#theemptyhearse

The third season of 'Sherlock' turned out to be the most eclectic one: it contains just a good episode, one of the best episodes and the worst episode of the whole show. Today I rewatched 'The Empty Hearse'. Despite of the fact that this episode stabs in the back 'The Reichenbach Fall', its predecessor, it is funny, touching and generally lovely. John Watson got a lot of criticism from some viewers, but this version of Sherlock Holmes' coming back is far better and ingenious than the Granada and the Soviet ones - both were too faithful to the original 'Empty House' and therefore a bit cartoonish and dull. On the personal level I really enjoyed Molly and Mycroft having more screen time (not together, but still), but, of course, Sherlock reigns in this episode, and it is really a great pleasure to follow him in his deductions and adventures. But I have to say that inviting Benedict Cumberbatch's parents to play Sherlock's parents was not a good idea after all. Season 3 displayed a lot of nepotism, and this concrete decision proved to be an unfortunate one. I believe that Wanda Ventham's and Timothy Carlton's presence in the show influenced the writers and directed them into the slightly controversial way, which ended up wih Holmes parents being stereotyped and for some viewers even unlikeable. But it doesn't spoil the impression, and 'The Empty Hearse' is without doubt a very good, and for some one of the best episodes of the show.

Time flies quick while rewatching 'Sherlock', so yesterday we finished season 3. Five years ago it was the first season of this show which I commented on in my diary, so only from this moment I started to really like it (partly because I feel for Sherlock very much - I'm not very good in making friends myself, so I understand how hard it is when you're afraid to lose them). The writers finally left alone the things that were already explored by others and fully dedicated themselves to what they do the best - telling the story of friends and families, which every viewer should be able to understand. 'The Empty Hearse' proved to be a great start - touching, funny and welcoming. 'The Sign of Three' became one of the best episodes of the show, partly because Gatiss and Moffat portrayed Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson like real people in a very real situation - and nobody ever did it like this before. Unfortunately, 'His Last Vow' almost spoilt everything. The first twenty minutes of this episode cover the characters with unnecessary disgust which stays with them till the end of it, but the problem is not just that. No investigation, almost no action, constant talk, and the poorest interpretation of the original ACD story - the incredibly stupid hero almost loses to the incredibly stupid villain who was portrayed like that simply because Moffat had a fan theory and wanted Sherlock Holmes to kill Magnussen. All this makes 'His Last Vow' the worst 'Sherlock' episode (yes, it's worse than 'A Scandal in Belgravia') - but it is not that important, because after that we had the best season of the show - and who cares about Magnussen, if the East Wind is coming?..