as Sherlock's reminder to Mrs Hudson (Una Stubbs) that if he got too cocky or over confident to just say "Norbury" to him.

In the original Arthur Conan Doyle story, it was the busts of Napoleon that were smashed and there's a reference to that here as Craig says Thatcher's even overtaken Napoleon,   Of course we know there were no political motivations in this smashing of the busts even before Sherlock says it, clearly there was something hidden in there and we all thought it was the pearl, maybe why Sherlock cleverly saying how we could just get another pearl.  The original story also had heavy political references to immigrants and refugees, which was rather topical but not where Mark Gatiss wanted to go, understandably.  So he made it about Mary.  The Adventure of the Six Napoleons is where John Watson noticed a thawing of Sherlock's character, he became humanized a little and here Sherlock is exactly that.  He keeps mentioning his vow for one and well, on more than one occasion and then he tells AJ that Mary is his friend and under his protection.  He will always be there for her to protect her.  Heck his face says it all when John lets out that almighty moan and then just looks at Sherlock before he speaks.  Then when Molly (Louise Brearley) (who's godmother to Rosie) tells Sherlock John left a note and doesn't want him around here.  A bit of a backtrack to when Sherlock supposedly died and how John reacted then was in complete contrast to how he reacts now.  He seemingly severs all ties with his one time best friend.  He was his friend.  There'll be no blogging about this case it seems!

Just like Mary was Sherlock's friend and he acknowledges that, whereas the 'other' Sherlock wouldn't have!  Even calling her at the end to come and wanting her to come investigate and follow the trail with Toby, since she's much better at this than John.  She even apologizes to Sherlock for shooting him, though he does say work is good for getting over it.  He'd prefer not to think about it, since an emotional Sherlock isn't a good Sherlock.  As Sherlock makes reference to how he's become dramatic, as a nod to Benedict's time on the stage perhaps.  Sherlock can do drama too!  Though a funny scene was where Sherlock referenced Mycroft to being Wikipedia.  Can't help but wonder if probabilities and the maths reference was an allusion to Sherlock's mother who wrote a book on Maths. (See His Last Vow.)
Oh John, John, John Sherlock told you ot be careful what you wish for when you wished for Sherlock's death.  It came, not as it was expected, but this sort of thinking led to Mary's demise!  Ahh RIP Mary.  But John, you were not such a great husband.  After they were married he kept his bag packed, wanted to still investigate with Sherlock and then the woman on the bus!!  Even if he called 'it' off, he still texted and thought of her!  Marriage vows??

It's unclear as to whether the cast will be able to be brought back for a season 5 and the final episode is entitled The Final Problem, Sherlock dies - for real.  But even then Conan Doyle had to bring him back by popular demand.  So fans may yet have an outlet for their love of Sherlock if the worst happens and there are no more.  We'll certainly cry havoc and let rip the dogs of war, aka the hound of the Baskervilles and Sherlock's greatest fans!!

With the events of 2016, the US election, Brexit, Steven Moffat in an interview, spoke of how "being a hero isn't bigger, richer, more powerful than somebody else.  It's being wiser and kinder."  It was time for Sherlock to be less cocky and more humane.  As well as the mention of Sherrinford Holmes, their older brother, so there's that to come too, hopefully.

See below His Last Vow

http://mila255.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/sherlock-32-his-last-vow-review.html

where Magnussen was mentioned as "the Napolean of blackmailers."  Which was what the story was originally called.  Also in that Sherlock mentions that John and Mary will make good parents as they've had practise of looking after Sherlock.  Not to mention how Lestrade and John speak of Sherlock and he asks if that's what they're actually doing. Then there was Mycroft's line of Sherlock slaying dragons and Mary mentions Sherlock being a dragon watching over her.  yeah but not of the Smaug variety.  Though could be said he was a sleeping dragon like Smaug since he couldn't save Mary!

As for Sherlock being humanized: called it here: (kinda)

http://mila255.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/sherlocks-humanity-and-other-musings.html