Sherlock:
The Sign of Three
By Stephen Thompson
It’s John and Mary’s wedding day
and Sherlock is prepping for his speech as the best man. Not an easy thing to do the best man speech especially
for a high functioning sociopath like Sherlock Holmes. What Sherlock does is actually tell a tale
about one of the cases they were on and unfortunately did not solve as a point
in how good of a person Watson is as he was able to save the murder victim. All during the speech he goes over another
case which has been occupying his mind as it ties in with a funny story on how
Sherlock and Watson got drunk during the stag night and then proceeded to take
on the case in their inebriated state. As
Holmes recalls the case he has an epiphany and realizes that The Mayfly Man is
actually targeting someone at John and Mary’s wedding and that the first case
he talked about and the Mayfly man case are actually connected. So the game is afoot at the wedding of John
Watson and who thought this cherished occasion would be a normal one.
After episode one it was good to
see Sherlock getting back to being normal somewhat. By that I mean there is a mystery to solve
and unfortunately it ties in to Watson’s wedding. This part I really liked was seeing the two
cases come together and be part of an attempted murder of Watson’s friend Major
James Sholto who was Watson’s commanding officer in Afghanistan. I really liked how Sherlock came to the
conclusion of this problem using all the woman who had dated a ghost as it
seemed and used process of elimination and especially when the answer was
starring him in the face when the nurse used Watsons middle name. I found this sequence to be really clever and
also the way the murder tried to kill his victims. This is where the show really gels and keeps
on our toes and we try to guess the unexpected and the reveal for the most part
is pretty satisfying and has us going “Wow I never would have guessed that.”
That is what I like about the show and I am glad this story had that aspect
which was missing from The Empty Hearse.
I prefer Sherlock to be the way
it was the first two series keeping to the cases and not being soap operaish. When I saw it was going to be the wedding
episode I kind of cringed and was expecting it to be well stupid and way over
the top with Sherlock over analyzing the guests and stuff like that. I do like it when shows take a chance and try
something different as long as it is not all the time. So The Sign of Three was just that a story
that was out of the norm and for the most part I was pretty much entertained. I really liked the comedy element in this
story. It was pretty funny and it was
not in your face funny. Just the
reaction Sherlock gives John when asked about being the best man and the way he
tells it in his best man speech is pretty hilarious along with the beginning of
the speech. 
What was also pretty amusing was
seeing Holmes and Watson drunk. Seeing
them playing the deduction game and Holmes had his name on his forehead trying
to guess who the rude person is in itself was pretty funny but not as funny as
seeing them trying to solve a case drunk.
Like I said the funny bits were not over the top and were not jammed
down your throat at all and in a sense it was good to see this side of the two
friends. I just hope we don’t have to
see much more of this and that we can get back to basics with solving
crimes. But for this one episode it was
good to see something different. 
Benedict Cumberbatch was
excellent in this story. In fact this
might have been one of his best performances.
You just have to watch the scene when Watson asks him to be the best
man. Just standing there and being in a
trance was just priceless and well the whole best man speech was a good
performance also. I was really impressed
with his whole performance at the wedding and how he went all Matt Smith acting
with the arms flaying all over the place and twirling around. That was like the Holmes of old and Benedict
Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman were both suberb being drunk and playing the deduction
game. If anything else The Sign of Three
will be remembered for being funny. I
really like Amanda Abbington as Mary. She brings a different angle to the show
that is in a way refreshing and seems to be meshing in nicely until she is disposed
of. Well it is no big secret what will happen to Mary if you read the Doyle stories
of Sherlock Holmes which is a shame as I think she is working out well and even
sadder when Sherlock deduces she is pregnant hence the three in the title
refers to the three Watsons. 
So The Sign of Three sort of
based but not really on the Sign of Four, even though the little person with
the blow dart has a cameo, was a pretty entertaining story but I think it is
time to go back to basics and feature more of the mystery and solving crime and
all that.
Grade B +
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