**SPOILERS AHEAD**
Sherlock is easily one of the best shows running today. It’s a refreshing, superbly written show that captures the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, while injecting the narrative with new material. It’s a whole year before season (series) four begins, so we’ve been treated with this Christmas special to fill up the time.
The episode takes place in the 1800’s. Watson has visions of his experiences in war, and comes home in need of a place to reside. His friend from school suggests a fellow named, Sherlock Holmes, and the episode begins. I enjoyed the tip-of-the-hat to the first episode, however I was initially worried that the entire episode would be a re-hash of that first episode. I was pleasantly surprised, as the episode took another turn–and many, many twists. Sherlock and Watson encounter a client, a women by the name of, Lady Carmichael. Her husband has been witnessing a mysterious specter; a women, dressed in a wedding dress with a face as pale as death. She is the mysterious Abominable Bride, a women who supposedly killed herself and has risen from the dead.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman we born to play these roles. I can’t reiterate how enthralling it was seeing them back at it again. They’re chemistry is impeccable, and the performances are wonderful. Back to the episode, I went in thinking this would be a self contained story. It wasn’t. It ties in, and I must admit rather brilliantly, with the end of last season. I did however prefer to have a self contained episode, and I mostly got that. The majority of the episode is in the 1800’s, but it’s all taking place in the famous mind palace of Sherlock’s.
In the season two finale, Sherlock and Moriarty face off on the rooftops of London. After a heated battle of the minds, Moriarty–brilliantly played by Andrew Scott–blows his brains out. At the end of series three, Moriarty appears on every screen in London, saying, “Miss me?”. Similarly, the Abominable Bride went out the same way, blowing out her brains. Sherlock has entered his mind palace to discover how Moriarty survived his suicide.
As an episode, The Abominable Bride is mostly satisfying. The script by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat is full of fantastic dialogue and witty banter. The story, while not self contained, is pretty solid. As I watched the episode unfold, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. It’s much different than previous installments due to it’s strange non-linear narrative. I can’t say it’s a perfect episode however. The abrupt reveal near the end does take you out of it. It does a brilliant job of tying things together, it just feels so out of nowhere. I feel like it would have been better to reveal Sherlock was in his mind palace earlier on in the episode. Instead, it comes completely out of left field. That being said, this is still a very good “episode”, it just has some noticeable flaws.
Finally, there is a misogynistic underlying tone to this episode. It’s quite sexist towards women, and a lot of reviews are mentioning this and criticizing this fact. However, while I somewhat agree, I have another opinion that isn’t being addressed enough. Firstly, this is mostly set in the late 1800’s, a time when women were beginning to champion for the right to vote. I can understand the why people are acting misogynistic in this setting. Personally, I felt like the writers were trying to send a message about treating women equally, they just went about it in the wrong way. A very wrong way. Females are put down by men several times throughout the episode. Again, this is appropriate to the times. Towards the end, the women of the city are dressed in purple KKK looking garbs, and it’s revealed that they were behind the Bride killings. They’re motive was to get back at the men in their lives who treated them as inferior. Instead of rational debate, protests or discussions, they go out and start gunning down and killing men. Are their actions condemned? No. They are hailed as freedom fighters and Sherlock gives a speech basically supporting them.
Overall, “The Abominable Bride” is a satisfying episode that will hold fans of the show at bay until next year. It’s brilliantly written, directed, and acted. Seeing Cumberbatch, Freeman, Gatiss, Abbington, and Scott again was delightful. The Victorian era setting is just great. Everything looks so authentic; the costumes, set pieces, and props are all well made. Ultimately, the most memorable scenes are between Moriarty and Sherlock. The parallels of the Bride and the death of Moriarty are well handled, and the tie-ins with the main story work well. The underlying tone of feminism however is unneeded, and the abrupt reveal that you’re in Sherlock’s mind palace is a bit out of left field. However, this is a very good episode despite it’s flaws.
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