Believe it or not, but I’ve never watched a single episode of Sherlock. Not one. While I do feel like I’m missing out on a high quality television show, there’s a large part of me that feels like pop culture has taught me most of what I need to know about it.



While pop culture may have failed me when it comes to my Doctor Who knowledge (or so Hypable readers have told me), I’m fairly certain that I have a firm grasp on what Sherlock is all about. After all, it’s about the famous Sherlock Holmes and I saw the Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law Sherlock Holmes movies. How different could this show be?

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As with all of these “Everything I know about (insert pop culture phenomenon here)” articles, there may be a fair share of spoilers ahead. So please use caution while reading if you don’t want to be spoiled. I honestly don’t know exactly what I’m talking about so I may accidentally ruin a plot point (or just completely destroy the entire series) while sharing what I think I know with all of you. After all, I learned everything that I think I know from Tumblr posts, Hypable news, and gossip. Lots and lots of gossip. So please be careful.

*Note: I haven’t checked Tumblr or Hypable news posts for Sherlock since before the season 3 finale because, quite simply, I would like to not be spoiled in case I decide to start watching sometime before season 4.

The premise



This is really a no-brainer, isn’t it? Sherlock Holmes (played by the handsome Benedict Cumberbatch) is aided by his friend John Watson (played by Martin Freeman) in solving interesting and thought-provoking crimes. Or so we’re meant to assume. But I feel like in this incarnation of Sherlock, the story is more about Sherlock and John’s bromance (or possible romance? see below for my ideas on that) rather than actual crimes. The name Moriarty seems to be tossed around a lot but, from what I can tell, he seems more like an abstract idea than a criminal mastermind/physical man.

The characters Sherlock Holmes: ‘High-functioning sociopath’



Sherlock Holmes is Sherlock Holmes. He has a very acute attention to detail and is more logic-oriented than emotion-oriented. Played by the fantastic Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock has a beautifully deep and soulful voice that you can never tire of hearing, even if he’s being a bit annoying at the moment. Sherlock looks to be an upstanding gentleman of the lower middle class who is well-educated and constantly throws his knowledge into everyone’s face. But he’s really intelligent, so it’s ok.

Doctor John Watson: His relatively normal sidekick



Watson is Sherlock Holmes’ sidekick. I believe he’s supposed to be a doctor of some sort but, in all of the images I’ve seen from the show (and all of the posts on Tumblr), he seems to specialize in slightly snarky comments and following Sherlock around. In between thinking of comebacks for Sherlock’s backhanded insults and creating a ton of sexual tension between himself and Sherlock, John decided to snag himself a wife. Why he would need a wife when he has Sherlock is beyond me. In other news, from what I’ve seen, this character goes by “John” more than “Watson” on the show, and it really bothers me. I always see people referring to him as “John” on the internet and it just makes me want to cry aloud, “My dear Watson!” But that’s just me.

Moriarty: The (non-existent) villain



A lot of fandoms focus on villains and adversaries almost as much as they do on their beloved main characters. For instance, the Supernatural tag on Tumblr shows a ton of villains or monsters all over the place. However, even though Moriarty is a pretty big deal in the Sherlock Holmes stories, I can’t really find photos or mentions of him in the Tumblr tags or in any sort of news anywhere. It’s actually quite sad because Moriarty has always interested me. But, because I can’t find mention of Moriarty anywhere, I’m thinking that Sherlock pulled an Iron Man 3 and drastically transformed his character into something completely different (like what was done to The Mandarin). However, even that seems like a bit of a stretch. Maybe his only villainous goal is to keep Sherlock and Watson apart.

Mycrosoft Holmes



Did I get his name right? I can never remember it… I think I’m close enough. Confession time: I’ve never read a single Sherlock Holmes story, so I’m not familiar with any characters other than Sherlock, (My Dear) Watson, and Moriarty. And by familiar, I mean I know their names and vague details. So I guess it’s no surprise that I’ve never heard of this guy. For all I know, he’s a new character invented by the show. I’m thinking that since Moffat does well with the sci-fi genre that he may have introduced a bit of it into Sherlock with this character. So my vote is that Mycrosoft here is an android from the future or something. Why else would he have such an odd name? Plus, the only photos I’ve ever seen of this man have been with him standing perfectly still. It’s kind of creepy… But, if he’s not in fact an android, I could see him as some sort of adversary to Sherlock.

Some chick named ‘Molly’



For some reason, it seems like the majority of Sherlock fans that I come across are fans of someone named “Molly.” In fact, I may even argue that she’s a lot of people’s favorite character. However, I can’t find any evidence of her existence beyond her name (hence no photo for this section). So I’m going to assume that she’s either a pretty plain Jane or that she is a mysterious femme fatale-like character who doesn’t show her face often.

On page 2: Johnlock, Steven Moffat and a solution to Sherlock’s fall…