BBC’s Sherlock is a modern twist on Doyle’s iconic character, and now the fourth season has finally premiered, but does it live up to expectations? Well. . .I think it’s too early to judge the season as a whole, but the first episode wasn’t the strongest as it should’ve been.
I enjoy Sherlock, I’ve been a fan for a couple of years now, but my excitement for it has decreased lately. One of the reasons being is that the last episode of the third season left me underwhelmed with an underwhelming villain and an underwhelming plot. I wasn’t much invested as I was with the first two seasons and I hope my interest can be piqued again. Unfortunately, with the first episode, I was left a bit disappointed.
It was great to see Sherlock and John again, their scenes together are always a highlight, but it didn’t help that the end of the episode now puts a strain on their relationship as John now blames Sherlock for Mary’s death. John annoyed me this episode. Usually it’s Sherlock who’s the ignorant one, but not only does John cheat on Mary, he also decides to avoid Sherlock. Like, buddy, I know you’ve had it rough through out the episode but that doesn't excuse you for being a jerk.
The subplot with him and that woman was completely out of character for him. Yes, he’s human and humans have flaws, but there are other ways to make a character flawed without screwing with their personality. John was never the disrespectful type—that’s Sherlock’s job.
Anyway, let’s talk about Mary. I didn’t hate Mary, nor did I love her. I thought she was just okay. Her character arc was okay. A secretive character wanting to get away from their dark past has been done before, so I didn’t really get many surprises from her. It was predictable that she was going to die since she does in the books, but there’s speculations going around that she’s not dead.
If Mary faked her death somehow, I guess I could buy it, especially since she was a secret agent. It didn't make sense that she went down that easily (although she was able to stop a speeding bullet. . .somehow). Sherlock faked his death—although we never exactly learn how which still bugs me. So if the creators are able to bring back Sherlock with no clear explanation, they’ll probably do the same thing with Mary.
The first episode overall was okay, I didn’t hate it but I wish it didn't focus so much on Mary. Again, I don't dislike the character, I just think she's kind of bland and her story arc should've been done and over with last season. The preview to the next episode looks promising, but I’m going to keep my expectations low and see what happens.
