WARNING: SPOILERS. IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED SHERLOCK GO DO IT RIGHT NOW. ALL OF THEM. RIGHT MEOW.
9 The Empty Hearse (S:3 E:1)
This episode… doesn’t work. In fairness, it was under tremendous pressure; the anticipation for Season 3 was so great it’s possible NOTHING would have satisfied fans. But even excusing that, the episode itself doesn’t seem to come together. There’s no tension in the main conflict, the scene where they explain Sherlock’s faked suicide is overly convoluted, especially since it isn’t really clear whether it’s just another one of Anderson’s delusions, and the kidnapping of John Watson is entirely out of place. While the episode is commendable for bringing some heart to rekindling the relationship between John and Sherlock, the thing that really kills the episode is that it completely wipes away the ending of Season 2. Fans were looking forward to watching Sherlock fight in the shadows, for him to claw his way back into the light after Moriarty made him out to look like a phony. But right off the bat we’re told Sherlock’s name was cleared, which just didn’t make for as good a story.
8 The Hounds of Baskerville (S:2 E:2)
I probably like this episode more than most, but yes, it has some problems that it just can’t recover from. The bad special effects of the hound itself are enough to deter most viewers, but the real problem is that the episode just isn’t that mysterious. Sherlock is always supposed to be three steps ahead of everyone else, but the viewer can easily figure out the secret of Baskerville almost half an hour before Sherlock himself gets there. That’s just not a feeling you should ever have when watching a mystery, let alone a Sherlock mystery. That said, the rapidly-spoken monologue about the out-of-work fisherman and his widowed mother is some of Cumberbatch’s best work.
7 His Last Vow (S:3 E:3)
While this episode proves to be more entertaining and ambitious than Hounds of Baskerville, it suffers from a lot of the same issues; namely that it, too, doesn’t feel as mysterious. While it’s commendable that the show developed a new villain for Sherlock to face off against, the journey getting there is a bit rough, and you can see the ending coming from a mile away. Plus it’s kind of awkward that the phrase ‘mind palace’ gets used so much in this episode, when it was originally used as a sly joke in the Baskerville Episode. His Last Vow is entertaining, and the cliffhanger ending is intriguing enough, but the tension between Sherlock and Magnusson just isn’t as potent as it is between him and Moriarty or even him and The Woman. Also, I’m just gonna say it: I really dislike the twist where Mary’s some super-crazy-awesome assassin. It’s just too big a coincidence, and as Sherlock and Mycroft noted about coincidences in an earlier episode, “The universe is seldom so lazy.”
6 The Blind Banker (S:1 E:2)
I don’t suppose there’s anything technically wrong with this episode; there’s a fair amount of mystery, a dangerous gang of smugglers, and the turn where they think John is actually Sherlock is pretty entertaining. The only real issue with this episode is that it’s just kind of boring. Where the pilot episode led off with a bang, this one just kind of fizzles. It’s still good, and it shows off the depth and danger of Moriarty’s network, but if it begins to feel a bit like a filler episode about halfway through, well, I can hardly blame you.
5 The Sign of Three (S:3 E:2)
This is the episode of Season 3 I actually really like. It’s funny, charming, and while I’ve heard most people think Sherlock’s best man speech is a little overlong, it actually does a really good job of keeping you on your toes. The best thing about the episode, though, is how well it calls back to the pilot episode; simply put, this episode is a riddle. The Bloody Guardsman and the Mayfly Man are really intriguing stories Sherlock uses to demonstrate his admiration for John, and once you figure out that they’re actually clues to a dangerous mystery, you’re right there with Sherlock, desperate to keep a deadly situation under control and trying your damndest to figure out the solution before the killer gets away, just like you felt in the pilot episode. This one has some real heart, and the relationship between Sherlock, John, and Mary is so touching you can almost forgive The Empty Hearse for stumbling so badly. Almost.
4 The Great Game (S:1 E:3)
Man, was this a tough call. I actually kind of feel bad for putting this episode only at number 4, because it really is intense. The introduction of Moriarty, the ticking clock as Sherlock completes a difficult challenge only to find a new and more sinister one awaiting him, the amazing HOLY-WHAT-WHERE-IS-MY-REMOTE-I-HAVE-TO-WATCH-SEASON-TWO-RIGHT-NOW ending… this episode is a ride. It’s quintessentially Sherlock; this is exactly the kind of cat-and-mouse game you want to see between two dangerously intelligent masterminds. The only reason this places number four is because the next three really crossed the threshold into groundbreaking cinema.
3 The Reichenbach Fall (S:2 E:3)
Between this and A Study in Pink, I’m not sure which is the most-watched episode of Sherlock, but I’d put my money on this one. My family and friends rewatched the ending of this episode dozens of times to figure out how Sherlock faked his own death. The stakes are high, and exactly where they need to be: not just Sherlock’s life is at stake, but the lives of everyone he loves, and we get to see not only Sherlock’s brain at work, but also his heart. Moriarty’s turn as Richard Brooke is downright scary, and the finale leaves you excited, speculating, and head-over-heels in love with the series thus far. Part of the reason The Empty Hearse felt like such a letdown was because of just how damn good this episode really is.
2 A Study in Pink (S:1 E:1)
Due service has to be paid to this for being the pilot episode, the one that got it all started. We live in a world of useless reboots, recycled plots, and lame reimagining of stories that aren’t even a decade old (Amazing Spiderman, I’m looking at you). But this episode announced to the world that it understood not only what a reboot on an old series had to do to befit a modern audience, it also announced that it deeply understood, respected, and paid homage to its own source material. Sherlock as a consulting detective, Moriarty as the consulting criminal, John as a blogger, and intricate puzzles in a digital age take you on a spin so wild you’re amazed you’d never thought of all this yourself. It just seems so obvious, so right, and that’s not a feeling that a lot of other Sherlock-inspired shows (ahem, Elementary, ahem) can successfully manifest. It’s a work of genius.
1 A Scandal in Belgravia (S:2 E:1)
This isn’t just the best episode of Sherlock, it might be the best episode of any television series that’s ever been on the air. It might be one of the best things that’s ever been filmed. The reinterpretation of Irene Adler as a dominatrix is inspired, and the sexual tension in her cat-and-mouse game with Sherlock is exactly the right twist to make her another unique and dangerous villain that we place on a pedestal along with Moriarty. The Coventry Conundrum is perfectly foreshadowed in the most amazing way, and pleasantly creepy. The metaphorical resonance of Adler as a dominatrix that brought a nation to its knees is fantastic. And the answer to Adler’s heart, the password to her hypersecure phone, is so brilliant it still occasionally gives me goosebumps. This isn’t just an episode, it’s art, and it’s not just art, it’s a masterpiece.
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