Friday, February 10, 2012

My analysis of what happened at the series 2 finale of Sherlock.

Spoiler alert.

If you haven't seen it,
and don't want to ruin it,
stop reading here.

You've been warned.

So how did Sherlock fake his own death? He basically pulled off a traditional magic trick. Like any magic trick, you gotta understand that there is no such thing as magic. Magic is only misdirection, letting the minds of the audience follow continuity even when there are breakages in the continuous lines, and the magician going through extraordinary planning that the audience would never expect. Sherlock really jumps off the building, but lands without dying (obviously) on a cushioned surface. The tall buses provide provide cover as well as props to pull this off. People on the ground are in on the act. Even Moriarty notices that there is an unexpected amount of people on the ground, walking around, who would be witnesses to Sherlock's suicide. Molly, Sherlock's doctor friend, supplies a decoy body switch, covered in blood and all. They still would benefit from a little bit of distraction so Sherlock had someone on a bike crash into Watson so that the sniper's attention on Sherlock is distracted. For effect, Watson wasn't in on it. Poor Watson. He will be pissed and relieved that his emotions have been through the wringer.

This meant that Sherlock knew that Moriarty knew all along that he wanted Sherlock to commit suicide by jumping off a building. Why else would he want Sherlock to meet on top of a building anyway. And the death by suicide part was obvious. Moriarty wanted to destroy the public image of Sherlock by painting a picture of a man who couldn't live with himself after people found out he was a fraud.

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