The Abominable Bride (With SPOILERS!) - Sherlock
Hey guys! Sorry for not updating lately but I was on holidays so I didn't have much time (I did have time for watching this episode and reading two Shadowhunter books, but that's another story XD) Well, just in case you don't know, the Abominable Bride is a special episode from the BBC series Sherlock, and it was released between the third and the fourth season on January 1st, 2016. This episode is set in the 19th century, as the original Arthur Conan Doyle's books. I was really excited because I love this series and I had been waiting for the next season for a long time (the fourth season won't be released until 2017) and it was a way of seeing two of my favourite characters again. However, it was not as I expected it to be. When the episode finished I felt really disappointed because of the good idea that had gone to waste due to unnecessary complications.
The story begins fantastically: Inspector Lestrade rushing into 221B Baker Street, palid and
without breath. There has been a weird and even gloomy series of events. A woman dressed in a wedding dress, with her face covered with white makeup and her lips red as blood was pointing with a gun at everyone that was walking in the street while she says "You or me?" Finally, while she repeats that phrase, she shoots herself through the mouth. In the morgue, she is identified as Emilia Ricoletti. However, she appears again, dressed in her wedding dress, to his husband while singing a song that she had sung the day of their wedding. Finally, she kills him and dissapears into the night. Intrigued by this strange event, Holmes accepts the case. Both women, the one that shot herself and the one that killed Mr Ricoletti have been positively identified as Emilia. Puzzled, Holmes abandons the case, even when other murders (the victim in all of them was a mas) are performed by this strange ghost. His diagnosis is that other murderers are taking profit of the first mistery to kill people under the bride's disguise.
However, months later, Holmes' brother, Mycroft, tells him to investigate lady Carmichael's case. Her husband has received a threatening letter in form of orange pipes. Sir Eustace refuses to explain this strange event to his wife and, desperate, she asks for Sherlock's help. That night, Holmes and Watson watch the house to try and protect the couple. The ghostly-looking bride appears and dissappears in front of them and a glass breaks. Sir Eustace screams and then his wife. The detective and his friend run into the house and find the body of Sir Eustace, who has been stabbed by the bride. When Lestrade arrives, he says that there is a note attached to the dagger. Holmes assures that that note was not there the first time he checked the body. It says "Miss me?", the same phrase that Moriarty uses in his message announcing his return in the 21th century.
Then it's when things start to get too complicated for my taste.
Holmes dreams with Moriarty being in his house and making fun of him because of Emilia Ricoletti's mistery and the fact that she shot herself but still, she lives. Then, he shots himself and doesn't die and says one of the best phrases of this episode, that demonstrates the brilliance behind too much complication: "It is not the fall that kills you, Sherlock. It is the landing."
Then, Sherlock wakes up in the modern age and it becomes obvious that the earlier events were produced by his Mind Palace, stimulated because of the drugs. He says to a puzzled John, Mary and Mycroft that he hopes to solve Emilia's case to understand how Moriarty has survived. He takes more drugs and wakes up in the 18th century, where he has also took drugs to go to the 21th century. In that moment, Mary rushes into 221B Baker Street and says that he has discovered a secret association in a disancitfied church that has planned every murder committed by the bride. They go there and discover an association of women fighting for their rights. Amongst them we find Watson's house maid, Dr Hooper and Janine Hawkins. Holmes then explains that they planned all those murders to scape from the men that treated them badly and did not let them to be free - husbands, fathers... They used a double to fake Emilia's death and then, before Holmes and Watson went to the morgue, they replaced the fake body with Emilia's real corpse, who, before her death, had asked her friends to kill her as she was going to die anyway because of a terrible disease. That way, she would aboid a slow and painful death and have an opportunity of taking revenge on her husband. At that moment, someone dressed as the bride appears and Holmes thinks it is lady Carmichael, who prepared her husband's death because of the way he treated her. He removes the veil, but behind it he finds Moriarty.
Sherlock then awakes in the present and digs on Emilia's grave to prove her double was buried with her. While he does that, Emilia's body whispers "Do not forget me" and attacks him. That event turns out to be a dream and Sherlock is stuck in his Mind Palace. Moriarty appears and they fight, but Watson saves Holmes. Watson then asks him how is he planning on turning back to the 21th Century.
Holmes falls over the ledge, convinced that he will survive. He wakes up in the present and Mycroft asks John to take care of him and not let him to drug himpself again. Inside Sherlock's notebook, after they have left, he finds the name of Redbeard.
The episode concludes with Sherlock in the 18th century explaining to a sceptical John how mobile phones and planes work. Then, he looks to the street, seeing the one in the present.
However, I have to say the original characters are very well represented and the story of the Abominable Bride, before all the unnecessary complications was original and had the touch of horror I love in Sherlock's episodes.
However, months later, Holmes' brother, Mycroft, tells him to investigate lady Carmichael's case. Her husband has received a threatening letter in form of orange pipes. Sir Eustace refuses to explain this strange event to his wife and, desperate, she asks for Sherlock's help. That night, Holmes and Watson watch the house to try and protect the couple. The ghostly-looking bride appears and dissappears in front of them and a glass breaks. Sir Eustace screams and then his wife. The detective and his friend run into the house and find the body of Sir Eustace, who has been stabbed by the bride. When Lestrade arrives, he says that there is a note attached to the dagger. Holmes assures that that note was not there the first time he checked the body. It says "Miss me?", the same phrase that Moriarty uses in his message announcing his return in the 21th century.
Then it's when things start to get too complicated for my taste.
Holmes dreams with Moriarty being in his house and making fun of him because of Emilia Ricoletti's mistery and the fact that she shot herself but still, she lives. Then, he shots himself and doesn't die and says one of the best phrases of this episode, that demonstrates the brilliance behind too much complication: "It is not the fall that kills you, Sherlock. It is the landing."
Then, Sherlock wakes up in the modern age and it becomes obvious that the earlier events were produced by his Mind Palace, stimulated because of the drugs. He says to a puzzled John, Mary and Mycroft that he hopes to solve Emilia's case to understand how Moriarty has survived. He takes more drugs and wakes up in the 18th century, where he has also took drugs to go to the 21th century. In that moment, Mary rushes into 221B Baker Street and says that he has discovered a secret association in a disancitfied church that has planned every murder committed by the bride. They go there and discover an association of women fighting for their rights. Amongst them we find Watson's house maid, Dr Hooper and Janine Hawkins. Holmes then explains that they planned all those murders to scape from the men that treated them badly and did not let them to be free - husbands, fathers... They used a double to fake Emilia's death and then, before Holmes and Watson went to the morgue, they replaced the fake body with Emilia's real corpse, who, before her death, had asked her friends to kill her as she was going to die anyway because of a terrible disease. That way, she would aboid a slow and painful death and have an opportunity of taking revenge on her husband. At that moment, someone dressed as the bride appears and Holmes thinks it is lady Carmichael, who prepared her husband's death because of the way he treated her. He removes the veil, but behind it he finds Moriarty.
Sherlock then awakes in the present and digs on Emilia's grave to prove her double was buried with her. While he does that, Emilia's body whispers "Do not forget me" and attacks him. That event turns out to be a dream and Sherlock is stuck in his Mind Palace. Moriarty appears and they fight, but Watson saves Holmes. Watson then asks him how is he planning on turning back to the 21th Century.
Holmes falls over the ledge, convinced that he will survive. He wakes up in the present and Mycroft asks John to take care of him and not let him to drug himpself again. Inside Sherlock's notebook, after they have left, he finds the name of Redbeard.
The episode concludes with Sherlock in the 18th century explaining to a sceptical John how mobile phones and planes work. Then, he looks to the street, seeing the one in the present.
Clues
In this episode, we understand that Moriarty is really dead, but he arranged for people to continue his projects after his death. Also, we get to know better Sherlock's Mind Palace and there are some phrases and moments that could have Johnlock meaning (but that is for you to decide ;)).My opinion
As I said in the beginning, I did not like this episode. It was too confusing for me. In my opinion, they tried to link both stories (Emilia's case and Moriarty's death) in a too complicated way and, honestly, while you're watching it, it doesn't make any sense at all and gives a headache. After, when you read the plot on the internet and you start thinking about it, ideas start to connect between them and you see the brilliance of some of them. However, watching it was a chaos: the 18th century first, then it's all a dream inside present Sherlock's death, but then it is also a dream inside Holmes' head... Aaah!! They try to explain Moriarty's mistery while making a story similar to those written by Arthur Conan Doyle. From my point of view, they should have only tried to make a version of the original books and leave the explanations about Moriarty for the fourth season. It would have been easier and the episode would make more sense.However, I have to say the original characters are very well represented and the story of the Abominable Bride, before all the unnecessary complications was original and had the touch of horror I love in Sherlock's episodes.
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