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His Last Vow

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"His Last Vow"

"His Last Vow" is the third and final episode of the third series of the BBC Television series Sherlock.[2] The episode aired on 12 January 2014, on BBC One,[3] and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as John Watson.[4] The episode is directed by Nick Hurran,[5] written by Steven Moffat[4] and composed by Michael Price.[4]

The episode's name relates to the story "His Last Bow",[5][6] with a plot based on "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton", which first appeared in the collection "The Return of Sherlock Holmes".[2]

Freeman and Cumberbatch filming Sherlock.

At the end of "The Sign of Three", 'His Last Vow' was told[7] to be that Sherlock will never leave John and Mary Watson.

A 30 second trailer for "His Last Vow" was released directly after The Sign of Three finished on 5 January 2014.[8]

Before the episode aired, Vertue tweeted "Sometimes somebody has to die".[9]

Plot

A case is taken to Holmes about stolen letters. This leads him into conflict with Charles Augustus Magnussen (Lars Mikkelsen),[4] whose character has been described as "terrifying",[4] Magnussen will be introduced, as the main villan of series 3.[10] as "the Napoleon of blackmail, and the one man he [Sherlock] truly hates".[3]

Sherlock realises that Magnussen has been manipulating everyone and tries to bribe Sherlock to no avail as he could not find his pressure point apart from his drug addiction. He manipulates Sherlock as he knows the dark secrets of Mary and her past. Mary attempts to kill Magnussen but is stopped when Sherlock sees her. Instead Mary shoots Sherlock in the chest. Sherlock enters his mind palace to try to save himself as he is starting to let go and die, with the Moriaty in his mind reminding him that John Watson is in danger. With that thought Sherlock's heart began to beat again.

The word "Redbeard," spoken by Mycroft in the previous episode, is revealed to be Sherlock's childhood dog which died. John finds out about Mary (whose real name is not revealed) and that she worked as an agent for the CIA. They celebrate Christmas with Sherlock's parents, where Watson forgives Mary. Mycroft informs Sherlock about a potential offer from the Government that Mycroft was obligated to ask, but wanted his brother to refuse. Sherlock refuses and then asks about the mission. He is told that it entailed him being sent to Eastern Europe undercover but would result in him dying in 6 months at the max. Mycroft then tells him he didn't want Sherlock to go as that would break his heart. After Sherlock shows his surprise at his elder brother's unusally emotional talk, Mycroft blames it on the punch being spiked... which ironically is what Sherlock had done to drug everyone except Watson (and Higgins) to steals Mycroft's laptop which contains state secrets. They are taken to Magnussen's home where they are shown how powerful he is and what gives him the power. He shows them Appledore, his vault; this is revealed to be his mind palace. He declares that "knowing is owning" and demonstrates his power over others by flicking John's face, threatening to ruin John and Mary's lives if he is not given his way. When the police and Mycroft arrive, he tells John and Sherlock to move away from Magnussen. To everyone's surprise, Sherlock shoots Magnussen in the head. Later, it is decided that Sherlock cannot be incarcerated in any prison without inciting riots on a daily basis. Sherlock is sent by MI6 to Eastern Europe to do undercover work for 6 months as an alternative punishment (arguably the same mission which Mycroft wanted Sherlock to refuse earlier). Four minutes into the flight, TV screens all over Great Britain are hacked to broadcast a looping Jim Moriarty chanting "Did you miss me?". Sherlock is needed back in Britain as Moriarty apparently returns. Watson tells Mary "There's an East wind coming".

In the post credits scene, Jim Moriarty is shown saying, "Miss me?"

Reception

Louisa Mellor of Den of Geek said that the episode was "as good a finale as Sherlock’s ever had", and admired the plot.[11] Mark Jefferies of The Mirror called the episode "easily the best yet in this run", with a "fascinating" plot.[12]. Josh Wilding of The Mirror said the episode "was in many ways the best episode of Sherlock yet" and called it "simply one of the greatest TV shows of all-time".[13]. Serana Davies of "The Telegraph" called the episode "the best of the lot" and gave 4 out of 5 stars. According to Davies, Steven Moffat is "the superior Sherlock writer". Although her review was mainly positive, she criticized the show a bit for becoming "a little vain, rather a show-off".[14]

As of 13 January 2014 "His Last Vow" has acquired a 9.8 rating on IMDB with more than 1,500 votes [15].

References

  1. ^ Garcia, Megan (2 September 2013). "Sherlock season 3 filming finished: "It's a wrap," says Sue Vertue - BBC new trailer released [VIDEO]". Christian Today. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  2. ^ a b Flint, Hanna (1 August 2013). "The King of Blackmailers! Benedict Cumberbatch returns to Sherlock set to film scenes with Lars Mikkelsen's new villain". Mail Online. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  3. ^ a b De Graeve, Nikki (13 December 2013). "Sherlock – 3.03 "His Last Vow" Synopsis". Entertainment Outlook. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e Jones, Paul (12 November 2013). "Sherlock series 3 finale to feature "more tears" than ever before". Radio Times. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  5. ^ a b Dibdin, Emma (19 July 2013). "'Sherlock' series 3 finale title revealed as 'His Last Vow'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  6. ^ Liew, Tim (10 January 2014). "Sherlock: His Last Vow – 11 spoiler-free finale teasers". Metro. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  7. ^ Dibdin, Emma (2 January 2014). "Sherlock: 10 teasers for series 3, episode 2 'The Sign of Three'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  8. ^ Earp, Catherine (5 January 2013). "Sherlock series three: 'His Last Vow' trailer debuts – watch". Digital Spy. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  9. ^ Jones, Paul (10 January 2014). "Sherlock His Last Vow: "Sometimes somebody has to die" tweets producer". Radio Times. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  10. ^ Shrivastava, Anshu (27 December 2013). "'Sherlock' 3 Episode 3: 'His Last Vow,' Most Hated Villain to Bring Sherlock to his Knees". International Business Times. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  11. ^ Mellor, Louisa (9 January 2014). "Sherlock: His Last Vow spoiler-free review". Den of Geek. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  12. ^ Jefferies, Mark (8 January 2014). "Sherlock spoiler-free review: His Last Vow is thrilling, chilling and the best episode in series 3". Mail Online. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  13. ^ http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-reviews/sherlock-verdict-last-vow-many-3015982
  14. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/10564263/Sherlock-season-3-episode-3-review.html
  15. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2781046/
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