Warning:
spoiler-filled rant ahead.
And…apparently
the game is not on. It’s tradition that the middle episode of each season of
Sherlock will be the weakest, but The Sign of Three is possibly my least
favorite episode of all three season so far. The tragedy is, I know Steve
Thompson – the writer – can do better. While season one’s The Blind Banker was
corny, season two's finale The Reichenbach Fall was excellent.
But
let’s get down to it: the first thirty minutes are great. We’re thrown back
into the swing of things, as Sherlock starts to deal with the idea of life
without single John. “It changes people, marriage,” says Mrs. Hudson, widow of
a double-murderer. The wedding itself starts about twenty minutes in—naturally
we completely skip any proceedings inside the church and fast-forward to the
reception. A group of amusing flashbacks show Sherlock organizing the wedding,
warning off Mary’s ex-boyfriend and having a brief Iron-Man-3-esque personal
cute kid. Sherlock has a conversation with Mycroft which, once again,
emphasizes how much the wedding is going to change the Watson-Holmes
relationship.
Then
comes the speech, which I expected to last about five, maybe ten,
minutes. My first mistake.
