The Devil’s Foot & SS4 Ep2

I was rather excited to see the possible beach location for SS4 Ep2, as @welovethebeekeeper, mentioned, it is very reminiscent of the story “The Adventure of The Devil’s Foot”. The location immediately made me think of the Granada Holmes episode of said story.

This story is interesting, because it begins with Holmes and Watson heading out to the seaside for a holiday (where they rent a lovely seaside cottage, just the two of them). They are doing this because Holmes is on the brink of complete collapse, and has been ordered by London doctors to take a break to restore his health. There is a very subtle suggestion by Watson, that the cause of this breakdown was a combination of Holmes overtaxing himself with work, not taking care of himself, and over indulging in drugs.

This would fit in well with what we saw in TAB, as well as what we’ve seen so far for SS4 Ep1. I suspect that Sherlock (and possibly also John) is going to be taxed to his psychological limits in this first episode. We already know that he had been indulging in his drug habit throughout HLV and TAB. It’s likely that if he is trying to back off from that use again in SS4 Ep1, he’s feeling the effects of that.

It’s also interesting to note that in the Granada Holmes version of this episode, as @welovethebeekeeper, also mentioned, there is a lovely scene of Holmes burying his drugs in the sand, as a symbol of Holmes giving them up entirely. And given what you see between Holmes and Watson in this episode, I always walked away with the impression that Holmes choice to turn his back on the drugs was as much due to his affection for Watson as it was for his own benefit. Watson expresses his concerns over Holmes health a great deal throughout the story.

Finally, this story contains one of the most lovely references to Holmes love for Watson in the canon. I would put this scene on par with Three Garridebs, if not above it. And it was beautifully done in the Granada Holmes version.

The scenario is this: Holmes is investigating a case that involves the mysterious poisoning of some locals. Whatever the drug or substance is (interestingly enough, it is an air bourn deliriant like in tHoB), it is driving people mad and killing them. Holmes being Holmes, and never being above experimenting on himself and Watson, releases the deliriant into the room where he and Watson are. They are swiftly overcome. Then we get the following scene:

I dashed from my chair, threw my arms round Holmes, and together we lurched through the door, and an instant afterwards had thrown ourselves down upon the grass plot and were lying side by side, conscious only of the glorious sunshine which was bursting its way through the hellish cloud of terror which had girt us in. Slowly it rose from our souls like the mists from a landscape until peace and reason had returned, and we were sitting upon the grass, wiping our clammy foreheads, and looking with apprehension at each other to mark the last traces of that terrific experience which we had undergone. “Upon my word, Watson!” said Holmes at last with an unsteady voice, “I owe you both my thanks and an apology. It was an unjustifiable experiment even for one’s self, and doubly so for a friend. I am really very sorry.” “You know,” I answered with some emotion, for I have never seen so much of Holmes’s heart before, “that it is my greatest joy and privilege to help you.” He relapsed at once into the half-humorous, half-cynical vein which was his habitual attitude to those about him. “It would be superfluous to drive us mad, my dear Watson,” said he. “A candid observer would certainly declare that we were so already before we embarked upon so wild an experiment. I confess that I never imagined that the effect could be so sudden and so severe.”



In the Granada Holmes version, they even have Holmes reach out for Watson, and cry out for him using his first name.

The whole focus of the story, besides the case, of course, is Watson caring for Holmes, trying to nurse him back to health. It’s very intimate, and loving.

And it’s also the story where we are given a line from Holmes, which is, perhaps, the closest that Holmes has ever come to confessing his love for Watson. To set up the context, I’ll tell you that the case involved a man drugging and murdering his family members so that he could inherit their money, the woman who is murdered was loved by a gentleman who was a lion hunter in Africa. He speaks below:

“I was convinced that Mortimer Tregennis was the murderer; that for the sake of money, and with the idea, perhaps, that if the other members of his family were all insane he would be the sole guardian of their joint property, he had used the devil’s-foot powder upon them, driven two of them out of their senses, and killed his sister Brenda, the one human being whom I have ever loved or who has ever loved me. There was his crime; what was to be his punishment?

“Should I appeal to the law? Where were my proofs? I knew that the facts were true, but could I help to make a jury of countrymen believe so fantastic a story? I might or I might not. But I could not afford to fail. My soul cried out for revenge. I have said to you once before, Mr. Holmes, that I have spent much of my life outside the law, and that I have come at last to be a law to myself. So it was even now. I determined that the fate which he had given to others should be shared by himself. Either that or I would do justice upon him with my own hand. In all England there can be no man who sets less value upon his own life than I do at the present moment.”



He goes on to describe how he killed Tregennis. Does that story up there remind you of anyone. Perhaps of Sherlock killing Magnussen to keep John safe? Or a reference to a possible Three Garridebs situation in SS1 Ep4, or any myriad of things. The point is, it is a man who profoundly loved someone, killing another out of revenge for the murder of his beloved.

After Tregennis tells his story of revenge motivated by his profound love for the only human being he had ever loved or who had loved him, Holmes says this to Watson:

“I have never loved, Watson, but if I did and if the woman I loved had met such an end, I might act even as our lawless lion-hunter has done. Who knows?”



We know who Holmes loves, and who loves him deeply in return. We’ve been shown several times throughout this story, and this last statement is even further confirmation that Holmes empathises with the lion hunter because of the actions he took motivated by the depth of his love.

In short, this story is an absolute gift. It is, imo, one of the most romantic in the ACD canon. Watson and Holmes’ love and care for one another is clearly evident, and beautifully handled. And I hope to god that this is the story they are adapting for SS4 Ep2, because if it is, we’re in for a real treat.