No he tops himself because he sees that Holmes is willing to go just as far as he is and that he just wants to win the game too.
I meant Moriarty is confident that Holmes will top himself.
Trying to avoid spoilers, but: was I the only person who thought the last episode (and specifically the last 15 minutes) were basically a total cop-out? I found it really disappointing on multiple levels.
The Count of Monte Cristo, a.k.a. Batman was published in 1844.
My friends and I marathonned our way through the second season this past weekend. Then Wikipedia told me that the next season isn’t planned to air until 2013. :(
Although, I may be able to use Sherlock to convince my friends to watch Moffat’s Doctor Who episodes.
Also, regarding the last episode:
Did Moriarty really off himself? That elicited a genuine “Holy shit!” from me (I’m not as familiar with the Doyle stories as many of you, so the title “Reichenbach Fall” didn’t set off alarms for me). I’d hate to see the character done away with.
Mr. Bradley, I’m pretty sure that very question will be on everyone’s mind for another year. :)
-TomI’m pretty sure that the answer to the question is ‘yes.’ Not the answer I’d prefer but I just can’t see any other way around it.
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[spoiler]The only way he could have survived that would be a) the camera was lying to us, or b) it was a double. Even a blank would be fatal at that range, and presumably Holmes is percipient enough to penetrate any fakery in any event. Both a) and b) are cinematically repugnant possibilities, though not without precedent in other bad films. Finally, Moriarty of course dies at that point in the Doyle stories.
Moreover, Holmes’ fake death is managed without cheating or lying to the audience by the use of the implausible instant swarm of LOS-blocking bystanders, by the previous arrangements with whatshername the pathologist, by the strange incident of the rogue bicyclist, and by Watson’s inability to carefully examine the body before it is hustled off into the convenient hospital atop which the action takes place. Together all that communicates “it was fake” very clearly; and of course Holmes’ later living appearance confirms this for the idiots in the audience.[/spoiler]
As much as I hate having the discussion in spoiler tags, I think it’s still pretty recent, and I’d like to be sensitive to what I’m sure a lot of people are still discovering.
That said…
I’m sure you’re right. They’d have to go to some pretty great lengths to establish that Moriarty is still alive (as an aside from what you’ve mentioned, I think I’d be willing to go along with a theory that said the journalist’s “actor” source was actually an actor who looked like Moriarty, and was willing to kill himself via coercion of some kind. That’s grasping at straws, though, I know). I really do hate to see the character go, though. He’s one of my favorite “villain performances.”
Definitely don’t read this if you haven’t seen it…
I hate that the character is gone but I’d feel worse if they somehow brought him back next season. I haven’t read any Sherlock Holmes at all so the suicide was totally unexpected for me. What an exit!
Heads up: Season 2 of Sherlock starts this Sunday on PBS’s Masterpiece Theater.
Stephen Moffat was on Fresh Air and Studio 360 yesterday, talking about it. I was really hoping he’d get asked about Coupling, since I’m a huge fan of that show. But Fresh Air didn’t even mention anything besides Sherlock, and Studio 360 only mentioned Doctor Who (even though I don’t like Doctor Who, I’ve been tempted sometimes to watch that show just to see the Stephen Moffat episodes, since I’m a fan of his from Coupling). Bah. Stupid radio interviewers.
My wife and I went through all the Dr. Who episodes written or helmed by Moffat recently, after becoming fans through Sherlock. Definitely worth watching, I’m eagerly waiting for the next season.
These are the episodes we watched:
The Empty Child
The Doctor Dances (these two were a little rough, but still good)
The Girl in the Fireplace
Blink
Silence in the Library
Forest of the Dead
All of Season 5 and 6
They were all great. I caught a few of the Davies Dr. Who episodes and a bit of Torchwood, didn’t enjoy those so much.
Wow. Just watched the third episode of Season 2 because I’m not a scurvy television pirate like some of you. (Seriously, people… QT3’s zero-tolerance policy on piracy seems to fall apart when we’re talking Sherlock and Dr. Who…)
Anyway, it took me a few minutes to figure out how the ending was pulled off. Molly apparently does count when Sherlock actually needs her.
Great episode. Moriarty was wonderful.
It’s a good one. The actor for Moriarty was damn-near perfect. Far better than the snivelly gentleman from the R.A. Downy flick last year, although I did enjoy that as well.
You enjoyed that movie? I was so disappointed in the first one that I didn’t give the second one a shot. Was it remarkably better than the first R.Downy Sherlock movie?
Well, it is better than the first one, but doesn’t measure up to the TV show.
Yeah but I didn’t watch it when it was on BBC US the other day so it cancels out.
Number of times S2E3 has aired on cable I paid for: 1
Number of times I’ve seen S2E3: 1
Software piracy is totally different.
Number of times Joe Pirate played The Witcher 2: 1
Number of times Joe Pirate payed for The Witcher 2: 0
omg that guy is the worst.
Wait, I’m supposed to know how he pulled off faking his death? I figured that would be explained Season 3. What did I not pick up?
I think the precise details were not communicated (if they were I missed something), but various salient points surrounding the event were presented including the obfuscation. Presumably next episode explains the mechanics.
What about the guys that saw the series and didn’t have BBC US or any other channel where it was aired on? That’s why he is talking about.
Well those guys should be burned alive.