For fans who have been waiting feverishly for Season 4 of Sherlock, the wait is nearly over. And the BBC has a nice little surprise for you. They have kindly dished out the titles of the first two episodes of Sherlock, Season 4.

Episode 1 has been given the title of “The Six Thatchers,” while “The Lying Detective” is the title for Episode 2. “The Six Thatchers” is directed by Rachel Talalay, with Mark Gatiss taking the helm with writing. “The Lying Detective” is directed by Nick Hurran and written by Steven Moffat.

It won’t take much investigation on the part of fans to discover where these first two opening titles came from. “The Six Thatchers” is a play on “The Adventure of the Six Napoleons,” from The Return of Sherlock, and “The Lying Detective” could only have taken from The Dying Detective. In this particular story, Sherlock pretends to be suffering from a fatal affliction.

When it comes to speculation about everything on Sherlock, fans have a tendency to either get things astonishingly right or spectacularly wrong, with very little in between. Mark Gatiss spoke at a member’s talk at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London recently and discussed the serious fandom surrounding Sherlock.

“There are things that come to fruition in this series which we’ve been planning for years. But people also find things that aren’t there. Which is my favourite. And then miss the blindingly obvious things that are there. People read an awful lot into it.”

Gatiss even read a theory on the suicide of Moriarty which “was all based on Grimm’s Fairy Tales.”

Benedict Cumberbatch, Amanda Abbington and Sherlock producers {Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]

“And it would have required a dossier – like a really annotated episode guide. That’s obviously not going to happen, because this has to be something for the casual viewer, who’s not going to say, ‘Oh I see…’ Sometimes I’m made aware of these things and I think the level of invention is amazing, but it’s amazing that you think it’s going to turn out to be that – because it really isn’t.”

What kind of atmosphere can fans look forward to on Season 4 of Sherlock? Many cast members are saying that we can expect the darkest episodes so far in the whole series. We know from the trailer that aired at San Diego Comic-Con that actor Benedict Cumberbatch looks visibly distressed at some impending threat. But what might that threat be exactly? Is it Moriarty? Sherlock certainly seems to think it might be.

“Maybe it’s Moriarty? Maybe it’s not? Something’s coming.”

And how dark will the show get? If Sherlock’s tense looks in the trailer are anything to go by, it’s clear we can expect more great storylines coming our way.

Steven Moffat explained that in the first two episodes of Season 4 there would be “60 minutes of plot and 30 minutes of drama,” with Episode 3 having even more plot in it than the first two episodes. Which we can safely assume is probably a lot of plot.

Sherlock producer Steven Moffat speaks during 'Doctor Who' panel BBC America 2015 [Image by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]

One question every die-hard fan must have right now is whether or not Sherlock will continue. Moffat has previously said that this might be its last season, but fans are hoping this won’t be the case. However, Steven Moffat has also said that there are two very large stars heading up the show, and depending on their schedules, this could be what ends it rather than him wanting to actually end the show himself.

“We do have two film stars in the programme. They haven’t needed to do these jobs for a very long time. They’re coming back because they want to.”

Is there any date that we can absolutely count on for Season 4 of Sherlock to begin? Unfortunately not. However, all signs are pointing to it starting in January 2017, especially as that is when Season 2, Season 3 and also “The Abominable Bride” premiered. So take heart, fans. Sherlock will be here before you know it with Season 4.

[Featured Image by Colin Hutton/PBS-Hartwood Films for the BBC/AP Images]