TV Review: Sherlock: The Lying Detective
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The BBC’s smash-hit crime drama Sherlock was back again last night as the penultimate episode of the much-anticipated series four.
In The Lying Detective, we got to see Sherlock Holmes – infamous for his lack of human emotion and inability to empathise – become the most human we’ve seen him. Not only was he human, he was high as a kite for an hour and a half.
Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance was notably superb in Sunday’s episode as Sherlock was seen to be on the path of self-destruction with weeks left to live because of his drug abuse. This made it all a bit emotional and hilarious in what was probably Steven Moffat’s greatest piece of writing.
It has to be said that Una Stubbs – playing Mrs Hudson – stole a large part of the show. Turning up in her suave (and very expensive) car, she stunned the audience – and John. Stubbs also captured perfectly the essence of Mrs Hudson when protecting someone she loves, telling Mycroft Holmes (Mark Gatiss) to “get out of my house, you reptile”. If only she had a microphone to drop…
All while Sherlock was giving advice on being suicidal, he was trying to unveil Culverton Smith (Toby Jones) as a serial killer. The reason it proved difficult was because of his fame and wealth, resulting in immeasurable power. It doesn’t take one long to draw comparisons between arch-villain Smith and real-life villain Jimmy Savile – both just as vile as the other.
The plot (as always with Sherlock) got knotted and confusing, yet made itself very clear in the end. It was linked to the previous episode in which John Watson’s wife Mary (Amanda Abbington) passed away, leaving a DVD of instructions for Sherlock on how to save John’s life. Martin Freeman once again portrayed the beloved character of Dr Watson with grace and emotion towards the end of the episode when he breaks down in Sherlock’s arms. That certainly got Twitter talking.
All in all, The Lying Detective was a fantastic piece of television. It was dark and had a warped sense of humour to it while holding the audience ransom when Sherlock asks to be killed. There were touches of heartfelt sentiment in this episode that give Sherlock yet another dimension to his character – one that I must say I really do love.
After the cliff-hanger it ended on (Sherlock and Mycroft have a sister), next week’s final episode is one you do not want to miss.