Sherlock - Series Three: His Last Vow

The series finale; a new nemesis for Sherlock; the bar raised incredibly high by ‘The Reichenbach Fall’… what did this episode have in store?

The extended opening scene was a rather puzzling one, but it introduced and established the character of Charles Augustus Magnussen, a highly unsettling character – played very effectively by Lars Mikkelsen (who previously played Troels Hartmann in The Killing). The most significant aspects of his character were his ability to identify anybody’s pressure point simply by looking at them – not unlike Sherlock himself – and also the fact that he has a ‘very good memory’.

With a compelling villain established, the stage was set for a memorable finale, but the storyline didn’t quite play out the way that I would have expected. The stakes were raised during the first half hour, with Sherlock going to extreme lengths to take on the case, and also through Mycroft’s intensity whilst warning Sherlock off the case. There was then a confrontation between Sherlock and Magnussen which justified Sherlock’s bold claim that Magnussen is the only criminal who ‘turns his stomach’.

After an enjoyable scene in which Sherlock and Watson infiltrated Magnussen’s offices the episode suddenly shifted into a completely different gear. All of a sudden Magnussen wasn’t the issue anymore, as the attention was then placed onto Mary. It turned out that there was a lot more to her character than simply being a love-interest/wife for John. She had infiltrated Magnussen’s office ahead of the others, and had him held at gunpoint, before turning the gun on Sherlock and shooting him in the stomach.

There then followed a very lengthy hallucinatory sequence – vaguely reminiscent of the scarecrow sequences from Arkham Asylum – where Sherlock journeyed into his ‘mind-palace’ to prevent himself from dying of his gunshot wound. During this he also conducted an investigation of Mary, and was revisited by his true nemesis James Moriarty – who was even more insane than ever before: appropriately dressed in a strait-jacket, and chained to the walls of a padded cell inside Sherlock’s subconscious. In spite of all his efforts he very nearly died, and it wasn’t until the mention of Watson’s name that he found the strength to fight his way out. This was another reminder of just how significant the friendship between Sherlock and Watson truly is.

It seemed that Mary was now the villain – as it turned out that she had a very dark and mysterious past. The details of her past, including her true name and identity were never discovered, because John made the decision not to find out. Mary is the woman he fell in love with and married, and he decided to keep it that way. So it turned out that Mary wasn’t the villain after all, so we shift the focus back over to Magnussen.

Although Mikkelsen did a very good job portraying Magnussen I couldn’t help thinking that the character had become something of an afterthought in amongst all of the confusion. Nevertheless I was pleased with the reveal that he was wearing ordinary glasses and had no vaults filled with information; he simply was a genius with an incredible knowledge and a ‘very good memory’. It actually appeared as though he had bested Sherlock on an intellectual level, and Sherlock’s shooting of him can be analysed in a number of ways. I personally see it as rather out of character for Sherlock, as it seems like too easy a victory for a man of supreme intellect.

I enjoyed this episode, but to me it really felt that the writers were trying too hard to out-do the finale from series two. I felt at times that I was being bombarded with too many twists and reveals, and was hoping for a more linear narrative. With the twist involving Mary, it seems to me that the whole series will require a second viewing - in order to pick up on any little hints. This is both a good and bad thing; it's good because the writing of the show is still very clever, but at times it can get a little too clever for its own good, and consequently becomes very difficult to follow. 

With that said, the return of Moriarty was done very effectively; the episode appeared to have ended with Sherlock’s plane taking off, which felt a little underwhelming, but then the end credits were interrupted with Moriarty’s grinning face and the caption “Miss me?” It made for a perfect cliffhanger teasing another series (which has already been commissioned). Magnussen was an intellectual equal – perhaps even superior – to Sherlock, but Moriarty is the villain who fans of the show really want to see.