Sherlock: The Blind Banker Retrospective

I wasn't very keen on Episode 2 of Sherlock, The Blind Banker, when it first aired last year, rating it at 3.5/5 for making lousy use of the 90 minutes it had to fill, featuring a fairly unmemorable cast (bar the leads) and only being redeemed by the sublime chemistry of Benedict Cumberbatch's Holmes and Martin Freeman's Watson. I found it somewhat more enjoyable upon its repeat on BBC One last week (more worthy of 4/5), as it still managed to uphold the great modern feel of the series and capture well the 'case of the week' vibe needed for the episode in the middle of the series opener and the finale. Stephen Thompson, writer of this year's pirate Doctor Who adventure The Curse of the Black Spot, takes the story off on a completely different tangent to Steven Moffat's A Study In Pink, focusing more on the sub-plots of Chinese proverbs and John's new romantic relationship, and this works in its favour, adding new depth to the show. That said, I maintain that the hour and a half seems to move much more slowly than it did before, only boosted by the fast-paced finale and the brilliant cliffhanger's tease of Moriarty's reveal. Gemma Chen (recently Mia in Who's The Water of Mars) puts her heart into her role as a museum curator, especially when the protagonists catch up with her, but the same can't be said of the rest of the newcomers in this week's cast, which is a shame as those in Episode 1 showed such promise in every scene. The Blind Banker isn't a bad piece of television by any means, however it is a big step down from A Study In Pink, and from what I can remember the outright worst instalment of the three.