Sherlock's The Abominable Bride - Review
After two years of waiting, we finally get the special episode we asked for, kinda...
Set in the original timeline as in the stories written by sir Arthur Conan Doyle, we are back to a 1880's victorian London, we get to see how the pair met for the first time and the way Sherlock's fame rises thanks to Watson's thrilling stories in The Strand.
Later, inspector Lestrade shows up in Baker street with a puzzling case; a woman called Emelia Ricoletti, a bride gone mad, had fired on by-passers in the street from a balcony, before fatally shooting herself in the head through her mouth. Later that evening, she shows up again and conforts her husband still dressed as a bride, who shot him before disappearing into the fog. Intrigued by Emelia's apparent survival, Holmes takes the case. At the morgue, an antagonistic Dr Hooper informs Holmes that the woman who killed herself, the woman who murdered Mr Ricoletti and the body on hand have all been positively identified as Emelia Ricoletti.
Stymied, Holmes loses interest in the case thinking it was all a montage. When the bride apparently returns to murder other men, he deduces that these are copycat crimes until months later after his brother, Mycroft, sends him to a new case where the bride appears once again treathing the life of Sir Eustace Carmichael. Holmes and Watson stake out of the house and find the ghostly looking bride and the man mortally stabbed with a dagger with a note that says "Miss me?". That phrase is used by Jim Moriarty in the modern era show.
Then Sherlock is awakened to the present era with his plane landing and confesses to Mycroft, John, and Mary that he had used drugs to enter a simulation in his mind palace. In attempting to solve the Ricoletti case, he hopes to learn how Moriarty has returned. Ignoring warnings from Mycroft and John, he once again enters the mind palace to discover a secret group of Women's Right Movement; Holmes explains that they used a double to fake Emelia's death, allowing her to kill her husband and create the persona of the avenging bride. Already dying, she was later killed and the other members of the Movement used her persona as a bride to scare and warm people who are against them.
The entire cast is back again but in a different era with slightly changes in their features; Holmes is much nicer while Watson is more arrogant and likes to show off when his friend is not around. The biggest change was Mycroft Holmes (Mark Gattis) who, as in the books, he has considerable overweight but still smarter than anyone. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman shine as always as the main characters!
Loved all the references from the novels, from an mute Mrs. Hudson, fat Mycroft, always-worried Lestrade, Molly's male version (by the same actress), Watson's moustache, Sherlock's haircut, Irene Adler's photograph reference, the authentic Reichenbach Falls to name a few... The victorian era works perfectly with the modern era cast, i I wouldn't mind to see an entire series set like this, although I know it won't happen...The 18th century London is beautifuly recreated, I had a blast watching the old (more like in the books) flat at Baker Street and the breathtaking London filled with people and fog, the classic London we always love.
The plot has some memorable moments but all of them have been already shown before like Emelia Ricoletti's fake suicide, similar to Moriarty's but with a small difference; Sherlock was right in front of him when it happened. The case of the abominable bride is one of the easiest I've seen in the series since it started, it's clearly to see the entire mistery since the first moment the Bride shows up, I'm actually disappointed with it but I was pleased to see a new episode of one of the best shows on TV right now.
The Abominable Bride brings back our favourite detective and his companion, we have a good time watching them like if they were in the 18th century from the original novels but we get nothing new from the ending of last series; Sherlock's still in the plane coming back to England (England needs you), dreaming everything we see to discover how Moriarty survived but we get the answer we weren't expecting at the very end "Moriarty is dead but I know what he's going to do next". Now we have to wait until next year to see what's next...
· What I liked most: Sherlock and Watson one more time - The entire cast coming back - Victorian Setting is amazing and works - The so many references from the original novels!
· What I didn't like: Too easy and predictable - We get nothing new for the upcoming series but a dream...
8.6
"Sherlock is back with a dream but we still have to wait another year to see what's really coming next"
:: Sherlock Top Episodes ::
1. The Reichenbach Fall (10.0)
2. A Study in Pink (10.0)
3. A Scandal in Belgravia (9.8)
4. His Last Vow (9.8)
5. The Great Game (9.5)
6. The Sign of Three (9.2)
7. The Empty Hearse (8.9)
8. The Hounds of the Baskervilles (8.8)
9. The Abominable Bride (8.6)
10. The Blind Banker (8.2)
