Warning! Spoilers ahead!
Okay, I think i'm calm enough to write a review of the long awaited third season of BBC Sherlock, kicking off with 'The Empty Hearse.' To say the least, I was excited for this, I've been a very passionate Sherlock fan since the first episode aired, and I've been waited for this since Sherlock fell to his 'death' two years ago. So yes, I was excited, getting to the point where I was literally warning everyone I knew for weeks that if they dared disturb me during this, I was going to be biting their heads off. I was almost unplugging the phone, to make sure nothing disturbed my enjoyment of this episode, which in hindsight, was a good idea, seeing as the phone rang half way through.
But anyway, back to the review of The Empty Hearse. The episode started where The Riechenbach Fall left off, with Sherlock on the roof of St Bart's, talking to John on the roof, before he jumped. Then, we saw how he did it, using a bungee cord and Moriarty's body disguised as his own to fool John into thinking he's actually dead, when in fact he's bounced back up through the window and KISSED Molly Hooper (lucky, lucky woman) before walking off into obscurity. So then it turns out that this is just a theory by Anderson, who's lost his job due to his obsession with how Sherlock survived the fall. Lestrade turns him down and tells him he's feeling guilty for being involved in Sherlock's death, but Anderson is insistent, Sherlock is alive, he believes in Sherlock Holmes! Lestrade remains suspicious and tells him Sherlock is dead, he fell to his death and there is nothing bringing him back.
We then see John standing at Sherlock's grave, holding hands with a mystery woman, before seeing Mrs Hudson, he hasn't been round very often, it's been too hard for him to come over, because he isn't over Sherlock's death. Mrs Hudson believes him and John announces that he's met someone, and he's planning on marrying them. Mrs Hudson takes this as John has moved onto another man, leading to a very funny 'I'm not gay!' conversation, though Mrs Hudson still believes that John and Sherlock were a couple. (Bless that woman, I believe they're a couple too.)
And then another person is introduced, someone is running through the woods, in tatty clothes and long, messy hair, there's a helicopter chasing them, as well as people on the ground! Eventually, the figures falls and gets surrounded, and we then see this strange man being tortured by a Serbian man. The tortured man's face is not shown, but it's clearly Sherlock, as he starts deducing things about his torturer, making him run off to see his wife in the act of cheating on him. There's been another man sitting in the shadows, who comes over, telling the tortured man in chains that there's a terrorist plot in London, and his little brother needs to come back to London. Finally there's a shot of the tortured man's bowed head, it's Sherlock, and he smiles!
Obviously Sherlock is straight back to London and as he talks to Mycroft, he has a moment of looking like Khan with his sleeked back hair, and we start to see the 'new' him. He's definitely more bulked up, and a bit more human as he talks about popping out of a cake to surprise John, though he's still Sherlock underneath, with his lack of understanding of John moving on with his life. We also see more of this new nature when he goes to tell John he's alive, and this is really where Mark Gattiss out does himself with his research into what the fans wanted with a hilariously funny attempt to surprise John, involving a ridiculous French accent and a drawn on moustache, ending with a 'long story short, not dead.'
Martin Freeman is amazing with his reaction to Sherlock being alive, he doesn't faint like he does in the book, but instead reacts violently three times, leaving Sherlock with a bust lip and a bloody nose. Mary is also an instant hit with me, as she is a bit cheeky, and instantly likes Sherlock, and is clearly good for John too. I immediately warmed to her, before the episode aired, I was unsure of her and whether she would come between John and Sherlock (I ship those two a ridiculous amount) but she proves within minutes of her first appearance that if anything, she'll push them together more, and maybe provide some sanity between the two with their hectic lives.
Now I won't give anymore away, you'll have to watch the episode yourselves, but it is brilliant TV, and well worth the wait. Season three is shaping up to be different to the first two seasons, Sherlock is very different, he's more human for sure, and now up for a laugh. Mary is taking up a bit more of John's time, but other than that, the show is essentially the same. Sherlock and John, solving crimes in 221b, Sherlock is still a (lovable) smart arse, John still sasses him, Mrs Hudson is still not their house keeper and Mycroft still sticks his nose in, but this feels more homely, big things have changed, but the show is essentially the same. Though it's slightly worrying over whether Sherlock is back on drugs again, seeing as he is so much more human, and having auditory hallucinations. And we have a new nemesis in our midst, but where would the series be without it?
But in all in all, the episode is well worth the wait, it's funny and sweet, and heart warming in places. I can not wait for more from the series, and as they said in the seven minute preview from Christmas; The Game Is Back On!
