Hello everyone and welcome to the final Sherlock season 1 catchup discussion with episode 3, the great game. It is so weird watching something with only three episodes in a season as I am just used to 20 plus episodes a season. I still need to adjust how I predict and take in the information as I think they are setting up stuff for later on or going to have a slow build only to realise that you are already over half way through the season by the time you’ve watched episode 2.

Out of the three I would say that this episode was the trickiest to follow. I’m not saying that it was overly difficult or complex, it’s just that you needed to keep focussed on what was going on all the time: this isn’t a sit back, chill out and relax kind of show. It was very fast moving too. Stuff was introduced, figured out, and moved on from multiple times and it was initially a bit hard to know which information you needed to bank and would still be important in five minutes.

Having said that, this episode really did keep you on the edge of your seat, not knowing what was going to happen next. What really got you invested in the fast pace and the villain in general were the hostages. I thought it was very creative to have the villain communicate through the terrified voices of the hostages, who were forced to speak his every word and not deviate in fear of being blown up. And he was serious too; that old lady is dead! I wonder where he got that many bombs though? There were an awful lot.

The actual reveal of the villain (who turned out to be Moriarty) caught me by surprise as I didn’t think it would be someone we had already met: the seemingly random IT worker who was seemingly just there so Sherlock could show off his gay-dar. I’m not exactly sure what exactly what accent he was going for, and although he may have come across more comedic than he may have intended, I did still enjoy his scene with Sherlock. There was very much a Doctor-Master vibe between them. And what an ending! Obviously they all survive (or at least Holmes and Watson) but that was still a (literally) explosive way to end the season.

Although I mentioned the potential with the very fast pace, it was nice to see Sherlock solving a few mysteries which could have each been there own episode in a different detective show. He got to show off his intelligence and charm, while Watson tried to balance things out by actually caring about the people with bombs strapped to them. It was then all the more shocking to have he himself strapped up to the bombs at the end of the episode. I didn’t see it coming and for some reason and actually thought that Watson was the evil mastermind for a second. I don’t know why that crossed my mind. One last thing: was that guy named Golem because he resembled the lord of the rings creature of the same name?

Overall an enjoyable surprise of a show that I didn’t think I would enjoy as much as I did. Cumberbatch and Freeman definitely carried it and have great chemistry too. Not sure when I will get round to season 2 but,if the next season is just as short, I’m sure I can fit it in somewhere.

DD Rating: 7.95/10