The sporadically aired hit television series, “Sherlock”, made another appearance on our screens this January, with a holiday-special, titled “The Abominable Bride”. As a nod to the original books on which the show is based, the special was advertised as being set in the late 1800s/early 1900s- although, without giving away too much, the episode has close ties with the original, modern storyline. Aside from the audience being given other than was advertised, the special is certainly in keeping with Moffatt and Gatiss’ quick witted humour, and incredibly complicated storylines. Astounding complicated. Perhaps… too complicated? Certainly, we all enjoy occasional plot twists, moments that make you gasp and gape; but it is certainly possible for this to get rather excessive. Despite not being one of the best episodes, it was still interesting and enjoyable to watch.
The story follows the case of the ‘ghost bride’; a woman who apparently died on her balcony, in her wedding dress, but was seen later that same day, on the street, firing a gun at her husband. Over time, several murders occur, all of which are attributed to a ghostly figure in a wedding dress- so how is it possible that a woman can return from the dead? With Doctor Watson in tow, and Mary Watson and Mycroft Holmes watching from the shadows, Sherlock faces an increasingly intricate puzzle. Despite the concept, the story itself appears to be a little lazy. Without spoiling the solution; the conclusion relates strongly to the suffragettes movement of the time, yet the struggle and protests that would have been on every London Street were nowhere to be seen. Apart from dialogue which was very clearly a signpost, there was no background sense of the tension that would have existed in London. Furthermore, when referencing the Suffragettes movement, Mycroft Holmes deems it “a war we must loose”. This is a man, in both the books and television series, who seemingly has incredible political power, and has exercised it on a number of occasions- if he so believes that giving women the vote is the correct thing, then why is it a war?
Despite the exceedingly convoluted plot, as well as the lack of detail in terms of the storyline; Gatiss and Moffat seemed determined to shoehorn in as many references to their own modern series as possible. The ‘wear the hat’, a reference to a scene in the previous season, as well as Sherlock’s constant concern that Moriarty has not really died, but rather, is still present, and lying in wait. Nevertheless, the concept of the episode itself is exceedingly interesting, as it is an adaptation of an adaptation, the second adaptation in the style of the original text. Whilst that may sound like an offshoot of the plot of the movie “Inception”, after watching “The Abominable Bride”, the, for lack of a better phrase, ‘adaptation squared’ suddenly becomes a simple concept.
There is no doubt that Moffat and Gatiss are talented writers, and that the cast are absolutely outstanding. Nevertheless, the high calibre that the “Sherlock” audience are typically useful, according to many fans, was not met. Hopefully, as this is a special episode, the inconsistency in the quality will remain, well, inconsistent. Season five will hopefully air in 2017.
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