Review:
Sherlock: The Great Game

103: The Great Game

‘Name’s Moriarty. Jim Moriarty.’ – Moriarty

So, here we are at the final hurdle. The finale of the three-episode pilot is upon us and it’s a real gem, removing any doubts about the show that the weaker second instalment might have created.

Sherlock has an admirer. Someone’s been following Watson’s blog and has taken an interest in the deductive skills of our sleuth, issuing a challenge in the shape of a phone similar to the one from ‘A Study In Pink’. The phone receives a voicemail of five beeps and a photo. Sherlock quickly deduces that he will face five challenges and must solve all of them in the allotted time given to him. The failure for penalty is the death of an innocent person, stranded somewhere around the city and strapped to an explosive. The game is afoot.

Meanwhile, Sherlock’s brother Mycroft Holmes attempts to engage Watson in a matter he considers to be far more pressing – the theft of top secret government missile defence plans. With Sherlock locked in a race against time and Watson hopelessly out of his depth, can the two hope to solve the riddles in time?

This is a cracking episode, if only for the sheer number of brilliant moments on display. The fact that the episode features not one but five whole cases – each with characters, intrigue and a nigh-unguessable plot twist – is a testament to the confidence of the Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss creative team. It’s a heck of a great way to bow out after such a phenomenal – albeit short – run.

The episode keeps on piling fresh mysteries on top of old ones, constantly keeping the viewers on their toes as much as the characters, but, as always, it’s a great shock to discover that Sherlock is already at the answers. Brilliant moments include Sherlock deducing how a woman died and who killed her simply by looking at her face, the witty exchange of banter between the warring Holmes brothers, Sherlock figuring out why a painting is a fraud in under ten seconds and, of course, that heart-stopping showdown.