Sherlock Season 4 Review

Okay, so over the past 3 Sundays, the new season of Sherlock aired on BBC1. I have always absolutely loved BBC Sherlock, mainly because Martin Freeman (John Watson) and Andrew Scott (Jim Moriarty) are two of my favourite actors ever. This season disappointed some fans, but I was thoroughly pleased with every episode, as usual. Therefore, here's my little snippet of a review of Sherlock season 4. Beware, spoilers may be ahead!

So, the first episode of the season picks up where the last left off. This episode on the whole was slightly convoluted, as the 'reveal' seemed a little impossible and plot-filling to me. However, the episode was fully emotionally-charged, and had some really beautiful imagery and cinematography of the aquarium and sharks. The ending was rather foreseeable and avoidable fro the characters' perspectives, and I feel like (SPOILER) Mary's death was just a plot device as opposed to something that would've actually happened. I also got really mad at John 'cheating' on Mary, as I thought it was a little out of character for him. Although the episode was a little slow, I understand that it had to set up the new season, introducing new characters and reminding us all of the past.

The second episode was INCREDIBLE. The villain is probably the scariest villain I have ever seen in a TV show. Played by the wonderful Toby Jones (who brought you classics such as Debby the house elf, Claudius Templesmith, and Bursar in St Trinians), Culverton Smith is the perfect villain. Perfect as in perfectly creepy. The scene where he nearly kills Sherlock is so intense and revolting, it truly shook me to the core. It takes some incredible writing, filming, and acting to make me feel so uncomfortable, and yet somehow this scene managed it. The episode was also interesting in other ways, exploring Sherlock and John's relationship, Sherlock's drug use, and the mystery of the disappearing girl. On the whole, I think this was the best episode of the season, and Toby Jones should be commended highly for his tremendous and yet nauseous acting. (Also, I didn't in the slightest see the big reveal at the end coming. Omg it was so well done.)

The third and final episode of the season aimed to tie up loose ends whilst simultaneously creating some more, to tease another season. It succeeded. I have heard mixed reviews about this episode, but I really liked it. I felt like the 'villain' of Eurus (Sian Brooke) paired with posthumous Moriarty made an intriguing team. The plot was rather more Saw than Sherlock in my opinion, but the last part of the episode really made up for it. I guessed the fourth-sibling reveal (yes this is me boasting) but I was still shocked by the way they did it. The creators of Sherlock really know how to make me fear for characters' lives, especially John Watson. When Mycroft (Mark Gatiss) was pretending to insult John so that Sherlock would shoot him instead of John, I welled up, I'll be honest. There's one thing that never fails to get me, and that's characters protecting John Watson.

All in all, I think this season was a triumph. Maybe not as good as season 3, but that's a biiiiiiiiiiig thing to live up to. Congratulations, Gatiss, Moffat, and all the cast and crew!